Chilly Enough For Chili

Okay, okay, okay, so maybe it didn't snow,
maybe it just felt like it was going to. Do
you buy that?

Even Southern California gets cold. Stop laughing. Believe me, when your blood gets as thin as ours does, what with living in a temperate clime, when that thermometer hits sixty something, it's time to turn on the furnace and put on another sweater. Now add pouring rain into the mix, skies as dark as dusk, and clouds hovering low, and you have perfect chili weather. Just like today.

Wouldn't you know, my favorite recipe for this thick, watch a spoon stand up in the middle of the bowl, concoction isn't vegan. Yet I wondered if I could change things around a bit, delete a  little of that and add some of this. So I gave it a try. Doggone, it's every bit as good as my non-vegan recipe. I kid you not. I served the heady mixture in big, steamy bowls and sprinkled the top with vegan sour cream, minced green onions and Daiya cheese shreds. Corn muffins hot from the oven were my only side. I ate two. Since I was now too full  to move, I rolled myself into the living room, covered up with a favorite afghan, and laid on the floor to watch the Movie Channel.

Life doesn't get any better than that.

Vegan Chili for Chilly Weather

No vegan sour cream left for this photo-op.
We used it all during the actual eating.

Into a soup pot put:

2 Tbs. oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 small jalapeno, minced, seeds and ribs removed

Cook until the onions are translucent, about five minutes.

Add to the pot:

1 14 oz. can red beans, drained and rinsed

1 14 oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes, with juice

1/4 cup vegetable stock

1 tsp. cumin seeds

1 tsp. paprika

2 Tbs. chili powder

1 tsp. dried oregano

2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp. allspice

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. garlic powder

pinch of cloves

salt and pepper to taste

Cook everything together over medium heat. When the mixture comes to a boil, turn it to low, cover, and let simmer for at least 30 minutes for the flavors to blend. I let mine simmer an hour. If the chili is too soupy, remove the lid and continue cooking till the mixture thickens to your liking.

Serve with vegan sour cream, minced green onions, and vegan cheese shreds.

Yummy.

Perhaps I ought to warn you that this is a spicy chili. It won't make your mouth burn to eat it, but it you don't like any heat at all, leave out the jalapeno and the cayenne pepper. But be warned! You'll be turning a GREAT chili into a mediocre one.

Storms And Soups

I never met a storm I didn't like. Now please understand that I am talking about a thunder and lightning extravaganza. I wasn't crazy about the three Minnesota tornadoes I lived through or the multiple earthquakes that have rattled my California home.

I love storms. Especially the thunder and lightning ones. Growing up on southern Minnesota's farmlands, my sisters and I got used to lightning bolts renting the sky and thunderous claps that seemed to jangle the whole house. I credit my mom with teaching us not to be afraid but to take pleasure in stormy days. How I remember my sisters and I sitting in front of the living room windows, watching the exciting displays and complaining when they were over.

Now we are all southern California girls and have been for a long time. Each one of us loves storms, has taught our kids to love storms, and they, in turn, have taught their children to love storms. I mention that only because these sissy native Californians are mostly so afraid of thunder and lightning that they draw the drapes, lock the doors, and hide in the closet till it passes. At least that has been my experience.

Since we don't get many good storms in San Diego, I have taught myself to be content with drizzly days, overcast skies, and foggy gloom. In my opinion, it's better than nothing. These days, all it takes for me to get in the mood for home made soup like mom used to make is a bit of a drizzle, a cloudy sky, and a lack of sunshine for most of the day.

That's what it was like yesterday. And the first thing I wanted was mom's Navy Bean soup. Being a vegan, I had to leave the ham bone out. Surprisingly, the soup was still delicious. Next time, I'm going to add just a little liquid smoke. I think that might make up for the smokiness the ham bone would have added.

Need I say that this soup recipe has been around a long time. Whether mom created it or got it from her mom or out of a magazine, I can't tell you. What I can say is that every spoonful reminded me of a childhood spent watching storms roll by. You can imagine any scenario you wish. As for me, I enjoy thinking about my times past, those simple days when all I had to worry about was whether last year's raincoat and rubber boots would still fit.

