Grateful for Beans

This Sunday morning, I woke up and started in on my breakfast. I didn't want anything fancy, but I was craving some really solid protein, the sort of food with substance that would last me through my planned walk downtown.

What I put together wasn't revolutionary: multigrain toast with peanut butter, a bunch of grapes, and a half cup of pinto beans straight from the can as a side--no sauce, no seasoning, no nada.

The toast was good, as were those sunny, fat green grapes from Chile, but those beans. Those. Beans. They were creamy and salty and rich and profoundly satisfying.

They were more than just what I was in the mood for, more than just what my body happened to be craving. They tasted heavenly. And as I ate them, I was instantly and profoundly grateful for those simple little guys.

My favorite thing about eating vegan is the way my attitude has changed toward food. Yes, my taste buds have definitely changed--even low sodium rice cakes and plain veggies taste pretty damn scrumptious--but it's more than that.

People focus on what you have to give up when you become vegan, on the denial aspect on it, but they forget that you get to eat fabulous, fresh, colorful food every day, food that doesn't just sustain your body but nourishes it.

Veganism introduced a new form of gratitude into my life: gratitude for my ability to afford fresh vegetables year round, for the time I have to prepare them, and for their availability at my local supermarket. Gratitude for beans and lentils, hummus and split peas, avocados and asparagus and kale. And I'm grateful every time I get to eat just exactly what I want, when I want it.

A surplus of gratitude, even over plain old beans--how can extra gratitude ever be a bad thing?

Sweet (Secretly Bean-y) Spreads

Yes, you read that right: Sweet. Bean. Spreads.

I recently read Vegan for Life, an overview of vegan nutrition written by two registered dietitians.  It was a tremendously helpful book, and one of the most important messages I took from it was that I'm probably not getting enough protein!

Image via TheVeganRD.com.

But, to be fair, I suspect that I wasn't getting enough before I went vegan, either--as someone who ate very little meat, few beans, and a scattering of dairy products, how could I? But now I know that the daily protein recommendation for women is around 45 grams (more if you're more active) and that my default vegan diet was leaving me as many as 10 grams short per day.

Moreover, the Vegan for Life authors recommended getting most of one's protein through legumes like peanuts, peas, and beans. Peanut butter? Oh, yeah, check! Peas? Sure, I can add those to a lot of dishes--check! Beans? Ummmm, that's harder. I get sick of beans--beans on salads, beans in pasta sauce, beans on tortillas, beans in curries and soups, beans for every meal, beans in and coming out of my ears!

Image from ABCNews.go.com's nice little article about vegetarian protein sources.  (Well, it's nice until they include beef. But I'll take it.)

So what to do? Well, I bought some protein powder for smoothies, learned how to make seitan (more on that later!), and started thinking of ways to sneak beans into my diet.

Thus began my new love affair with bean-based sweet dips and spreads. It sounds weird, I know, but with a good food processor and a can of beans--particularly the miraculously creamy great northern/navy bean--you can get the creamy, rich texture so often associated with butter-based frosting. And you get it with much less fat and more iron and protein than frosting can give!

Fudge dip! (These little containers never last very long . . .)

First, I tried the fudge dip found in Everyday Happy Herbivore (which is pretty much my favorite cook book ever). This stuff is incredibly tasty when spread on a whole wheat tortilla, multigrain bread, or a rice cake. AND it's low-calorie (less than 50 per serving, according to my calorie counter). AND it's full of protein. AND it satisfies my crazy chocolate addiction.

Mmmm, freshly processed goodness. Don't forget to lick the bowl!

Two notes on this recipe: 1) In my opinion, using navy beans is absolutely vital. The cannellini bean version is okay, but the navy beans are much smoother and have a milder flavor. 2) I always make the variation that includes peanut butter. Yeah, it adds fat, but just a tablespoon or two contributes a lot of richness and helps you get away with using less sugar!

More recently, I tried this chocolate chip cookie dough dip from Chocolate Covered Katie because . . . Wait, does anyone really need an excuse to eat raw cookie dough? That's pretty much a gimme.

