20 Minute Chili

This chili is one of my go-to recipes whenever I'm short on time. It's literally one of the easiest meals to make, and only uses one pot. Plus, chili is always fantastic on a cold day (especially when you're buried under several feet of snow from the most recent winter storm...). If you handle spicy food well, feel free to add more chili powder, but I don't use very much. 

20 Minute Chili

• 1 28oz can diced tomatoes (petite diced tomatoes work well here!)
• 2 15oz cans beans, drained and rinsed (kidney, pinto, navy, cannelloni, etc.)
• 1 bell pepper, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 onion, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 teaspoon chili powder (or more, to taste)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Ground black pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large pot over medium-high heat. Once it starts to boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until peppers and onions are soft. 

Spinach Hummus

So if you know anything about me, then you probably know I like hummus. A lot. About a year ago I made a blog on Tumblr devoted to posting pictures only of hummus (you can check it out here!), and I was shocked how quickly it became popular. It was really nice knowing I'm not the only one with a love for hummus. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to make my own very often, since my blender was rubbish and I didn't have a food processor. But now that I have a food processor, you can expect many hummus recipes in the future!  

You should be able to throw all the ingredients in at once and have a perfectly good hummus, but I've learned to use a specific order that seems to make it the smoothest. First, blend the tahini and lemon juice; then add olive oil, water, garlic, and salt and blend; next, add and blend garbanzo beans; and finally, blend in spinach (or roasted red peppers or whatever extra flavor you choose).

Spinach Hummus

• 1 (14.5 oz) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/3 cup tahini
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 olive oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 cups fresh spinach

In a food processor, blend all ingredients until smooth. Refrigerate before serving. 

Makes about 2 cups

Lentil Loaf

I have never been able to understand peoples' obsession with "comfort food". When I hear someone referring to comfort food, I automatically think of overcooked, calorie-loaded American food. My dad loves comfort food though, and as I'm trying to win him over to veganism, I'm beginning to cook more meals I know he'll like. Example: vegan meatloaf. This meal was ridiculously good, especially when served with mashed potatoes and a salad. Feel free to top it with as much ketchup or BBQ sauce as you could possibly desire (anything in excess seems to be okay when we're talking about comfort food). I originally found the recipe here, however, I changed a few things.

Lentil Loaf

• 1 1/2 cups uncooked lentils
• 3 1/2 cups broth or water
• 1 1/2 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups cooked rice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 tsp sage
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/4 cup ketchup or barbecue sauce

1) Preheat oven (or toaster oven!) to 350°. Lightly grease a 4 x 8-inch loaf pan.

2) Combine lentils and broth in a large sauce pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 40 minutes, or until lentils are very soft.

3) Blend cooked lentils in a food processor or blender for several minutes, or until there's pretty much no lumps. If by some terrible circumstance, you don't have a blender or food processor, you can do it manually by using a potato masher - but only do that in a pinch, and be sure to mash them very well. Set aside.

4) Heat olive oil in a pan and sauté onions and garlic for about 5 minutes, or until onions are soft.

5) In a large boil, combine the onions and garlic mixture with lentils, rice, and other remaining ingredients.

6) Press the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes. Remove from oven, drizzle a little bit of ketchup or barbecue sauce on top, then bake for another 10 minutes.

7) Let cool slightly before serving.

Serves 6

VeganMoFo Day Eighteen

This post is ridiculously long and not that interesting, so I apologize in advance.

I loved today because I finally didn't have driver's ed! I went on a long walk with my best friend which was lovely because I hadn't seen her in a while. I didn't really take any fantastic photos, but trust me, it was very pretty out today.

We saw like 8,000 geese (actually, 111, if you want to be exact)...flying in the wrong direction. 

I got some herbs from my acupuncturist (I know she has a more official title than that, but I don't remember it) today. They will work along with my acupuncture treatment to hopefully help continue to reduce my psoriasis (amongst other things). I've been surprisingly pleased with the acupuncture so far, as I've been able to fall asleep much easier than before (only a week ago it took me several hours to fall asleep, but now it's significantly better). Even though they look like potpourri, the herbs literally smell like a pile of sticks and dirt, and the tea it makes tastes terrible, but I'm still going to try it anyway because I really trust it will work. Let's see how long I can force myself to drink two cups of this stuff a day.

My cat climbed onto my shoulder and spent most of the evening there. It's cute, but he weighs far more than any cat should and my shoulder killed after a while. Pretty sure the only reason he wanted to be held was so he could get a better view of the food in the kitchen. He's ridiculous.

I finally got to cook dinner again! I got home from my walk just as my mom was starting to cook, so I promptly took over, of course. She/I made Cuban-style black beans, out of the cookbook Vegan Planet. My parents both love that cookbook, and almost everything they've made from it has been great; I don't tend to use it very often though because there's no pictures and I can't stand looking for recipes just by looking at the titles. It's a pretty basic recipe, beans, peppers, onions, and the usual veggies cooked with some chili powder and a few other ingredients (not saying both because it's not my recipe and I honestly can't remember), and I served it on top of a mixed grain mix. It was a pretty perfect meal actually.

Black Bean Soup

First off, I am very upset with myself for going so long without posting anything here. I've been so busy with the start of the schoolyear and everything that fall brings that I've barely had time to cook, much less take pictures and write out recipes. Anyway, when I went vegan a few years ago, this was one of the first recipes I ever made, and I have made it innumerable times since then. I also eventually changed the recipe completely, perfecting it over time. It's actually pretty similar to the black bean soup at Panera Bread (which, by the way, is vegan!). I could basically live off this soup, especially with a side of warm bread and salad topped with a delicious maple-balsamic dressing! 

Black Bean Soup

• 3 cans black beans, drained
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 1/2 cup vegetable broth or vegan chicken broth
• 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 1 1/2 tbsp water
• 1 1/2 tbsp cumin
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• salt, to taste

1) Bring broth to a boil and prepare vegetables.

2) Reduce to medium heat, add vegetables, and cook 6-8 minutes. Add 1 can of beans and cook another 5 minutes.  

3) Transfer to blender and blend on high about 30 seconds.  Add cumin and cornstarch mixture, then blend 10 seconds.  

4) Return soup to pan and add remaining 2 cans of beans.  Add lemon juice and salt and simmer 10 minutes.



view more photos here