May 22, 2021May 22, 2021 by betsy

Cauliflower & Coconut Milk Chili (vegan & plant-based)

When you are craving a lighter, brighter, and less tomatoey version of the classic with a nod to global fusion.

Cauliflower and Coconut Milk Chili
Yield: 6 servings

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 large garlic clove, diced
1 Poblano pepper, seeded and diced
5 ounces riced cauliflower
1 teaspoon sea salt
1-15 ounce can dark red kidney beans, drained
1 teaspoon adobo
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1-15 ounce can fire-roasted tomatoes
1-10 ounce Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies
1-10 ounce Rotel diced tomatoes with lime juice and cilantro (or, if you want it less tangy, a second can of diced tomatoes and green chilies)
1 cup coconut milk, lite or regular
1 tablespoon maple syrup
Toppings: vegan sour cream and roasted, lightly salted pumpkin seeds, and fresh mint leaves

Heat olive oil over medium in Dutch oven or large soup pot. Saute onion, garlic, pepper, cauliflower, and sea salt until tender. Add all remaining ingredients except toppings, stir well, and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve in cups or bowls, topped as desired.

November 30, 2017December 1, 2017 by betsy

Vegan Smokey Bean, Pumpkin, and Kale Chili

Yield: approximately 10 1-cup servings

I am happy to share another recipe that uses a traditional holiday ingredient–pumpkin–in a dish that bears no resemblance to Thanksgiving or Christmas foods. I love holiday food as much as the next gal, but enjoy a break in between.

As a chili recipe, I don’t think this one needs a lot of preamble. However, I would say that what sets this recipe apart from the thousands of chili recipes out there, if I do say so, is the beautiful and careful balance of flavors–tangy, hot, sweet, and ever-so-slightly bitter–and textures–chewy, silky, and creamy. The velvety pumpkin soothes the acidity of the tomatoes and chilies in a magical way.

Plus it is bursting with healthful ingredients. And the whole pot is under 2,000 calories or less than 200 calories per 1 cup serving. That’s a whole lot of low calorie, low fat goodness.

Warm up with a cup!

Vegan Smokey Bean, Pumpkin, and Kale Chili

Note: All cans should be approximately 15 to 15.5 ounces:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 bell pepper diced (yellow, orange, or red)

3 to 4 celery hearts, finely diced

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

3 to 4 large cloves garlic, minced

1 can fire-roasted tomatoes

1 chili in adobo sauce

1 tablespoon maple syrup

2 cans beans, rinsed and drained, any kind (I like a tri-bean mix plus cannelini beans)

1 can corn, drained

Optional: 1/2 bunch cilantro, tied with kitchen twine

1 can pumpkin puree

1 can green enchilada sauce, medium heat

1 package taco seasoning

1 tablespoon ground cumin

12 ounces beer or nonalcoholic beer

12 cups lighty packed baby kale (I don’t remove stems, but you can)

Up to 1 cup water

Optional garnishes: vegan sour cream, vegan grated cheese, sliced green onion, fresh or pickled sliced jalapeno, sprigs of fresh cilantro, roasted and lightly salted pepitas, corn chips, etc.

Heat olive oil in a large heavy pot like a Dutch oven over medium to medium-high. Add onion, bell pepper, celery, and a pinch of sea salt. Saute, stirring frequently, until softened. Add garlic, and saute, stirring, for 30 seconds. Then, simply add all remaining ingredients, except kale, bring to a light boil, lower heat, and simmer for about 30 minutes to allow flavors to meld. Add water to think if necessary. Remove cilantro. During the last 10 minutes of cooking, stir in handfuls of kale and allow to wilt. Serve in cups, mugs, or bowls garnished as desired.

January 1, 2015January 1, 2015 by betsy

Vegan Black Eyed Pea Chili–For Good Luck and Great Taste!

Happy New Year, all !

You still have time to shop for groceries and make this simple and simply delicious chili for dinner…and you’ll be glad you did.

When I was visiting my parents and sister in MS over Christmas, they were enjoying a batch of legendary chili shared with them by our longtime family friend, Anne Crumbley.

The base looked delicious–a little less “tomato-y” than some–so, though it was made with meat, I sampled just a little of the base and knew I had to have the recipe, which my mother happened to own in her impressive files.

The secret ingredient? Picante sauce! My secret ingredient for even more mellowness? Tofutti cream cheese! But, you can omit if you prefer.

Yesterday, for my New Year’s Eve post, I shared some of my black eyed pea favorites from the past, but I wanted a new black eyed pea recipe–not to mention lunch–to celebrate 2015. Considering lots of options, from some kind of fritter to gumbo to black eyed pea sausage–all of which I still want to try–it suddenly occurred to me that I could substitute black eyed peas for Ann’s black beans. Holy Moly!

I tweaked her recipe only slightly in order to add a bit more “umami” depth and richness since I would most certainly not be using meat, and I hope you love the results as much as I do.

Top your chili with whatever you choose. I like sour cream and sliced scallions; but Ann also recommends Fritos. I cannot be trusted with an open bag of those, so I never buy them. But if you can, more (will)power to you!

