Chilli Con YUM!

Chilli does not inherently mean chilli con carne, I know most people jump to that conclusion and instantly ask me 'chilli how do you make that vegan?' but chilli actually refers to the plant! if you make a meat stew with tomatoes it is just a meat stew until you add the chilli.  So the question becomes what makes a good chilli?

Mostly it is this mass of stuff.

The 'sausage' on the right is a vegan soy and wheat based  medium for flavor and spices and usually I dont use products that most refer to as 'meat substitutes' (really they are nothing like meat and calling them a meat substitute generates a false conception of what you are eating) because I like to avoid processed foods but I got it as a gift and dense protein like that goes a good distance for bulking up a chilli.  

Chilli Con Vegetables:

     The key to the chilli I make is having a strong vegetable base, using vegetables that caramelize or release sugar at the same time the supply earthy undertones.  This of course means onions(1/2 diced) and garlic (5-500 cloves minced) but also includes potato (didn't use it this time), Corn(didnt use) carrot(3 average), zucchini(2 small) and beet(1 average).  I particularly like using red beets because it makes the color of the chilli POP and adds a sweetness that is balanced by the spicy.  Of course if you go too heavy on the beet you end up with something that looks other worldly in the vibrancy of its reds.  

The root vegetable base is shredded so it will cook down fall apart and turn into a sauce.  This means the chilli should be started early because it takes over an hour of simmering vegetables in oil to get them to start to fall apart.  I usually simmer the onions a bit before that and add the bell pepper and garlic a bit later, though the bell pepper does not fall apart quite the same way leaving a few chunks for diversity in texture. 

(side note:  while the vegetables simmer you can pressure cook the beans which also take about an hour)

 After the vegetables starts to brown and fall apart you can toss in the veggie sausage and break it into nice bit size pieces and let it all keep simmering until the vegetables really become mush.  

 The mush never looks that good but oh it smells mouthwatering and now it is time to turn the mush into sauce.  The main part of this is adding fresh tomatoes (or some tomato sauce) and to my luck the sun golds were ripe early this year so they made an awesome chilli! Wash them and cut them in half to facilitate the 'saucing' and add in some extra olive oil (2-4 Table spoons).

By now the beans are hopefully ready.  What beans you ask?  well as I do I usually use a base of pinto beans(2 C dry) add in some kidney beans (1 C dry) some black beans (.5C dry) and Garbanzo beans (.5C dry).  Keep in mind those amounts will make A LOT of chilli but if you make it right it will not last that long.  Pressure cook the beans with 10C water (reduce the amounts of beans if your pressure cooker is smaller).

Once the beans go in (they can be a bit under cooked since they are going to simmer) the chilli is essentially ready.  It is not really ready until it simmers for at least an hour. In all honesty it would be even better if it could simmer for three hours (and even better if you let it cool and sit over night before reheating and serving).

Zucchini Corn Bread:

     I pretty much made up this recipe on the spot combining my friends zucchini bread recipe (dont know where she got it) with my favorite corn bread recipe (came out of vegan with a vengeance or how it all vegan or from another friend but ti has been in my recipe box long enough that I dont know anymore) 

Mix the dry ingredients (white flour, corn flour, baking soda, cinnamon, sugar, salt), fold in the wet ingredients (oil, water, vanilla, zucchini) until it makes a nice heavy batter.  This stuff is dense so try not to over mix it, press it into a pan and bake it at 350 for 45 minutes (you can make it while the beans and vegetables are cooking) 

I served it with a Spanish rice, a strawberry smoothie and a few slices of melon.  

It is a great meal to celebrate 11 years of being vegan :)

TCB Lunch

Takin' Care of Business?  or Tomato Corn Basil! 

Its the later.  This simple lunch was made from produce I picked earlier in the day: Organic sweet corn cut off the cob, Tomatoes diced (the variety is a combination of 'lady in the shade' which is a slicer and 'sungolds' which is a cherry variety), and Basil.  Of course I grated fresh garlic into this mix and doused it with a combination of olive oil coconut oil and a splash red wine vinegar (though balsamic or white would have been fine too).  Just a dash of salt and a nice helping of fresh ground pepper and you are eating summer incarnate! 

Lunch to go

For the rest of summer my lunches are likely to be some combination of zucchini, tomatoes and basil but with the last head of cabbage from the cooler I put together a lunch to take hiking with me.  Cabbage travels quite well and is a good source of fiber (not to mention how well it carries flavor; much like tofu, cabbage is a medium for sauce).   The cabbage is a curry cabbage made in coconut oil with roasted peanuts over the top and a sprinkling of paprika for a subtle heat and nice color.  The rice to accompany it is a saffron rice (with turmeric to bump up the color) with diced and roasted carrots, corn and coconut.  The two flavor complimented each other well and I was happy I bought enough to share (because everyone wanted a taste).  

Lunch Salad

With summer here my kale salads are now featuring tomatoes and corn!  I still use diced almonds and sesame seeds (duh) with grated garlic.  I also toss in minced basil and some fresh oregano, salt and pepper to taste.  It is probably the most filing salad I could think of! 

Bean Burgers

Summer is all up in my face!  The heat is just crippling and of course that mean it is time to fire up the BBQ grill and do some outdoor cooking so indoors stays chilly.  Everyone is touting their burgers and dogs as the best and having grill-off as a matter of principle but whatever! I am not competitive nor do I think a bean based patty is a replacement for a beef patty.  Bean burgers are a completely different cuisine not to be confused with the meaty mainstream but they also provide a whallop of protein swell texture and make use of all the fixin's at a typical barbecue (lettuce tomato mustard so on).  In addition to the 'batties' (bean-patties, I am still trying to make up new words for vegan food) there is a cream of potato soup and brazed Brussels sprouts. What I am saying is we are going to 

turn this:

into this! 

