Vegan MoFo: Sweet Potato Lentil Chili

I can't believe it's almost over.  It seems like yesterday I jumped in this not sure if I would make it.  Today I post my last Vegan MoFo post with a bit of sadness.  I can't believe so many people have checked out my blog and posted comments.  It's been a wonderful journey and great fun.  I had no plan or idea how I was going to do this but just enjoyed each new day / post as it arrived.

This morning I cracked open Eat, Drink and Be Vegan and decided to make the Sweet Potato Lentil Chili.  I have recently become "addicted" to sweet potatoes so this sounded great to me.  Lots of great spices: nutmeg,chili powder, and cumin to name a few.  I think the longest part was chopping the veggies and waiting for it to finish cooking.  The smells coming from the stove were great!

Lots of goodies in the pot

A little mix precooking

Adding liquids

Cooking down

Sadly I wasn't able to upload a finished  picture before I left for work so I hope to add that in tonight.
I got my first taste of this delicious chili at lunch.  It is wonderful.  I love the flavor that the sweet potato adds combined with the lentils it's amazing.  This will be a dish I make again.



I've seen this survey on many blogs during Vegan MoFo.  I'm not sure where it started but I thought it would be a great way to end Vegan MoFo.

What is one food you thought you’d miss when you went vegan, but don’t?
When I first became vegan I didn't really think about the food I would miss.  Later I thought I might have cravings but I haven't really.  If I'm honest with myself there is nothing I really miss.  I find this surprising at time but it also makes me happy because I know I'm not feeling deprived.

What is a food or dish you wouldn’t touch as a child, but enjoy now?
I'm trying to think of one but I think I ate pretty much anything.  My mother was great as she never made us eat anything.  She said we had to try everything on our plate and if we didn't like it we could spit it out.  Maybe sweet potatoes....  we never really had those and I always thought people made them as casseroles with marshmallows but now I can't get enough of them.... MMMMMMM.

What vegan dish or food do you feel like you “should” like, but don’t?
Kiwis.  My sister loves them and thinks I'm crazy because I don't like them.  I shudder at the thought eeee, papayas too. 

What beverage do you consume the most of on any given day?
Water.  I have some ice tea but everyday water is my main drink.  Luckily I've never been much of a soda person although an occasional Root Beer is nice.

What dish are you “famous” for making or bringing to gatherings?
I'm not sure that I'm famous for anything.... but I've made a few dishes since becoming vegan that have been big hits.  Pumpkin Muffins and a portebello salad that was a huge hit.  I can't wait to bring more vegan treats to parties.  

Do you have any self-imposed food rules (like no food touching on the plate or no nuts in sweets)?
No

What’s one food or dish you tend to eat too much of when you have it in your home?
Sweet & Sara Peanut Butter Smores   I try to tell myself to only eat a little of it but usually end up eating the s'more faster than I thought I would.

What ingredient or food do you prefer to make yourself despite it being widely available prepackaged?
Desserts. I've been disappointed with many I've tried.

What ingredient or food is worth spending the extra money to get “the good stuff”?
Dark chocolate. Sunpower Cafe Spicy Kale Chips (1st time I had these I ate the whole box yum!)

Are you much of a snacker? What are your favorite snacks?
Sometimes.  I love hummus, baby carrots, honeycrisp apples.

What are your favorite vegan pizza toppings?
Believe it or not I haven't had vegan pizza yet... on my to do list.  Here is what I would think spinach,artichoke hearts,  portebello mushrooms, garlic, and jalapenos. A little spice is always nice.

What is your favorite vegetable? Fruit?
Veggie would be Kale or swiss chard or sugar snap peas  :).... ok not just one but who can limit it to one.  Fruit would be berries.  

What is the best salad dressing?
Not huge on salad dressing gal but a little balsamic or red wine vinegar is always good.

What kind of soup do you most often turn to on a chilly day or when you aren’t feeling your best?
Lentil Soup.

What is your favorite cupcake flavor? Frosting flavor?
Haven't tried enough to know what my favorite vegan cupcake would be. 

What is your favorite kind of cookie?
Not sure I have a favorite.  Maybe a good peanut butter cookie.

What is your most-loved “weeknight meal”?
Love a good bowl of soup with a side of greens.

What is one dish or food you enjoy, but can’t get anyone else in your household to eat?
Not an issue.

How long, in total, do you spend in the kitchen on an average day?
Depends but I would say about an hour during the week and longer on the weekends 2-3 hours (maybe little more) on weekends.



Thanks again to everyone who took the time to stop by.  It's been great.

Until next year!!!!

Vegan MoFo: Fasolia

I can't believe Vegan MoFo is almost over.  I was so nervous about doing this as I started my blog about 4 days before this wonderful event started.  This has been a great way to learn new recipes, hear about new restaurants, see some amazing photos of vegan food and most importantly meet some great people!

As you can tell by my posts yesterday I was a bit of a slacker and didn't get my post up.  This soup was what I had intended to post so I decided that today you will get 2 postings for the price of 1.

A friend gave me this recipe and said I was welcome to share it on my blog.  It is a soup she makes often and it sounded great.  

