Classic Black Bean & Veggie Chili

Classic Black Bean & Veggie Chili, page 236

Another guest post from El Hombre, since he was in charge of getting food on the table tonight!

Tonight's dinner was very much true to the recipe. The Classic Black Bean & Veggie Chili is delicious and easy to fix. Thirty minutes is all you need to from start to finish. Basically, you chop up your onions, garlic and veggies add the broth and seasonings and you are set.

After things were nicely simmering, I reduced the heat and focused on fixing some yummy cornbread to go with dinner. I used the cornbread recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking and baked the batter in a funky little cast iron corn stick pan that la Mujer (Julie) fancies as an awesome thrift store find.

As expected, the girls were less than enthusiastic, with SweetPotato saying it was a bit "spicy." I think it was my liberal use of chili powder that got to her.

I stuck with the recipe since it was my first time fixing it, but I feel really confident about adjusting seasonings and adding a variety of different veggies. Next time, I think I'll use eggplant along with the zucchini that was called for, and I would also enjoy adding mushrooms!

Overall, a great easy to fix dinner, and you can't beat that!

Scallion Potato Pancakes

Scallion Potato Pancakes, page 61
served with a veggie-sesame stir fry

El Hombre returns with a guest post after some crazy schedules the last two weeks!

Tonight's Scallion Pancakes were definitely a big hit with kids and adults alike. The recipe is very straight forward, easy to execute, and just plain delicious. As Isa states, the pancakes are very delicate before baking and should be handled with care. After trying to gently coat the first pancake in panko breadcrumbs, I found it best to use a thin spatula from the start and forgo hands altogether. After coating, it was off to the oven to bake. One adjustment I would try next time is to reduce the temperature from 425 to 400 or 375 degrees to let the middle firm up more and not over-crisp the outside. I served the pancakes with some sautéed cabbage, broccoli, green beans, edamame, and toasted sesame seeds in a little soy sauce and presto - a great family feast!

Side note - La Mujer helped out with the sautéed veggies and the toasted sesame seeds. There might have been a slight over-toasting mishap with the first batch of sesame seeds. Let's not delve into the frivolous details and just say after some broken glass dinner still turned out great. :)

Jerk Asparagus

Jerk Asparagus, pg. 91
served with simple black beans and brown rice

El Hombre guest-posts!

Today is Wednesday and the beginning of my appearance as your Wednesday guest chef. Maybe chef is a stretch, but I can definitely cook up some good food for the family. The oldest has dance practice on Wednesdays, so it’s up to me to have dinner ready when everyone gets home.

On the menu tonight was Jerk Asparagus with black beans and rice. So, the first comment from SweetPotato upon entering the house was, “What’s that funny smell?" SweetPea just had a puzzled look on her face. Fortunately, Jules’ first comment was, “It smells amazing!" I guess jerk seasoning just has that type of effect on people. I also thought it smelled amazing. Overall, a very simple and quick recipe to fix. The key is definitely the jerk spices, bold and in-your-face with goodness. The foundation consists of ginger and garlic, with a good mix of spices to add heat and sweetness. The squeeze of a lime wedge to finish it off was the perfect touch to bring it all together. Combine that with my special refried (no oil, just water) black beans and some good sticky brown rice, and there you have it.

Definitely a hit with the adults, while the girls had to ease into such a robust spice pallet. The asparagus was sautéed in the jerk spices long enough to achieve a good tenderness without losing its crispiness. I usually like my rice spiced up as well, but the plain brown rice served as a good balance to the wonderfully intense asparagus. I love the jerk seasonings, and I'm already thinking of incorporating them in future dishes.

Basic Baked Tofu

Basic Baked Tofu, page 144
and El Hombre's "Tater-Broc"

Indeed, the Basic Baked Tofu is basic. Which is a good thing. As the recipe indicates, this is the perfect tofu to have on hand for sandwiches, salads, and the like. I began marinating the tofu several hours ahead of time, and while it was good, I did find myself wishing the flavors of the marinade had permeated the tofu a bit more.

But I have to give props to El Hombre. Again, he was in charge of getting dinner on the table tonight, and I left him with minimal instructions - bake the tofu as directed in the cookbook, and fix up some potatoes and broccoli however he liked. Apparently, he had one of those mad-kitchen-genius moments, and created something wonderful. He sauteed up some chopped onions along with the broccoli and potatoes, and then decided to throw the rest of the tofu marinade into the mix. It turned out to be this super yummy, comforting chunky-mashed-potato-and-broccoli-with-onions dish, seasoned to perfection with the marinade. Really! Combined with the baked tofu, it was a perfect, simple yet comforting dinner to come home to after a long day. He called it "tater-broc." Baked tofu and tater-broc... yummy!

Everyday Chickpea-Quinoa Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Everyday Chickpea-Quinoa Salad, pg. 16

It was El Hombre's night to cook, so I did some of the prep work for him earlier in the day, and left the rest for him to finish and have on the table by the time the girls and I got home. We had the salad with some cooked greens, sliced cucumbers and carrot sticks, and some whole-grain bread.

The balsamic dressing was the key element to bring everything together for this salad. I've generally found that balsamic dressings are usually boring and predictable, but this recipe here was probably the best one I've ever had. It is a cashew-based dressing, which gave it a nice creamy, emulsified texture.

The main components of the salad are all some of my favorites - chickpeas, quinoa, romaine lettuce - but the dish would have been unremarkable if not for the dressing. Did I mention the balsamic dressing was really good?

We did not include any of the optional add-ins suggested by Isa this time, but next time I definitely would play around with it more. Shredded carrots, fresh basil, chopped tomatoes, and even a few kalamata olives would be great, I think.