Sunday Supper: White Bean Chili

Tonight’s Supper: White Bean Chili
Tonight’s Sunday Supper Soundtrack: Beauty and the Beast

The weather has finally started turning fall-like and, well, chilly, so it seemed like a good night for chili!  I don’t really use a recipe for chili, more of a set of guidelines.  I start with tomato sauce as a base, then add chopped garlic or garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, beans of some kind, and vegetables.  It’s great for cleaning out the pantry!  Today I used white beans and chickpeas as the proteins, and carrots, green pepper, and tomatoes for vegetables.  Mix everything together in a pot, bring it to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or so, and you have a quick, easy, one-pot meal that’s wonderful for a fall or winter evening!

Sunday Supper: "Kielbasa" and Cabbage Soup

Tonight's Supper: Cabbage soup with Tofurky "kielbasa"

Tonight's Sunday Supper Soundtrack:  Aimee Mann, The Forgotten Arm

Despite the fact that the weather this weekend was distinctly un-fall like, the end of September always feels like soup season.  Plus, I still had some Tofurky “kielbasa” to use up, so soup seemed like a natural choice for supper.

I love making soup--it’s easy, it’s painless, you can usually do it in one pan.  This recipe is my all-purpose soup recipe.  The liquid amounts stay the same, but you can swap proteins and vegetables depending what you’re in the mood for.  You can also decrease the amount of broth if you want more of a stew!

 

After serving, I also garnished it with some extra sour cream and a little bit of dill, just because.  The result?  Delicious.  

Recipe:

1 pound “kielbasa” sausage, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 tablespoon butter
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed tomato soup
5 cups vegetable broth
3 cups shredded cabbage
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
2 medium carrots
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup vegan sour cream 

In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook “sausage” in butter until brown. Pour broth and tomato soup into pan with sausage. Stir in cabbage, bell pepper, and carrots, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes, or until flavors are well blended and carrots and cabbage are tender. Stir in sour cream and heat through before serving. 

Sunday Supper: "Kielbasa" Mac and Cheese

Tonight's Supper: Kielbasa Macaroni and Cheese
Tonight's Sunday Supper Soundtrack: Scottish Folk at Its Best (I've been a little obsessed with Scottish folk ballads since my headlong dash through the Outlander series this summer)

I was away this weekend, and consequently wasn’t in the mood to try anything too ambitious for supper tonight.  I was, however, in the mood to try out some of the fancy vegan stuff I got while I was on the mainland, including this kielbasa-style sausage:

I settled on kielbasa mac-and-cheese, made with this powdered “cheese” sauce:
because, again, not in the mood for anything involving lots of time on my feet (like a made from scratch sauce).  However, in the recipe below I’ve included directions for how to make a from-scratch vegan cheese sauce.

I fried the kielbasa until it was nice and brown and crispy, mixed it with the pasta and some veggies, added the “cheese sauce” and some Daiya cheddar, and then baked it at 400 for about 15 minutes--just long enough to melt the cheddar and let all the flavors blend. 

Exciting?  No, not especially.  But tasty?  Definitely.  I’ll be back next week with something a little more adventurous.

Recipe:
Tofurky kielbasa-style sausage
1 lb. box pasta (I used rigatoni)
Whatever veggies you want to throw in (I used green peppers, broccoli, and carrot)
1/2 cup Daiya cheddar (optional)

Cheese sauce:
2 cups shredded Daiya Cheddar cheese
3 cups plain soymilk
1/4 cup vegan margarine
2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Cook the pasta according to package directions.  While that’s cooking, make the cheese sauce:
In a saucepan, melt margarine over medium heat. Stir in enough flour to make a roux. Add soymilk to roux slowly, stirring constantly. Stir in cheese, and cook over low heat until cheese is melted and the sauce is a little thick.  It'll take a little while, but just be patient--it will come together eventually.

