Things I Eat: Vegan Stew

I call it vegan because I don't want anyone else eating it. I mean, it's not a lie. It's vegan. I just didn't have any meat on hand.

This was my first stew of the fall season and I was super happy with it. You can play around with the flavors, too. It's a super easy one-pot meal.

I was battling a cold so I felt a little crappy. Actually, I felt a LOT crappy. I wish I could stay in bed with this lovable lump.

But, alas - I had to go to work. And by work, I mean I had to walk to my den since I was working from home. However, since I was on web-cam and calls all day, it wasn't like I could be doing other stuff. I was on camera.

Anyhow, I made myself a vegan stew. I was going to make soba noodles, but, then I was like. . .uhh. Naaa.

What You Need

• Onions: I used half of an onion I had one left over. Chopped.
• Potatoes: I used about six red bliss pototoes, again, chopped! Or whatever. 
• Pepper mix: I used Trader Joe's - Frozen Mixed Bell Peppers. Just the plain kind, not the fire roasted. I used about half a package.
• Brussels Sprouts: A whole package of frozen spouts.
• Green beans: Frozen, again. I used what I had left, maybe 1/4 a package.
• Spinach: Just at the end.
• Thyme: Love this seasoning.
• Mesquite seasoning: I used Kirkland Signature Sweet Mesquite Seasoning because I had it in my cabinets and I thought it would be a nice smokey taste. I don't use this a lot and I am not 100% sure what's all in it, but, I used it. Because I live wild!
• Paprika: I use the sweet kind. I love me some paprika!

Optional:

• Rice: What? Two starches together? Won't that cause the world to end? No. No it won't.
• Carrots: I enjoy carrots. I just didn't have any in my fridge. 
• Basil: Depending on your spice palette desires, you could use basil and rosemary. Basil goes with just about anything. 
• Spices: If you like a good stew, think about the flavors and add them. You'll be surprised how delicious this can be without meat.

What You Do

Put your onions and potatoes in a pot and saute them up until the onions are cooked nicely and the potatoes have been in there a while. Nothing has to brown or be overly cooked at this stage. Just a little soft and the onions being transparent. It will continue to cook as you add more stuff.

Add in the peppers and let them melt into the mixture - no need to thaw! But you could have if you were advanced thinking. Add in your Brussels sprouts and then your spice mix (I used the thyme, mesquite and paprika). Add a little salt, too, if you desire. dd about a cup of water, it will help get the bits off the bottom of the pot and it will be absorbed by everything. You can add more or less throughout the cooking process depending on how soupy you want it or stewy you want it.

I like strew.

I added some rice, too, because I had some. Really only came to about 1/2 a cup. Just what I had left over.

Once its all cooked up and you are pretty happy, add in your green beans add them now so they stay a little crunchy. You can continue to cook it down if you want. I kept mine so that the potatoes were still together but soft. The peppers and onions had all but dissolved and the spouts were tender.

When I put it in my bowl to serve, I added in the spinach and mixed that in. You could add it to the pot if you want to cook it down. If you aren't a fan of spinach, you could add it with the green beans and it will vanish into the strew.

I'm still not good at taking pictures of food like the other food people out there. I was also in my den and on a call when I took it. That's like an excuse. I also ate three bowls. 

What I love is the smokey flavor and the potatoes. The sprouts suck up all the flavor but give you a nice lump of texture like a tender piece of meat. No, it's not meat, but, it's very tender and substantial. The green beans are crunchy and remind me of carrots (which you could have used).  The peppers melt into it and give it a nice backdrop and the spinach - well, I love spinach. 

Lucky did come out of the bedroom but he was quite unhappy with what this was.