My Dad's Chili, Veganized

The Day 20 challenge for the Vegan Mofo is: Veganize an old family recipe. This one was very easy for me, since I veganized this recipe years ago.

My dad can cook, but it has traditionally fallen to my mom. Who, btw, is a very good cook. I never could get my fried chicken as good as hers. Oh, lightbulb! I need to try that one now, veganized! Anyway, my dad has his repertoire, and it's pretty darned good. One of them I grew up on was his chili, with fried potatoes on the side. I have NEVER been able to get those potatoes just right. It must just be his magic touch. But his chili, now that I can do. The secret, of course, is using an iron skillet.

My Dad's Chili, Veganized

One onion, diced
One package of gardein beefless grounds
2 cans kidney beans, drained
2 cans diced tomatoes
Salsa

Saute the onion in oil until softened, then add the rest of the ingredients. The salsa is as much or as little as you like. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the mixture. Mix well, and turn the burner to simmer, and let simmer 20-30 minutes. We always serve it over rice. And seriously, use an iron skillet. It makes a difference.

This is soooo not like the chili found here in Texas, but my dad isn't from Texas. So there.

And, since I'm still playing catch up with the Vegan Mofo, the challenge for Day 21 is: What three endless food supplies would you take if you were going to be stranded on an island? (Imagine your nutritional needs have been met, these are a bonus!)

Well, if you've noticed my blogs, you will notice one for tea. Don't hate, I've neglected it. But I drink tea on a daily basis. So, my three endless food supplies are tea (duh!), all varieties of nuts (shelled already, of course. No reason to make things difficult!), and all varieties of beans (can I include all varieties of rice in there, too? Or is that cheating?)

Three Bean Chili

Day 14, and the Vegan Mofo challenge is: Share something vegan (and delicious, duh!) with a non-vegan. I have found the the easiest thing to share with a non-vegan is chili. Sure, everyone has their own version of chili, some like beans, some think beans are of the devil. But I think most non-vegans rather expect vegans to offer them a beany chili. I won't disappoint them. But I will surprise them.

Three Bean Chili

One can of pinto beans, drained
One can of black beans, drained
One can of Great Northern beans, drained
One onion, diced
3 or more cloves of garlic, mined
3 c. vegetable broth
1 T. chili powder
1/2 T. chipotle chili powder
1/2 T. cumin
1/2 T. paprika
One can diced tomatoes
1/4 t. black pepper

Saute the onion and garlic until soft, in a large Dutch oven. Add the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer. Let cook about 20 minutes. My family likes to eat chili with fritos.

White Chili

A heckuva storm blew through here the other day. A solid day of rain. It was wonderful! Despite moving into late spring and coming perilously close to summer, it was a perfect day for chili.

White Chili

1 c. dried great northern beans, rinsed
One clove garlic, minced
One onion, chopped
2 t. oregano
One can vegan cream of mushroom soup
6 c. water
1 t. cumin
One can of chopped green chiles

Add everything to a crockpot and cook on low for 10 hours. During the last hour I added some vegan chicken strips. Serve. Enjoy!

You can top your chili with diced avocado and a spoonful of vegan sour cream, if you like. White chili traditionally is made with chicken, but honestly, I didn't feel the chicken added anything. Next time I think I will forego the chicken and add more beans. You can also add a dab of hot pepper sauce, if you like, but I thought it was plenty spicy as is.

Just Another Chili

I love trying different versions of chili. We have our favorites, of course, but I like to attempt variations on a theme occasionally.

Just Another Chili

2 cans pinto beans (or 1 lbs. dried, cooked)
2 cans kidney beans (or 1 lbs. dried, cooked)
1 t. garlic powder
2 cans diced tomatoes
One onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
One can tomato paste
1 t. chili powder
1 t. cumin
1/2 t. black pepper

Bring everything to a boil in a Dutch oven, cover, reduce heat to simmer. Let simmer for 30 minutes. Serve over rice or corn chips. Enjoy!

But Where's the Rum Chili

It has been a hot summer. Well, every summer here is hot, that's a fact. Some years have been worse than others and I am VERY THANKFUL to have an air conditioner that works. One year our ac went out at least five times. Five times! When I hear about my friends having ac issues, I can sympathize, truly.

