Vegan Chili

There is a bar on 17th Avenue in Denver that has a wicked vegetarian chili on their menu; it's spicy and full of black beans.  Their chili is a little too hot for me, I like some spice, but not gratuitous burn-your-taste-buds-hot.  I decided to take aspects of their chili and make my own GF version that is now a staple for us on Meatless Mondays.

Ingredients
1 yellow onion finely chopped
1 tbsp olive oil or (soy free) Earth Balance spread
1 clove of garlic finely chopped or squashed through a garlic press
2 cans of tomato sauce or chopped tomatoes run through a hand processor
Spicy Heat = fresh chilies or the chili power of your choice - I use chipotle, cayenne and "Secret Salt"..see below
2 large courgettes/zucchini grated
1 can of black beans
1 can of lentils

Optional
Vegetable broth instead of water
Chia seeds to thicken

Method
Saute onions in oil until translucent...I have a pet peeve regarding undercooked onions; onions should not be crunchy in this recipe.  Add garlic and heat for 1 minute, don't over-cook or burn, the garlic should not darken too much.  Add tomatoes, courgettes and chili powders and seasoning and simmer to allow the flavors to blend together.  After 30 minutes the courgette should be almost unrecognizable and you should have a thick red sauce.

If  the sauce is not thickening, stir well and leave for another 10 minutes - add water if it seems too thick....don't worry about adding too much, if you do just cook a little longer and let evaporation thicken it, or add some chia seeds...they will swell and take up some of the excess fluid.. 

Don't forget to taste your chili to make sure it is well seasoned - add more spice if necessary.
If it is too hot, add a medium diced raw potato and simmer for 20 minutes and taste again..

Finally add beans and lentils and heat for another 10 minutes.

Garnish with cilantro, or top with fresh guacamole or a dollop of cashew cream (see my first blog post).
Serve with corn chips, fresh corn tortillas, brown rice or use to make tacos with chopped lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber...yum!

This freezes very well, I make up this batch and freeze what is left, it's great for a quick lunch or dinner when you don't have much time.

 
Secret Salt
It's not really a secret, it's a modification to a standard spice.  We originally intended this to aid in reducing our salt intake, however we love it so much we probably end up using it more than regular salt.
- Finely grind Montreal Steak Seasoning in a coffee grinder until it resembles fine salt.
Use as you would salt and pepper.

Gluten Free Enchiladas?

Gluten Free Enchiladas, that's easy you say, just use corn tortillas.  Okay, okay, I agree...but I didn't want the tortilla part to be bready and thick, and overwhelm the contents.  I pondered an alternative until just recently when I was looking for a stuffed cabbage recipe for our vegan Christmas thali feast.
Cabbage leaves, hmmmm.....

Mexican-Inspired Stuffed Cabbage-Leaf Enchiladas...sort of.

Ingredients
1 cup of rice, cooked as per packet instructions (I used brown rice, but white would work just as well)
1 cup of beans - pintos, black beans or whatever bean you prefer (I used black beans)
2 small 4 oz tins of Hatch diced green chillies, I used one mild and one hot, 'cause I like it spicy :-)
1/2 cup of corn (I used frozen)
1/2 cup of freshly chopped cilantro
salt, pepper and other seasonings to taste

White cabbage (we had one in the fridge that had a 1/4 chunk cut out for coleslaw, so I used 1/2 cabbage

8oz tin of Vegetarian Red Chili sauce (gluten free)

Method
Place cabbage into boiling water and boil for about 5 minutes until the leaves are tender and easy to remove.

In a bowl mix the rice, beans, chilies, corn, cilantro and seasonings.  Remove the cabbage from the hot water and let it cool a little, then carefully remove the leaves.

In each leaf add about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of mixture and roll into a small package and place in an ovenproof serving tray or bowl. You can also add smaller leaves together to make larger packages if you wish.

