Does the noise in my head bother you?: Warming insides

Nothing like taking a small break eh?

Lots of things going on. Mom had a knee replaced and I went to help out with that for a week and a couple weekends. She is doing great.

Im almost done with a project and will post finish pics. If it wasn’t for grownup stuff (shopping, washing, cooking) it would be done now.

D and I are getting back into the swing of walking to work in the mornings. This will be week 2 of the new swinging.

Food

Dinners have been more of the same, vegan fare from casseroles to stroganoff to pizza (Daiya cheese is a wonderful invention!).

But now that the weather is cooler and wetter I need something a bit more to stick warmth to my insides.

I have a couple items in tonight’s post of meals I made this weekend.

13 Bean Soup – This is a wonderful mix of 13 or so beans that are soaked overnight and then placed into a slow cooker for 8 hrs or so (simply to mock you with the wonderful smells)

I started off my version jumping off the recipe here http://www.theyummylife.com/Slow_Cooker_15_Bean_Soup

Slow Cooker 13 Bean Soup
1.5 lbs 13 bean blend (don’t use the spice packet)
1 med onion, minced
6 cloves garlic, minced
4-6 carrots, sliced round
2-3 stalks celery, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
3 bay leaves
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp paprika
1/4 cup vegan soy or Braggs liquid aminos
6 oz tomato paste
5 cups veggie broth
1/2 cup Portabella Mushroom soup
1/2 cup Butternut Squash soup
8 oz italian seitan, ground

Directions
1. Soak bean mix over night
2. Rinse beans, do not save soak water
3. Toss everything into a slow cooker on low for 8 hrs
I broke the cardinal rule of slow cooking by checking the liquids a few times.

Then when it was done, I took about 1/4-1/2 and put it in a mixer and added that back to the slow cooker and mixed everything back up.

It made a wonderful thick stew.

Vegan Chili

After the stew night I had a need for Chili. Brig on the beans!!!

http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/ultimate-vegan-chili/

I pretty much followed this recipe exactly except for the following:

No chipotle pepper. Didn’t have one and the kids wont eat overly spicy foods

I had three cans (25oz each) of chili beans (black, pinto & kidney) so I mostly doubled everything

This was wonderful! A bit on the spicy as instead of chili powder I used chipotle (to kind of make up for the missing pepper but not as much as called for) and I used Italian seitan, which added even more spices. Next time I wont use chipotle, just a bit of chili pepper but still use the Italian seitan

Vegan cornbread

http://www.theppk.com/2007/10/vegan-cornbread/

No changes at all. This was a wonderful cornbread. Do bake only in a metal pan. I may try baking this in one of my cast iron pans next time. I wasn’t sure about the rise factor but it would have been no issue in a 9 inch pan and possible (I think) in an 8 inch pan.