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, diced (about 1 cup)

Sea salt

2 large cloves minced garlic

12 ounces soy crumbles, tempeh, or your favorite ground “round” substitute (tempeh is typically sold in 8 ounce packages so use 1 or 2 for 8 or 16 ounces; don’t feel you need to split a package)

1 1/2 tablespoons smoked paprika (or chili powder; Ann’s recipe calls for the latter, but I was out of it

and I loved the smoked paprika)

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon turbinado sugar

1 teaspoon Liquid Aminos

Freshly ground black pepper

2 cups cooked black eyed peas ( 1 used frozen, thawed, but you can substitute an approximate 15 ounce can, rinsed and drained, or beans cooked from the dried state)

2 cups vegetable broth

1 cup picante sauce (I used Pace brand)

Optional but recommended: 1/4 cup vegan cream cheese (I use Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese)

Recommended toppings: vegan sour cream (I use Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream), sliced scallions, sliced black olives, roasted pumpkin seeds, sliced jalapenos, etc.

In a large heavy pot (like a Dutch oven) or even a wok, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high. Add onion and a pinch of salt and saute, stirring frequently, until translucent, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and continue sauteing, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds. Add soy crumbles, smoked paprika nutritional yeast, cumin, oregano, sugar, Liquid Aminos, and pepper, and cook, breaking up crumbles, until heated through and all ingredients are well combined. Add black eyed peas and heat through, stirring frequently. Then add broth and picante sauce. Bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, and reducing heat as necessary to insure that chili does not stick on the bottom. During the last 2 minutes, melt in the vegan cream cheese. Serve chili in mugs or bowls, topped as desired or allow guests to top their own from a toppings bar.

October 28, 2012October 28, 2012 by betsy

Spicy Vegan “Beef,” Zucchini, and Pumpkin Chili

Yield: 4 servings

I will admit that this non-traditional chili came from very humble beginnings–a zucchini from the farmer’s market that needed used and soon and some textured vegetable protein, which keeps forever and that I had had on hand for about that long–but it is glorious!

It is also simple to prepare, mouth-watering, a beautiful golden color, nutritious, filling-but-not-too, and delightfully perfumed.

“TVP?” you may wonder. Believe me, I did too. I suppose I ate it at some point–probably in school lunches back when its cost effectiveness as a cheap source of protein led to it being camouflaged in a variety of dishes–but I know I have never cooked it. I purchased it quite a while ago out of curiosity. Turns out that I really liked both its texture and flavor, namely whatever it is cooked with. Something about its appearance and texture reminded me of chopped clams (from back in the day), so stay-tuned for some kind of yummy chowder.

In the meantime, enjoy this chili!

2 cups textured vegetable protein (TVP) or crumbled vegan ground meat substitute, e.g. soy crumbles or tempeh

2 cups vegetable stock

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice

Sea salt

4 large cloves garlic, very thinly sliced

2-8 inch zucchini, ends trimmed, sliced vertically, and cut into 3/4-inch pieces

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 stick cinnamon, broken in half

2 teaspoons ground coriander

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder (or 1 teaspoon of a milder chili powder like Ancho)

1 cup coconut milk

1 cup pureed pumpkin

Optional garnishes: vegan sour cream, broken cinnamon sticks, and/or roasted and lightly salted pumpkin seeds

In a 2-quart saucepan, combine textured vegetable protein (TVP) and stock. Bring to a vigorous simmer over medium-high heat and cook, uncovered, stirring frequently, until the stock is absorbed, about 10 minutes.

In a large skillet (cast iron is always my preference), heat olive oil to shimmering over medium-high heat. Add onion and a pinch of salt, and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until softened. Add garlic and cook another 30 seconds to 1 minute, stirring, until softened. Add zucchini, and saute, stirring frequently, until softened, about 3-5 minutes. Add textured vegetable protein, wine, cinnamon sticks, coriander, cumin, smoked paprika, and chipotle chili powder, and stir well. Stir in coconut milk and pumpkin and cook, stirring fairly frequently, for about 10 minutes or until flavors marry. Thin with a little water or white wine if necessary. Check for salt and stir in more if necessary. Serve warm in bowls garnished, if desired, with vegan sour cream, a piece of a cinnamon stick, and a few roasted and lightly salted pumpkin seeds.

March 28, 2009July 21, 2010 by betsy

Vegan Chili Two Ways

Our weather has been living up to its “if you don’t like it, wait ten minutes and it will change” reputation, meaning that we have had some unseasonably cold days and nights. So, while I don’t normally associate March with chili weather, we have been experiencing some pretty “chilly” temperatures.

Check out this link for a short feature and recipes that I published in The Virginian-Pilot in January ’08 for a vegan chili buffet that even our meat-eating friends lined up for (a red and a white chili plus my Mom’s addicting corn fingers, veganized):

http://hamptonroads.com/2008/01/plan-super-bowl-chili-buffet

Note: This lovely photo was taken by either a staff photographer or freelancer for The Virginian-Pilot, but there was no photo credit on the website and, for some reason, I don’t have a hard copy of that story in my files, as I do for virtually everything else. My apologies to the photographer.