12 posts tagged “chili”
Poor hubby went on a wild goose chase yesterday around the house, literally. We had some really strong wind for the whole day, and around 10 in the morning, a super strong gust blew a Canada goose onto our roof and it ended up being lame with a broken leg and sitting in our drive way. We called the local wildlife rescue and were told to "bag" the goose by ourselves, put it in a box, and drive 50 miles to them. We were trying to do the right thing. It was really windy and rainy outside. My poor hubby chased the supposedly lame goose for more than 20 minutes all around the yard and driveway and the silly goose really put up a fierce fight by flapping, flying, running, hissing, and puking. It finally disappeared into the woods. Now we know how the phrase "wild-goose chase" came about.
Anyway, after the goose chase yesterday, we had to have some comfort food today. Hubby made his famous peanut butter sauce (1/2 container of peanut butter, soy sauce, hot chili sauce, paprika, oregano, thyme, chives, black pepper, and soy milk) and I made some udon noodles with shiitake mushrooms. We were all set. This is certainly not the meal that will make you lose 5 pounds, but your woes will be wiped out completely. I guarantee that!
We are moving early next week, so I don't think I will be able to keep up with the blogging. It is a shame but I will try my best. If we can survive October, we will be able to have a breather then.
We are moving early next week, so I don't think I will be able to keep up with the blogging. It is a shame but I will try my best. If we can survive October, we will be able to have a breather then.
So I suddenly had the idea of cooking some dried chickpeas I have stored for months. I didn't plan in advance so I ended up having a lot of cooked chickpeas, and my husband made it very clear that he didn't want any hummus after all. I dug out a recipe that I saved ages ago - Chickpea Burgers by Carla of "but did they EAT it?" (Note: Carla has already moved her action to her new blog "The Year of the Vegan" and her old blog seems to have been deleted). I might have made a mistake in her recipe. I drained my chickpeas. Maybe I wasn't supposed to. My chickpea burgers came out a bit too dry for our liking. Maybe I should have added some of the chickpea cooking water into the food processor. Oh well, next time I will try it that way. These burgers were tasty but a bit too dry.
I used the rest of the cooked chickpeas to make Purplesque's Chana Masala (Spicy Chickpea Curry). I added some fresh tomatoes and extra-firm tofu cubes. I also used vegan sour cream (we haven't found vegan yogurt locally, yet) instead of yogurt. I am not exactly sure if this would change the flavors significantly, but we loved the dish.
Gumbo is a very American dish. Mixing gumbo and pasta together might be an unorthodox approach, but surely worth a try, at least once. If you happen to have a craving for a pasta that is really spicy and flavorful and has some oomph, this pasta dish will hit the spot.
We first have to make a nice gumbo. If you have leftover gumbo after making this pasta, serve it over rice, or add some rice into it. Why not eat it with some good country bread too?
Seitan Tofu Gumbo
Adapted from the Seitan Gumbo recipe by Wes of Don't Lose Your Lunch
(Makes 5-6 generous servings)
2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 large roasted red bell pepper, roughly chopped
3 stalks celery, diced
7-8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 Tbsp. sweet paprika
2 tsp. dried thyme
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. chipotle chili pepper
2 Tofurky Italian sausages, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 block extra-firm tofu, pressed, cubed
2 cups water
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
2/3 cup baked roux (see recipe below)
2 Tbsp. dried parsley
Salt to taste
1. Over medium heat, saute onion, garlic, bell peppers and celery in sesame oil and olive oil mix for 5-7 minutes until celery softens a bit.
2. Add everything from tomato paste to chipotle chili pepper and mix well. Saute for 2 minutes.
3. Add sausages and tofu cubes and mix thoroughly. Cook for one minute.
4. Add water, broth, tomatoes, and bay leaves. Combine well. Bring to boil. Lower heat to a small simmer. Simmer for about 30-35 minutes.
5. Add roux, stirring constantly until completely dissolved. Return to boil so roux can thicken. Lower heat to simmer.
6. Add parsley and mix thoroughly. Stir from time to time and cook for another 5 minutes.
7. Add salt and adjust the taste. Remove bay leaves.
Baked Roux:
2 cups white flour
2 cups canola oil
1. Mix flour and oil, dissolving lumps.
2. Bake in an 8"x8" Pyrex pan for about 3 hours, gently stirring every 30 minutes.
The end result should be darker than peanut butter but lighter than chocolate. Allow to cool before handling. Store in a glass jar in the fridge.
