Making contact

Did you know that if you are not a community member, you can still contact me by clicking the 'contact me' link to the right? A window will pop up allowing you to send me an email through extrapounds. So if you're a lurker with no extrapounds account, contact me if you like!

xx

chili

Thought I'd post this here in case someone else would like it!

Vegan Chili (from Ultrametabolism with tweaks by AshleyB)

• 2 14-oz. cans Muir Glen fire-roasted tomatoes with green chilis added
• 2 15 oz. cans beans of your choice (black beans, pinto, kidney, etc)
• 3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 cup diced onion
• 2 T fresh chopped garlic
• 1 cup peeled and diced sweet potato
• ½ cup diced red pepper
• 2 T blackstrap molasses
• 3 T chili powder
• 1 T cumin
• 3 T olive oil

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low until it all cooks down together. I like to cook mine for two hours, but I believe it can be eaten sooner. I also like to smash the sweet potato chunks against the side of the pot after cooking to make a thicker broth.

What makes this really good are the molasses and the roasted tomatoes with chilis. You can go without these touches, but then it just becomes ordinary chili.

And another

Ashley, thanks for the recipe! Here's another one from me. I have been making chili inspired by mole recipes for a long time, and here's a favourite of ours.

Vegan Mole Chili

1 onion, minced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
a couple of small red chiles, split (so you can fish them out later) and deseeded
1/2 lb veggie mince, crumbled tofu or ground seitan
1 can pinto beans, drained
1 can red kidney beans, drained
1 can aduki beans or black beans, drained
1 jar tomato passata (tomato puree) or a couple of cans of crushed tomatoes
2 Tbs mild chili powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbs ground cumin
2 Tbs unsweetened cocoa
1 Tbs raw cane sugar
1-2 Tbs olive oil
1-2 tsp dried oregano

Heat olive oil and saute onions, garlic and chili pepper. Add the veggie mince, tofu or seitan and cook until getting browned. Add chili powder, cumin and cinnamon and toast spices for a few minutes. Add tomato puree and beans. Stir thoroughly, adding sugar. Cover and simmer about a half hour. If thicker than desired, add water or vegetable broth during the cooking time. Closer to serving time, add the oregano. (Otherwise the taste of the herb will cook away). This is best if you turn off the heat, leave the lid on and let it sit for a few hours. It will still be warm and the flavours will have had time to develop.

(This makes a great chili pie the next day. Just layer it with tortillas and soy yogurt, top with a jar of salsa, and bake until bubbly. )

Happy citizenship!

I haven't caught up all the way on your doings but that's a big one.  Hope the day was wonderful!