When all the mixture or leaves are used smother with red chili sauce. Bake at 350 F for 15-20 minutes until the sauce is bubbling around the packages. You can sprinkle your favorite vegan cheese before baking, I make a mix of equal parts nutritional yeast and almond flour that I use.

Serve with salad or fresh guacamole and garnish with cilantro.  

This recipe makes about 4 servings, it doesn't save too well in the freezer (can make the cabbage a little rubbery), but the wrapped cabbage packets kept well covered in the fridge for 3 days (I added the sauce before baking and they came out as yummy as the first ones).

I loved how this turned out, I ate it 3 days in a row...now I can't wait to make it again!

Happy National Nut Day!!!

A few blog posts ago I professed my love for cashews, cashew cream and Tal Ronnen, so today is a very special day for me :-)

Tal Ronnen's wonderful book "The Conscious Cook" has both captivated and inspired me these past few months.  I have learned so much about cashews, almonds and vegan cooking, so today I thought it would be a good time to share one of my Tal Ronnen-inspired recipes.

Creamy Cashew Dip - perfect for vegans, the lactose-intolerant, those wishing to avoid cholesterol and all of us who love good healthy food. It is also raw, GF and extremely yummy! 



Ingredients

• 2 cups of cashews (try and use whole nuts, broken ones work okay)
• 1 tsp probiotic powder (Tal suggests New Chapter All-Flora)
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes (I'm always generous with this and the onion powder)
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic salt or sea salt (your preference - I'm a Celtic salt lover, but I really think the hint of garlic is a nice addition to the dip flavor)
• Freshly grated nutmeg (you might not think you can taste it, but you'll miss it if it's not there)
• 0.5 tsp pepper (black or white, your preference)

Method

• Soak cashews in filtered water in the fridge overnight
• Next day, rinse and drain nuts and add to a food processor with 1 cup of fresh water
• Mix nuts for several minutes into a smooth creamy consistency
• Mix the probiotic powder with a tbsp of water and add to creamed nuts
• Leave the mixture at room temperature overnight (I leave it in the Cuisinart on the kitchen counter)
• Next day add nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic salt, nutmeg, pepper and mix well in the processor. 
• Leave for 30mins to let the flavors fully meld together before serving
• Serve dip with chips, fresh veggies, spread on bagels or use as a garnish on a bowl of veggie chili or lentil soup 

The dip can be stored in a refrigerator for about 5 days or frozen.  When I make this I split it into 3 portions and freeze 2 of them.

WARNING:  This dip can become addictive, please use caution.

Healthy Nut Recipies

I've mentioned before how Cashew Cream has changed my life and thought I should document some of my recent recipes here - http://www.talronnen.com/recipes/cashew-cream/

+ I've used in Pumpkin pie when it asks for cream - straight volume replacement

+ Used in curries when it asks for yogurt at the end

+ Used in tomato bisque, but could probably be added to most soups at the end to make them creamy

+ I will try it in mashed potatoes next week and let you know

+ Tal Ronnen also has a a cashew cheese recipe that I am addicted to (my husband hates it) - I add a cup of water when I'm grinding the cashews to make it more like a dip - I also add garlic salt instead of sea salt.

http://www.therecipecard.com/best-cookbooks/the-conscious-cooks-herbed-cashew-cheese-baguette-with-tomato-and-watercress-recipe-review/#more-30

Elana's site has gluten and dairy free recipes (it's a good site for me since I avoid gluten and I actually feel a lot better if I avoid dairy too) :-)  She has a fantastic Almond Flour book, but her cashew recipes are pretty good too!

Home made cashew milk is pretty darn good on cereal!

http://www.elanaspantry.com/cashew-milk/

http://www.elanaspantry.com/hot-cocoa/

+ I think she makes some of her stuff a little too sweet so I omit the stevia in the cocoa recipe and sweeten to taste with agave

+ Homemade almond milk is good to drink (much better than store bought); we drank so much almond nog over the holidays!!!

http://www.elanaspantry.com/got-milk/

http://www.elanaspantry.com/vegan-eggnog/ 

+ I made this one time using apple pie spice, yum!  You can also replace the yacon syrup with agave (yacon is silly expensive, but worth it if you can afford it)

This is an Almond Muffin recipe that I've modified below - I eat an almond muffin each morning around 10am and it stops me snacking on salty and sugary stuff - it's almost a diet aid!

