Easy Vegetarian Bean Chili

I cut this out of The Oregonian recently. When I made this I violated so many of the instructions I hate to even comment on how it turned out - but, I mean, it's Chili. I'm sure if you follow the recipe it would be just as good as how I did it using 1 can of tomato sauce to make up for only having half the diced tomatos, using canned corn, skipping the food processor part, reversing the cooking vessels, omitting the sugar and adding a bunch of vegetable broth. The main reason I'm putting it here is that I'm on a "budget meal" kick while trying to re-stock my savings account with dough. I estimate this to be around $.85/serving and chili is always so good. I made Johnnycakes to go with it.

Easy Vegetarian Bean Chili

Makes 4 servings

1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes 2 15-ounce cans low-sodium beans, rinsed (see note) 2 to 3 teaspoons minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce 2 teaspoons granulated sugar Salt 1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 onion, minced 3 tablespoons chili powder 2 teaspoons ground cumin 3 cloves garlic, minced 11/2 cups frozen corn, thawed 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro Ground black pepper
Pulse tomatoes and their juice in food processor until slightly chunky, about 5 pulses. Bring tomatoes, beans, chipotle chiles, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt to boil, covered, in large saucepan. Reduce to simmer and continue to cook. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion, chili powder, cumin and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 secondsStir in tomato-bean mixture, scraping up any browned bits. Bring to simmer and cook until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Stir in corn and cilantro and return to simmer briefly. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve. Note: You can use a combination of pinto, black and dark-red kidney beans in the chili. The texture of the pureed diced tomatoes with their juice is very important; do not substitute crushed tomatoes or tomato puree.

-- Adapted from "The Best 30-Minute Recipe"
by the editors of Cook's Illustrated

PER SERVING: calories: 330 (15% from fat); protein: 7.7 grams; total fat: 5.6 grams; saturated fat: 0.8 gram; cholesterol: 0; sodium: 794 mg; carbohydrate: 69.6 grams; dietary fiber: 19.3 grams

The best recipes in the world

I checked out Mark Bittman's The Best Recipes in the World from the library and have been spattering the pages with ingredients every Sunday as I cook my lunches for the upcoming week. For the most part, I've been very impressed. The recipes are simple with easy to find ingredients and the results so far have been more than satisfactory. Since I don't want to be all copyright infringement girl, I'll just paste in a great example that is already on the website.

Chestnut Soup:

MAKES
4 SERVINGS
TIME
45 MINUTES (WITH PRE-COOKED CHESTNUTS)
This is a rich soup. Add a little splash of port just before serving to give this a bit of a kick.
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, chopped
1½ pounds fresh chestnuts, boiled and peeled, or 2 cups thawed frozen or canned chestnuts, drained and rinsed (I used frozen from Trader Joe's)
1 quart beef, chicken, or vegetable stock, preferably homemade, or water
Salt and black pepper to taste
½ cup heavy cream, or more to taste

1.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, add the onion, and cook until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the chestnuts and stock and simmer until the chestnuts are very soft, about 30 minutes. (You can prepare the soup up to this point and let sit for a few hours or cover and refrigerate for up to a couple of days.)
2.
Cool the mixture slightly if time allows (it’s never a good idea to puree boiling hot mixtures if you can avoid it). Use a food mill, an immersion blender, or an upright blender to puree the mixture. Return the soup to the saucepan and reheat it over low heat. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the cream and serve immediately.

When I made this, I tasted it before adding the cream and my socks flew off my feet! I couldn't believe that a soup using only four ingredients could be this spectacularly flavorful! Then I added the cream and it somehow became about half as tasty. So next time I'll leave it out because who needs the extra calories anyway? Frankly, most of the recipes I've tried call for more fat than I like to cook with, but that's easily adjustable.

Other dishes I've made that I will definitely make again:
Sopa de Habas (Fava bean soup) - it was similar to the chestnut soup in its heartiness and simplicity
Saag Paneer (Cheese or tofu with spinach sauce) - I made mine with tofu and it was really fantastic
Fish Tagine - I love that this can be made with a variety of different types of fish. Like many of Bittman's recipes, it's more about learning a simple technique that you can tweak to your own taste (or to the herbs, spices and vegetables you have on hand).

Red Lentil Mulligatawny with Apple-Celery Salsa

lentil mulligatawny soup
Originally uploaded by jensect.

Leslie - I'm so inspired by your soups, we went and tried a new one last night. this is from the lastest issue of Cooking Light, and it is GOOD! I am pretty sure I just used regular old lentils instead of red lentils, but it tasted pretty good anyway.

