Despite my best intentions and planning, the week did not turn out as expected. Chip's work schedule was super-wacky so I was eating alone several nights, relying on whatever we had in the house. I mostly lived on potato soup, roasted potatoes, veggie burger and salads.
I ate dinner out a couple of times, too. One particular night I met my friend Susan at a Thai restaurant. I had perused the menu ahead of time, noted that though they had no tofu on the menu (strange!), they did have several vegetable dishes. I had my heart set on the Vegetable Curry until I learned that they put fish sauce in theirs. Darn it! I'm glad I inquired, but I settled for a plain bowl of brown rice & steamed veggies. I poured on a little soy sauce just for flavor. Ugh! Glad the company was wonderful because the food definitely left something to be desired.
Then, of course, there was Valentine's Day. I didn't go crazy, but there were a couple glasses of wine and a tiny bowl of vegan ice cream. Saturday we met up with some friends for happy hour where I enjoyed my weekly french fry fix and shared a Bruschetta with Chip. Our friend Rob (in the foreground) works at this restaurant so he personally spoke to the cook to ensure that our appetizer was 100% vegan. So sweet of him!
Back to "normal" today, made a pot of chili for dinner. This is another McDougall recipe, delicious blending of traditional flavors with some Moroccan spices thrown in. Super-yummy! I didn't include the peanut butter because I didn't want the added fat, but imagine it would've added a nice flavor to the dish.
Chili with Yams
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I have been using a lot of red lentils lately because they cook quickly and thicken soups and stews very nicely. I am also very fond of yams and they go together very well in this dish. This is delicious served with fresh, warm corn tortillas or pita bread.
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 55 minutes
Servings: 6-8
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 ¾ cups water
- 3 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 4 cups peeled and chopped yams
- 1 cup red lentils
- 2 15 ounce cans diced tomatoes
- 1 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed (I used my own pressure-cooked beans)
- 2 tablespoon peanut butter (optional)
- 2 tablespoons lime juice (optional)
- Place ¼ cup of the water in a large soup pot. Add onion, celery and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chili powder, paprika, cumin, cinnamon and crushed pepper.
- Mix well, then add the remaining water, yams, lentils, tomatoes, and beans. Stir to combine, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook for 50 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the peanut butter, one tablespoon at a time, if using. Season with lime juice and a bit of sea salt, if desired.
Per Serving (based on 6 servings, including peanut butter): 394 Calories; 4g Fat (8.5% calories from fat); 21g Protein; 73g Carbohydrate; 23g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 535mg Sodium.
Note: I cooked this in the slow cooker for about 6 hours on High, turned down to warm until ready to serve.
Source: McDougall newsletter, April 2007
Hope everyone had a beauty-full weekend!
Michele~