Whole Wheat Linguine with Seitan Tofu Gumbo
Cook enough linguine for 2 people according to the package instructions (al dante). In the last 5 seconds, add some fresh spinach into the pot.
Drain well. Press lightly to release most water from the cooked spinach. Put the pasta back into the pot.
Add plenty of gumbo to the pasta and thoroughly combine. Plate. Pour a little gumbo on top of the pasta. Serve.
I am sending this pasta dish to Presto Pasta Nights, a great event started by Ruth of Once Upon A Feast. This week's host will be Aquadaze of Served with Love.
Seitan Tofu Gumbo
Adapted from the Seitan Gumbo recipe by Wes of Don't Lose Your Lunch
(Makes 5-6 generous servings)
2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 large roasted red bell pepper, roughly chopped
3 stalks celery, diced
7-8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 Tbsp. sweet paprika
2 tsp. dried thyme
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. chipotle chili pepper
2 Tofurky Italian sausages, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 block extra-firm tofu, pressed, cubed
2 cups water
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
2/3 cup baked roux (see recipe below)
2 Tbsp. dried parsley
Salt to taste
1. Over medium heat, saute onion, garlic, bell peppers and celery in sesame oil and olive oil mix for 5-7 minutes until celery softens a bit.
2. Add everything from tomato paste to chipotle chili pepper and mix well. Saute for 2 minutes.
3. Add sausages and tofu cubes and mix thoroughly. Cook for one minute.
4. Add water, broth, tomatoes, and bay leaves. Combine well. Bring to boil. Lower heat to a small simmer. Simmer for about 30-35 minutes.
5. Add roux, stirring constantly until completely dissolved. Return to boil so roux can thicken. Lower heat to simmer.
6. Add parsley and mix thoroughly. Stir from time to time and cook for another 5 minutes.
7. Add salt and adjust the taste. Remove bay leaves.
Baked Roux:
2 cups white flour
2 cups canola oil
1. Mix flour and oil, dissolving lumps.
2. Bake in an 8"x8" Pyrex pan for about 3 hours, gently stirring every 30 minutes.
The end result should be darker than peanut butter but lighter than chocolate. Allow to cool before handling. Store in a glass jar in the fridge.
Cook enough linguine for 2 people according to the package instructions (al dante). In the last 5 seconds, add some fresh spinach into the pot.
Drain well. Press lightly to release most water from the cooked spinach. Put the pasta back into the pot.
Add plenty of gumbo to the pasta and thoroughly combine. Plate. Pour a little gumbo on top of the pasta. Serve.
I am sending this pasta dish to Presto Pasta Nights, a great event started by Ruth of Once Upon A Feast. This week's host will be Aquadaze of Served with Love.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We cooked a lot and ate a lot, like there is no tomorrow. I guess during Christmas it is virtually impossible not to overeat. We have decided that we are not going to make any New Year's Resolutions because we already know - because we know ourselves well enough in this aspect - that we will not honor our resolutions for more than two months. So we feel rather relieved for not making any attempt. :) And you know what, I feel rather good about this. For the first time, we just accept and respect ourselves for what we are, and go with the flow. 2009 will be a good year, because we will work more on complimenting ourselves from time to time and being with ourselves in a friendly and loving manner.
Now, back to the food we cooked up for Christmas. Nothing too fancy. I almost did an all-Veganomicon feast.
1. French Lentil Soup with Tarragon and Thyme (Veganomicon, page 141).
2. Mac Daddy (Veganomicon, page 195).
3. Seitan Vindaloo (Vegan Dad, recipe here).
4. Singapore-Style Yellow Curry Rice Noodles with Tofu (Vegan Express, page 118).
5. Pumpkin Coconut Cakey Bars (My own recipe).
I wish everyone a happy New Year's Day in advance, and God bless!