So why would I make chili in the summer? True, I generally think of chili on cool autumn or cooler winter evenings as a real comfort kind of food. But I was looking in my pantry when I came across some rum I had bought earlier in the year for a rum cake. I told my family I was making chili for supper and they all gaped at me. When I oh so casually mentioned it was made with rum, I definitely got their attention. And interest. And "is the chili ready yet?" questions.

But Where's the Rum Chili

Olive oil
2 T. chili powder
One can diced tomatoes
One can diced tomatoes with chiles
One onion, chopped
2 T. rum
2 cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained

Saute the onion in olive oil until softened. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to mix well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

I'm sure I don't need to mention there were no leftovers.

Southern Chili

In Texas, chili is beef, beef, oh, and, beef. They are very specific here and chili cook-offs are common. I grew up with a different version that my dad makes. Okay, yeah, it has beef in it, too, but it most definitely is not the Texas norm. I have, of course, veganized his version and eat it once or twice during the year. It is a comfort food for me.

One of the biggest benefits of being vegan, that I have found at least, is the huge variety of food my family now eats. I never realized how limited our diet really was when we ate meat. We tended to fall back on the usual fare regularly, mostly out of convenience but always because it was tried and true. Despite my penchant for loving to try new recipes, I still tended to rely on the known, versus the unknown. And this with kids who have never been picky eaters! Sigh.

It pleases me enormously now to cook, and try new foods, or different combinations. It's fun. And it makes cooking such a pleasure! It also helps - a lot! - that I have such enthusiastic and willing to try new things eaters.

This recipe is one of those that takes foods we love and combines them in a different and delicious way.

Southern Chili

Olive oil
One onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
One bag frozen collard greens (or fresh, if available)
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 T. chili powder
1 t. hot sauce
1-1/2 c. water
2 cans black eyed peas, drained

In a Dutch oven, saute the onion, carrots and garlic in the olive oil until softened. Add the collards, tomatoes, chili powder, hot sauce and water. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes. Add the black eyed peas and heat through. Serve over rice. Enjoy!

Chili Cheeseburgers and Frito Pie

When I was a kid, my mom used to take me to Orange Julius where I would get a chili cheeseburger. I was so sad when they quit making it, but the memories remained fond. As a vegan, I wanted to recreate this somehow, but the chili was the problem.

My husband used to make these fantastic enchiladas for us, and wanted to continue to make them after we became vegan. The problem was finding chili that would work well.

In high school, I would occasionally get Frito pie at lunch. I remember the lunch ladies slitting open a bag of Fritos, pouring on the chili and sprinkling on the cheese. Wanted to recreate that, but again, the problem was the chili.

But no more!

I live in Texas, and the chili often used for things like Frito pie and my husband's enchiladas was a staple in everyone's pantry: Wolf Brand Chili. I tried, tried, tried to find a copycat recipe for it for me to veganize. No luck. Frustrating!

So, I wriggled and jiggled a chili recipe, and voila! Success! I won't try to convince anyone it is an accurate replica of Wolf Brand, but it works excellently on my chili cheeseburgers, hubby's enchiladas, and Frito pie! Warning: it is spicy! But in and on the above dishes, not so much.

Kerry's Wolf Brand Knockoff

1 bag crumbles or other vegan ground beef (I'm partial to Gimme Lean Beef)
8 oz can tomato sauce
16 oz. water
1 veggie bouillon cube
1 T. onion powder
2 t. garlic powder
1 T. paprika
1/2 t. cayenne
1 t. white pepper
1 T. chili powder (look for dark chili powder as opposed to regular chili powder)
1/2 t. salt
2 t. cumin

Bring all to a boil and then simmer.

For the chili cheeseburgers:

Vegan burger patties, like Boca Original Vegan
Hamburger buns
Sliced vegan cheese

Cook the patties. Place patty on a bun and top first with a slice of cheese, then a spoonful of chili. Enjoy!

Frito Pie

Fritos
Shredded vegan cheese
Chopped green onions

In a bowl, layer Fritos, chili, cheese and onions. Enjoy!

Loaded Chili

If you live in Texas, you know there seems to be a great deal of debate as to whether or not chili should contain beans. If you are vegan, this is a no brainer. OF COURSE it contains beans! LOL!