Onion and garlic

Beans after little boil

Veggies

The recipe is as follows:


Fasolia


1 1/4 cups of Great Northern Beans (about 1/2 package)
2 cloves garlic
1 or 2 carrots chopped
2 celery stalks and leaves (chopped)
1 large onion (chopped)
small bunch of fresh parsely (chopped) or some dry parsely
1/2 can (small 8oz) tomato sauce
6 tbl. olive oil
1 tsp salt
a little ground pepper

sort bean, check for rocks and bad beans
cover beans with water
cover pot and boil for 5 to 10 minutes
meanwhile have another pot of water boiling
throw out the water from the boiling beans (once 5 to 10 minutes passes) and add the new water to the beans (about 6 cups)
add all ingredients
simmer low (covered pot) for about an hour to 1 hour 15 minutes
add boiling water if needed
cook until beans are soft

This was delicious.  I will be making more of it in the future.  Hope you enjoy.

Vegan MoFo: Beer Bread

I enjoy making bread so when I came across this recipe for beer bread it sounded worth giving a try.  I mean beer in bread how can you go wrong  :) .   It had onions listed as optional.  I decided to add them as I thought the flavor would be good in the bread.

Dry Ingredients

mmm onions

ready for the pan

Oven ready

Sadly I didn't get a picture of it once it came out of the oven.  It was a bit dense.  I would say more like a soda bread and a wonderful option to have with some soup.   I have seen some variations of beer bread and think I will give those a try in the future.   This recipe looks like it's worth trying.

Vegan MoFo: Pitim

The other day at work a co-worker brought back lunch for me.  It was fantastic!  A wonderful kale side salad, lentils and Israeli Couscous.  I had never heard of that before and not being the biggest fan of couscous was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.   I looked it up on the web and found it is called Pitim.  I can't wait to get some to make at home.  I may have found a new favorite food it was that good.




It was a fantastic meal.  In fact so good that by the time I thought of getting a picture I realized I had finished my meal.  I'm sorry I don't have any photos to share but next time I won't fail. 




What is something you've tried and enjoyed that is a new discovery?

Vegan MoFo: Chocolate Chip Scones

As you may have read the last time I tried to make scones I had some problems.  I was a little hesitant to try again but boy am I glad I didn't listen to that little voice in my head.  Vegan with a Vengeance had a wonderful recipe.  The recipe was for plain scones but gave measurements for other types of scones as well.  I decided on Chocolate Chip Scones.  A nice treat for a long weekend.

Batter pre chips

Chocolate Chips folded in

Ready to go into the oven

DELICIOUS!

Airy and fluffy

These were amazing.  My scone making days are no longer tarnished.  Do you have a favorite recipe?

Vegan MoFo: Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving.  This was my first one celebrating as a Vegan and it was amazing.  My friends and I went to Native Foods to celebrate and it was out of this world.  I have eaten at Native Food many times but this meal was better than I expected.  The people there were wonderful, service was great and as we left I ran into another friend.  Talk about feeling like you are celebrating with friends and family.  I realize that I ended the day with a new tradition.  I will be going back next year.


Here are some pictures of our plates of food.

Wellington was so good

Chef Tanya getting ready to carve

buffet

I know I'll be cuddling up with a good cup of tea soon and either read a book or watch an old movie to end my Thanksgiving.  How did you celebrate today?

Vegan MoFo: Spork Foods Fall French Cuisine

I've taken a Spork class before but was looking forward to this class for 2 reasons:  Melted Cheese Fondue with assorted crostini and the Apple and Pear Tarte Tatin.  Those peaked my interest.  I couldn't imagine a melty vegan fondue and an apple and pear tarte tatin sounded perfect for a fall / winter dessert.  With the holidays coming up this seemed to be a class I shouldn't miss.  Boy was I right!

Here was this weeks menu:

- Niçoise Salad
- Mushroom Bourguignon
- Melted Cheese Fondue with Assorted Crostini
- Apple and Pear Tarte Tatin

Tarte Tatin pre dough

amazing

mmmmm FONDUE

Ready to be flipped

Pear Apple Tarte Tatin  AMAZING

Love the fondue pot

This was a great class.  And I loved that fondue pot.  Great new recipes and a wonderful group of people  to share a delicious meal with.

Vegan MoFo: Oatmeal

Just under the wire.  Crazy work day.  Oatmeal is a favorite breakfast of mine.  I LOVE steel cut oats, never thought I would be saying that, as instant was normal for me.  Once I discovered steel cut oatmeal there was no going back.  I just love them.  I get organic oats from Traders Joe's.

Cook them up for about 30 minutes and have a wonderful breakfast.  I like adding fresh berries and often a little maple syrup.

What's your favorite way to eat oatmeal?

Vegan Mofo: White Bean and Roasted Garlic Soup

As I write this I must admit that I am still thinking of the delicious soup that I just had for lunch.  I have been wanting to make soup for days now.  I had seen the perfect recipe. It looked quick to pull together , minus making beans,  which wasn't a must. A perfect recipe for someone with a small amount of cooking time.  It sounded delicious White Bean and Roaster Garlic Soup from Vegan with a Vengeance.

As you can see below I decided to make my own beans.

Cooking

So easy to make and they taste great.

Read to be used for soup

Roasted garlic right out of the oven.

Just waiting to be added to the soup.

I must say I did add a few extra cloves.  Help keep the vampires away  :).

Cooking up

Blended soup

I loved this soup.  It wasn't to heavy and had wonderful flavors.  The smell of the garlic getting pureed was worth it.  Besides making the beans and roasting the garlic, which I had done the night before, this soup came together very quickly.  It was a winner and I will be making it again.  In fact I enjoyed it so much I have posted the recipe below.

A bowl of heavenly soup

White Bean and Roasted Garlic Soup (from Vegan with a Vengeance)


Do you have a favorite soup?