A few notes to get us started: the chipotle pepper is an important part of the sauce. They'll be in a little can in the Latin section of your grocery store or any Mexican market. I've found them in a few grocery stores here in the Northwest without any difficulty. If you can't locate them near your home, you can use an additional 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder, or experiment with a smokey Spanish paprika. It won't have the same heat at all, but it will still be delicious.

Also, a note on cooking beans: the time varies each and every time I make a pot of them and this is largely determined by the freshness and type of bean. If you're using very old dried beans, they're going to take much longer to cook. So the cook time for this recipe probably seems vast (2-4 hours); I would just plan ahead so you're not finishing up the chili the second folks walk in the door. I'd much rather do a quick reheat than explain to guests that the beans are taking a little longer than expected.

And last, the sweet potato and quinoa actually cook in the chili. You're going to want to add the sweet potato and quinoa when the chili has about 45 minutes left to go, so use your best guess as to when the beans are still pretty firm on the outside but are surely softening on the inside. If you're like me and don't mind your sweet potatoes and quinoa quite soft (it is chili, after all), just toss them in after 1.5 hours of cooking time and call it a day.