To the next generation of our food blog!
please change your bookmark to www.urbanmonique.com - everything from here is now there, so... We'll see you there!
E & M
Monday, March 14, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Vegan Chili, Anyone?
My old friend Darcy writes, “Got any suggestions for an easy vegan meal? I am sick of my own cooking.”
We discovered she had some nice white beans about, so I suggested chili! Vegan sometimes gets a bad rap, but the fact is, it's great cooking and eating - Read the ingredients and you'll see there's nothing weird or funky about it; just simple, good ingredients well married!
Vegan Chili
2 cups each white, kidney, pinto, black, or garbanzo beans, (the more the merrier; I like at least three varieties, and white/black/garbanzo is my fave combo)
2 cups tomato, diced, crushed, or pureed as you prefer
1 sweet onion, diced
1 or 2 cobs of sweet corn
1 carrot, diced
2 cloves of garlic, fine dice
1 each red, orange, or yellow bell pepper
1 or 2 hot chile of your choice.
½ cup cilantro, chiffenade cut.
1 teaspoon Mexican Oregano
½ tsp Cumin
½ teaspoon ground pepper, (I like a blend of black, red, white and green)
2 cups vegetable stock, (And if you don’t make this yourself, then more on that down the line)
2-3 cups of water (start with 2 cups and see if you need more)
Put beans, 2 cups of water, and the tomatoes into a crock pot or large soup pot over medium heat. Stir often, and as soon as this comes up to heat, reduce so that it is on a low simmer.
Lightly brush your bell peppers, chiles, and corn with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place ‘em on a baking pan whole and slide that onto a fairy high rack with your oven on broil. Keep an eye on the peppers and chiles and rotate them as they blacken and blister; don’t let your corn burn; it needs to be turned faster and pulled before the chiles are done! When the peppers and chiles are done all around, pull them out and let them cool enough to touch. Remove stems, seeds and veins and rough chop; slice the kernels off the corn and use your cob for compost.
Pour a few tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet or sauté pan and let it get nice and hot. Toss in your carrot first, let it sauté for a couple minutes and then add your onions and sauté until starting to caramelize. Reduce your heat to medium and add the garlic, cilantro, diced and roasted peppers, chiles and corn. Add the veggie stock and all spices to your liking, (Those amounts are a decent starting point to middle ground volume; do more or less as you please!)
As this gets up to a simmer, throw it all into the big pot and let the flavor marriage begin!
Vegan Cornbread
2 cups coarse yellow corn meal
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons honey
2 cups soy milk
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
Preheat your oven to 350. Lightly oil a 10 x 10 baking pan.
Whisk soy milk and vinegar together well.
In a second bowl, combine the corn meal, flour, baking powder and salt.
Add oil and honey to the wet mix. Whisk for a few minutes, until air bubbles form in the mix.
Pour wet into dry and blend gently but thoroughly with a spatula.
Pour batter into your pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
We discovered she had some nice white beans about, so I suggested chili! Vegan sometimes gets a bad rap, but the fact is, it's great cooking and eating - Read the ingredients and you'll see there's nothing weird or funky about it; just simple, good ingredients well married!
Vegan Chili
2 cups each white, kidney, pinto, black, or garbanzo beans, (the more the merrier; I like at least three varieties, and white/black/garbanzo is my fave combo)
2 cups tomato, diced, crushed, or pureed as you prefer
1 sweet onion, diced
1 or 2 cobs of sweet corn
1 carrot, diced
2 cloves of garlic, fine dice
1 each red, orange, or yellow bell pepper
1 or 2 hot chile of your choice.
½ cup cilantro, chiffenade cut.
1 teaspoon Mexican Oregano
½ tsp Cumin
½ teaspoon ground pepper, (I like a blend of black, red, white and green)
2 cups vegetable stock, (And if you don’t make this yourself, then more on that down the line)
2-3 cups of water (start with 2 cups and see if you need more)
Put beans, 2 cups of water, and the tomatoes into a crock pot or large soup pot over medium heat. Stir often, and as soon as this comes up to heat, reduce so that it is on a low simmer.
Lightly brush your bell peppers, chiles, and corn with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place ‘em on a baking pan whole and slide that onto a fairy high rack with your oven on broil. Keep an eye on the peppers and chiles and rotate them as they blacken and blister; don’t let your corn burn; it needs to be turned faster and pulled before the chiles are done! When the peppers and chiles are done all around, pull them out and let them cool enough to touch. Remove stems, seeds and veins and rough chop; slice the kernels off the corn and use your cob for compost.
