Quinoa and Black Bean Chipotle Chili

Having lived in Minnesota for about ten years, I'm quite conscious of the fact that a high temperature of 39 degrees is nothing to write home about.  And yet, here I am, writing about how the cold, windy mornings and the dark, crisp evenings make me long for a warm bowl of chili.

Here's a recipe for Quinoa and Black Bean Chipotle Chili--a hearty, protein-filled dish that will warm you up in an instant. 

Chili garnished with scallions

Recipe:
Quinoa and Black Bean Chipotle Chili

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1.5 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 - 14.5 ounce can fire-roasted tomatoes
• 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1.5 chiles from a small can of chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, minced
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into bite-sized cubes
• 1/4 cup quinoa
• green onions, chopped, for garnish

First, heat the oil and garlic in a large soup pot over medium-high heat.  Once the oil is hot, add the onion and cook until it begins to brown, about 6 or 7 minutes.  Then add the chili powder and coriander, and stir.  Cook for another minute.

Next, stir in the tomatoes, beans, chiles, oregano, salt, sweet potatoes, and quinoa.  Add 2 cups of water, cover, and bring to a boil; then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes and quinoa are cooked through.  (Add more water as needed if the chili becomes too thick.)

Serve hot with green onions as garnish.  Yields 4-5 servings. 

Comments:

Taste:           

We all thoroughly enjoyed this dish.  The addition of the chipotle chiles--with their smoky, spicy flavor--really makes a difference.  The incorporation of the quinoa right into the chili also gives it a nice thickness, while the sweet potatoes help vary the texture.  With all of these components together in one dish, it's a one-pot meal.

Accessibility:            

We had no trouble finding these ingredients.  Fire-roasted tomatoes can be found among the cans of diced, crushed, and other tomatoes.  We found chipotle chiles in the grocery store's hispanic food section.

 Ease of Preparation:       

This straightforward recipe is also pretty quick to make.  Just make sure you have the ingredients chopped in advance, as always.

Non-vegan friendliness:           

Chili-lovers of all kinds would enjoy this filling, flavorful dish (I might even make this again for a chili cook-off later this month.).  As a pretty customizable dish, chili is a crowd-pleaser.  Rachel and Simon both added a dollop of sour cream to their bowls; you could also serve it with chopped cilantro or vegan cheese as added garnishes.

Spinach and Sweet Potato Pie

I'm a big fan of dinner pies.  It's always such a good feeling to puncture the crust and release the savory steam trapped inside.  Plus, dinner pies are a pretty low-maintenance way to prepare veggies in a filling way.  This Spinach and Sweet Potato Pie puts a Mexican spin on more traditional pot pies. 

The full dish.

While I've used standard pie crust to top other pot pies, we tried puff pastry on this one (with limited success, as I'll explain below). 

Recipe:     
Spinach and Sweet Potato Pie

• 1/2 pound puff pastry
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 onions, diced
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 large sweet potatoes, cubed
• about 3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (enough to cover the potatoes in the pot)
• 2 cups frozen spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 - 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• a dash of pepper
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
• hot sauce to taste
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

First, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and set out a casserole dish.  Take the puff pastry out of the freezer to thaw as you prepare the rest of the dish.

Then heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown.  Then add the jalapeno and garlic and cook for another minute.

Next, add the sweet potatoes and vegetable broth to the pot and stir.  Cover the pot and cook until the sweet potatoes are slightly softened.  Add the spinach and cook (uncovered) for another two minutes.  Then add the black beans, cumin, lime juice, pepper, nutritional yeast, and hot sauce and cook until the vegetable broth is mostly absorbed. Stir in the cilantro.

Finally, pour the mixture into the casserole dish and lay the pastry over the top, folding over any extra that would otherwise extend beyond the edge of the dish.  Bake for about 16 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.

Yields about 8 servings.

Comments:
Taste:            

We enjoyed this dish; but, as Rachel put it, it was unexciting.  As I alluded to earlier, the puff pastry caused some problems: it didn't puff up, and it tasted a bit doughy despite the fact that the top had seemingly browned sufficiently.  Perhaps we could have cooked the dish a bit more without burning it, so I'd give that a try.  I would also use another can of beans next time, since the black beans were a bit lost among the spinach and sweet potato.  That said, the dish had a good, almost smoky flavor and I did enjoy eating it. 

Accessibility:          

The puff pastry was on sale (at least it had that going for it!).  On the whole, the ingredients list is pretty accessible, but unfortunately nutritional yeast has yet to hit mainstream market shelves.  We went to Whole Foods to find it.   

  Ease of Preparation:          

Considering this recipe requires both cooking and baking, it's pretty fast and easy to handle. 

Non-vegan friendliness:           

This is a filling dish and I wouldn't say it's missing any obvious animal-based ingredients.    

Saffron-Spiked Moroccan Stew

Time for a guest blog by Simon! Carol was at a talk with the owner/founder of Sticky Fingers on Thursday night, so Rachel and I were left to fend for ourselves. Sometimes when Carol has other plans we make meat-centric dishes, but this dish had to last a few meals for everyone, so we went with the standard vegan. My dad visited last weekend and brought saffron, so we decided to try it out.

Recipe:
Saffron-Spiked Moroccan Stew

• Olive oil for sauteing
• 1 large yellow onion
• 2 large bell peppers (any combination of red and green should be fine)
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp ginger (preferably fresh, but dry works too)
• 1/2 tsp saffron threads
• 2 sweet potatoes, cubed
• 1.5 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
• 1-15oz can diced tomatoes
• 1-15oz can chickpeas, drained
• Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil and saute the onion, peppers, and garlic in a large pot over medium-high until the onions are cooked through.

