Recipe Test: Vegetarian Chili

I made Vegetarian Chili and corn bread (for my family) last Saturday dinner.

Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch

Published by William and Morrow, 1993.

At first, I was overwhelmed by the list of ingredients!  I skipped some of the veggies as I did not have them.  

Here are the list of ingredients I used (I marked my changes in pink): 

1 Tablespoon (instead of Tablespoons) canola oil
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions
1 cup chopped red bell peppers
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 to 3 serrano peppers, stemmed, seeded, and minced, depending upon taste (I didn't have any)
1 medium zucchini, stem ends trimmed and cut into small dice
2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 3 ears) (I skipped it as I am not able to eat corn while on the elimination diet)
1 1/2 pounds portobello mushrooms (about 5 large), stemmed, wiped clean and cubed (I used 8 large white mushrooms instead.)
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespooon ground cumin
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (I skipped it as I don't like it too spicy)
4 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
3 cups cooked black beans, or canned beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce (I used tomato paste + water)
1 cup vegetable stock, or water
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

I skipped the following (I made corn bread instead):
Cooked brown rice, accompaniment
Sour cream or strained plain yogurt, garnish
Diced avocado, garnish
Essence, recipe follows, garnish
Chopped green onions, garnish

 I usually chop onions, mushrooms and celery on the day I purchase.  This reduces overall cooking time tremendously.  Another tip: buy dry beans and cook at home.  Not only this will reduce the cost, but also will reduce the amount of cans for recycling.  

What is an easy way to peel tomatoes?  Make a shallow X in the bottom end.

Put the tomatoes in the hot water.

 

See how easy it is!?  This technique can be used for peaches.

Let's start cooking!

Brown Rice, Lentil and Spinach Soup

Even though I live in the lentil capital of the world, I never cooked with lentils until a few weeks ago!  While I was browsing the Saveur magazine, one recipe looked really good.

The serving size is six.  Since I was not sure how the soup would turn out good, I decided to try with a smaller portion to reduce the risk of waisting the ingredients. 

Here is the recipe.

I kept the original amount for the vegetables (onion, carrots and celery)

INGREDIENTS

½ lb. sweet Italian sausage   → 1/4 lb.
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil  → 1 tablespoon
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 ribs celery, finely chopped
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
1 tsp. cumin seeds       → 1/2 teaspoon
½ tsp. dried thyme      → 1/4 teaspoon
1 dried chile de árbol   → I did not have it 
12 cups chicken broth  → I did not have it , I added 4 cups of water instead of 6 cups
1 cup long-grain brown rice, rinsed  → 1/2 cup short-grain brown rice (I didn't have long-grain kind)
¾ cup brown lentils, rinsed → 3/8 cup brown lentils
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ lb. spinach, coarsely chopped


It was super easy to cook!  It was very hearty soup.  I will make it again (and again) for sure.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

To accompany the latte, we needed something chocolaty (coffee and chocolate - perfect combination, right)?

The quick easy chocolate cake recipe is Flourless Chocolate Cake.  I love King Arthur Flour products and recipes.  I actually flew all the way to Vermont to take their baking lesson. 

Here are the main ingridients.  I'm sure the recipe was tested by their bakers, but I always cut the amount of sugar in half even for a recipe I never baked before.

The original recipe calls for 3/4 cup of sugar, but I only used 1/3 cup here.

I used 1/2 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips and 1/2 cup of unsweetened chocolate to even reduce the sugar content. 

Melt butter and chocolate (in microwave for 1.5 minutes).  

Mix well.  The texture should be very silky.

Espresso powder is optional.  I used probably 1/4 spoon to enhance the chocolate flavor. 

Add sugar, eggs and a pinch of salt.  Mix well.  Add cocoa powder.

Ready for baking!

The original recipe calls for glaze, but this is sweet for us. I occasionally serve this cake with whipped cream. My husband likes to eat with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.