I have been cooking but it has become rather hard to keep up posting more often. We always seem to have many things piling up onto the to-do lists. "It's always something" has been such a cliche in our household now. I didn't have time to come up with any new recipe. Nor did I participate in any cooking contest like I planned. I cooked from cookbooks and my recipe collection. Alas! 'Tis life. We ought to be grateful for what we have though. My husband and I have begun our little "self-compliment" group, inspired by LaidOutInLavendar. It is not easy at all. Gosh, I never knew it could this hard to say a few nice things about ourselves without feeling weird or discouraged. But we are trying. It's much easier to compliment each other, but when it comes down to the self-compliment... I guess we just don't know ourselves well enough.
Anyway, here comes the food porn, as usual. The first thing is from VwaV, page 28, "Fronch" Toast. It was great, but next time I will definitely add some cinnamon and nutmet to make it more traditional.
The second thing is Bryanna's Hunan Tofu. I made this before, a long while ago that I can't even remember. This time I didn't even fry the tofu beforehand because I wanted more of a soft and juicy texture. It turned out even better than I remembered. Surely a keeper!
It's been cold and it's been snowing. I'm not a big fan of very spicy food but even I was converted temporarily by this winter. I actually was looking forward to making this chili - Kidney Bean and Quinoa Chili. The original recipe is called Black Bean and Quinoa Chili by Melody Polakow of MELOMEALS.COM. I only had red kidney beans and I love them so that's about the only thing I changed. This chili was very easy to make, and it gave me the zap I needed for my tongue. Oh, I made my chili a little more soupy because it's still snowing outside and I wish I could be warmed up by swimming in the chili. By the way, why is it so cold this year? The global warming apparently doesn't just make the summer hotter.
With the chili comes the cornbread. In case you never knew of this super simple and awesome cornbread recipe by Isa Chandra, here it is again.
As if the chili is not enough, I made the Jerk Tofu and served it with steamed spinach on the side. This wonderful recipe is also by Isa Chandra. The tofu came out exactly like Isa's description, sort of like barbeque, sort of like curry, sort of sweet, and sort of savory. It is absolutely satisfying! This tofu has just become my favorite tofu dish. And my take on the name of this dish: it's called jerk tofu because if anyone wants to steal my tofu, I'll definitely say "jerk off".
Is it a crime that I had the jerk tofu with spinach together with some vegan fluffy biscuits? I saw a wonderful fluffy biscuit recipe on Elly's blog a few days ago. I haven't been able to get it out of my head. The photos looked really fantastic. I had to make these biscuits. I had no choice. So I took the original recipe and veganized it. My photos don't do justice to these biscuits (what's with the lighting anyway?) but rest assured they taste really good. They are really fluffy too.
These are the few things I did to veganize this recipe:
1. Put 2 Tbsp. of cornstarch at the bottom of the measuring cup and continue to measure out 1 cup of all-purpose flour to make 1 cup plain cake flour. This is for those of you, who are like me, who don't usually have cake flour around.
2. Use 1/2 cup of chilled vegan margarine (cubed 1/4-inch each) and about 2 Tbsp. canola oil to replace the butter.
3. Measure out 3/4 cup unsweetened soy milk and add 1 to 1 1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar to curdle it for at least 2 minutes. This is to replace the required buttermilk.
4. Brush the tops with soymilk. You can also consider using a little melted margarine in the soy milk.
1. Put 2 Tbsp. of cornstarch at the bottom of the measuring cup and continue to measure out 1 cup of all-purpose flour to make 1 cup plain cake flour. This is for those of you, who are like me, who don't usually have cake flour around.
2. Use 1/2 cup of chilled vegan margarine (cubed 1/4-inch each) and about 2 Tbsp. canola oil to replace the butter.
3. Measure out 3/4 cup unsweetened soy milk and add 1 to 1 1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar to curdle it for at least 2 minutes. This is to replace the required buttermilk.
4. Brush the tops with soymilk. You can also consider using a little melted margarine in the soy milk.
Although I love seeing the white snow outside, I really hope the winter will be over soon. I already want to make some summer rolls!