Cookie dough dip! (Or raw vegan cookie dough. Or whatever you have to call it to make it okay for yourself.)

The brown sugar is really what makes cookie dough taste like cookie dough, and the same is true for this dip! I would definitely use brown sugar as your sweetener if you have it on hand. Also, this is a very forgiving recipe because it doesn't have to be baked, so feel free to make it to taste. And while it's not exactly low-calorie (my version clocked in at over 65 calories per tablespoon), I could still justify walking around my apartment licking it off the spoon as an after-dinner treat!

It's okay on bread, better on rice cakes, and best when eaten alone!

The moral of this story is that I still love beans, but sometimes I like my beans to be seen but not tasted.

Also, you can never trust a vegan: we will hide beans (or kale or quinoa) in everything.

For a Spicy, Lazy Snow Day: Vegetarian Curried Chili with Chickpeas

Happy snow day, everybody!

In case you don’t live in the Midwest, about 10 inches of snow has been dumped in the middle of Kansas. Most schools and businesses were closed around 9:00 p.m. last night, long before the first snowflake had even hit the ground.

Today, I’ve baked a loaf of bread and made granola bars, but if I didn’t have a bunch of leftovers that I needed to eat this week, I’d totally be making this chili instead of blogging right now. It's just perfect for a chilly, blustery day like this!

Now, let me start with a caveat: I don’t really like chili.

Growing up, my parents adored chili. Some winters, they made it twice a week, and we always had leftovers two of the five remaining nights. It was perfectly fine chili—my favorite chili, even, with its rich tomatoes and approachable spices, hearty with kidney beans and ground beef—but by the time I went to college, I couldn’t stand the sight of the stuff. Never again, I thought.

Eventually, after about three years without it, I started to crave chili again during my senior year of college. I played around with a bunch of vegetarian chili recipes, got disappointed, and gave up.

But about a year ago, I stumbled upon Emeril’s spicy delicious magical unicorn of a vegetarian chili; I made a lazy person’s simplified, pantry-friendly version of it and was in love. Here was a chili I could get behind!

But the true origin of this chili came one night when I wanted to make it and discovered that I was short on both black beans and chili powder. After poking through my cabinets, I came up with a solution. Hence my magical curried chili with chickpeas was born!

This is a rock ‘n’ roll vegan chili. It’s hearty and swampy and satisfying and subtly exotic. The curry powder isn't noticeable, but it does add a layer of richness and aroma that's unusual in a chili. But most importantly of all, it doesn’t mess around: it is spicy. And award-winning! (I tied for first place in my office’s chili cook-off this year. I was waaaaaayyyyy too proud of myself!)

So, yes, this chili does pass muster, even with omnivores. In the words of my ground beef-loving, chili con carne-venerating father, “I would actually eat this again.” Which, in case you don’t know him, is very high praise.

This chili is a snow day essential, and it’s likely that you have everything you need on hand to make it. Even if you’re missing some of the ingredients, it’s a very flexible recipe: as long as you have the onions, garlic, corn, tomatoes, beans, and chili powder, you’re going to come up with something pretty tasty.

Note: I just saw The Delta Saints at a local venue. Half of the band is from Kansas, and they were shockingly good. If you like really loud blues-influenced Southern rock played by some technically skilled white kids wearing suspenders, definitely check them out. They put on a good show.

Happy snow day, Kansas!

The view from my kitchen window around noon today. What do you think? About 10 inches?

Curried Vegetarian Chili with Chickpeas (Lazy Woman’s Version)

2 TBSP canola or vegetable oil

1 ½ cup chopped sweet yellow onion

1 cup chopped sweet bell pepper (orange and yellow are best, but red works and even green will do in a pinch)

2 TBSP minced garlic (I don’t measure this out, but 4 cloves usually works for me)

2-3 minced Serrano peppers (jalapenos are a fine substitute, but please always watch out for pepper burns when you’re chopping!)

