This is one of my favorite vegetarian meals. You can be creative with ingredients, adding corn kernels, chopped bell pepper, or extra seasonings depending on what you like or have on hand. For a non-vegetarian version, you can add shredded chicken — I will use most of the white meat from a rotisserie chicken, shredding it right over the chili as it cooks in the pot.

This is easy, quick, and easy to double.

6 15-oz. cans seasoned black beans (drain 4 cans and keep the liquid from the other 2)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus extra for serving
1 red onion, finely chopped
2-3 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
2-3 celery stalks
2-3 medium red tomatoes, chopped

Ideas for garnish: sour cream, plain yogurt, shredded cheddar cheese, extra chopped cilantro

Stir everything together in a large saucepot. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until warmed throughout, about 12 minutes. Use the liquid from two cans, diluted with a little water, if the chili is too thick.

(This is yet another recipe clipped from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, sometime in the late 1990s. I have made several changes but the original came from a book called “Tonics” by Robert Barnett.)