Cook For Others: Part 2

I had another chance to cook for people! You might remember by gypsy stew from Cook For Others: Part 1. This time, the request was helping my hunky-manfriend make some vegan chili for his coworkers. His supervisor is a vegan and he said he would bring in some chili that she could eat. I believe it was a potluck shower office thing.

Vegan
Being vegan means you can't eat anything with animal products. I lived as a vegan for a week - if you remember my Vegan Challenge post.

The key to making a stellar vegan chili rests on two things:

• Tomato paste: People underestimate the power of tomato paste which is a healthy, cheap way to thicken things. You can make everything that would have tomato sauce in it with paste.
• Proper protein crumbles: Key for texture, flavor and flare. You don't really want just "fake meat" you want a nice texture and well flavored food.

My Chili

Sexy

My man-friend was going to come over and help make the chili, but, he was having a roughish week and I got out of work first, so, I started making it. It's pretty simple. 

I know peppers can be expensive and go bad fast, so, I get them frozen and kept them in my freezer. You can pop them into a pot 

frozen.

I also did not make this chili that hot because that is something people can doctor up on their own and not everyone has the same definition of "spicy."

• Large onion - chopped.
• Garlic - chopped.
• Carrot - chopped.
• Olive oil.
• Red, green, yellow peppers (a good amount).
• Black beans with chilies.
• 12oz Tomato paste.
• Lightlife Smart Ground - Veggie Protein Crumbles (best kind out there!)
• Vegan veggie broth (optional)
• Thyme.
• Coriander - powder (one of my fav spices).
• Red pepper flakes.
• Chile powder.

You will need a dutch oven - I happen to have a Le Creuset French Oven. 

Saute up the onion for about 5-7 minutes in the olive oil. Then add in the carrots and peppers and continue to saute until the peppers are tender. Add in the garlic, coriander and thyme and mix that up all good and nice, maybe another minute. Add in the beans and protein crumbles and mix everything together until the crumbles are in their proper crumble pieces and not big chunks. Add in the can of tomato paste - the more you add, the thicker the chili will be. Add in some veggie broth if you want to thin it out. Add in the red pepper flakes to taste and any chili powder (I did not add much).

Let everything cook a bit and all the favors merge. Done. 

Results

Vegan chili?

I loaded the chili up in crockpot so it could be transported and kept warm for the shower.

I wrote down everything that I put into the chili so everyone knows what they are eating - it never hurts to know these things.

I really wasn't sure how it would go over since a lot of people see "VEGAN" and get scared I hoped I didn't hurt my man-friend's reputation and I hoped the vegan liked what I had made. As an omnivore, I thought it would be enjoyable to everyone. 

Other than I don't like beans and they hurt my tummy.

Noms!

Toward the end of the afternoon, I got a text from my guy stating everyone liked the chili. Really? 

Yeah, He sent me a picture of the remains. I think people really thought the protein crumbles made a difference. I'm glad it was a hit! If you ever need to make a sweet vegan chili, do it! I suggest to use the Lightlife Smart Ground - Veggie Protein Crumbles but you can alter anything else to make a fantastic chili.  

Be Part of the Adventure

Do you have a suggestion or want to see me attempt something? Drop me an email at AdventuringAmanda@gmail.com with your suggestion.

Image Credit

TJ peppers from hungryforliving.com