Bookmarked Recipe: Vegan Chili (Fellowship of the Vegetable)

Hi everyone! The vegan chili from Fellowship of the Vegetable (Vegan MoFo 2012) was perfect for the dreary weather today – lots of veggies and just the right amount of spice! 

Here are the snuggly sisters; Daisy is unamused that Cringer has decided to settle in next to her on the couch… 

Peace. :) 

Three-Bean Chili (Vegan Crunk), then a Buttons Update

Hi everyone. Today's Vegan MoFo prompt is "Let's get boozy!" I don't drink, but the three-bean beer chili recently posted over at Vegan Crunk sounded really good. So, I modified it for my lunch today. The recipe already calls for including mushrooms, so I simply replaced the beer with a package of mushroom gravy (Imagine brand), making it a three-bean mushroom chili instead. The three-bean cans I found contained chickpeas (garbanzo beans), kidney beans, and pinto beans. The chili was good, and I have lots of leftovers, so those will be nice to enjoy throughout the week.

My other changes: I used Morningstar's vegan pulled pork since I already had a bag in the freezer and couldn't reach the last bag of Beyond Meat crumbles at the far back of the very top shelf at the grocery store last night (aka "short people problems"). And I only used half the chili powder because I realized as I was measuring it out today that that was all I had. 

Here's my Inktober sketch...

Here's Cringer cuddling with Buttons last night (photo by Zach)...

Here's Buttons this morning, looking out the window from her cat tower once again...

Buttons update: I'm so sorry to share this news, but we had to let her go today. I'll do a memorial post after Vegan MoFo is over; writing anything more right now is going to lead to even more breaking down and crying. I just miss my Buttons girl so much, and I'm heartbroken and numb.

My last photo of Buttons at home, in the sunshine, before we brought her to the vet.

Peace...

Random Food in February & March

Hello everyone! Figured I would do a random food post since I haven't in a while, so prepare for lots of food photos!

February

Classic Double Cream Chive – Another great cheese from Miyoko's Creamery, delicious on crackers & bagels! 

Daiya Supreme Pizza – Good, but I still wish Daiya made a thicker crust, like the Tofutti pizzas. 

Double Cream Sundried Tomato Garlic – Good with crackers and on bagels, but absolutely amazing in pasta! 

Peanut Butter Cheesecake – An amazingly delicious dessert from Vegan Treats! So very good! 

March

SuTao Cafe – Alena and I went to SuTao again! These are the pics she took; mine came out very blurry, haha! 

Bagels – I made another attempt at bagels, but this time the fault wasn't all mine; the hook in the bread machine appeared to have gotten stuck during the dough cycle, so the dough was a bit of a fail. I tried to redeem it, and at least some bagels turned out vaguely bagel-like. They still tasted good, though, and that's all that matters!

Ben's Chili – Zach's brother Ben visited and made an awesome chili! 

Aged English Smoked Farmhouse – Eh, this one wasn't that great. It was a harder cheese and a bit too smoky of a taste for me. 

Country Style Herbes de Provence – The cheese itself is good, but the herb coating is a bit too much. I kinda feel like it might have been better with less of the herbs but then actually incorporating them into the cheese. Still good, though.

Gardein Crispy Chick'n Sliders – The first time we tried these was at a get-together hosted by Zach's parents. They were pretty good, so we tried them again, this time with tater tots! 

Well, it looks like it's time to get started on the chamomile lavender cupcakes (using this recipe); Zach and I are hosting Easter dinner this year, so I'll have pics from that for my next post!

P.S. Flowery photo from the first day of spring... 

Peace. :)

Three Delicious Cups/Bowls

Hello there! Today I'm joining in on the first Vegan MoFo Off-Season Community link-up. For the topic of "PICK 3," I've decided to share three cups/bowls I've enjoyed recently.

First up is a miso soup cup, to which I added the last of my Old Bay seasoned tofu...

Second is the vegan chili I got from Just Jackie's Food Truck at the Phoenixville Food Truck Festival... 

And third is my rosemary roasted potato bowl, with carrots, broccoli, and Boca chik'n...

Peace. :)

April and Andy's Frisbee Chili

Hello on the 24th day of the Vegan Month of Food, and day three of my Parks and Recreation theme week!

April and Andy's Frisbee Chili

In "Jerry's Painting" (season 3, episode 11), April and Andy have recently lost their roommate Burly. Ben had been staying at a Pawnee motel, but once it gets bedbugs, he starts looking for a new place to stay. April and Andy agree to take him in as their new roommate (and tell him the rent is much more than it actually is). When Ben moves in, the place is a mess; the next morning, he sees April and Andy using Frisbees as plates and sharing a single fork, passing it back and forth in between bites.

Ben: I'm sorry, are you eating turkey chili off of a Frisbee?

Andy: (laughs) Yeah, it's pretty cute, right?

Ben: No... Do you know what "cute" means?

April: What have you got against turkey chili for breakfast?

Ben: What have you guys got against washing dishes?

April: We don't have any dishes, OK? Burly took them all when he left. Now I bet you feel like a jerk.

Ingredients:

--Lightlife Smart Ground Mexican Style

--1 plum tomato, chopped

--1/3 yellow onion, chopped (and briefly sautéed)

--8 heaping spoonfuls tomato sauce

--cumin

--oregano

steamy :)

Spray a pan with cooking spray, heat on medium. Add the Smart Ground, stirring and breaking it up. After 5 minutes, add the tomato and onion, stir. After another 5 minutes, add the tomato sauce, stirring again. Add a bit of cumin and oregano, then cover and turn heat to low. Stir and serve on a "Frisbee" after 5 minutes. (I didn't have any Frisbees lying around the apartment, and I'm not quite sure I'd want to eat on one anyway, so I just used a Tupperware plate that was a bit of a Frisbee look-alike.)

The Frisbee chili was good, but even though my simple version was likely more involved than how April and Andy prepared it, it still wasn't really much of a meal by itself. I have a fair amount of leftovers, and I plan to use them as additions to other meals (ex., burritos, pasta, etc.). All in all, it was fun, though!

Bonus quote from the episode (video clip here):

Ron: (introducing the art show) OK, everyone! Shut up! (claps once) And look at me. Welcome to “Visions of Nature.” This room has several paintings in it; some are big, some are small. People did them, and they are here now. I believe that after this is over, they'll be hung in government buildings. Why the government is involved in an art show is beyond me. I also think it's pointless for a human to paint scenes of nature when they can just go outside and stand in it. Anyway, please do not misinterpret the fact that I am talking right now as genuine interest in art and attempt to discuss it with me further. End of speech.

Here's a picture of Mystery and a box that caught her interest; she got shy once I took out my camera, though.

Peace. :)