recipe: nic & kyle's vegetarian chili

(Originally emailed Apr. 2, 2008)

our recipe!, by LG Weddings

I've added two new people to the list. Julie, from my lab (I've added you in case you find some recipes for your sis or for CR), and Dane who I know from Laurier people (hey, you said you wanted a recipe!). The background info: I (try to) send out a vegetarian recipe every week, seeing as Kyle and I usually try at least 1 or 2 new recipes per week, and I hope that someone out there actually finds something they like.

Today I will share with you my recipe for vegetarian chili. I grew up with my mom's chili recipe: simple, tasty, hearty, but full of meat. And it turns out that it doesn't work well as chili when you just omit the meat. I have tried time and time again to make vegetarian chili and it nearly always ends up tasting "off" and being overly liquidy. So I did some investigative work (including Wikipedia and some recipe sites), plus some trial and error, and finally settled on a vegetarian chili recipe I like. Kyle says it's the best food I make. I don't have a meat substitute in it (I've tried it and I didn't like it), but you could always try that if you wanted. I usually serve this chili with a dollop of sour cream and some shredded cheese. If I'm feeling fancy, I'll chop up some avocado and mix it with lime juice and serve that over top of the chili. I guess green onions would also work as a garnish. We make fresh french crusty bread for dipping.

Some comments from now me (as opposed to me writing in April of 2008). I was searching for this recipe today and I couldn't find it (can't find any recipes in our recipe box since I decided to "re-organize" it. Grr. Then I checked my second go-to spot: my blog! And I realized to my astonishment *gasp* that I haven't posted our chili recipe. As you've already read, Kyle and I developed this recipe together, but the other cool news about it is that we served it at our wedding! The caterer at the Toronto Zoo (Compass Canada) was really great about it and they made our chili for us. How cool is that?

Now as it turns out, Kyle and I have different methods of making this chili. And... his tends to end up better than mine. So I'll intersperse the Kyle Method below.

our recipe!, by LG Weddings

Nic & Kyle's Vegetarian Chili
Ease: 1 very easy
Time: 3 somewhat quick (quick to throw everything in a pot, but long time to let it simmer)
Ingredients: easy to get
Source: my mom, plus inspiration from various places

crockpot chili, by me

Ingredients:

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 chili or jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
• 2 large cans diced tomatoes
• 2 cans kidney beans
• 1 can black beans
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 tbsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1-2 splashes red wine
• 1/2 tbsp oregano
• 1 squeezed lemon (or about 2-3 Tbsp of lemon juice)
  
• few grinds/shakes of black pepper

1. Saute garlic, onion and pepper in a bit of oil for a few minutes - until fragrant and onions are soft. But don't brown garlic.
2. In crockpot or slow-cooker, combine remaining ingredients and add onions and garlic.
3. Set crock pot to high until chili starts to boil, then turn heat down.
4. Boil for several hours. Throughout the day, scoop off the liquid that rises to the top and RESERVE. Do this before you stir it because it's easier. (Kyle method: don't scoop off liquid until the very end)
   
5. Before serving, mix some (> 1 Tbsp) cornstarch into the mug of reserved liquid and add gradually back into the chili until the chili is thick.
6. Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, lime-y avocado cubes, etc. Also, fresh bread.
7. Yum.

Update & Gingery Squash Soup

I hope that everyone's holiday season has been going well!
I haven't been sending out /posting recipes for many reasons:

1. I've been busy and/or lazy with the Holiday Season
   
2. Kyle and I have both had bad colds, resulting in us being less than enthusiastic about cooking and trying new recipes. And when we don't try new recipes, I don't have anything to send out in emails because we rely on the same 15 recipes.
   
3. Normally we shop once a week, but since we don't really like walking for 45 minutes in the cold, we've dropped it down to once every two weeks. This results in us trying fewer new meals and eating more ready-to-eat meals. And then it snowed one week and we were sick so we didn't go shopping for 3 weeks (maybe even 4???)
   
