Saturday, January 19, 2008

Veggie Chili and Carrot Salad


I'm back after a long hiatus. I still weigh about the same...sigh...


Anyways, my in laws are here this weekend and we had chili, cornbread and carrot salad for dinner last night. My 10 yr. old said to me, "This is the first time I've ever liked Mom's chili!" My husband said, "I'll have to agree with you there!" They don't like chili that I make with tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes. Usually, I put a few cans of one of those in my chili. The recipe I used last night had just a 1/2 c. of tomato sauce.

The recipe I used was from Marilyn Diamond's book, The American Vegetarian Cookbook From the Fit For Life Kitchen. I have to say I LOVE this cookbook! There are several recipes that I make often from Marilyn Diamond's cookbooks. She is a great chef, in my opinion! It seems that just about everything I make using her recipes tastes really, really yummy. Of course, I Fuhrmanize them.

Anyways, here is the recipe:

Blue Ribbon Chili (p. 306 in the book)


2 t. safflower or sunflower oil (I omitted this.)
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
2 c. crumbled tofu (optional....I didn't add this because I don't really like tofu)
3 c. cooked pinto beans
2 c. fresh or canned tomatoes, seeds and juice squeezed out (I used 2 cans of diced tomatoes because I doubled the recipe.)
1/4 c. ketchup or tomato sauce
1 1/2 c. fresh or frozen corn
3 teaspoons paprika (I used 3 t. paprika and 3 t. smoked paprika for the doubled recipe.)
1 t. ground cumin
3/4 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. ground rock salt
4 Tbsp. masa (optional....I did not use.)


1. Heat oil, garlic, onion, and carrot in a Dutch oven. Saute' until onion begins to soften, then add tofu and saute' several minutes.

2. Add beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and corn. Mix well. Stir in spices and masa. Cover and simmer over very low heat until flavors have combined, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Serves 8.

Note: If you are rushing, cook the chili for a much shorter time (15-30 mins.), and it will still be wonderful. The longer cooking time allows the flavors to come through.


I think the smoked paprika is the key to why this tasted so good. I doubled the recipe and it was barely enough to feed 7 people and 1 preschooler. People went back for seconds, even. Here is what it looked like in the pan:



I also made a carrot salad from Recipes For Life from God's Garden by Rhonda Malkmus of Hallelujah Acres. Another great book!


Here's the recipe:


Sunshine Carrot Salad


3 c. carrot, shredded
1 Red Delicious apple, peeled, cored and shredded
1/2 c. organic raisins (I just remembered I forgot to add the raisins!!)
1 stalk of celery, finely chopped.

Combine all ingredients above in a bowl and toss. Mix in the following dressing:

1 Red Delicious Apple
2 c. grated carrot
1/2 c. almonds
fresh apple juice or distilled water (I used water and highly recommend using juice instead because the water made it a little bland.)

In a blender, chop 1/2 c of almonds, add 1 Red Delicious apple, peeled and cored and 2 c. grated carrot; blend until creamy. Add a small amount of distilled water or fresh apple juice to reach consistency desired. (I just threw it all in the Vitamix and blended.)

Here's a picture of the finished product (minus the raisins! SIGH!):



I also served Vegan Cornbread. I will add that I doubled the recipe, but only used the amount of oil called for in the single recipe. It was plenty wet, so I don't think I'll use any oil next time.


Here's a picture of the whole meal (Minus those #@!* raisins!):



Phew! I have a few more meals to blog about, but I'll do that later.




2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love Rhonda's recipes. I had this carrot salad when we went to Hallelujah Acres a year ago. She is a wonderful cook. I also have this book which is one of my favorites!

Great job.

Anonymous said...

It is great to see you posting again Jodi! The food looks great--no wonder your family loved it!

Courtney