Braised Brussels Sprouts:

     There are a lot of ways to cook brussels sprouts but the way that I have found that seems to be the most popular among people I feed is the braised brussels sprouts in a balsamic reduction.  What is surprising to me is that it is almost as easy as steaming them after you cut them in half.  

The main trick is t let the pan with oil get HOT (I used coconut oil but just enough to give the pan a light coat and help heat transfer, we are not doing a deep fry).  I use a teaspoon or less of mustard seeds as a temperature gauge, when the seeds pop it is time for the brussels sprouts to go in.  The fun part is the B-sprouts will actually pop and hop in the hot pan while they cook, and they dont take that long.  After about 8 minutes you can stir them up so the round part is facing down and let it go for another 5 minutes.

At this point you could already serve the little darlings with some garlic infused butter but just as much fun is to mince some garlic in, toss in a bit of onion and a few splashes of balsamic vinegar, turning it down to medium heat.  Make sure you have the stove fan on high when you splash in the vinegar because your hot skillet will vaporize the stuff which can be pretty intense if the ventilation is not good. Slowly add balsamic vinegar, like a teaspoon at a time,  and let it cook off the water to make a thick sauce that is coating your brussels sprouts.  how much you add depends on how saucy you want the dish to be and how many brussels sprouts you are making . . . I probably added close to a 1/4 C of vinegar over the course of 15 minutes.  I served them with a sprinkling of sesame seeds.  

Home Made Buns:

     I always turn to the Tassajara bread book for my bun-like entities and this is no exception.  3 cups war water with yeast and a table spoon of sugar start things off.  The first 3 cups of flour go in to make a relatively soupy batter that you let sit and rise.  then you slowly add in 3more cups string in the same direction and being conscious not to break the strands of gluten that have formed.  This is also where you add salt and any extras you would want (might I suggest garlic or rosemary or both).  Once the dough is thick let it rise a second time before forming the buns.   

I had never made buns so I tried a few different ways and by far the best was to make a flat bread with a  roll on top (maybe there is a better way but this worked great for me).  

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes

Veggie Black Bean Patties:

   Do not underestimate the importance of vegetable content! Using shredded beet and carrot is a re-occurring theme in my cooking because they add color texture and sweetness that is subtle and earthy.  In addition to that mess we add in green onions and roasted fennel bulb.  for those who like to measure it is about 1 C of each fennel, carrot, beet and about a 1/2 C onion

Saute it all together with a minimum of oil, I think I got away with 1tablespoon. adding in some mushroom, garlic and sunflower seeds.  the sunflower seeds are for texture, I really enjoy the pop of pan roasted sunflower seeds in a Battie. 

The beans are cooked before hand in a pressure cooker where I used 2C of black beans with 1C of kidneys and the corresponding 6C vegetable broth (water is fine too but the broth really adds depth to the flavor of the beans).  Pour off the water after cooking (save it in another pan to be reintroduced but we want the patties firm and not too watery).

Mash the beans with some fresh fennel and mix in the vegetable mass.  the vegetables should be simmered long enough that they mostly fall apart as you mash them in.  Keep stirring/mashing until you form a nice batter that is thick and holds shape when rolled.  If  the batter is too thin add in some flour to thicken it up ( i used corn meal so my patties would be wheat free).  

Roll the mix in to large walnut sized balls (similar to golf ball size or the size of a lime)and roll the ball in a bit of corn meal.  The corn meal helps keep the patty from falling apart on the grill and makes sure it is easy to lift off.  It also adds a bit more dryness that helps hold it together.

The patties only take about 5 minutes on each side and then can be served on a bun with spinach/lettuce, mustard, ketchup and all your other favorite fixins.  I would suggest trying some grated carrot and beet as a 'burger' topping or the classic avocado! 

Creamy Potato Mushroom Soup:

     Make mashed potatoes, with extra water and a lot of oil!  again we learn that the secret to a 'creamy' texture is the combination of oil and water with some emulsifier, in this case potato starch.   I used 5lbs of russet potatoes boiled in enough water to cover them and then started mashing.

I used a combination of coconut oil and earth balance for my fatty content and a hearty amount of garlic and pepper for seasonings.

The mushrooms were sauteed in olive oil and garlic with popped mustard seeds and green onion.  I think the soup would have been fine without the mushrooms but I really like the extra texture and flavor that comes with adding them in.  Plus we had extra mushrooms around.  I twas about 2 cups of sliced crimini mushrooms added into the soup.

Served!

Speedy Lunch

I know I know. . .I need to do a full meal and get back to explaining how to make plant based living seem simple and fun! Time keeps getting away but at least I keep lunch coming :)  

This one is a bit of a cheat.  I used the re-fried beans Johnny made earlier in the week with the Barley I made tuesday night (easier than making rice and damn barley is good! ) to make somethign like an open faced taco . . .no not a tostada, the tortilla is not fried and there is not tomato or lettuce for it to be a tostada.  I did dress the tortilla with a bit of oil, garlic powder and nutritional yeast.  I also topped the barley/bean mix with fresh avocado and cilantro.  It was really yummy so I had seconds (and thirds .. .i eat a lot)

Lunchy Lunch!

summer is oh so close. . .but I am faking ti until tomatoes are actually in full swing.  Zucchini is already here in force so lunch was a make shift ratatouille with bell peppers mustard seeds fresh tarragon and basil.  After some sauteing the tomatoes are crushed in and stewed.  The ratatouille simmers while the polenta is stirred up.  I never know the right ratios for polenta to water because more water just makes it more runny and sometimes I like my polenta firm and sometimes I like it soupy but 2:1 gets the right ball park.  spoon some ratatouille over polenta and yummm!