Vegan Chili

 

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Vegetarian Chili

• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 1 1/2 hours
• Yield: 6 to 8 servings

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Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions
• 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
• 1 poblano pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped
• 2 to 3 serrano chiles, minced
• 1 1/2 pounds baby bella mushrooms, diced
• Salt and cayenne pepper, to taste
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano, crushed between your fingers
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, stems and leaves separated and both finely chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• Two 14.5 ounce cans petite diced tomatoes (with juices)
• 3 cups water, or more as needed
• Two cans black beans, drained and rinsed under cool water
• 1 large zucchini, diced
• 2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
• Cooked brown rice, for serving
• Sour cream, for serving
• Chopped green onions, for serving
• Diced avocado, for serving

Directions

• Heat the oil over medium high heat in a large heavy Dutch oven and saute the onions, bell pepper, poblano, and serrano chiles until the vegetables are soft, 4 to 6 minutes.

  Add the mushrooms, season lightly with salt and cayenne, and continue to cook, stirring as needed, until the mushrooms have given off their liquid and then begin to brown around the edges, 4 to 6 minutes longer.

  Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, cilantro stems, bay leaves, and cook until the spices are fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.

  Stir in the canned tomatoes and 2 cups of the water. Bring to a simmer, lower heat so that the chili gently bubbles, and cook for about 20 minutes, adding more water if the chili gets too thick.

  Add the beans and cook until thickened, about 10 minutes longer. Stir in the zucchini and cook for 5 minutes, then stir in the corn and any additional water to correct the consistency if the chili has become too thick. Cook until the zucchini is softened but not mushy, about 10 minutes, then stir in the cilantro leaves, correct the seasoning with salt and cayenne, and remove from the heat.

  Serve the chili garnished with a spoonful of brown rice, a dollop of sour cream, and a sprinkling of green onions and diced avocado.

Mom's cabbage rolls

My mom is the only person I know who makes cabbage rolls like this - sweet and sour.  It's also a wonderful comfort food.   If painstakingly dissecting a cabbage, then using the leaves to hand roll these treats isn't love, I don't know what is!

I find the process of peeling away the cabbage leaves, without ripping them, strangely meditative.

If your loved ones don't like raisins, brown sugar and lemon juice in their cabbage (Leon doesn't), just leave them out.  You can add it to your serving at the last minute if you have to.  I think this recipe, which includes onions in the beef, has some zing that I don't find in the halupkis made at local church picnics around Berwick and Bloomsburg, even without the raisins, sugar and lemon juice.

Ingredients:

1 large, loose head of cabbage.
2 TB oil
2 sliced onions
2 large cans of tomatoes
1 can of tomato paste
3 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 pound ground beef
3 Tbs. rice, cooked al dente
4 Tbs. grated onion
1 egg
3 Tbs cold water
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup seedless golden raisins

1. Cook the rice

2. Cook the cabbage. You can boil it for an hour.  Or you can stick it in the microwave with a little water and steam it until leaves are soft enough to gently separate.  Run it under cold water when you're done, either way.

3. Heat oil in a really LARGE pot.  Lightly brown the sliced onions. Then add the tomatoes and mash them. Add 1/2 of the salt and pepper. Cook on low for 30 minutes.

4. While the tomatoes cook, mix the beef, rice, grated onion, egg and water.  Roll the mixture into a ball and put in the curve of a cabbage leaf. Tuck in the sides around the meatball and then roll it up, like a burrito.

5. Place the rolls in the sauce. Cover and simmer for 1.5 hours.

6. Add the brown sugar, lemon juice and raisins to taste. Cook 30 minutes longer.

Pam's Pierogie Casserole

This recipe comes from Pam at the Berwick office.  She says you can use instant potatoes to speed things up!  It was a huge hit at the office autumn party, even among my fussy co-workers. (Advertising and circulation staff, it turns out, are much pickier eaters than reporters, who tend to fall on any food offerings like a pack of wild dogs.)

Ingredients:
Six servings of mashed potatoes
1 Onion, chopped
Butter
American cheese
1/2 box lasagne noodles

1. Cook the onion in butter. You can do this in the microwave!
2. Put a layer of onions on the bottom of a crock pot, cover with layer of mashed potatoes, finish with a layer of noodles. Repeat - be sure you finish up with a layer of onions.

Cook until the noodles are done.

Mushtaq's Yellow Rice with Sweet Peas

Ingredients:
  1 pound long grain plain rice
  4 ounces sweet peas
  3 TB vegetable oil
  1 medium onion, chopped
  3-4 large garlic cloves, chopped or sliced
  3/4 tsp. ground tumeric
  1-2 green chilis, sliced or chopped
  Salt to taste

Wash rice in a deep pan. Add 4 C water. Add everything else except peas.  Turn to high heat.
Boil contents 5-6 minutes, stir in peas.
Turn heat to minimum, cover, and simmer 15-20 minutes, or until rice is done.
Loosen up the content in pot to make it look fluffy.