4. Kyle doesn't get home until 6:30, so I end up doing most of the cooking myself (I still only have a part-time job in my old lab, so I make my own hours and come home by 3pm). I don't really enjoy cooking for 1.5 hours on my own, so I'm less likely to try new meals.
   
5. Of the new recipes we have tried, I still feel like they need a few tweaks before I send them out. Some of these recipes include:
   
   • cream of mushroom soup: I combined two different recipes and got to use our brand new food processor (Christmas gift!) and it was OK but not creamy enough and had waaay to much thyme
     
   • mashed russet & sweet potato: I loved this one but Kyle was bored by it. The major problem was that the potatoes took too long to bake - i don't like running the toaster oven for 1 hour just to bake potatoes - and we ended up with chunks in the mash because we got impatient. I'm currently trying to find a way of baking potatoes in a way that takes less time and energy
     
   • gingery butternut squash soup: I'm starting to wonder if maybe I just don't like squash soup all that much because I seem to find problems with just about every soup I make. I'm giving up on this recipe and posting 3 recipes below and you can pick your fave.

Instead of trying new recipes, I've focused my energy elsewhere. I've been trying to photograph every meal we eat, as well as some of the steps in the preparation stage. Also, I've been updating the blog by slowly working through the photos, where I'll add an older recipe to my blog once I have a photo to go with it. No photo for this recipe, but just picture yellow blended soup ;)

Gingery butternut squash soup: Lauren's version

1 onion (chopped)
4 cloves garlic (pressed)
2 T fresh ginger (minced)

Saute with 1 T olive oil until onion is cooked.

3 granny smith (or similarly tart) apples (peeled and cubed)
1 medium or large butternut squash (peeled and cubed)
2 potatoes or sweet potatoes (cubed)
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

Add to pot and bring to boil. Simmer until squash and apples are tender. Puree in blender or food processor.
Salt and pepper to taste. Jay likes to add hot sauce to it too.


GINGERY BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP: Michelle's version

2 onions (chopped)
2 tbsp fresh ginger (peeled and minced)
In a large soup pot, saute in 1 tablespoon oil until onion is translucent

2 apples (peeled, seeded, chopped)
1 butternut squash (peeled, seeded, cut into cubes- you can substitute 2 cups of cooked winter squash here too!)
4 cups/1L chicken (sub veggie if you want) broth

Add to large soup pot and bring to a boil. reduce heat and simmer until squash and apples are tender. Puree in blender until smooth. Salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley...and enjoy!!!!

(I like to add a splash of soy milk just for consistency too.....)


Not as Gingery Acorn Squash Soup: Nic's version
(I had tried making the above versions but had a disaster where I let it cook all night and it tasted grooooosss. So I was kind of wary to try it again. Instead, I used their recipes as a base and used up some things that were in my fridge, like a really old granny smith apple, a half going bad sweet potato, and some shriveled ginger. Sounds good, eh? Hehe... I found that the ginger taste of the soup was really mild, which may relate to the fact that the ginger was no longer fresh. I also found this soup very starchy and thick, which may relate to the potatoes and maybe also to the type of squash. Adding water helped if I found it too thick, and I actually liked it - until my 4th day in a row of eating it!)

• 1 onion (chopped)
  
• 1 tbsp oil
  
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger (peeled and minced)
  
• 1 apple (peeled, seeded, chopped)
  
• 1 acorn squash (peeled, seeded, cut into chunks)
  
• 1 russet potato
  
• 1 half medium sweet potato
  
• 4 cups veggie broth

1. Saute onion and ginger in oil until onion is translucent
   
2. Add apple, squash, potatoes and broth and bring to boil. Simmer until veggies are tender
   
3. Let cool a bit and blend in a blender or food processor.

*** Energy saving tip: When I know that something has to simmer for a while, I usually turn the burner off a few minutes before I want it to be done. The burner usually stays hot for a couple of minutes so the soup will stay boiling/simmering for that time. Plus with a soup as large as this, it really retains its own heat so it will continue to cook a bit long after you turn off the heat. Plus, you have to let it cool before you can blend it anyways, so you might as well turn off the burner as soon as possible. ***