***
This rich, creamy soup will thicken as it cools. Thin with hot water, a tablespoon at a time, to the desired consistency. Lentils provide fiber, folate, and protein, as well as iron. The fresh topping adds vitamin C plus a dose of quercetin.

Salsa:

2/3 cup finely chopped Granny Smith apple
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Soup:

3 1/2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 cup dried small red lentils
1 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cups light coconut milk\
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. To prepare salsa, combine the first 4 ingredients, cover and chill

2. To prepare soup, combine broth, lentils, and onion in a Dutch oven over medium high heat (I just used my regular soup pan); bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until lentils are tender. Pour half of lentil mixture in a blender; let stand 5 minutes. Process until smooth. Pour pureed lentil mixture into a bowl. Pour remaining lentil mixture into blender; process until smooth. Add coconut milk, tomato paste, ginger, cumin, and turmeric; process until smooth. Return coconut milk mixture and remaining pureed lentil mixture to pan. Cover and simmer over medium heat 10 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in 1 teaspoon juice, salt, and pepper. Ladle about 1 cup soup into each of 4 bowls; top each serving with 1/4 cup salsa. Yield: 4 servings.

Apple and Parsnip Soup

IMG_7346
Originally uploaded by lesliegardner.

I know, it sounds weird, but it is really good! And cheap! And vegetarian! And good for you!

1T butter
1# parsnips
1# apples (I used braeburn)
1 onion, chopped
2t curry pwd
1t cumin
1t coriander
1/2t cardamom
1 clove garlic, crushed
salt & pepper
5C homemade chicken stock or canned reduced soduim chicken broth (I made my own vegetable broth from the peeled skins of all the veggies in the soup!)
2/3C half and half (I used the fat free kind even though I don't understand how it can exist)

In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add parsnips, apples and onion. Cover and cook 7-10 min.
Add spices, garlic, salt & pepper and cook about 2 min more, stirring constantly.
Add the stock or broth, cover and simmer gently until the parsnips are tender, about 30 min.
Transfer to a blender or food processor in batches and process until smooth. If necessary, add more broth or water. Return to the same saucepan and whisk in the half and half. Heat through over low heat.
Supposed to be garnished with chives and croutons, but who can be bothered? Well, I'm sure the croutons would be a great addition, but I am a total garnish-skipper.

Mediterranean Red Lentil and Spinach Stew

IMG_7128
Originally uploaded by lesliegardner.

Wow is this good! It's really rich and kind of sweet. I keep thinking "this needs eggplant", which I'm coming to realize is because it reminds me of Martina's yummy Eggplant Caponata! I served this over Quinoa made with sauteed onions and carrots and tumeric. But not when I finally decided to take a photo.

2T ghee or clarified butter (i used olive oil)
1 small onion, finely chopped
1T minced fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, minced (1...yeah right!)
2t ground cumin
2t paprika
2t ground coriander
1t ground cinnamon
5C water
2C peeled & diced butternut squash
1C dried red lentils
1C diced red bell pepper
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
1 bunch fresh spinach, washed, stemmed and finely chopped
1/2 C chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 C currants or chopped, pitted dates
3T Bragg Liquid AMinos or natural soy sauce (I used like 2 T of a soy sauce substitute made with molasses and balsamic vinegar)
1t balsamic or apple cider vinegar
1-2 t salt
1/4t cayenne

with all the veggie ends I had left, I made a huge pot of vegetable broth for future soups!

Heat ghee in saucepan over med-high heat. Add onion and saute until well-browned and caramelized, about 10 min. Add ginger and garlic and saute for 2 min. stir in cumin, paprika, coriander and cinnamon. Add water, squash, lentils, red bell pepper amd celery. Simmer uncovered until lentils are tender, about 30 min.

Stir in spinach, cilantro, currants, bragg liquid aminos or soy, vinegar, salt to taste and cayenne. Simmer just long enough for spinach to wilt

Black & White Soup

Black & White Soup
Originally uploaded by lesliegardner.

Decided to make this soup for Christmas dinner and had every crucial ingredient but milk and of course no stores open so Jen, in all her Holiday spirit, drove me over a baggie of milk and just look at the payoff! So cool an effect! Thanks Jen!
The recipe is here. For the black bean soup, I used this recipe.

After I made the soup but before making the rest of the menu, there was a power failure so when Dag showed up for dinner, everything was cold and dark so we slogged the soup a few blocks away to his place and heated it back up. If only everything were done and hot when he showed up we could have eaten by candlelight and then played some cards while listening to the radio but I also could not locate 2 batteries I needed for that to happen. Power outages and thunderstorms and snowstorms are way too few and far between these days/around these parts.