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2 cups of corn kernels (I use frozen sweet corn microwaved to room temperature)

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1 ½ TBSP chili powder

½ TBSP curry powder (replace this with more chili powder, if you don’t have curry on hand)

1 TBSP cumin powder

½ tsp salt (add more later to taste)

¼ scant tsp cayenne powder (if you want a milder chili, go with 1/8 tsp or skip it altogether)

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1 large can diced stewed tomatoes (4 large fresh tomatoes work as well)

1 can tri-blend beans, rinsed and well-drained

½ can black beans, rinsed and well-drained

½ can chickpeas, rinsed and well-drained (feel free to use whatever beans you have on hand—a can of kidney beans and a can of black beans makes for a perfectly delicious substitution!)

1 small can of tomato sauce (optional—I’ve made this without the tomato sauce, and it’s a little less soupy but perfectly tasty)

1 scant cup water

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To taste, salsa for spice and richness, salt, additional oil for richness, and red wine vinegar or lemon juice for acid and tang.

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Optional toppings and accompaniments:

chopped cilantro

sliced avocado

Daiya vegan mozzarella

vegan sour cream or vegan onion raita

vegan cornbread

Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium or medium-high heat. Once warm, saute the onion, bell pepper, garlic, and peppers for about 3 minutes.

Add the corn kernels and saute for another 5 or 6 minutes.

Add chili powder, curry powder, cumin, salt, and cayenne to the pot and mix well, sauteing for another 30 seconds to a minute.

Add canned (or fresh) tomatoes, beans, tomato sauce, and water to the pot. Bring back up to a low boil and simmer for 20 minutes. (Or, add these final ingredients, bring to a low boil, and leave on low in your crock pot until needed.)

After 20 minutes of simmering (or hours of crock potting), taste the chili and add the "to taste" ingredients as needed (salsa, salt, oil, and red wine vinegar or lemon juice). Serve with cornbread, a blizzard, and bluesy southern rock. 

Ingredient Profile: Chickpeas

I am not exaggerating when I say that I feel romantically toward chickpeas.

Image from all-creatures.org, which has a lovely write-up of chickpeas and their nutritional content. 

For a long time, my only experience with the common garbanzo bean was seeing their strange, lumpy, beige-ness staring at me from salad bars. I thought they looked like pelleted cellulite, and I was not into it.

The first time I felt my heart flutter at the sight of a chickpea was when I discovered Indian food in college. Chana masala (chickpeas in a curried tomato sauce) and chole saag (chickpeas in a rich spinach sauce) are perhaps the best tasting foods in the world, and you can make a lot of curried dishes with chickpeas at home that are simple, filling, and voluminous. (Spicy chickpeas and dill is a personal favorite.) 

I've also included chickpeas in vegetarian chili and spicy African stews with great success. And in a pinch, they perform admirably as part of an Italian-style pasta dish when sauteed with veggies in a little bit of oil until their skins begin to burst; just throw some vegan tomato sauce on top and add to a whole grain pasta of your choice. 

Oddly enough, Bush's really are the best canned chickpeas I've tried, thought most organic brands are equally delicious. 

Furthermore, chickpeas are great on top of a quick salad or even as a snack; I have definitely been known to scoop out a half cup so I can eat them plain with my fingers. They’re slightly nutty and salty straight from the can, with a tender, crumbly texture. They’re capable of taking a backseat to strong spicy flavors, the tangy freshness of tomatoes, or the acidity of vinegar or Dijon. Basically, they’re like a really fantastic character actor, capable of stepping up and stealing a scene when you need them to, or hanging back and supporting your other flavors in their Oscar-bid roles.

More than anything else in my kitchen, chickpeas are my go-to vegan protein of choice, full of protein and iron, satisfying and adaptable.

Perhaps such a ubiquitous food doesn't need an ode, but isn't that the whole point of a blog like this? To simultaneously celebrate and be grateful for those foods that make living the life we’d like to live possible?

Chickpeas are my Meryl Strep, and I will always give them all of my newbie vegan awards.

Image from Thinkprogress.org. Yayyy Meryl!