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/breads/r/lowcarbmuffins.htm

My substitutions -

+ Replace 1 stick of melted butter with 1/3 cup olive oil (can use as little as 1/4 cup for lower fat version, but make up the volume with water or apple sauce)

+ I have used agave to sweeten, but I prefer 1 tablespoon of SteviaPlus (or the equivalent of 1/3 cup sugar - there are some different Stevia mixes going around and if you add too much it can make the muffins bitter - stevia has no calories so this option brings the calories down)

+ You can just use egg whites if cholesterol is an issue (4-5 whites)

+ You can mix nut flours, I have used half almond and half hazelnut - that goes really well with the Nutella topping suggested below :-) You need to grind the nuts since I've never seen ground hazelnut flour - freeze the nuts overnight and grind in processor for 5 mins - freezing allows the nuts to grind better and prevents clumping due to nut oils (which are frozen), it's also really loud!!!!  You can do the same and make you're own almond flour since it's not the cheapest flour on the shelf - I sometimes use regular, unbalanced almonds since blanching is such a pain -the upside is it increases the fiber in the muffins :-)

I also learned that if you do want to use blanched almonds, boil the almonds in water for 1 min, drain and let cool and they should squeeze out of their casing pretty easily

++ use cake cups - they'll stick in the muffin pan no matter what you do!

Additions -

+ 1 tbsp dried lemon peel and 1 tbsp poppy seeds or chia seeds (they are so good for you)

+ Fresh blueberries sink to the bottom so I use freeze dried ones from Whole foods and add 1/3 cup water to the batter

+ Swirl some agave on the top before baking

+ Add a dark chocolate drop (or 1/2 tsp Nutella) to the top of each before baking

+ Add powdered green tea - since Japanese women don't get breast cancer they suggest drinking 3 cups of green tea a day - the best is supposed to be Matcha, so I add a tablespoon to the almond flour before adding the wet ingredients - it gives them a green hue :-)

Cashew Cream has changed my life...

...and Tal Ronnen is my idol!

I was tested for Celiac disease last year, it came back negative, but I still try and avoid wheat and gluten.  If I eat gluten I can physically feel it moving through my colon - I know TMI.  It takes 3 days to clear my system and I'm not a happy camper during that time.  Okay so I'm not a Celiac, but gluten does a number on me and I feel better when I don't eat it - fine!
- No gluten

It was about the time I got my pointless negative result that I read The Omnivore's Dilemma, Food Inc. was released and various people started talking about the food we eat.  In my purse I already had my list of organic foods you must eat and the frequency I can eat certain fish....so I was a willing sponge for food details.
- No high fructose corn syrup and organic corn at all times
- No factory reared animals, organic, free range only (if at all)
- Grass fed occasionally and since I couldn't find any milk from happy cows (no, really happy cows, not the fake CA ones), I gave up cow's milk and started using almond milk.

Oh it get's worse, I am almost within 10 years of the same age my mother died of breast cancer (that was caused by Estrogen Replacement Therapy), so I'm already on the no soy and remove all endocrine disruptors  and known toxins from coming into contact with me.
- No soy, tofu or miso (that also has wheat)
- Only use creams, soaps and shampoos that are paraben free
- Did you know most antibacterial soaps and toothpastes have triclosan?

So as you can imagine I needed to find some new recipes and ideas for what I could eat.  I found two books that have helped a lot - Tal Ronnen's book The Conscious Cook and Elana Amsterdam's book The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook.

These two books have introduced me to some fantastic ingredients and they have widened my food choices.  Who would have thought that an "almost" vegan, gluten free, soy free diet would increase the diversity of food I eat.  

...more later on what recipes I have found and what I have modified!