I made it exactly by the recipe, including the cloves. I saved out enough of the batch for supper that night and processed the rest (a full canner load). I had never used the dried beans (rehydrated per the recipe) before, and thought they tasted rather bland in the unprocessed supper batch of chili. I was pleasantly surprised when I opened one of the processed jars--the flavors and texture were much improved and matured by the pressure canning. If you do a taste test prior to processing and are thinking of adjusting the seasonings--I would wait. You can always adjust seasonings after opening the jars, but you can't take it back once you put it in! I've heard that cloves can give a strong taste in canning, but this is a small amount in the recipe. It does NOT give it a clove taste, and after tasting it, I doubt I could even identify that it had cloves in it. On the other hand, when I make this again, I won't leave it out because the whole recipe works as-is. I hope you like it as much as I did. Jill

I was with a friend last night who made this for dinner - it was fantastic and I can't wait to make it in my kitchen. Definitely a keeper... Alexa ************************************************************ Vegetarian Chili Verde Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis Total Time:2 hr 10 minPrep:40 minInactive:10 minCook:1 hr 20 min Yield:4 to 6 servings Level:Easy Ingredients 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 cup chopped onion One 8-ounce Yukon gold potato, peeled and cut into 1/3-inch cubes One 8-ounce yam (red-skinned sweet potato), peeled and cut into 1/3-inch cubes 4 large cloves garlic, flattened, peeled and chopped 4 large tomatillos (8 to 9 ounces), husked, rinsed, cored and chopped 2 large poblano chiles (8 to 9 ounces), stemmed, seeded; 1 diced, 1 cut into 4 strips 2 tablespoons dried Mexican oregano 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons cumin seeds Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper One 28-ounce can hominy with juices (preferably golden) 1 cup vegetable broth One 7-ounce can diced mild green chiles Garnishes, such as crumbled feta cheese, chopped green onions, sliced avocados, lime wedges and chopped serrano chiles) Directions Heat the oil in a heavy, large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, potatoes, yams, garlic, tomatillos and poblanos. Cover and sweat until the onions are tender, stirring often to prevent browning, about 8 minutes. Mix in the oregano, flour, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add the hominy with the juices and the broth and bring the chili to a simmer. Place the green chiles in a processor. Using tongs, transfer strips of the poblano chile from the pot to the processor; blend just until smooth. Scrape the chile sauce into the pot. Cover and simmer the chili 20 minutes. Uncover and simmer until the potatoes and yams are tender and the chili is reduced to desired consistency, stirring often, 20 to 25 minutes longer. Season with more salt and pepper if desired. Here is a link that might be useful: Giada's Vegetarian Chili Verde

My chili can't have any powder in it. No chili powder, no garlic powder, no onion powder. It has to have the real stuff.... peppers, galic, and onions. Tomatoes are the key to good chili. No good tomatoes and no good chili can result. Different types of tomato give a whole different character to chili. Yellow tomatoes make a sweet chili and reds more sour. Very ripe tomatoes cook down into juice and greener ones stay chunky longer. Peppers cover a huge flavor spectrum. At the moment I have potted jalapeno, cayenne, and habenera growing in my kitchen. I have two cultivars of habenera... the Burpee hab and the Red Savina. Not happy with my Red Savinas and will be growing another red cultivar next year. The orange Burpee habeneras are nice... tangy with plenty of heat. Jalapenos go in my chili not so much for heat as for green pepper flavor. Pepper "bite" will cook down over time to warm flavor tones. Sometimes I add a couple jalapenos at the end of the cooking to put a little bite back into the flavor. Habeneras have a fairly mean bite so they have to be cooked down some... for most people that is. Onions come in several types. Mostly I look at when they go in. In early and they cook down to become a sweet flavor. Late and they stay hot and crunchy. Hard to beat fresh garlic but again cooking time will blunt the flavor. A big part of garlic flavor is the smell and that is lost over time. Cumin is essential but more is not always better. An excessive amount can take on a bitter tone. Old cumin is often bitter to me. Usually the best is whole seed that is cracked and cooked awhile. Many here rightly advise toasting the seed. As with garlic the essential oils are critical to cumin flavor. Cumin has to cook some to get the oil out but extended cooking can cook off the delicious smell of cumin. Beans... red beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, black beans... they all give a different flavor. Mixing them up can have a cool visual affect. If you like paste style chili try adding refried beans... eat it with a fork. I frequently add cabbage. Cabbage adds lots of fiber, sweetness, and sometimes has a hot pepper like heat. I make a skillet chili that features crunchy cabbage and onions with very little liquid. So no I don't have a recipe for you. Hard to make bad chili if you work with good stuff. Add cumin, garlic, peppers at the start and again a few minutes towards the end of cooking. It will be the smell that draws people to it... if it smells good to them they will love eating it. I posted a beef heart version of my chili on the soup thread. It was excellent with a mild vension taste quality. I can get free cow parts so that was my motivation for using heart meat. Often I buy a bottom round roast and boil that in tomatoes until it falls apart... very thick meaty chili without any grain or starch thickeners. : ) lyra

My family loves my chili and I have to make a big pot so I can share it with everyone. 1 large onion 1 or 2 or 3 cloves of garlic LOL bay leaf 2 large cans whole tomatoes 2 cans of red kidney beans - rinsed 1-2 pounds ground beef -lean or medium 1 red or green bell pepper diced 1 container of fresh mushrooms chili powder Frank's Hot Sauce I start out by browning the meat and draining off the fat. Saute onions, garlic, bell pepper until soft in pot you are going to cook the chili in. Add browned/drained meat Add the cans of tomatoes - break up tomatoes with a fork Add the beans Add bayleaf Salt and pepper Add the chili powder - I tend to use 1/2 the bottle because I like the taste but you can use less - whatever your taste Simmer with lid off for about 30 minutes. Add sliced mushrooms and some hot sauce if you find you need it spicier or hotter Simmer for another 30 minutes with lid off until you get the required thickness. I like thick chili so tend to cook it longer. Start out with less chili powder and taste it a few times as the chili simmers to see if you would like a more chili taste. I always add more. You can also dice up a jalapeno chili if you would like more heat or use red chili flakes. My chili ends up being a dark red brick colour. Ladle into bowl and top with shredded cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream and a crusty roll on the side. I make a meatless chili too by using zuchini instead of meat. You can even add zuchini to the meat chili for more body. Anne