Garden Chili

Because I'm doing the Daniel Fast I was reminded of another vegetarian dish I made. A while back a friend of mine asked me to make her some chili. She requested the vegetarian version of this one, but I didn't have the ingredients for it so I concocted a new one. It was inspired by the diner style garbage plates, it may be a California thing so I'll explain. A garbage plate is when you take whatever's in the fridge that's about to go bad, dice it up in scrambled eggs and serve with or on top of potatoes (hash browns or home fries). Its to die for! Same thing with this chili. I thought about naming it garbage chili, but garden sounded more appetizing, ha ha.

Ingredients

2 cans of pinto beans
2 cans of dark red kidney beans
2 cans of black beans
1 large can of diced tomatoes
1 box (32 oz) of vegetable stock
3 small poblanos (diced)
1 medium onion (diced)
1 large zucchini (diced)
1 large carrot (diced)
1 bag (10 ounce) frozen corn
2 tbsp of chili powder
2 tbsp of cumin
1 tbsp of garlic powder
1 tbsp of onion powder
1 tsp of cayenne pepper
2 tsp of pepper
1 tsp of Adobo
1 tsp of paprika
Seasoning salt

Directions

1. Dice all the veggies before starting to cook
2. Saute onions in a dash of oil until translucent
3. Pour in the vegetable stock and add tomatillos and poblanos
4. Add spices and season to taste with salt
5. Bring to a boil. Cook for 15-20 minutes
6. Add beans and veggies.
7. Lower heat and stir occasionally
8. Simmer as long as you like, but at least 30 minutes

Daniel Fast: Portuguese White Bean Soup

This recipe I followed exactly and of course it follows the running theme of this fast: I found it on pinterest. So good even my picky and carnivorous bf had a bowl!

Ingredients

1⁄2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1⁄2 cups chopped onions
2 garlic cloves coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground fennel seeds
1 small fennel bulb, diced (about 2 cups)
1 cup diced carrots
1 1⁄2 cups diced potatoes
2 teaspoons dried thyme or 1 tablespoon fresh
1⁄4 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 cups chopped fresh tomatoes or one 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
3 cups cooked white beans (two 15-ounce cans drained)
4 cups water or vegetable stock
5 or 6 cups loosely packed chopped kale
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preparation

In a covered soup pot on medium-low heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onions, garlic, and salt and cook for about 5 minutes.

Add the ground fennel and diced fennel bulb and cook for about 3 minutes. Stir in the carrots, potatoes, thyme, and black pepper and cook for 3 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, beans, and water or stock and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the potatoes are just tender. If the soup is too thick, add another cup of water.

Add the kale and sun- dried tomatoes to the pot. Simmer for about 10 minutes, until the kale is tender. Stir in the lemon juice. Season with more salt and black pepper to taste.

Daniel Fast: Mexican Red Lentil Soup

Fast is still going quite well although I have a craving for breads and pastries. I don't usually want bagels, croissants, or garlic Texas toast, and I don't keep them in the house, but suddenly that's all I want. A cheesy bread from Papa John's would be heaven right now. Or a meat lovers pizza . . . Mmmmm (in my Homer voice). Okay I digress. My willpower is strong.

I will say that this soup was extremely hard to photograph, but delicious. The fresh cilantro and lime made it pop for my Daniel fast lunches. Oh and its another pinterest find!

Ingredients

1 c red lentils, rinsed
1 T oil
1 small red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 celery stalk, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 roasted red pepper, diced
2 t chili powder
1/4 t chipotle powder
1 t cumin
1 t Adobo
1 t black pepper
1 28oz can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 quart vegetable stock
1 c chopped cilantro

Directions

Add rinsed lentils to a small pot and cover with water. Cover pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat leaving cover on pot. Set aside.

In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat and saute onions celery, and carrots.

When the veggies soften a bit add garlic, spices, and roasted red pepper. Cook another 1-2 minutes.

Dump in the whole pot of lentils along with the vegetable stock and tomatoes. Stir everything well, cover and let simmer for 15-20 minutes. Stir in cilantro and serve with fresh lime wedges.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Daniel Fast Snacking: Dried Fruit

Dried fruits were an easy option for snacks during my fast. The problem is finding fruit that doesn't have added sugar. Even at Trader Joe's I found my favorite dried fruits, cherries and cranberries, had extra sugar so I opted for apricots and apples. Fasting doesn't mean you have to be hungry!

Daniel Fast Breakfast: Sweet Quesadilla

Now that the secret is out about my love of almond butter, I'll share my breakfast recipe for the week. Pick your favorite fruits, spread any nut butter of your choosing on a whole grain tortilla, heat and serve. It's so good! And here I thought I'd be sick of eating the same thing for 7 days straight. My favorite combination thus far is bananas and dark chocolate. The combination of saltiness of the almond butter with the sweet bananas and rich chocolate is to die for. Since strawberries are not in season (sorry Florida I don't care that it's warm enough to harvest your strawberries in January, they're just not as good as California's so I'll wait til April) the top recipe wasn't as sweet as it could have been but still good and worth another shot when strawberries are in season. Tomorrow I'm trying apples and cinnamon! Have a good day all!