Great Weekend: Basketball, Chili and 500 Page Views!



I love it when Pat has a Saturday off - even if we don't do anything. It's just so nice to have him around. This last Saturday was one of those days!

So after we ran some errands, Pat settled in to watch the Aztecs game and I decided to make some chili. Luckily our living room and kitchen are open to each other so we can still spend time together while I cook. This is even more important since I've been spending so much time in there!

I had soaked my dried beans overnight and they were ready to go - so I looked up a few vegan chili recipes for guidance and made up my own based on what CSA veggies I needed to use and what other fun stuff I had on hand.


I started with the uncooked beans this time, but next time, I will definitely cook the beans before adding them to the rest of the ingredients. So, this recipe reflects that.

Angie's Vegan Chili
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion chopped
4 cloves garlic diced
handful baby carrots chopped
5 small white radishes chopped
1 bunch swiss chard - stems diced and leaves rough chopped
1 pkg seitan ground in a food processor (can sub ground beef or turkey)
3 cups dried kidney beans soaked overnight, then cooked (or 2 15 oz. cans)
2 cups vegetable broth
4 cups water
1 package grape tomatoes chopped
1/3 cup tomato sauce
2 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 Tbsp flax meal
1 tsp ground red pepper
1 tsp corn starch (optional)
handful or so of chopped parsley, cilanto and oregano

For topping:
lime
avocado
green onion chopped
sour cream

Soak beans overnight. Cover beans with lots of water and boil for 60 - 90 minutes. Check periodically and add more water if needed to keep covered.

In a large pot saute the onion and garlic in the oil. Add carrots radishes and chopped chard stems. Cover and cook until soft. Add ground seitan and brown. Add the rest of the ingredients (including half the fresh herbs), stir, cover and cook for 30 minutes or so.  If you want it to thicken up more you can add the corn starch - mix with 1/2 cup cold water first.

Garnish with more fresh herbs, lime, avocado, green onions and sour cream.

Blog updates!
This weekend I was excited to see I surpassed 500 page views! Pretty exciting considering I didn't know if anyone would read it... Yay! I also added a new follower, so I'm up to 6! (Does it matter that it's Pat and I asked him to follow me like three times?) :) I also played around and figured out how to add pages. So, I now have a Recipes page (with five whole recipes...) and an About Me page. Fun!

You too can follow my blog! Just click here and sign in with your gmail, yahoo or twitter login.

Thanks to everyone! I'll keep writing if you keep reading!