Mix together pasta, veggies, and kielbasa, and put into 9x13 casserole dish.  Pour the cheese sauce over the pasta.  Add Daiya cheese on top, if desired.  Bake at 400F for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
 

Sunday Supper + Product Review: Breakfast Nachos with Nacheez vegan "cheese" sauce

Tonight’s Supper: Breakfast Nachos from Post Punk Kitchen (http://www.theppk.com/2014/05/breakfast-nachos/)
Tonight’s Sunday Supper Soundtrack: "Les Miserables" original Broadway cast album

Last week, my parents ordered me a bunch of snacks from veganessentials.com, an excellent source for all kinds of vegan junk food.  This “nacho cheese” sauce:

inspired me to try out this recipe.  I made a few changes: shallots instead of onions, because onions are gross; parsley instead of cilantro, because the grocery store didn’t have any cilantro; I didn’t use jalapeno in the salsa, for the same reason; I added some Daiya cheddar cheese to the top, because why not?; I cut out the nutritional yeast and used extra turmeric, because I didn’t have any nutritional yeast, and I love turmeric; and of course, I used the jarred nacho cheese sauce instead of making it.



The nachos: These were super delicious and really filling.  They were messy--I ended up eating them with a fork--but nachos should be messy, right?  They’d especially be great for a Sunday brunch get-together, because you could make most of the components (the salsa, the cheese sauce, even the roasted potatoes) ahead.  It would also make great filling for breakfast wraps!

The cheese sauce: was delicious.  It was pretty much exactly like the jarred Tostitos cheese sauce--not remotely like any food that comes from nature, but still wonderful and delicious.  I’m looking forward to eating it as dip with tortilla chips!

Recipe:
4 medium sized red potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tbsp. salt

Salsa:
1 large tomato, diced
1 small shallot, diced
2 tbsp. dried parsley
1 tbsp. lime juice
Pinch salt
1 avocado, diced

Scrambled Tofu:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small shallot, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
14 oz extra firm tofu, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 15-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

Garnish:
"Nacheez" Nacho Cheese sauce
Daiya cheddar cheese

Potatoes:
Preheat oven to 425.  Toss potatoes with olive oil and salt and spread in roasting pan.  Roast for 30 minutes, or until tender and golden brown.  Remove from oven and set aside.

Scrambled tofu:
Saute the garlic and onion over medium high heat until the onion turns translucent.  Add the crumbled tofu and salt and cook for 7-10 minutes, or until browned.  Add the cumin and turmeric and mix until the tofu turns bright yellow.  Add the lime juice and black beans and cook for 5 minutes more, or until the beans are heated through.

Salsa:
Mix all the ingredients except the avocado in a bowl.  Let sit for about 5 minutes so the flavors can blend, then add the avocado.

Assemble:
Layer in this order: chips, tofu, black beans, potatoes, cheese sauce, more chips, Daiya cheese, salsa.  Enjoy!

Sunday Supper: Back to School Edition

Tonight's Sunday Supper: Rotini w/roasted chickpeas & vegetables
Tonight's Sunday Supper Soundtrack: "Fire Within," Birdy

First Sunday supper of the school year!  After a week of getting back into the swing of things, getting up early, and getting used to only having a few hours a day to get things done (rather than the whole day), I decided it was a good day for a nice, simple, hearty meal.  This recipe takes awhile just due to the roasting time, but the active time is pretty minimal, and if you already have roasted vegetables left over from another meal it will be even quicker!  Otherwise, make sure you start the vegetables about 45 minutes before you actually want to eat.

Roasting is probably my favorite way to prepare vegetables.  There’s something about a nice pan of roasted vegetables that’s just irresistible.  For this recipe, I decided to throw in some roasted chickpeas, because I needed a protein to add and I figured hey, why not?  I used carrots and broccoli for the vegetables because that’s what I had on hand, but you could really use anything that roasts well.


Once the chickpeas and vegetables were done, it was a simple matter of cooking the pasta, tossing everything together, and ta-da!  Dinner!  I used some Daiya cheddar cheese because that was all I had, but vegan parmesan would be better.


Verdict: Excellent!  This recipe required a little bit of planning ahead, since I needed to allow time for the vegetables to roast, but the actual on my feet time was pretty low, it only used a few dishes, and there were plenty of leftovers for my lunch tomorrow--always a consideration once the school year starts!

