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  1. 3
    trashyvegan
    3-Bean Vegan Chili

    Chili is a classic, but some recipes take forever and have tough-to-find ingredients.  In this simple version, I use mostly canned ingredients for a quick and easy chili fix.

    FEEDS: 4

    PREP TIME: 5 minutes

    TOTAL TIME: 30-35 minutes (or more if you let it simmer—feel free to start in advance)

    WHAT YOU’LL NEED

    • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
    • 1 large yellow onion, diced
    • 3-5 cloves of garlic, minced/diced
    • 1 large zucchini (or 2 little ones), halved lengthwise and then sliced finely
    • Coarse salt
    • Cayenne pepper
    • 3 tablespoons chili powder (regular or ancho or smoky)
    • 1 tablespoon cumin
    • 3 cans of beans, drained (I recommend a combination of different flavors—I used kidney, white, and chickpeas, but you could also use black beans or pinto beans or black-eyed peas or whatever.  Even a can of corn in there would be fine.  Just use 3 cans of whatever.)
    • 1 28 oz. can of petite diced tomatoes (or crushed tomatoes for a smoother chili)
    • 1 cup veggie broth
    • A liberal splash of hot sauce (I recommend Cholula)
    • Optional ideas for garnishes and extras: cilantro, vegan sour cream alternative, vegan cheese alternative, spaghetti (we call that “Cincinnati chili”), or corn bread

    STEPS

    1. Saute the onions and garlic in the vegetable oil until the onions start to soften.
    2. Add the zucchini and season with salt and cayenne (to taste—careful with that spicy cayenne.)  
    3. Stir the mixture and let it fry for 3-5 minutes more, until the zucchini starts to soften.
    4. Add your spice mixture, the chili powder and cumin, and stir in for a minute or so, until it becomes fragrant.
    5. Add your beans, tomatoes, veggie broth, and hot sauce and simmer for at least 20 minutes—the longer, the better.
    6. For a thicker chili, simmer without the lid and boil off some of the liquid; for a thinner chili, simmer covered to trap the liquid.  You can also add water or veggie broth as you go.  Voila!  Perfect chili.
    #One pot #Main dishes #soy-free
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    1. 4
      trashyvegan
      So-Easy Jambalaya

      PREP/ACTIVE TIME: 5 minutes

      TOTAL TIME: ~25 minutes

      WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

      • 1 box of jambalaya mix (I used Zatarain’s because I’m a sucker for commercials with saxophones, but you could use any equivalent)
      • Veggie broth or bouillon
      • 1 package of tempeh (~10-14 oz)
      • 1 can of diced tomatoes (~15 oz)
      • Green onions (optional, garnish)

      image

      STEPS:

      1. On the back of your jambalaya mix, it will say, “Bring X cups of water + X tablespoons of oil to a boil.”  Do that.  But instead of water, use veggie broth.
      2. While that’s getting hot, quickly slice your tempeh into 1/2” rectangles (and then in half for bite-size pieces).
      3. When your broth/oil is boiling, add the contents of the box and, instead of meat or seafood, your tempeh.  (Don’t worry; the tempeh doesn’t need to be pre-cooked.  It will cook nicely and absorb the flavor of the jambalaya mix while the pot simmers).
      4. Add your can of tomatoes too.
      5. Let the whole thing simmer, covered, for whatever time is on the box.  Mine was 25 minutes.  Stir occasionally to keep it from sticking to the bottom.
      6. When your rice is tender, you’re done!  Top with diced green onions if you’d like, or don’t.

      VARIATIONS:

      I used tempeh, but I’m sure you could use another protein, especially those of you who cut back on soy—a simple can of beans would work, or you could use seitan (I would pre-fry that to keep it from getting mushy).  You could even get the packaged vegan sausage that I love and use for other recipes and throw that in.  

      #Dinner #One Pot
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      1. 334
        photoshoplooter

        Left foot - Red

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        1. 7
          theapartmentchronicles
          Yogurt: A controversial topic

          I recently finished Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food. I learned a lot, actually, mostly supporting facts about theories I’d already heard. The most groundbreaking statement Pollan made was about the importance and health benefits of spending more money on food. Americans, he said, spend 9.9% of their incomes on food, while the French spend 14.9% and the Spanish 17.1%. The basic idea is that the quality of the food is more important the the quantity—an idea that America has a lot of trouble with. Food from the farmers’ market is much more expensive than that from the grocery store, but the produce will be fresher and therefore have higher nutritional content. To get the same nutritional benefits, then, you can eat less farmers’ market produce, therefore consuming fewer calories.

          image

          $16 worth of farmers’ market loot

          As much as I try to internalize Pollan’s message here, it’s hard to change my frugal habits. The acclimatization to spending more on food actually started well before I read this book, and the product the battle has taken place over—both internally and with Nick—is yogurt. Before Nick and I cohabitated, I bought one of the large containers of vanilla yogurt for about $3.00. I’d fill Tupperware with a serving each day for lunch, and the yogurt would last about a week. But vanilla yogurt gets boring pretty fast (my dad, vanilla yogurt’s biggest fan, would disagree). So when Nick and I moved in together, we started buying the individual flavored yogurts for $.89 each. This lasted for six months. About a month ago, Nick started buying individual Greek yogurts. At our grocery store, a container of Chobani is $1.69. I let him buy it for a while, figuring that when he goes to the store he can buy what he wants. But then when I was going to the store last week, he asked me to buy Greek yogurt. Of course, I’d been eating the yogurt he bought all along, so it would have been obnoxious of me to refuse to buy it for him.

          Greek yogurt is so much more delicious than regular yogurt. Not only that, it’s higher quality, too. It’s higher in protein and calcium than normal yogurt and it keeps you full longer, lessening hunger later in the day. Plus it has no chemicals or artificial flavors: it’s a “real food” as opposed to something processed to seem like food. Essentially, it’s the perfect Michael Pollan example.

          #yogurt #food #money #Michael Pollan #In Defense of Food #cohab #cohabitating
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          1. 2
            trashyvegan
            Vegan Nutella S'mores

            (No campfires required!)

            So, I just made a batch of vegan nutella (see my recipe here), and I was trying to think of creative ways to spin it.  And I came up with this…  I certainly didn’t invent s’mores, but this is one vegan treat idea I couldn’t pass up posting.  I mean, just look at that picture!  You could eat the computer.

            image

            WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

            • Graham crackers (just check the box—most graham crackers are already vegan, even the cheap store brand ones.)
            • 1 batch of vegan nutella (link to recipe above)—or just use some dairy-free chocolate, whatever suits you.  (NOTE: If you are super trashy, use peanut butter and Hershey’s syrup mixed together, but don’t say I told you to, because that’s trashy even for me.)
            • Vegan marshmallows (I recommend Sweet & Sara’s—we can get them at the local Hyvee, and they are AMAZING!)

            STEPS:

            1. Preheat the broiler in your oven to 525F.
            2. Lay a graham cracker on a cookie sheet.
            3. Spread some nutella on the cracker.
            4. Top it off with a marshmallow.
            5. Put everything under the broiler until the marshmallow is golden-brown, about 2 minutes.
            6. Voila!  Delicious s’mores!!  
            #Dessert #Chocolate
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            1. 1
              wtfmbta
              Rules of the T

              #2. If there are two idiots listening to music through their cell phone speakers at the same time, one must concede ownership of annoying the car to the other.

              Top 40 always wins.

              Country always loses.

              Or, um, you could BUY SOME FUCKING HEADPHONES (seriously guys, they’re like eight bucks).

              #Rules of the T
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