The Hunan cuisine in China is known for being spicy and flavorful, chili-rich, and pungent. So when you are tired of the average everyday food, some spicy Hunan home-style tofu will definitely awaken your taste buds and give you a good mood. I found this wonderful Hunan-Style Tofu recipe on Bryanna Clark Grogan's blog "Notes from the Vegan Feast Kitchen". If you haven't heard of it before, it is high time that you find out how a vegan feast can be done in your own kitchen. I adapted the recipe a bit since I was fixated on eating some asparagus somehow and I didn't have some of the ingredients called for in the original recipe. Also, I halved all of the ingredients because there are only the two of us in the house. So below is my version of Hunan Tofu with Asparagus. (My photo doesn't look as good as Bryanna's but I was really loving the rich taste of this tofu dish.)
Hunan Home-Style Tofu with Asparagus
(all ingredients halved to serve just two hungry people)
2/3 lb. extra-firm tofu, drained and pressed for at least an hour, cut into 1/2-inch-thick pieces
1 Tbsp. safflower oil
1 Tbsp. safflower oil
2 leeks, skin removed and finely chopped
1 fresh red chili pepper, cored and seeded and cut in thin diagonal slices
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 fresh red chili pepper, cored and seeded and cut in thin diagonal slices
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
2/3 lb. asparagus, tips intact and the rest cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/2 Tbsp. Chinese garlic black-bean paste (easier to use than fermented black-beans)
1/2 cup chicken-style vegetarian broth
1 1/2 Tbsp. Chinese garlic black-bean paste (easier to use than fermented black-beans)
1/2 cup chicken-style vegetarian broth
1/2 tsp. dry white wine
1/2 tsp. dark soy sauce, or to taste (if you use the black-bean paste, it's enough)
1/2 tsp. cornstarch mixed with 1/2 Tbsp. cold water
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
1/2 tsp. dark soy sauce, or to taste (if you use the black-bean paste, it's enough)
1/2 tsp. cornstarch mixed with 1/2 Tbsp. cold water
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
Cut the tofu into oblong slices, about 1/2-inch thick. The size really depends on you. I made the pieces smaller to increase the flavor. Pat dry.
In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over high heat. You really just need to coat the skillet. Add the tofu and fry until the slices are just tinged with gold on both sides. This takes about 2 minutes each side. Drain on paper towel and set aside.
Add the leeks, garlic, and chili pepper to the hot pan and let them sizzle for half a minute until fragrant. Add asparagus and stir-fry. Cook until asparagus becomes bright green (about 3-4 minutes).
Add the black-bean paste, stirring a bit to combine. Pour in the broth, soy sauce and white wine. Add the fried tofu, mix well with the liquid in the skillet and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 3 minutes.
Add the black-bean paste, stirring a bit to combine. Pour in the broth, soy sauce and white wine. Add the fried tofu, mix well with the liquid in the skillet and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 3 minutes.
Add the cornstarch mixture and stir until the liquid thickens. Remove from the heat. Stir in the sesame oil and serve immediately with steamed rice.
Now let's turn from China to Poland. My husband commented on a sad-looking cabbage on our dining table yesterday and suggested that I should make some stuffed cabbage rolls. He wanted a potato-filled version, which wasn't exactly my type of stuffed cabbage rolls. Instead, I made this probably most-famous Polish dish: Golabki (pronounced gaw-WUMP-kee in case you were wondering). I found this recipe on recipezaar.com which was actually a vegetarian version. The only step I took to veganize it was to use olive oil instead of butter in frying onions. You can find this easy-to-make recipe here.
Preparing the cabbage is rather easy. You just have to stab it through the heart (from the bottom/base in this case) and boil it in salty water for about 12-15 minutes. Wait until the cabbage is cool enough to handle and carefully peel off the tender leaves. I was lucky enough not to have to peel off some leaves and then boil again.
The stuffing is just onion-mushroom white jasmine rice. I loaded a lot of paprika and parsley because we love them. The rice smelled so good that I almost wanted to eat it on the side without stuffing the cabbage.
Now the final product. A lot of paprika again! We are really a couple of paprika-hounds. This is definitely a keeper.
EDIT: I thought I should share this photo as well. This is the Hunan home-style tofu on white jasmine rice.
I started with what I had in the refrigerator and ended up with something really delightful, even a little soulful. The first thing was Chile Cornmeal-Crusted Tofu (from Veganomicon, page 125). I can just sit at the table and keep nibbling on these crispy and spicy tofu slices.