STORMY DAY WHITE BEAN SOUP

Into a large soup pot put:

1 Tbs. oil

2 carrots, small dice

1/2 cup celery, small dice

2 garlic cloves, minced
1 leek, chopped thin, all of the white and a bit of the light green

Saute until the vegetables are soft and translucent.

Add to the pot:

2  15 oz. cans of white beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup corn, frozen or fresh

3 1/2 cups of vegetable stock

1 bay leaf

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. thyme

1/4 tsp. tarragon

1/4 tsp. oregano

1/4 tsp. cumin seeds

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes or two dashes of hot sauce

Bring all the ingredients to a simmer. Use a potato masher or immersion blender to  break up about half of the beans so they will work as a thickener. Move the soup pot to a back burner, cover, and let it slowly simmer about an hour so the spices have time to marry. 

Serve steaming hot with garlic toast or biscuits or any other kind of bread that sounds good. 

This recipe serves 4 hungry people.

Author's note:

My mom cooked her beans from scratch. I was just too lazy and used canned cannellini beans because I was out of canned navy beans. You do what pleases you.

  

Farm House Soup--White Bean, Kale, & Sausage

I loved growing up on the Minnesota plains. WWII was finally over, rationing ceased to exist, and while I'm sure my parents dealt with the headaches of the day, a kid no worries. It was a time when I could walk by myself at night, ride my bike out to the woods, or sit by the river and read. My sisters and I knew no fear. How I wish it were like that today--if only for my grandkids sake.

I love homemade soup. Any kind. For some reason I can't explain, they all remind me of my farm country childhood. Just a whiff of their steamy goodness and an image of our family dining room with its ponderous claw-foot table flashes across my mind. Sub-conscious memories, I suppose. 

My mom made soups in the winter; I make them any season. Sometimes I serve soup with biscuits or garlic toast or cornbread. Once in a blue moon, I indulge myself with popovers. Popovers are my favorite, but off the books now that my new doctor says I have to be vegan for my health's sake. If I wasn't past 70, I'd suck my thumb.

Because our crazy Southern California weather can't make up its mind as to which season we're supposed to be in, there came a dark, rainy June day when my soup cravings came out of hibernation. Someplace in the back of my mind came a whispered word. "Soup." The whispers played their song for half a day, like one of those tunes you hear someplace and then can't get out of your head.

I finally convinced myself that the only way to get rid of the continued nagging was to give in. So I dug out my big blue soup pot and got to work. I dug around in the refrigerator, scoured the pantry, and invaded the spice cupboard. I pulled this and that and the other things, just as I'd watched mom do for the first sixteen years of my life. How could I have known what a tantalizing creation was about to be born?

White Bean, Kale & Sausage Soup

 2 cans of great northern beans, rinsed

1 Tbsp. oil

2 small onions, chopped

5 garlic cloves, minced

4 celery stalks, diced

Cook the vegetables together until the onions and celery are semi-tender. Then add to the pot:

1/2 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. basil

2 large bay leaves, or 3 small ones

1 large can of diced tomatos with its juice

Simmer all ingredients together so the spices work through everything in the soup pot.

Now add:

6 cups vegetable stock (more flavor than broth)

1 pound fresh kale, white stems removed, and the leaves chopped

Cover the pot and simmer for about 45 minutes. Just before serving, add 2 tofu Italian sausages, cut in bite size pieces. Cook another 5 minutes to bring the sausages to temperature.

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I like the kale thoroughly wilted, so I cooked the soup on a back burner for about an hour. If you like your kale more toward the chewy side, add it to the pot about 10 minutes before you plan to eat.

For such few ingredients, I was shocked at the many layers of flavor this soup had. I suspect it was from the long simmering time but I'm not sure. What I do know is that no matter what you serve this with, it will be a winner all around. My two guests even went back for seconds. Is that a compliment or what? Mom would be proud.

Copyright 2011 by Sandra L Keith, All rights reserved
Beginning photo is courtesy of MS Clip Art
Soup photo is the property of the owner and may not be reproduced