Vegetarian Chili

It's still cold here. I burned off god knows how many calories shoveling snow today and it looks as though I'll be trekking back out there today to shovel some more. I am still in my soup/stew kick, and today made up a pot of vegan chili. I was not in the mood for a long time spent on the mise en place (lol I love saying that "mise en place"). I really wanted to toss stuff in a pot and let it simmer because I just wanted to sit and catch my breath and rest before I had to go back outside into the snowstorm. Right? So I thought to myself: "Hmmm. Chili. Yes."

Now, chili is one of those foods which can attract controversy and strong opinion. There are those who believe that beans have no place in chili, like the chili con carne often also called Texas chili. Others like a lot of beans and minimal meat in their chili, while still others like to call a chicken and white bean stew by the name "chili." Many vegetarian chili recipes will also include high-protein grains like bulgur, though many chili purists would turn up their noses at it.

Honestly, if it's good, I like it all.I won't fight to the death over some literal interpretation of what a dish is supposed to be called, I'll just eat it.

Vegetarian Chili

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 15-ounce can chili beans in sauce (I used Full Circle Chili Beans)
• 1 15-ounce can dark red kidney beans
• 1/4 cup red quinoa
• 1/4 cup bulgur
• 1 20-ounce can diced tomatoes, with the juice
• 1 T tomato paste
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup Morningstar Farms crumbles
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 small dried chipotle chili pepper
• 1 T dried minced onion
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon oregano

Directions:

1. Put all ingredients in a large pot bring to a near-boil and then reduce the heat and let simmer on low for about an hour. Stir frequently so that nothing sticks to the bottom and burns.  Or you could just throw everything in a crock pot, put it on low and walk away.
   
2. Taste to adjust seasonings, remove the chipotle and serve.

One serving of this chili is 5 WW points on the new PointsPlus Plan.

Amount Per Serving Calories 259.25 Calories From Fat (10%) 24.72 % Daily Value Total Fat 2.83g 4% Saturated Fat 0.4g 2% Cholesterol 0mg 0% Sodium 884.16mg 37% Potassium 888.31mg 25% Total Carbohydrates 46.75g 16% Fiber 12.87g 51% Sugar 9.08g Protein 15.75g 32%

Notes:

• This chili is flavorful but not spicy. The chipotle gives it a little bit of heat, but even better, a wonderful smokiness which I think rounds out the flavor. Of course, if you have to have a number of alarms on your chili, feel free to add diced jalapenos or hot sauce to taste.

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Vegan Again

Hi everyone, I wish I could explain away my lapse in blogging with tales of fantastic vacations and a whirlwind culinary tour of Europe.

As if. HA!

No.

It's been an eventful, though pedestrian, summer of stressing over my joblessness, shepherding the kids to swimming lessons and, most fun of all, dealing with the pouty-faced aftermath of my older daughter breaking her leg while playing soccer. Oh yes, that's been fun. *deep sigh*

In food news, I hit rock bottom last week.

Oh yes. I was in the dressing room at J.C. Penney's, shopping for an outfit for an upcoming job interview and I nearly had a stroke when I saw the size label on the pants which I barely managed to squeeze over my ass. Now, I am certainly not the first woman to hit rock bottom in a department store fitting room, and will probably not be the last, but BY GOD, I swore to myself, Rock Bottom would never again be associated with a pair of pants from the "Women's" department.

So here I am, once again, cutting out animal products and trying to do some sort of carb-conscious vegan diet. I may be crazy, but I sure am motivated! Fret not, I do also plan to toss in some sport of exercise routine once on a while.

The first thing I did was to reawaken my vegan blog from last year only to find that in my absence, the list of people following it has grown! I thought that was amusing and wondered what sort of hidden message there might be in that.

Hmmm.

Anyway, please come join me there. I'll be putting up vegetarian and vegan dishes and certainly the recipes for any breads I bake, because carb-adoration is a way of life around here and definitely one of my biggest failings.

Babs Goes Vegan (Again)

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Aloo Gobi

This past weekend, I had an intense craving for Indian food. While there are a few good Indian places near me, I love to fill up the house with the amazing smells as cumin seeds toast in hot oil and then mingle with the other distinctive seasonings in the various curry sauces.

Plus, you have to admit, it's way cheaper to make it yourself.

I had a large menu planned, but I found that I was missing a few key ingredients. I would have had to drag along a sick child to the grocery store for the three missing ingredients, and I finally decided that the risk (child puking all over the produce section) was not worth the reward (green pea and potato samosas). Fear not, I will make those samosas soon.

In the end, I settled for Aloo Gobi, Onion Kulcha and Mango Chutney.

