Lentil, Mushroom, and Eggplant Chili Mole

Ingredients:

Thanks again Appetite for Reduction for this great recipe and inspiration!

serves 6, active time 15 minutes, total time 1 hour

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, cut into medium dice
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into medium dice
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon mild chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup dried green lentils, washed
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• One (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 2 pounds eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 package of diced baby bella mushrooms!
• 2 teaspoons amber agave nectar or pure maple syrup
• Cilantro, for garnish

Process:

Preheat a 4-quart pot over medium-high heat. Sauté the onions and bell pepper in the oil until translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute, using nonstick cooking spray or a splash of water if it’s sticking. Mix in the chili powder, cumin, coriander, oregano, cinnamon, and salt. Add n cup of the vegetable broth and the cocoa powder, and cook for about 1 more minute while stirring to dissolve the cocoa. 

Add the lentils, remaining vegetable broth, diced tomatoes, and eggplant. Cover the pot and bring the mixture to a boil, keeping a close eye on it. Once it’s boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and cook for about 40 minutes, or until the lentils are tender and the eggplant is soft. Mix in the agave. Taste for salt and seasoning

Let the chili sit for 10 minutes or so for maximum flavor. Serve garnished with cilantro, if you like. 

Serve with Vegan Cornbread  (I added jalapeno and scallions to this recipe for a kick!)

For more Vegan inspiration and recipes, check out my 30-day challenge!

Vegan Week 1

Vegan Week 2

Thai Coconut and Lemongrass Soup (Tom Kha)

This is SOOOO YUM!

Adapted from recipe by Tyler Florence

• 1 quart organic chicken stock
• 1 stalk lemon grass, white part only, cracked open with the flat side of a knife
• 3 kaffir lime leaves, fresh or dried, hand torn
• 1 (3-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
• Red onion, sliced extra thin, about 5 slices and separate them out
• 2 small Thai chilies, halved lengthwise
• 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 (13-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk (don’t use light, you will be sorry!)
• 2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons raw sugar
• 1 (8-ounce) can straw mushrooms, rinsed
• 3 limes, juiced
• 1 package of brown rice noodles cooked al dente or slightly undercooked
• 1/2 c of both steamed carrot sticks and steamed snow peas
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• bean sprouts for garnish

Bring the stock to the boil over medium heat in a soup pot. Add the lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, ginger, chilies, onion, and garlic. Lower the heat to medium-low, cover, and gently simmer for 10 minutes to let the spices infuse the broth.

 Uncover and stir in the coconut milk, fish sauce, sugar, mushrooms, and lime juice. Simmer for 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup broth into individual serving bowls filled with your brown rice noodles, lightly steamed carrots, and crunchy snow peas. Garnish with cilantro and bean sprouts. Be careful to avoid chewing the lemongrass, ginger, or lime leaves (I removed these entirely by straining the broth)

Spicy Sausage, White Bean, and Kale Soup

Thanks to my friend Bridgid for the inspiration on  this one. She is always raving about how easy and delicious this soup is. This recipe really is easy, quick to make, and tastes great.

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 medium yellow onion, diced

1 package of Boulder Hot Italian Sausage (spicy is key)

1 quart of organic chicken stock

1 28oz can of organic stewed tomatoes (I used Muir Glen)

1 can of sodium-free cannellini beans (I used Eden Organic)

1 bunch of kale, de-stemmed and rough chopped

pinch of red pepper flakes

1/4c fresh basil, chopped

shredded parmesean cheese to top it off

Directions:

Sautee onion and garlic in a pan with a little EVOO for a few minutes to release flavor, and then brown sausage in the same pan chopping it into smaller bite-size pieces as it cooks. Once sausage is almost fully cooked, add one quart of organic chicken stock and your can of stewed tomatoes making sure to break the tomatoes into bite-sized pieces. Add your can of beans and about half of the chopped kale, and then let your soup simmer for about 10minutes. Add the basil and the rest of the kale at the end so that it retains its green color and slightly crunchy texture, and cook soup  for just a few more minutes until kale is slightly wilted. 

Serve soup with a sprinkle of shredded parmesean or romano cheese and some crunchy bread.

Roasted Zucchini and Garlic Soup

Serves 2(with leftovers)

3-4 zuchinnis (I used a variety from the farmers market, see picture above)

9 cloves of peeled garlic

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

4 cups of organic chicken stock

2 TB fresh chopped basil

S+P+ginger powder

2 TB Earth Balance olive oil butter

Cornstarch to thicken

Preheat oven to 425

Cut up squash into big chunks, peel garlic, and lay them on a baking sheet. Drizzle vegetables with EVOO, salt, pepper, and a little ginger powder. Roast in your oven for 40 minutes.

When the vegetables in the oven have about 5 minutes to go, chop up your onion and sautee in a deep pan with a little EVOO until translucent. Once vegetables are cooked, take them out of the oven, chop them up, and add to the pan with the onions. Add your chicken broth and chopped  basil into the same pan and bring to a boil. Once boiling, remove mixture from the heat and food process it in batches until smooth. Put mixture back into your pan and season with S+P if neccesary. If  you would like your soup a bit thicker, take  about a cup of soup and place in a small side bowl. Whisk in 1TB of cornstarch, and then return the thickened liquid to the main soup pot and bring to a boil. This method will prevent any lumps from getting into the soup. Also, bringing it to a boil is key to the thickening process, so make sure you do this first before adding more cornstarch. Finish soup off by whisking in about 2TB of earth balance olive oil spread(optional).

I served this with brie cheese and a loaf of sage & sea salt bread from the Crested Butte farmer’s market