Spicy Chipotle Black Bean Chili

Summer is awesome, and chili is awesome, too, and together they are super awesome. I'm a big fan of vegan chili, and I've spent the last two or three batches perfecting my very own signature chili recipe (based off of the fabulous Red-Hot White Bean Chili from Robin Robertson's Vegan Fire & Spice), and I do believe I've finally found it. I meant to add some corn but I forgot. Oops, perhaps next time. Without ado:

Spicy Chipotle Black Bean Chili

1T olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 portobello mushroom caps, chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
2 serrano chiles, seeded and minced (use less or substitute jalapeños if you don't like a lot of spice)
1 chipotle, plus 1T adobo sauce
3T chili powder (I used Frontier Fiesta Chili Powder, bought in bulk from my local co-op) 1T salt (if using a salt-free chili powder blend)
1/2t ground cumin (or more if your chili powder is less cumin-y than mine!)
1/4t dried oregano
1/8t black pepper
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes (I like Cento, and have had bad experiences with store-brand crushed tomatoes)
1 cup water
2 15.5oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup textured vegetable protein
3/4 cup water

Heat oil in a large saucepot over medium-low or medium heat. Add onion, carrot, bell pepper, mushrooms, garlic, serrano, and chipotle. Cover and cook about 10 min, until tender, stirring occasionally. Add adobo and spices, and stir 2 additional minutes. Add tomatoes and 1 cup of water and bring to a boil, then reduce to low and add beans; cover and simmer. After about 40 min, stir in TVP and 3/4 cup water and cook for 10 minutes more.

Voilà! Your friends, vegan and non-vegan alike, will be wowed! And if they're not, you don't have very nice friends.

Packing...

My partner and I are about to take a trip to visit our families in the states and as a result we've spent the last few days trying to eat every last remotely perishable substance in our house. Needless to say, this doesn't make for the best, or most photographic meals. So, before we head off, I'll post about our Asian-inspired picnic lunch. Or should I say "pique-nique," since we made it for a trip we took last Saturday up to Lac aux Castors (Beaver Lake) here in Montréal.



Voilà! Asian style baked tofu and scallion flat bread (not to be confused with pancakes), both from Vegnomicon. The red sauce is just sriracha and the other is a tangy tamari/sesame based one, which was a real hit. We ended up dipping both the tofu and the flat bread in it, and it was super easy to make. The other dish is a cold coconut curry noodle salad, recipe from La Dolce Vegan. I especially liked the addition of fresh basil and tomatoes to this one, very springy and perfect for a picnic!

Stay tuned this week. I'll be posting dispatches from New Jersey, chronicling our adventures in travel food...

"Fancy" Dinner

I've been photographing my cooking for a long time now, so in addition to posting what I make daily, I will, for a while at least, post some older pictures. We begin with the Fancy Shmansy menu seen here:



There are seitan cutlets with a tomatoey glaze I came up with, a mix of (frozen, gasp!) veggies with a sort of herbes de provence seasoning and an amazing chipotle risotto from Dino Sarma's fabulous cookbook Alternative Vegan. It was delish!

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to the beginning of what, I hope, will become a daily occurrence. I've started this blog to add my voice to the many others out there that seek to show that being vegan is...well, not crazy. In fact, it's wonderful. By showcasing tasty food, fun events, and the occasional angry rant, I hope this space will used to celebrate a way of life that I think is so important.

So, kick back and enjoy!