Vegan Recipe – Slow Cooker Quinoa Chili

As part of our non-traditional Christmas dinner this year, I offered to bring chili over to my parents’ house.  I found this recipe on Hangry Tales through Pinterest.  It was relatively easy to make and the extras froze well for satisfying lunches.  The chili was smoky and flavorful and absolutely awesome with some vegan scoop-shaped corn chips.

Ingredients:

• 1 large yellow onion, chopped (1 3/4 cup)
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced, fire-roasted tomatoes
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 2 (4 ounce) cans diced green chiles
• 2 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste (optional)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 (15 oz) cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro

I know that seems like a lot, but hang in there!

Directions:

1. In a large crockpot, add all ingredients except for the quinoa and cilantro.  Stir until very well combined.
2. Turn it on at high heat for at least 5 hours, depending on the type of crockpot you have. I did 8 hours and then kept it on warm until it was eaten.
3. Stir in the quinoa and cilantro at the very end, (and I topped it with a little quinoa for looks) and serve warm.
4. It will keep well in sealed containers in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.

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Vegan at The Brite Spot, Echo Park, Los Angeles – Post 2

I have already talked about The Brite Spot, but I thought that I could do multiple reviews of restaurants as I make subsequent visits.  Click here to see previous posts about The Brite Spot.

The Brite Spot is a cute little diner in Echo Park that we pass all the time when visiting the in-laws.  This time, I ordered a bowl of vegan chili and vegan nachos.

When the chili first arrived, I was worried that it had beef in it because the imitation ground beef looked so much like the real thing.  I double checked with the waiter and he said it’s definitely vegan, they only make vegan chili, so you can rest assured that they haven’t mixed them up.  It was hearty and flavorful and not a bad deal at $5.50 for the cup.  It was pretty large.

I also ordered the vegan nachos wish their awesome soy chicken.  They were great, although a little dry.  I still don’t understand why they only have a lactose free, but not vegan cheese.  They need to get on that to improve their vegan dishes.

The soy chicken was amazing, I couldn’t get enough.  It both looked and tasted a lot like chicken.

We’ll definitely be back.  This would a great place to meet non-vegans for dinner so that you could have a satisfying vegan meal without making a big production out of it.

Lightlife Smart Dogs and vegan chili

When I was young, our family always had plans for the fourth of July.  Now that those long standing plans have gone by the wayside, we don’t really do anything in particular for the fourth.  This year, our parents had us over for the day.  My mom made chili and Lightlife Smart Dogs.  The homemade chili was nicely spicy and went well with the Fritos  and Daiya cheese sprinkled on top.  Hopefully some day I will get the recipe from my mom to post it for you.

The Lightlife Smart Dogs tasted like the generic cheap hot dogs that I used to eat.  With a toasted bun and spicy brown mustard, it was a pleasing and holiday-appropriate meal.

After we let our lunches digest a bit, my mom brought out some homemade vegan ginger snap ice cream with fresh peach compote, garnished with ginger snaps.  It tasted like a yummy, icy pie.  I am not usually one for non-chocolate ice cream, but this was delicious.  Way to go Mom!