Chili Dogs

Sometimes I crave the weirdest things . . . like chili dogs. It's not like I ever ate chili dogs before I was a vegan, but for some reason they have been in my head all day. I looked up a recipe for Skyline chili (I never ate there either when I lived in Ohio) and assembled these paragons of culinary achievement. I had every intention of topping these babies with grated Tofutti cheese, but we were out. Oh well. Next time.

INGREDIENTS

Makes enough chili for 12 chili dogs

- 1 tbsp oil

- 1 onion, diced

- 2 cloves garlic, minced

- 1/2 small can tomato paste

- 1 1/2 cups water

- 3/4 cup TVP

- 1/2 tsp allspice

- 1/2 tsp cumin

- 1 tbsp chili powder (or more to taste)

- 2 tsp cocoa powder

- 1 tbsp white vinegar

- 1/4 tsp ground cloves

- 1 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce

- 2 tbsp ketchup

- 1 tsp cinnamon

- 1 tsp salt (or to taste)

METHOD

1. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Saute onions and garlic for 7-10 mins, until soft and translucent. Add tomato paste and water and mix well. Bring to bubbling and add TVP and remaining ingredients. Reduce heat and let simmer for about 20 mins, until TVP is soft. Add a few splashes of water if chili gets too dry.

2. Serve over veggie dogs topped with the condiments of your choice.

Also, Earth Balance sent me 2 jars of their new peanut butter! I will write a review real soon. Stay posted!

Applesauce

Sorry to say that this is another one of those recipe-less posts that really is a recipe (sort of). If you have not made your own applesauce you are missing out on a real treat. Now, I like liquid invert sugar and high fructose corn syrup from store brands as much as the next guy, but with homemade you have absolute control over your sauce. Now is the time to make it, of course, with apples ripe and ready at the local orchard. Get an apple that will cook down easily (I like MacIntosh and HoneyCrisp). If you are not sure what is a good apple, ask someone at the orchard. A great way to get cheap apples is to but a bushel of windfalls (i.e. the apples that have fallen off the trees). They may not be pretty, but it does not matter when making applesauce. Once you have your apples, it's time to get cooking!

INGREDIENTS

- peeled, cored, and chopped apples

- lemon juice

- splash of water

- sugar

- cinnamon

METHOD

1. Place chopped apples in a large pot over med to med-hi heat. Add a few splashes of lemon juice (will keep apples from browning to much) and some sugar. If apples stick, add a splash of water. As apples begin to cook down, reduce heat, cover and let apples reduce to sauce (about 30-40 mins, depending on how many apples you use). Mash apples throughout the cooking process until you get the consistency you want (I like chunky).

2. Add sugar (brown/white) and cinnamon to taste.

OTHER APPLESAUCES WE HAVE MADE:

Cinnamon Brown Sugar: Go crazy with the cinnamon brown sugar and cinnamon for a rich apple sauce.

Raspberry (or Strawberry) Applesauce: Add fresh or frozen raspberries (or strawberries) with the apples. Sweeten with white sugar.

Pear-Ginger Applesauce: Pears also cook down quite easily. Sweeten with a mix of white and brown sugar. Add ground ginger, cinnamon, and a bit of nutmeg.

Apple Spice Porridge

Behold my second installment of trying to make breakfast more interesting for the kids. Not really a recipe tonight; more of an idea that you can play around with. And not even a very original idea, really. Sons #2 and #3 gobbled it right down, but Son #1 whined ad nauseum about it until the oatmeal had congealed into a dense mass and the whole thing was cold and kind of nasty. *sigh* Maybe boxed cereal isn't so bad after all . . . .

INGREDIENTS

- oatmeal (I use quick cook/instant on busy mornings)

- cinnamon

- ginger

- nutmeg

- allspice

- cloves

- maple syrup

- grated apple

- raisins

METHOD

1. Cook oatmeal as per directions on package. Spice to taste using some or all of the spices above, then stir in some grated apple and raisins. Tastes great on a cold fall morning.

Hearty Autumn Muffins

Vegan Mom and I have been looking for new things to serve the boys for breakfast to break the monotonous cycle of boxed breakfast cereal. These muffins are one answer. I used the Ginger-Raisin Bran Muffin recipe from VWAV as a starting point and went from there. They are filling, hearty, and filled with two of the wonderful things autumn gives us: pumpkins and apples. Plus, they have enough bran to get the mail moving in the morning . . . if you know what I mean.

INGREDIENTS

Makes 12 large muffins

- 1/2 cup raisins

- 1 cup apple, small dice

- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

- 2 tsp baking powder

- 1/2 tsp baking soda

- 1/2 cup sugar

- 2 tsp cinnamon

- 1/2 tsp nutmeg

- 1/4 tsp allspice

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 3/4 cup wheat bran

- 1/4 cup oat bran

- 1 cup pureed pumpkin

- 2/3 cup soy milk

- 1/3 cup canola oil (or applesauce)

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

METHOD

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1. Soak raisins in warm water. This will keep them plump and from burning in the oven.

2. Whisk together flour, baking powder and soda, sugar, spices, salt, and bran in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, soy milk, oil, and vanilla until well-blended. Add to dry ingredients and mix until just moist (over mixing makes for tough muffins). Fold in raisins and diced apples.

3. Divide batter into muffin tins and bake for 20-22 mins, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Pumpkin Pasta with Easy Sage Alfredo Sauce

Tonight I made the pumpkin pasta I made last night. It cooked beautifully. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, the pasta only needs to be cooked for 1 min once the water returns to a boil. I wouldn't say the pasta had an overly pumpkiny flavour, but it did have a nice light orange colour. My plan was to make a creamy sage sauce for a nice autumn twist on a pasta dish, but wanted to make sure it did not taste like spaghetti with Thanksgiving gravy. I was worried the kids would not like it but they gobbled it right up. Son #1 even rejected his usual bowl of cereal at bedtime and asked for more pasta. I don't think that has ever happened before.

INGREDIENTS

- 1 lb pumpkin pasta (I made fettuccine)

- 3 cloves garlic, skins on

- 3 tbsp margarine

- 2 generous tbsp flour

- 1 tsp sage

- 1/4 tsp thyme

- pinch of nutmeg

- 1 tsp salt

- 2 cups soy milk

- 1 cup firm silken tofu

INGREDIENTS

1. Cook pasta in rapidly boiling salted water for about 60 seconds, until soft but still firm.

2. While water is heating, make sauce. Dry roast garlic in a pan until soft. Remove from heat, remove skins, and chop.

3. Heat margarine in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and bring to bubbling. Add garlic and spices and mix, then whisk in soy milk. Bring to bubbling, whisking regularly.

4. Add tofu and blend with a hand blender. Adjust seasonings to taste. Mix with cooked pasta and serve.