Another kind of soap box Round 2

If you've been reading faithfully for awhile, you might remember that around this time last year our neighborhood held it first annual soap box derby race. Scott and L. built an actual soap box race car for the event, and L. raced it admirably, without any spills or mishaps. The weather was bitterly cold that day, and the leaves were piled up in massive walls on either side of the street, but everyone who braved the elements that day to cheer the kids on was warmed inside and out. It was so much fun everyone decided to do it again. We dug out the soap box car from the depths of the garage and rigged a Star Warsian hood ornament for the front. The kids added some silver spray paint and squabbled over who could draw a dragon on the side. They rigged up the same lucky flag we used last year, but apart from those minor cosmetic tweaks, the car remained the same in spirit. It wasn't the fanciest car in the race by any stretch of the imagination, but it was our car, and it did the job. Oh, and they named it Bad Kitty--don't ask me why. ************* The best part of the day, in my opinion, was the potluck after the race--we missed this last year because of a family commitment. I knew that cooking for a crowd who would be eating outdoors on a cold December day just meant a chili recipe was in order. I have a tried and true vegetarian chili recipe I've been making for years; the first time I made it Scott and I had just moved into our first apartment in upstate New York, I was still a tentative cook, and this recipe was the first chili recipe I had ever tried. We also had the tiniest galley kitchen ever in the history of galley kitchens, and each time I pulled off what I thought back then was an intricate cooking project, I felt I had tackled a truly amazing feat. I remember feeling incredibly proud of myself when Scott and I sat down to dinner that night, with steaming bowls of hot chili in front of us. I had come so far! From those simple dinners I used to make when I was on my own--rice and green peas--I had moved on to slicing and dicing and mysterious-sounding spices like cumin. Even though I consider myself a pretty ambitious cook in general, I don't like to mess with something that works, and especially with a recipe that has so much nostalgia attached to it. But this weekend I had a hankering to try something new. I haven't cooked much since Thanksgiving (spending four plus hours in the kitchen in one shot tends to make you a little burned out and we've been eating a lot of pasta and stir-fry lately and an occasional frozen pizza and veggie burger night thrown into the mix) but the cold weather this weekend, stirred a sort of culinary restlessness inside of me, and I spent the weekend baking a ridiculous number of sweet things (monkey bread and muffins and a chocolate mousse on Saturday) and cooking hearty side dishes (roasted caulifower and gingered carrots and homemade biscuits) and, of course, a gigantic pot of chili for Sunday's potluck. I did some googling around the internet for vegetarian chili recipes and I found this recipe online. I don't have anything against Emeril really, but I don't find myself often moved by his recipes just because I'm not overly fond of Creole seasoning, and as vegetarians we're not seafood eaters and that Emeril is always sneaking some seafood into otherwise delicious-sounding recipes. But every now and then Mr. Lagasse pulls out a good one that I just have to try, and the chili recipe I tried this weekend was one of them. The verdict? A delicious, hearty chili, perfect served over a bed of rice, with a generous spoonful or two of sour cream to cool things off. But I have to say--dare I say?--that I still prefer my own chili recipe to Emeril's--there's something about the crumbled tofu that I add to mine that bulks up the chili and makes it more satisfying. Maybe I'm just too attached to that first chili I ever made, back in that tiny galley kitchen in Rochester, New York. Vegetarian Spicy Chili (*best when made in a galley kitchen so tiny you can stand in one spot and reach everything) 1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion 1 1/3 cups finely chopped green pepper 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tablespoon chili powder 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (or 1-2 cloves chopped fresh garlic) 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes with puree, undrained 1/2 pound firm tofu, drained and crumbled 2 (15 ounce) cans red kidney beans, drained Coat a Dutch oven with cooking spray, or add two tablespoons oil. Add chopped onion, chopped green pepper, and minced garlic, and saute vegetables until tender. Add chili powder, cumin, garlic, and crushed red pepper; saute 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in tomatoes and tofu. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 15 minutes. Add kidney beans and cook for another 15 minutes, or until bean mixture is thoroughly heated. Serve over a bed of wagon wheel pasta, or brown rice.
Tags