Turning Veganese

The Vegan’s Husband named me as a baton carrier in the Hope relay and I’ll tell you I was a little nervous. It seems like a lot of responsibility.

I wanted to include a recipe that was easy and delicious and loaded with nutrition. Chowders are usually loaded with fat and cholesterol so I’m giving you one that’s high in fiber, protein and flavor. I started with the following:

1 12 ounce carton of silken tofu (we use MoriNu organic)

cilantro (stems and/or leaves)

3 tomatillo, chopped

1 small onion, diced

1 6 ounce jar of sliced pimientos

1 jalapeño, diced (optional, for spice)

1 10 ounce bag of frozen corn (we used Cascadian Farms organic)

1 cube of veggie bouillon

1 generous pinch of flake red pepper

1 cup of water (more or less depending on your needs)

1-2 tsp olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

First, pre-heat your oven to 400F/205C. Grease a baking sheet lightly and put your tomatollos (whole but papery husk removed) on it. When the oven is hot, put them on the top rack near the broiler coil. This particular day it took only 8 minutes to blacken the skin (above). I wish I knew a better way to time this stuff without lighting them on fire but all I can advise is to watch them closely after 5 minutes. When they’re done, set them aside to cool. Also, don’t forget to turn off the oven.

I put the block of tofu into my blender along with the cilantro and bouillon cube. Whenever I use leaves from cilantro I put the stems in a bag in my freezer for use in recipes like this one. Freezing preserves the aromatic compounds that give cilantro it’s unique (and to some offensive) flavor that is lost in dried coriander powder. The stems are also very flavorful and full of fiber. I blended the tofu until it was creamy.

Meanwhile I added a teaspoon or so of olive oil to a pot and sauteed the onion, pimientos and jalapeño. We like food spicy so if you’re shy, consider adding a quarter or half of the jalapeño.

When the onion had become translucent, I added the flake red pepper and frozen corn  and continued stirring until it was thawed.

I added the tofu and used another cup of water to get some of the remaining tofu out of the blender. I added it until I liked the consistency of the chowder.

I took my tomatillo and chopped them roughly. I stirred them in gently and served garnished with fresh cilantro leaves.  Brent ate his with corn chips and there were no leftovers which made me sad. I love awesome lunch and even better when it’s high protein comfort food.

My recipe is soy based so if you’re sensitive to soy I’d love to hear if this recipe works with cashew or coconut cream

Now that we’re full of delicious food I can be more objective in my choices on to whom I’ll pass on the Hope baton!

1. Whatcha Reading? is a blog that covers a broad range of topics relevant to vegans from cooking and baking to eating out and weird situations that come up when you’re a vegan in a carnist world.

2. an Unrefined Vegan Is anything but unrefined. This blog features stunning photography or mouth watering vegan food and something out of my cooking comfort zone: baking. Breads, cookies, cakes and muffins abound here along with other vegan goodies… give it a look.

3. CameraPhone Vegan appeals to me through 4 things: cooking, reviews, sampling local eateries and being local to me so I can go and try those delicious foods. The writing style is lively and accessible and they give helpful hints about what’s gluten-free and vegan and both! (Thank-you!)

4. I’ve become a big fan of the Teapot Vegan. This blog is so honest as to be indispensable. It reminds me that identity and being vegan are intertwined with health, self image and day-to-day life. I often suffer from tunnel vision and this blog brings me right back to seeing the whole picture.

5. Last and not least Vegan Monologue is a blog that does great product reviews and doable recipes. The photography is great and the instructions are easy to follow.

That just about wraps up this post!

This is Christie, signing off!