Loaded Chili

Olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
One onion, chopped
One jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite sized cubes
2 c. broccoli florets, cut into bite sized pieces
3 T. chili powder
1 T. cumin
1 T. oregano
1 t. paprika
1/2 t. each salt and pepper
2 green bell peppers, chopped
1 c. frozen corn
2 28 oz cans diced tomatoes
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained

In a Dutch oven over medium heat, saute garlic, onion and jalapeno in the olive oil, until softened. Add the sweet potato, broccoli and spices and stir until everything is well coated with the spices. Add remaining ingredients, stir well, and let simmer about 30 minutes. When the sweet potatoes are fork soft it is ready to eat.

Good and spicy and delicious! While you might wonder at the addition of things like sweet potatoes and broccoli to chili, trust me, you'll like it.

Raid the Pantry Chili

We've all had those moments when we are confronted with a ravenous horde (otherwise known as our family) and realized, much to our chagrin, that we really should have gone grocery shopping earlier but just didn't manage to fit it into our day. Ack! That's when it is handy to have a few staples on hand in the pantry.

Raid the Pantry Chili

Into a Dutch oven, add:

24 oz. jar chunky salsa
1/4 c. barbecue sauce
2 T. chili powder
1 t. salt
1-1/2 t. oregano
1/2 t. paprika
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 can pinto beans, drained
1 can black beans, drained
1 can corn, drained
1/2 c. bulgur
2 c. water

Bring everything to a boil, reduce to simmer, cover and cook about 45 minutes. Serve however you like; my family likes to eat their chili over crunched up tortilla chips.

Chili is a stew-like soup made entirely with meat, chilies, or chili powder (or both) and according to what region of the United States that you live in, it can also include beans. "Con carne" means "with meat."

There are many legends and stories about where chili originated and it is generally thought, by most historians, that the earliest versions of chili were made by the very poorest people. J. C. Clopper, the first American known to have remarked about San Antonio's chili carne, wrote in 1926:

"When they have to pay for their meat in the market, a very little is made to suffice for a family; this is generally into a kind of hash with nearly as many peppers as there are pieces of meat - this is all stewed together."

According to an old Southwestern American Indian legend and tale, it is said that the first recipe for chili con carne was put on paper in the 17th century by a beautiful nun, Sister Mary of Agreda of Spain. She was mysteriously known to the Indians of the Southwest United States as "La Dama de Azul," the lady in blue. Sister Mary would go into trances with her body lifeless for days. When she awoke from these trances, she said her spirit had been to a faraway land where she preached Christianity to savages and counseled them to seek out Spanish missionaries.

It is certain that Sister Mary never physically left Spain, yet Spanish missionaries and King Philip IV of Spain believed that she was the ghostly "La Dama de Azul" or "lady in blue" of Indian Legend. It is said that sister Mary wrote down the recipe for chili which called for venison or antelope meat, onions, tomatoes, and chile peppers. No accounts of this were ever recorded, so who knows?

Some Spanish priests were said to be wary of the passion inspired by chile peppers, assuming they were aphrodisiacs. A few preached sermons against indulgence in a food which they said was almost as "hot as hell's brimstone" and "Soup of the Devil." The priest's warning probably contributed to the dish's popularity.

The only thing certain about the origins of chili is that it did not originate in Mexico. Charles Ramsdell, a writer from San Antonio in an article called San Antonio: An Historical and Pictorial Guide, wrote:

"Chili, as we know it in the U.S., cannot be found in Mexico today except in a few spots which cater to tourists. If chili had come from Mexico, it would still be there. For Mexicans, especially those of Indian ancestry, do not change their culinary customs from one generation, or even from one century, to another."

If there is any doubt about what the Mexicans think about chili, the Diccionario de Mejicanismos, published in 1959, defines chili con carne as (roughly translated):

“detestable food passing itself off as Mexican, sold in the U.S. from Texas to New York.”

Chili historians are not exactly certain who first "invented" chili powder. It is agreed that the inventors of chili powder deserve a slot in history close to Alfred Nobel (1933-1896), inventor of dynamite.

Wherever it came from, it is one of the most versatile dishes I know of. It tolerates variation to variation, and always come out good.