The other dish I made is the Asian-Inspired Scrambled Tofu and Yuba with Garlic Chives (Chinese chives). Garlic chives have a wonderful aroma and taste that resembles a combination of leeks, garlic, and chives. I intended to make yuba rolls but my impatience and carelessness resulted in some torn strips so I started tearing yuba into strips to make a stir-fry. It turned out to be a very healthy and tasty dish. The recipe is quite similar to the good old scrambled tofu. Ingredients: garlic chives, yuba, extra-firm tofu, ground cumin, turmeric, paprika, thyme, oregano, black pepper, salt, and a few drops of toasted sesame oil to make the dish really Asian.
Just a quick post of several photos. The recipes are pretty simple. Great food, poor photos. But c'est la vie. And apparently I've been really into cooking lately. I can't help it. I've got a dozen recipes rolling in my head.
The recipe is from Laura Faye of Jewish Vegan. You can see the recipe here. I still have to improve on how to "close" the pie on top. As you can see above, some filling oozed out of two holes after the pie was baked. It was a really yummy pie though.
I wasn't patient enough to wait for the pan to cool off. So excuse the mist in the photo. A very simple dish from VwaV (page 123). I thought of adding some green bell peppers but gave up the idea right before heating up the pan.
These ugly little pancakes really don't look that good. But they are downright tasty. The original recipe in VwaV is called parsnip-scallion pancakes. But I love radishes too much. So I used a whole radish instead. Great substitute if you're in the mood for some savory pancakes.
We have done quite a bit of cooking in the past few days. Therefore, I've got no time for blogging the experience. But now I have some nice photos to share.
I made a new type of vegan pancakes. The batter only contains Japanese hot cake mix (vegan), Soy Dream vanilla soymilk (vegan), 100% organic coconut cream (vegan), a splash of Canadian 100% maple syrup (medium grade), a tiny bit of natural blueberry jam, and a couple drops of extra-virgin olive oil. Before pouring the batter into the pan, wipe the pan with some olive oil and basically leave a very thin coat of oil. Use no more oil afterwards.
I tried the same batter twice. The first time I observed the same consistency as I had always done in the past, which gave me thin pancakes. The second time I made the batter a little thicker. It was a risky experiment because I wasn't sure if the pancakes would turn out cooked inside. But I got those fabulously thick and fluffy pancakes (see the picture above) that were very cakey. The best pancakes ever!
The verdict is that the Soy Dream chocolate soymilk I used before in the batter was a great twist but the chocolate pancakes just won't be as fluffy or cakey as the vanilla pancakes. It's probably just the difference between two soymilk flavors - different ingredients apparently.
Enough about pancakes. We also made a wonderful millet dish full of vegetables and goodies. The main ingredients are millet, fried tofu, button mushrooms, sweet corn, carrots, and bok choy.
Rainbow Millet
1. Boil sweet corn, bok choy, carrots, and fried tofu* to desired texture.
2. Saute fresh garlic separately.
3. Add mushrooms about half-way through and saute together with garlic on high heat.
4. Cut corn off the cob.
5. Cook millet separately (prepared in advance)**.
6. Stir all the ingredients together with veggie mushroom paste (or Porcini Mushroom Paste), hot chili sauce, paprika, coriander, sea salt, black pepper, a dash of curry and Mexican spice.
7. Mix well and serve immediately. This is definitely one of the richest rice dishes you can make. Enjoy!
Notes:
* If you cannot get fried tofu, don't fret. You can simply get the regular extra-firm tofu. Cut it into medium-sized pieces and slightly dry them in a cheese cloth. Fry up the tofu pieces yourself. If you do so, you don't have to boil the fried tofu afterwards.
** We often prepare millet or buckwheat in advance. You can just cook millet like rice. Two things to remember: (1) use more water than you would when you cook rice (almost twice as much); (2) once the water boils, use low heat to simmer until the millet is properly cooked. Adjust the amount of water according to your own preference. You either get fluffy millet or sticky and soft millet.
By the way, millet is one of the healthiest whole-grains around, if you want to improve upon your current diet. Yes, even better than brown rice.
