Vegan Week, Dish 8: Vegan Chili

With loads of vegetables and beans, this is a really hearty dish. Just like my Turkey Pumpkin Chili and my Beef Pumpkin Chili, it's great for the slow cooker. I like my food spicy, as I'm sure you've noticed so I added three different kind of chili spices. Feel free to add more or less, according to your level of heat acceptance.

Ingredients
1 tbs olive oil
1 small sweet onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 1/2 tbs minced garlic
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeno, diced
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tbs ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
28 oz can whole tomatoes, diced and juice reserved
15 oz can black beans
16 oz can kidney beans
1 tbs cocoa powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups mushroom broth
1 bay leaf

Directions
1 In a pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat and add garlic, onions, carrots, celery, bell peppers and jalapenos and saute until tender. (After this step, you can transfer everything to the slow cooker, add the rest of the ingredients and cook on low 6-8 hours.)

2 Add the rest of the ingredients, including the reserved tomato juice from the can, stir and bring to a boil.

3 Reduce heat, cover and let simmer 40 minutes to an hour.
4 Garnish with black olives, cilantro and/or green onions.