Ingredients:
1 15-oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 medium sized carrots, chopped
1 medium sized broccoli crown, chopped
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 lb. rotini (or other pasta)
1/2 cup vegan cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 425F.  In a large bowl, toss together the chickpeas, carrots, broccoli, 2 tbsp. olive oil, salt, pepper, and herbs.  Set the bowl aside for later (don’t wash yet).  Spread the vegetables and chickpeas in a roasting dish and roast for 35 minutes, turning halfway through.

Once the vegetables and chickpeas are about halfway done, cook the pasta according to package directions.  Drain, then put the pasta in the bowl from before and toss with the remaining tbsp. of olive oil.  When the vegetables and chickpeas are done, add them to the bowl and toss everything together.  If using, add the vegan cheese, and serve.

Sunday Supper: Vegan Nachos

Tonight’s Supper: Nachos!
Tonight's Sunday Supper Soundtrack: "The Wishing Chair", 10,000 Maniacs

As always, for more pictures see my instagram (hiltheimpaler; #islandvegan)!

This weekend I was on the mainland for a few days and discovered the wonder that is almond cheese.  I decided on a whim to try some, and was amazed.  It melts beautifully, and without the greasiness that Daiya shreds have.  Which made it perfect for nachos!

I learned my nacho technique from my wonderful partner.  Rather than putting the toppings directly on the nachos, make a circle with the chips and put the toppings in the center.  That way the chips stay nice and crisp, and you don’t end up with a few chips covered in toppings and the rest with nothing on them.











I ate this whole thing myself, but it could definitely feed 2 people if they had relatively small appetites.

Recipe:
Ingredients
Tortilla chips
1/2 package veggie crumbles (I used Lightlife Smart Ground)
1/2 tsp. each of salt, chili powder, and crushed red pepper
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tomato, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup salsa or taco sauce
1/4 cup vegan sour cream
1/2 cup grated vegan cheese
1 avocado

Season the veggie crumbles with the salt, chili powder, red pepper, and cumin; saute over medium heat until heated through.

Place the tortilla chips in a circle around the edge of a pie plate, leaving the center of the plate empty.  In the center, layer the toppings in this order: veggie crumbles, tomato, red bell pepper, salsa, sour cream, grated cheese.  Bake at 350 until the cheese is melted, garnish with avocado, and serve.

Sunday Supper: Hummus bil "lahme" from Vegan Feast Kitchen

Tonight’s Supper: Recipe from Vegan Fest Kitchen: Bryanna's version of hummus bil "lahme" (Hummus with Spicy “Meat” and Nut Mixture)
Tonight's Sunday Supper Soundtrack: Spotify's "New Music Tuesday"

Vegan confession time: I eat an embarrassing amount of hummus each week. Like, an entire family size tub of it, by myself, every week. So, I was excited to find this recipe for a new way to consume hummus!

I made the recipe pretty much as is, with the major exception that I used store bought hummus. There are many things I love making myself, but hummus is not one of them, possibly due to the fact that I don’t have a very good food processor. The only other changes I made were to use dill as a garnish rather than chives or green onions, and I didn’t have any vegan butter so I used just olive oil to saute everything.



It turned out delicious! After layering everything together, I scooped it into a pita and served it with some carrots and broccoli, just to get some color. It was great.



 I’ll admit I was skeptical about the cinnamon, but it added just the right earthy notes to the meat mixture. And best of all, the whole thing only took 2 dishes; the frying pan and the serving plate! And, it only took about 20 minutes, start to finish, so it would be good for a weeknight, too.

Recipe (modified from http://veganfeastkitchen.blogspot.com/2014/03/my-version-of-vegan-hummus-bil-lahme.html)

1 10oz container hummus
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
12 ounces vegan hamburger crumbles
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon red chile flakes
salt and freshly-ground pepper

Garnish:
about 3/4 cup cooked or canned chickpeas (rinsed and well-drained)
chopped fresh dill
smoked paprika

Pita bread, for serving

Spread the freshly-made hummus on a serving platter and set aside.
Heat the oil in a cast iron skilled. Add the garlic and sauté for a minute. Add the hamburger crumbles, almonds, and spices and sauté for about 7 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Spread the “meat” mixture over the hummus, leaving an edge of hummus visible around the
outside. Garnish with dill and cooked chickpeas. Serve in pita bread.