Pour a few tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet or sauté pan and let it get nice and hot. Toss in your carrot first, let it sauté for a couple minutes and then add your onions and sauté until starting to caramelize. Reduce your heat to medium and add the garlic, cilantro, diced and roasted peppers, chiles and corn. Add the veggie stock and all spices to your liking, (Those amounts are a decent starting point to middle ground volume; do more or less as you please!)
As this gets up to a simmer, throw it all into the big pot and let the flavor marriage begin!
Vegan Cornbread
2 cups coarse yellow corn meal
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons honey
2 cups soy milk
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
Preheat your oven to 350. Lightly oil a 10 x 10 baking pan.
Whisk soy milk and vinegar together well.
In a second bowl, combine the corn meal, flour, baking powder and salt.
Add oil and honey to the wet mix. Whisk for a few minutes, until air bubbles form in the mix.
Pour wet into dry and blend gently but thoroughly with a spatula.
Pour batter into your pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Checking in with the Squeedunks
This just in from Christie and Grant, (AKA Neighborhood Gardens), in scenic Hackensack, MN:
Hi Big E (and the Delightful M)!
Sounds like you are having good fun in the Northwest. This is just a question about the blog. Is there any way you can develop an index of recipes and topics, such as: cruising through for M's crisp recipe. Of course, that did mean I found a number of other things I was meaning to try out, etc., so that ain't all bad, but...
Have been busy transplanting; yup, have the peppers, eggplants, toms, etc. going and in a couple weeks we will heat the greenhouse and move them to bigger quarters. If you are in the NW, Texas, or probably anywhere else in the US this might not be news, but up here it is!
C and G Up North
Well my friends, yes we ARE! M just shines around the kids and Grandbaby; wonderful to see her so happy, also instructive for moi...
As for the blog, the answer is a BIG yes! Am actively creating the next generation of this here thing: The next generation will feature enhanced search functions, databases for recipes, herbs and seasonings, technique and basics, and some other cool stuff as well - Not sure how long it will take me, but I'm on it and working diligently, so not too long - Stay tuned and thanks for the update!
Oh, and as for those far northern starts, how about a few pics for the blog?
E & M, from northwest Washington State, where it's raining, gray and cold, (Imagine that!)
Hi Big E (and the Delightful M)!
Sounds like you are having good fun in the Northwest. This is just a question about the blog. Is there any way you can develop an index of recipes and topics, such as: cruising through for M's crisp recipe. Of course, that did mean I found a number of other things I was meaning to try out, etc., so that ain't all bad, but...
Have been busy transplanting; yup, have the peppers, eggplants, toms, etc. going and in a couple weeks we will heat the greenhouse and move them to bigger quarters. If you are in the NW, Texas, or probably anywhere else in the US this might not be news, but up here it is!
C and G Up North
Well my friends, yes we ARE! M just shines around the kids and Grandbaby; wonderful to see her so happy, also instructive for moi...
As for the blog, the answer is a BIG yes! Am actively creating the next generation of this here thing: The next generation will feature enhanced search functions, databases for recipes, herbs and seasonings, technique and basics, and some other cool stuff as well - Not sure how long it will take me, but I'm on it and working diligently, so not too long - Stay tuned and thanks for the update!
Oh, and as for those far northern starts, how about a few pics for the blog?
E & M, from northwest Washington State, where it's raining, gray and cold, (Imagine that!)
Monday, March 7, 2011
Status Check!
Greetings from the great Northwest! M and I are up visiting family, (My Ma and Sis and our boys, including, of course, our wonderful daughter-in-law Miranda our very first Grand daughter, Ivy!), doing some cooking, and sniffing out new recipes; gonna have some great seafood options for y'all upon our return! Will have some pretty cool news then as well; pretty exciting if things pan out as they may - We will certainly keep you posted, so stay tuned!
In the meantime, I am online and checking email, so if a question or recipe request comes up, shoot me a line!
E & M, from Bellingham, WA
P.S. Check out the new link to Skar Art, Joe and Miranda's wonderful site!
In the meantime, I am online and checking email, so if a question or recipe request comes up, shoot me a line!
E & M, from Bellingham, WA
P.S. Check out the new link to Skar Art, Joe and Miranda's wonderful site!
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