VeganMoFo: Welcome and Chili Con Corey!

Welcome to the fourth annual Vegan Month of Food!!

Here in the Pacific Northwest, the temperature is dropping and the skies are turning gray and drizzly. Much to the surprise of my neighbors, I kind of love this weather. For one thing it almost necessitates comfort food like the following meal. Not only are many of the recipes I'll feature this month rich, cold weather food, but they have a way of transporting me (or Doc) back in time. My MoFo theme this year is “Veganizing Family Recipes,” and I’m having a ton of fun sifting through my recipe cards, asking relatives questions about their famous dishes, and often challenging myself to come up with vegan solutions to hurdles like “corned beef.”

Mostly, I’m just super excited to read fellow bloggers’ posts this month! Ahh Vegan Mofo; ever inspiring; ever drool worthy. Have fun, folks!

PS- Unfortunately, I do most of my cooking at night...the photos are going to suck.


Recipe: Chili Con Corey [GLUTEN FREE, depending on the faux meat used]
Family Member: Dad
Brief Description: I remember, fondly, eating this dish winters, and even summers when visiting my dad. Of course, in those days, I preferred a pile of cheese sky-high.

Original Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey
1 large onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
12 oz canned pinto beans, drained and rinsed
24 oz crushed tomatoes
Crushed red pepper flakes
Ground cayenne pepper
Salt
Black pepper

Original Directions:
1. Brown turkey in a medium soup pot over medium heat 15 minutes. Drain well.
2. Add to pot with ground turkey: onion, green and red peppers, garlic, beans, and crushed tomatoes. Slowly “heat-to-taste,” adding crushed red pepper flakes, and ground cayenne pepper. Add salt and black pepper to taste.
3. Cover pot, stir periodically and simmer over medium-low heat for 30-45 minutes until vegetables are soft.
4. Serve over white rice and top with cheddar cheese.

Vegan Notes: Since I was using a dry faux crumble, I added about ½ cup water during the first step, as well as a splash of olive oil since meat is pretty greasy. I didn’t soak the crumbles prior to cooking because I wanted them to retain some chewiness. Plus they were going to stew with the rest of the ingredients in step 3. I forgot to account for the wet weight of the crumbles. 1 lb of dry crumble is too much! It still came out very tasty, though! Topped it with cheddar Daiya.

This is the faux crumble I found at an Asian supermarket in town.