Two-bean Cinnamon Soul Power Chili!

Everyone and their vegan blogger mother has a recipe for chili. And with good reason: just a little variation (sweet potatoes, zuchinni, chocolate?! ect) changes the taste totally. Its also a good clean-out-the-cupboard dish- and that was the plan tonight. I've been meaning to try some of the awesome looking variations from the vegan blogosphere, but I ended up just tossing a bunch of things in and hoping for the best. But here were some of my inspirations:

*Chipotle sweet potato and black bean chili from Swell Vegan
*Red Bean and Lager Chili from Veggie Meal Plans
*Chocolate Chipotle Chili from The Urban Vegan
*Black Bean and Pumpkin Chili from Vegan Visitor

So I took the idea to use sweet potatoes and cinnamon, and the rest all came together based on what I had around (beer! tomato puree! corn!) And actually, it turned out super-fabulous. So here it is, my very own...

Two Bean Cinnamon Soul Power Chili!

1 big ole onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, diced
1 sweet potato, you guessed it, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1-2 jalapenos, sliced and seeded
1 can black beans, drained
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 can tomato puree
1 can diced tomatoes
3/4 c. frozen corn
1 bottle of vegan Lager
Varying amounts of the following: salt, pepper, sugar, cinnamon, smoked paprika, chili powder, habanero sauce

1. Toss your onion and garlic in a big ole pot with your choice of oil at medium heat. After a few minutes, add in the sweet potato, red pepper and jalapeno, and sprinkle liberally with salt, pepper, smoked paprika and cinnamon. Stir and cover for 5 minutes.
2. Pour in about 1/3 of the beer and cover again- checking occassionally to see if the sweet potatoes are tender (about 5 minutes). Once they are, add in the beans, tomatoes and sauce. Add a few pinches of sugar to cut the acidity.
3. Now comes the spicing. People have different ideas of whats spicy, so start out with 1 tsp. of chili powder and a few dashes of habanero sauce, and add more depending on how spicy you're feeling. ( I probably ended up with about 2 tsp. and 8 dashes and it was spicy but not too much for my Mom.) Add in the rest of the beer, frozen corn, and more water as needed to make it saucier. Bring to a simmer then lower the heat and cover until ready to serve.

Serve over sliced and lightly fried store-bought polenta.

*And for dessert I had "vegan" muffins that my little brother made with soymilk. How freaking cute is that!?*