Blow a hole in your shorts Red-Hot White Bean Chili!

I was sitting there getting poked by my acupuncturist trying to decide on what to make for dinner. Richard wanted meat or something hearty, but not the same as the soups I had been making ... so I pulled out my Vegan Fire and Spice cookbook and went hunting for something that would fit the bill. Tonight I made Red-Hot White Bean Chili ... and it is  Fire and Spice all at once ... and pretty yummy too.

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Yellow Onion, chopped
1 Carrot Chopped
1 Red Bell Pepper Chopped
2 Large Garlic Cloves Minced
2 Fresh Jalapenos seeded and minced
3 Tablespoons Chili Powder
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cumin
1/4 Teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 Teaspoon cayenne
1/8 Teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes (I used the ones for chili)
1 cup water (I used vegetable broth)
3 cab Cannelli beans drained and rinsed (I used white Kidney Beans because that is what I could find)
2 Scallions (green onions) minced

Heat the oil in a large stock pot and add the onion, garlic, red bell pepper and carrot and heat covered until soft stirring occasionally (about ten minutes). While that is cooking measure out the spices and toss in once the veggies are soft, stir and cook about two minutes. Add the water or broth and the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and add the beans, cover and simmer for about 45 minutes while flavors blend.  Serve with green onions and a dab of vegan sour cream. We also had some organic tortilla chips with it ... to die for. Wear shorts so you don't destroy your sofa or chairs!

Finally something to post!

I haven't posted lately because a) I was working my tail off at work and didn't have a lot of time and b) I had kind of fallen into a rut with food I had found that I liked. Now Richard has decided he will try what I cook, so tonight a new recipe is born.
Tonight I am making a soup called "almost instant Thai corn soup". The picture looked awesome ... so I figured I would give it a whirl. Recipe follows .... and it is really fast and easy!

Dice up one red bell pepper and put it in a soup pot ... I used my Kitchen Aid porcelain small sized dutch oven.
Add 3 garlic cloves minced and the white parts of 4-5 scallions sliced thin.
The recipe calls to saute this mixture in olive oil, but I have found that olive oil gets a little bitter above some temperatures so I used coconut oil ... kind of fits with the meal anyway.

After the mixture is soft, add 2 cans of lite coconut milk, 1 1/2 cups rice milk, 2 teaspoons of good curry powder and the green tops of the scallions.  Then add 1/4teapsoon of red Thai curry paste mixed with a tiny bit of water.

You are going to want to add salt and pepper to taste ... it needed a bit of salt. I also put in some cayenne pepper and let it simmer a bit ... helped a lot. I think next time I will also chop a few potatoes about half an inch square and add them to make it more of a chowder.

Heat to a slow simmer, cover and let it cook through on low for 5-10 minutes. I served mine with a loaf of rustic bread that was full of garlic gloves. I figured I wasn't getting kissed tonight anyway, so why not go all the way.

Okay ... soup was totally easy and delicious! Top it with a little chopped cilantro and you have it made! Richard even ate it ... life is full of surprises, eh!

My "Puck'n" Soup!

So tonight I was on a meeting until around 7:30 and I knew Richard would be hungry when he got here. Not ordering vegan pizza again ... so I grabbed my Wolfgang Puck food processor and threw in an onion to grate it along with some garlic. Threw that in a stock pot with some olive oil and went back to the "Puckinator" as it is affectionately known. I changed the blades and ran through some carrots to slice them ... then on the same blade I ran through some baby red potatoes I scrubbed.

I put all that in the pot and added two boxes of veggie broth, some frozen corn, a little turmeric and cumin along with some salt and pepper. Looked watery so I through in some left over lentils, a little brown rice and some mixed beans. Now it is nice, thick and hearty ... but it looked bland, so I added in a bag of baby organic spinach! Fantastico!

Dinner is soup with some whole wheat pita bread and a glass of water or whatever ... red wine would go nice. The point is I whipped this up in a matter of minutes and it is totally vegan, healthy as can be and totally and utterly delicious! It seems that Puck and I are gonna be very good friends ...:P

Cheers ... it is dinner time at my house!