Chili!

Here's the part where I tell you all about the chili, then give you some variations, then some pictures followed by a recipe. So, yeah.

For Christmas this year, I gave my friend Roman a coupon book full of things like coupons for cupcakes, coffees, drinks out and stuff like that. I also included two coupons for cooking lessons. For one of them he wanted to learn how to make chili. So, I modified my favorite chili recipe a little bit and made it super easy to prepare. Roman isn't much of one for cooking, so even if you feel like boiling water is hard for you, you can totally do this. Though, really, most chilis are quite easy to make in the first place. The good thing about this chili is that it has a bunch of veggies in it. If you have kids or friends that think they don't like vegetables, I betcha they'll eat this and love it. And then you've shoved some much needed vitamins in their picky little faces. So there. Take that you annoying picky food people!

Now for some variations! Obviously you can add more stuff if you want. I suggest adding some chopped up jalapeno peppers. Another fun thing would be to add half black beans and half kidney beans instead of all kidney beans. Instead of adding red wine, add some beer! The dark beers are great in chili.

Personally, I prefer not to use the store-bought crumbles, but to make is easier, that's what this recipe has. Instead, why not try using some tvp or better yet - bulgur! If you use either of those, you'll want to change the way you're making the chili a little bit. Heat up some of the tomato juice until almost boiling and pour it over the tvp or bulgur. Stir, cover it and let it sit for around 10 minutes. At this point it should have soaked up most of the liquid and you'll probably have to add more. Go ahead and add this to the rest of the stuff and then you can judge better how much more liquid you'll want to add. When I make chili like this, I typically buy a large bottle of V8 and just keep adding it until it's about the consistency that I like.

Very Veggie Vegan Chili

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1 bell pepper, chopped (any color is fine, but I like to use green ones)
1 teaspoon basil, dried
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon cumin
dash cayenne (add more if you like it hotter)
salt & pepper to taste
2 cans chopped tomatoes, fire roasted if you can find them (or around 3 cups fresh)
3 cups tomato juice (I like to use V8 or something similar for more veggie power!)
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 - 1/2 cup red wine, optional
2 cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 package soy crumbles

In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute for about 3 minutes. Add the carrots and celery and saute for another 5 minutes or so. Add the bell pepper, spices and wine and saute for another 3 minutes.

Add the beans, tomatoes, tomato juice, tomato paste and crumbles. Stir, raise the heat a bit and bring just to a boil. Now turn the heat down to low and simmer for 20 minutes, covered and stirring occasionally. You might need to add more tomato juice to thin out the chili a little bit, that's totally fine. Add as much as you need to get the consistency that you like.

Top your chili off with some soy cheese, crackers, tortilla chips, cilantro - whatever! Just enjoy it. :D

Yay Soup!

I haven't made any chili yet. I got a ton of great recipe suggestions, though. I should have mentioned that I don't want to use any meat substitutes (so no crumbles!). Sometimes I don't mind using that stuff, but lately I've been trying to steer clear of that sort of thing. I don't mind seitan and tempeh, though. Also, I have a weird aversion to chili that has corn in it. For some reason a ton of people want to put corn in their chili. I don't quite get it. I don't mind having some cornbread with your chili, but no corn inside, thank you very much.

I did, however, make the French Lentil Soup with Tarragon and Thyme from Veganomicon. Yum! I love lentil soup and for some reason I've never tried to make it myself. I haven't a clue why. I had some fresh thyme hanging out in the fridge, so I used that instead of the dry. I couldn't find any fresh tarragon or I would have used that fresh as well. Otherwise, the only thing I changed was to use a can of diced tomatoes (drained) instead of fresh tomatoes. There aren't any good tomatoes this time of year so I wasn't even going to try. Plus, using the can was much faster and I didn't end up with little tomato peels swimming in my soup. If you can get those yummy fire-roasted ones, totally use those instead of the regular. The flavor they add is freaking incredible. Their awesomeness will take you by surprise. Or, well, maybe not because I just told you how awesome they are. But, still...

I did love this soup, it was perfect for what I was wanting at the time. And it was fast and easy to make. I do think it could have stood to simmer for another 15-20 minutes, though. My lentils weren't quite as soft as I was hoping they'd be at the end of things. They weren't unedible or anything, but I like my lentils to be soft like the canned ones are.

Samosas!