Stir in the brown sugar, coriander, cinnamon, cumin, cayenne, ginger, and saffron, stirring for 60 seconds.

Add the sweet potatoes, stock, tomatoes, and chickpeas. Turn to high to bring to a boil, then reduce to low and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are cooked.

Yields 4 servings.

 Comments:
Taste:      

I wanted to really be able to taste the saffron in this dish, both because I had never tasted it and because I would have felt silly drowning out a costly ingredient. The saffron definitely came through, so the taste rating is mostly a reflection of my taste for saffron. It certainly has a distinct flavor--one that's earthly and floral and that does not compare to most other tastes. The flavor grew on me over time, though I think the recipe could use a bit less so the saffron flavor is the star player but not the flavor ball-hog.

Accessibility:        

Most people do not have saffron around, and it is rather expensive ($15 a teaspoon or so). That being said, it is available in most grocery stores, so you wouldn't need to go out of your way. The rest of the ingredients are pretty typical, and if you don't have or want to buy saffron, I think the dish with the other ingredients would be pretty good as well

 Ease of Preparation:   

Though the preparation does not include any fancy cooking techniques, there is quite a bit of chopping involved. We doubled the recipe, and the total onion/pepper/sweet potato chopping probably took 45 people-minutes.     

Non-vegan friendliness:  

This dish fits into the typical vegan-style one-pot meal. I do not think it's really missing meat, and the sweet potatoes and chickpeas provide a variety of textures. However, it is lacking a bit of substance, and even after a full bowl I found myself raiding the fridge for a bite or two to satisfy my hunger.

Guest blog complete!

Sweet Potato Fries

Last night's dinner, part three!  These aren't really "fries" since they're baked, but nobody will ever know. 

Recipe:
Sweet Potato Fries

• 4 sweet potatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line baking sheets with aluminum foil and set aside.

Cut the potatoes in half widthwise and then cut each half into 1/2-inch thick strips.  (Don't worry about peeling the potatoes.)  Make sure the strips are all pretty uniform in size to ensure even cooking.  Next, in a large bowl, toss the potatoes with the remaining ingredients to coat well.  Spread the fries out onto the baking sheets in a single layer.  Bake for about 45 minutes, turning the fries over halfway through. The fries are done when they are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. 

Yields 4-6 servings of soft, flavorful, colorful fries.

Comments:
Taste:      

The great thing about sweet potato fries is that you can customize the spice level and seasoning to accommodate anyone's taste.  You could swap out the savory spices in this recipe with sweeter spices such as cinnamon and a little bit of brown sugar.  But, I think they were delicious just as they were.  

Accessibility:     

Sweet potatoes should be easy to find (you can use "yams" too, since most "yams" sold in the U.S. are actually just sweet potatoes).  It's not a big deal if you don't have some of the spices listed above--really, they'd be great with just a little oil and salt.  

Ease of Preparation:   

Sweet potatoes are a bit difficult to chop/slice since they're so firm.  But, once you prepare the potatoes, the rest of the recipe is easy.       

Non-vegan friendliness:   

Everyone loves sweet potato fries!  Well, maybe not everyone, but there's certainly nothing vegan-specific about them. 

Thai Curried Veggies

If you're looking for a recipe with a lot of produce in it, you've come to the right place.  This recipe for Thai Curried Veggies contains a long list of vegetables--some of which are making their first appearance in this blog.  (Simon doesn't really like cauliflower, but somehow it found its way into this curry!) 

Thai Curried Veggies

Recipe:
Thai Curried Veggies

• 2 - 14 oz cans unsweetened coconut milk (we used "lite" coconut milk)
• Curry paste (This comes in several varieties, including red, green, Massaman, or yellow--listed from most to least spicy.  We used green.  Be sure to look for a brand of curry paste without fish sauce.  The instructions on the container will tell you how much to use.) 
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 - 16 oz package extra-firm tofu, pressed and cut into small cubes
• 2 yellow potatoes, diced
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
• 1 bunch cauliflower florets
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into long strips
• 1 bunch fresh basil
• Salt and pepper, to taste

First, pour half of one of the cans of coconut milk into a large frying pan and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Cook the coconut milk for a few minutes until it begins to smell sweet (about 3 minutes).  Add the curry paste and cook for 3 more minutes, stirring often to combine the paste and coconut milk.  Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes.  Then stir in the remaining coconut milk, tofu, potatoes, and cauliflower, reduce the heat, and simmer the mixture for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the red peppers and cook for 5 more minutes.  Finally, add the basil and cook for an additional minute, adding salt and pepper to taste. 

Serve hot over brown rice.  Yields 4 servings.

Comments:

Taste: 

This dish wasn't one of the best we've made so far.  It didn't have a bad taste, but it also didn't have much taste.  Rachel and Simon both described the meal as "bland," which isn't necessarily what you want your curry to taste like (unless you do!  This could be a good dish to make for a spice-fearing friend.).  I thought the dish had a nice taste, though I did add some crushed red pepper flakes to add spice. 

Accessibility:  

We had no trouble finding any of the ingredients in this dish.  We found vegan curry paste in our local Giant.  You can really use any variety of vegetables available, so it could be a great seasonal dish.  However, this dish did end up being a bit more expensive than others due to all of the fresh ingredients.  

Ease of Preparation: 

This dish was easy to make and didn't take too long.  There is a lot to chop, but the actual cooking was a breeze.  

Non-vegan friendliness: 

Curry is a very non-vegan friendly dish in general.  However, I know many non-vegans who might object to the tofu in this dish, especially since it's not browned and crispy.  It's probably not the best vegan dish to make for a skeptical non-vegan.