Super Chili

Chili

I love this chili recipe. I find most vegan chilies to be too tomato-y, or too stew-like, or too bean-ish, or too something for my apparent picky taste buds. This chili, on the other hand, means business.

If you want to follow the recipe, you might have to go out and buy some stuff you don’t normally keep in your kitchen. There are some pretty fun ingredients in here that I think are worth a try. Since they keep well and aren’t too expensive, there’s no reason not to, right? I’ve linked the ingredient list to pictures of the products so you can more easily pick them out at the grocery store. I get all of these things at Whole Foods:

1/2 Onion, Minced
2 Cups carrots, roughly chopped (about 3-4 carrots)
1 Package Yve’s Good Ground
3 Cans of Chili Beans (or 1 can of each: pinto, kidney, black)
1 Can Tomatoes
1/4 – 1 Chipotle Pepper in Adobo, MINCED (according to heat desired)
1/2 Bullion Cube
5 Tbs Low Sodium Tamari
2 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 Capful Liquid Smoke
2 Tbs Jerk Sauce
1 – 2 Tbs Molasses
2 Tbs Earth Balance
1/2 Vegetable Stock (optional)

Spice Mix:
2 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Coriander
1 tsp Sage
1 tsp Chili Powder
1 tsp Parsley

Sauté onions slowly with olive oil in a heavy cast iron or stock pot until brown and caramelized. Add carrots and cook until the carrots begin to turn the oil orange. Add spice mix and stir for 1 minute.

Add tomatoes to pot and bring to a simmer. Open the cans of beans and drain most of the way, but not completely. Add the semi-drained beans and Good Ground to pot and stir.

Add all remaining ingredients except vegetable stock, mix well. If the chili is too thick for your taste, add stock or water until it reaches the desired consistency.

Cover chili and simmer, stirring occasionally (it will stick to the bottom if you forget to stir!) until carrots are cooked and spices have blended, about 15-20 minutes. My little note card reads “cook covered until carrots are soft and it looks like yummy.” You be the judge.

Serve with a dollop of Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream and/or some shredded Follow Your Heard Vegan Gourmet Cheese. Sourdough bread and beer are also a nice addition!

Serves 4 Monsters, or 6 adults.

6 comments December 19th, 2006

Cauliflower Soup

Cauliflower Soup

This soup was based off of this recipe from the PPK. I didn’t have any jalapenos, and the soup needed something to replace them. I decided to add 1 Tbs of Patak’s Mild Curry Paste and it really livened it up.

The first time I bought Patak’s I got “extra hot” and oh man, was that a mistake. They aren’t messin’ around. I find that mild in the US usually means no heat whatsoever, but their mild paste had a nice warming zing to it. Quite good for a jar!

Add comment December 11th, 2006

Creamy Mushroom and Wild Rice Stew

Creamy Mushroom and Wild Rice Stew

I accidentally made this delicious soup too salty, but it still managed to come out really well. I used the recipe in The Everyday Vegan as a guide, but I think I forgot to halve the soy sauce when I was cutting the recipe down.

I added soymilk and a little bit of apple cider vinegar to cut the salt, which I think I would have done anyway; the soymilk made it nice and creamy. I ended up using 3 cups of chopped white button mushrooms and 2 cups of chopped shitake mushrooms. The flavor was really nice and it seemed to showcase the shitakes.

Here’s a picture of what’s floating below that creamy surface:

I served it with a side salad and some nice crusty sourdough.

2 comments December 3rd, 2006

Election Night Stew

Dinner last night wasn’t too exciting. I wanted both beans and rice and chili, so I made a weird hybrid that was a snap to put together. Tasty, but hard to photograph.

I mixed everything together and simmered it for as long as it took the brown rice to steam in our rice maker. When I added the cooked rice to the pot, the meal had a lovely stew-like consistency; I wasn’t sure whether a fork or a spoon would be more appropriate. It was perfect for the chilly and rainy night. Here’s the basic recipe:

1 Can of Black Beans, mostly drained
1 Can of Stewed Tomatoes, pureed
1/2 Block Wild Rice Tempeh, crumbled
2 Med/Large Carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1/2 Block Vegan Vegetable Bullion Cube
Frozen Corn
Soy Sauce
Cumin
Coriander
Cooked Brown Rice (1/2 cup uncooked)

This recipe makes two very generously sized portions. Knowing how Stewart and I eat, this should probably actually serve three to four people, especially if you have bread or a salad or something to go with it.

2 comments November 8th, 2006