I've been trying not to neglect the recipes in cookbooks that aren't brand new. Veganomicon swooped in and took all of my attention. There are just so many awesome things to make! And even though I've made at least half (if not more) of the recipes in Vegan with a Vengeance, there are still some that I've been wanting to try. Recipes like these samosas! Potato-Edamame Samosas to be exact.

I didn't use edamame, though. I didn't have any and I did have some frozen peas just chilling out in the freezer. (Get it... chilling out? See, it's funny because...) I also had some mango chutney that I'd bought and needed to use so I didn't make my own. That's okay, though. I think I would have regretted it if I had. Not that I think it would have tasted bad or anything. Just these samosas were a hell of a lot of work. It took me like 3 hours to make them. I was exhausted by the time I put them in the oven.

I did find them utterly delicious. It's a nice alternative to fried samosas. And hey - they heat up rather nicely if you want to eat them for lunch the next day! Just beware of the nuclear potato heat in the center if you microwave them. Cut them in half first or something.

Make these when you have some time on the weekend, definitely not on a work night or when you're pressed for time. They're quite yummy, just time consuming.

Orange Pudding Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache

Vegan cupcakes take over the world. Again.

I hadn't made any pudding filled cupcakes before, so I admit I was a little intimidated by that. I have no idea why. It's not like the pudding would leap out of the cupcake and start calling me a stupidhead or something if I was screwing things up. Though, that surely would have made the whole cupcake creation much more amusing if they started to berate me as I made them.

I love citrus flavored baked goods, so I have no idea why it took me so long to make these. The cupcakes themselves are so light and fresh tasting. Not too sweet, and not fakey fruity. Pretty awesome. I might even make the cupcakes mini-style for a yummy breakfast treat sometime, actually. They'd even be great for afternoon tea if you're into that sort of thing.

The pudding center is also not too sweet. It's actually just lightly sweetened, which is perfect for being the innerds of these cupcakes, but not really something you'd eat in a bowl on its own. You pretty much just stick your finger into the top of each cupcake to make a hole and then jam your pastry bag right about there, squeeze and bam!, your cupcake is full of pudding. Top them off with a light spreading of orange marmalade and then some chocolate ganache... perfect.

Nakies! This is right after I filled the cupcakes with pudding.

If you make these, don't skip the marmalade part. Trust me, it's part of what makes these awesome. If you're making these for a party or a gift, keep in mind that the ganache should be put on just before you serve them. It won't make it taste weird or anything if you let it sit for a while, but it won't be as pretty. And really, if you're going to all of the trouble to make these, you want them to be as adorable as possible before people start to shove them in their mouths.

Ani's Raw Food Kitchen

I've been wanting to try integrating more raw food into my diet, but it's a bit frustrating. It seems that to do raw food properly, you need to spend hundreds of dollars on dehydrators and high-speed blenders and juicers. I think that can really put people off. I now have two raw food cookbooks and both of them need a VitaMix or Blendtec for almost every single recipe in the book. That is disheartening. I think I am going to start saving up to buy one, but I can't really justify spending a few hundred dollars on an appliance just because I think that maybe I'll like eating raw. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure I will like it. I tried to eat mostly raw during the last cleanse that I did and I felt fantastic.

The first book I bought was Ani's Raw Food Kitchen by Ani Phyo. I already posted the Coconut Breakfast Cakes, which I really loved. I was trying to make things that didn't need crazy ingredients of expensive appliances. This book is interesting. I really wanted to make some of the recipes, and some just didn't sound so good. I was a bit put off by the massive amounts of pictures of the author throughout the book. There weren't many pictures of the actual food and I definitely think they could have replaced the vanity pictures with actual food pictures. The thing is - the pictures aren't even good ones. They're badly photographed and Ani Phyo looks like she's posing very precisely for every single one of them. It just sort of left a bad taste in my mouth. (no pun intended) I was also a bit annoyed that she feels the need to call things "mylk", "cheeze" and "kream". She explains at one point that this is to make sure that people know that there's not actual dairy in anything, but it just looks like chatspeak to me and that's something I really have a low tolerance for.

I think there is a major problem with some of the recipes, too. Quite a few of them call for almonds or cashews or some other nut. In the beginning of the book, there's a very quick reference that all of the nuts need to be soaked overnight and she's assuming you're going to do that before you make any of the recipes. The problem is that this information is hidden within a bunch of other stuff in the very wordy first section of the book. I don't necessarily think that everyone who buys a cookbook reads all of that. The recipes could have seriously benefited from the addition of the simple directions to soak the nuts as not to confuse people. She also doesn't really make a point that the blender you use should be a high-speed blender and not a regular household type. Yes, I know better, but what about the tons of other people that are going to buy this as their first time delving into the world of raw food who may not know?