Aloo Gobi (Cauliflower-Potato Curry)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
  
• Large bunch of fresh coriander, separated into stalks and leaves and roughly chopped
• Small green chilies, diced
  
• 1 head of cauliflower, leaves removed and cut evenly into eighths
• 3 large potatoes, cut into even pieces
• 1 28-oz can of diced tomatoes with juice
• Fresh ginger, peeled and diced
  
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 teaspoons turmeric
• 2 green cardamom pods
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons garam masala
• mirch achaar (optional)
  

Directions:

1. Heat vegetable oil in a large saucepan.
   


2. Add the chopped onion and one tablespoon of cumin seeds to the oil.
   


3. Stir together and cook until onions become soft and translucent.
   


4. Add chopped coriander stalks, two teaspoons of turmeric, and one teaspoon of salt.
   


5. Add chopped chili peppers - more or less according to taste.
   


6. Stir tomatoes into onion mixture, reserving the juice.
   


7. Add ginger and garlic; mix thoroughly.
   


8. Add potatoes to the sauce plus the reserved tomato juice and a few tablespoons of water. Stir well.
   


9. Toss in the green cardamom pods.
   


10. Cover and let cook for 10 minutes, then add the cauliflower.
    


11. Stir thoroughly so that the cauliflower is coated with the curry sauce.
    


12. Cover and allow to simmer for twenty minutes (or until potatoes are cooked). You will want to stir from time to time to make sure that it's not sticking. Add more water as necessary.
    


13. Add two teaspoons of garam masala and stir.
    


14. Taste to check the seasoning. Now is when I add the chopped mirch achaar (pickled hot chili peppers) for added kick.
    


15. Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves on top of the curry.
    


16. Turn off the heat, cover, and leave for as long as possible before serving.

Notes:

1. If you like spice, you can use 2 14-oz cans of Ro-Tel diced tomatoes with green chillies instead of the plain tomatoes.

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Herbed Spaghetti Squash

So, it is January and in the wake of my holiday-fueled love affair with heavy cream and sugar - to say nothing of my obsession with bread-baking - the time has come to start up the South Beach Diet again and lose some of my "winter coat."

Yes, this means that I am low-carbing it for a few weeks.

Phase 1's strict rules, like the severe limitation of carbs, does not mean that food has to taste horrible. People! Eating low-carb can be satisfying and delicious!

Herbed Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients:

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 T basil
• 1 tomato, chopped
• parmigiano reggiano
• salt to taste
• cracked black pepper to taste
  

Directions:

1. Cut the spaghetti squash in half and scrape out the seeds and tough fibers.
   


2. Place, cut side down in a large baking dish. Add water to a depth of about 1 inch.
   


3. Cover with foil and then bake for about 45 minutes in a preheated, 375-degree oven.
   


4. Take out of the oven and let cool. Take one half of the squash out and set it on the counter (this recipe only uses one half of the squash)
   


5. With the tines of a fork, scrape the flesh of the squash separating it into strands.
   


6. Dump into a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Toss in the chopped tomato, sprinkle with basil and shave fresh parmigiano reggiano on top. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
   

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Spicy Lentil Soup

This totally fulfilled my craving for something warming, earthy and spicy. If I skipped the sour cream at the end, it would have been totally vegan. But sometimes, things call for sour cream.

Same rules apply to bacon.

Oh, and it's ready to eat in less than an hour and a half, and that does account for the time spent on a mad scramble for ingredients.

Note: I snapped the picture of this before I put any sour cream on it and by the time I started digging into it, it was gone about 4 bites later. Then I had another bowl, but the bowl was too messy to take a nice picture, so... next time, I'll not be so hasty. :)

Spicy Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

• 1/2 onion, chopped
• olive oil
• 1 carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes with green chilis (like Ro-Tel) – drained, and with the juice reserved
• 1 cup dry brown lentils
• 4 cups water or vegetable broth
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• sour cream

Directions:

1. In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat.
   


2. Add onions, carrots, and celery; cook and stir until onion is translucent and soft.
   


3. Stir in garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
   


4. Stir in lentils, add broth, drained tomatoes & chilis and bay leaf, and oregano.
   


5. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for at least 1 hour.
   


6. Stir in the reserved juice, and season to taste with salt and pepper and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
   


7. Top with a generous dollop of sour cream.
   

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Red Lentils over Quinoa Pilaf

I love red lentils in soups, stews and dhals. Just as the various spices that accompany them lend heat to the dish, so does the vivid color of the lentils perk up the dish. On this frigid day I have been looking for a comforting dish to warm me up, so I tossed some things together and served it over the leftover Quinoa Pilaf from last night's dinner.

Red Lentils over Pilaf

Ingredients:

• 1 stalk celery, diced finely
• 1 medium onion, diced finely
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced finely
• 1/2 cup of diced carrot
• 1 large clove garlic, chopped (about 2 T)
• 1/4 cup diced tomato
  
• 3/4 cup red lentils
• 4 cups water
• 1 T tomato paste
• onion powder
• garlic powder
• chili powder
• coriander
• cumin
• 1 bay leaf
• turmeric
• hot sauce
  

Directions:

1. Heat 2 T olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
   


2. Add the chopped onion and celery and saute for 2 minutes.
   


3. Add the bell pepper, carrots and garlic, stirring well.
   


4. After 5 minutes or so, when the vegetables have softened significantly, add the tomato and stir well.
   


5. Add the red lentils, turn the heat to high and add the water, the tomato paste and the spices.
   


6. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, keep covered and let simmer for 30 minutes.
   


7. Taste and adjust seasoning. Here's where I add the hot sauce.
   


8. Simmer uncovered another 15 minutes until the lentils are no longer crunchy. You may add more water if you prefer a more stew-like consistency, but I prefer it with a texture more like dhal. I even sometimes use a potato masher and smash the lentils a bit.
   


9. Serve over rice or pilaf of your choice.

Notes:

• See this post for my pilaf technique.

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