The second thing I made from this book is something that I made in the early fall and just forgot to post. This almond yogurt really doesn't work with just a regular blender, which is all that I had. I mean, yeah, you can try it and it'll be okay, but it won't be smooth in any way. I had some cherries that I had frozen from the summer, so I added a generous handful of those to add a bit of flavor. Also, this recipe was in the "Soups and Sauces" section of the book, which I find weird.

Raw Cherry-Almond Yogurt Originally published in Ani's Raw Food Kitchen by Ani Phyo

1 cup almonds
1 cup water, as needed
juice of 1/2 lemon, about 1 Tablespoon
1/2 cup fresh cherries (this is my addition, not in the original recipe)

Blend almonds and lemon juice on high to mix well in blender. Gradually add only as much water as needed to create a yogurt consistency. Add cherries and blend again until there aren't any large cherry chunks.

To serve, use immediately or ferment.

To ferment, pour yogurt into a glass bowl or jar and cover with hemp or cheesecloth to allow the transfer of air. Set your jar in a warm place and allow it to heat up to about 90° to 100° F. You can test the temperatureby sticking your finger in. It should be slightly warm to the touch. Let it sit for about 8 to 10 hours, then taste for tartness. You may need to leave it a couple more hours and taste again; repeat until it begins to taste tart.

You can also take the easy way by adding 1/2 teaspoon of probiotic powder into the blender with the yogurt. The heat from the blending helps the probiotic turn the cream into instant yogurt.

This will keep for three to four days in the fridge, and will continue to get more and more tart over time. You can use a couple tablespoons of overly tart yogurt in your next batch to help start the fermentation process.

Makes 4 servings.

Raw Cherry-Almond Yogurt with Buckwheat Crispies, Coconut and Strawberries

I also tried to make the Buckwheat Crispies, but you really need a dehydrator. Turning the oven on the lowest setting for hours just doesn't work. Mine came out really chewy and definitely not crispy and dried like I think they're supposed to be. This was my attempt to see if I could make some of the raw stuff without buying the expensive appliances. The answer is not really.

Chili?

I've been in a bit of a food funk lately. I just can't decide what to make. Nothing is jumping out at me and looking all exciting. I've been really into casseroles and stuff like that lately. I've made the Leek and Bean Cassoulet from Veganomicon a few times, not to mention the fantastic Chickpea Broccoli Casserole. Also, a great standard.

I feel like I want to make chili. The problem is that none of the recipes I currently have really get me all hot and bothered. My favorite chili recipe is the one from the original Moosewood cookbook, but that book's in storage. So, I want to try something new. Does anyone have any favorites they'd like to share? I want something that's got beans and would be totally appropriate to crumble crackers into. I think I have this memory of chili from childhood that I'm desperately craving all of a sudden. Please, share! I'm wanting to make a few different kinds in the next few months.

Since I'm asking for recipes and not sharing them, I'll tease you guys with some pictures of the Smlove Pie from Veganomicon. If you're not familiar with the recipe, it's a chocolate mousse pie with peanut butter caramel, maple-candied pecans and a chocolate drizzle. It's amazing, and you can totally freeze it if you can't eat all of it in a few days. It's hella rich, though, so make sure to keep that in mind when cutting the pieces.

Braised Seitan with Brussels, Kale and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Oh, Veganomicon, how I love you. I present to you Braised seitan with brussels, kale and sun-dried tomatoes.

This dish came about so interestingly. I realized I hadn't made seitan in ages. I typically make a huge amount and freeze most of it so I can just have seitan whenever I want without having to make it each time. (As a side note, if you've never made your own seitan, you totally should. It's hella easy and way yummier and cheaper than buying it.) I went to the market and bought a bunch of fresh veggies thinking I'd find a way to use them somehow. Turns out I had everything I needed for this, including an opened bottle of red wine I was trying to use up!

Seriously, folks, cooking with wine is great. The alcohol cooks out, so stop worrying about that. The depth of flavor that it adds is unequalled. Pretty much anytime you have to add a little bit of broth to something you can substitute some of that liquid for wine instead. Just be mindful of what kind of dish it is, sometimes red wine is better or sometimes white. Or just be crazy and throw caution to the wind and add whatever wine you want. Just not wine in a box. There is no forgiveness for ever buying that. I don't care what wineries are doing that trailer park crap.