{"id":2675,"date":"2011-02-08T11:50:17","date_gmt":"2011-02-08T17:50:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/?p=2675"},"modified":"2025-12-28T14:25:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-28T20:25:09","slug":"moms-chili-if-she-was-vegan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2011\/02\/moms-chili-if-she-was-vegan\/","title":{"rendered":"Mom&#8217;s Chili, If She Was Vegan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Here is Mom&#8217;s Spaghetti Sauce, circa 1970s (my sister kept the index card): Brown 1 pound ground beef, drain. Add 1 Tablespoon salt, half an onion chopped, half a stick of butter, 1 (large) can tomatoes cut up, and 1 large can (2 small cans) tomato paste. Cook covered in 275-degree oven 1 1\/2 to 2 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>No oregano? Not even McCormick Italian Seasoning blend? Look at the salt! Why add any butter? (Mom would&#8217;ve used margarine and butter interchangeably.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our mothers, if they weren&#8217;t foodies, stuck to the basic American cookbook of their generation. Less spicy than now, never mind whether kids prefer milder foods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I was looking for Mom&#8217;s Chili, though positive I didn&#8217;t have that card. It was the morning of Super Bowl Sunday, and no vegetarian chili recipe ever has come close. Mom&#8217;s spaghetti (not pasta) meat sauce provided the clue:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Simplicity. Veggie chili always is a stew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a loose recipe, but gosh it worked. Adapt to your pantry and taste. The bulgar wheat is to give the appearance of ground beef but not needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Note: I cooked the beans with a pressure cooker, no presoaking, for speed but also for tasty, thick bean broth. Two or three cans of beans would work, as would soaking then cooking dry beans on the stovetop, or any other method.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Adding a small sheet of kombu (dried seaweed) or a teaspoon of ground ginger to beans before they cook is optional, said to reduce gas later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>2 cups dry red beans (I used adzuki), sorted to discard foreign matter then rinsed<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>7 cups water<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>2 Tablespoons vegetable oil<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>1 cup chopped onion (half a large or 1 whole medium)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>1 14.5 ounce can of chopped tomatoes with green chilies (such as Rotel)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>1\/2 cup bulgar wheat (optional)*<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>3-4 teaspoons low-salt vegetable broth powder<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>1 6 ounce can tomato paste<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>2 teaspoons oregano<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>1 teaspoon seasoned salt or 1\/2 teaspoon conventional salt<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Salt, pepper and maybe chili powder to taste<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Combine cleaned beans (no soaking), water and oil in cooker, Bring to pressure and cook 15 minutes then release pressure gradually, at least 10 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Add to the cooker all the remaining ingredients except the &#8220;salt, pepper and maybe chili powder.&#8221; Bring to boil then reduce to simmer, cooking 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add water, 1\/4 cup at a time, if the simmering chili grows too thick or sticks to pot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Eat a spoonful to test, adding to taste a little salt and pepper or perhaps chili powder or similar seasoning. [I added salt and pepper but found the spices from the can of tomato-chilies enough.] Serve immediately, but waiting at least one hour, reheating and retesting for salt and spices, is recommended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chili thickens as it cools. So when reheating, add 4-8 ounces water, or tomato or V-8 juice, for desired consistency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Top with the usual chili fixin&#8217;s. Makes 6-8 servings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>NOTE: Black beans work well, too; they require 22 minutes under pressure then gradual pressure release.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>NOTE (10-2016): Bulgar, being whole grain, is\u00a0a healthy carbohydrate. Bulgar requires at least a 20-minute simmer to soften. Here though is a wheat-free alternative, if the carno look and mouth-feel is wanted: Start with\u00a01 1\/2 cups dry beans and 1\/2 cup dry lentils (instead of 2 cups dry beans).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>NOTE (12-2025): Recipe is easily halved \u2014 to serve 4 \u2014 by literally halving all the ingredients but cook beans in 4 cups water not 3.5. Other changes instead of a 50 percent cut can be made for personal taste, such as continuing to use a full can of tomatoes with chilis and continue 1\/2 cup bulgar instead of 1\/4 cup.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here is Mom&#8217;s Spaghetti Sauce, circa 1970s (my sister kept the index card): Brown 1 pound ground beef, drain. Add 1 Tablespoon salt, half an onion chopped, half a stick of butter, 1 (large) can tomatoes cut up, and 1 large can (2 small cans) tomato paste. Cook covered in 275-degree oven 1 1\/2 to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entrees"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6728,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2020\/11\/dickinson-chili\/","url_meta":{"origin":2675,"position":0},"title":"Dickinson Chili","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"November 27, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The website Bad Manners has great, simple vegan recipes. I've alternated making my Mom's Chili with a version of their Pumpkin Chili for cold-weather dinners for at least four years. So why \"Dickinson\" as the name for the adaptation? That's the variety of winter squash used in canned pumpkin. This\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Main Courses&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Main Courses","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/kook-cooks\/entrees\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Acme Brick Company sample","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/WindsorParkVelour-Acme-Brick-16-9-for-Featured-Image-stand-in.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/WindsorParkVelour-Acme-Brick-16-9-for-Featured-Image-stand-in.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/WindsorParkVelour-Acme-Brick-16-9-for-Featured-Image-stand-in.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/WindsorParkVelour-Acme-Brick-16-9-for-Featured-Image-stand-in.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/WindsorParkVelour-Acme-Brick-16-9-for-Featured-Image-stand-in.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/WindsorParkVelour-Acme-Brick-16-9-for-Featured-Image-stand-in.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4967,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2014\/11\/falling-down-cake\/","url_meta":{"origin":2675,"position":1},"title":"Falling-Down Cake","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"November 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Falling-Down Cake\" is my childhood name for Mom's chocolate cake. Mom, as discussed previously, was a cook of post-War vintage, the Joy of Cooking, The New Settlement Cook Book and Thoughts for Buffets her references, with a handful of index cards copied from her BFF Isabel Marks. Her weeknight chocolate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bake&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Bake","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/kook-cooks\/bake\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"These are Mom's cookbooks (her Joy of Cooking is lost). Note the cigarette burns on the Settlement. The Falling-Down Cake is from last night so it has a fresh snowfall of confectioners sugar. Yeah, its dome was doomed, right out of the oven, as usual.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Falling-Down-Cake-1000s-300x300.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":382,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2007\/12\/the-4-gram-coat\/","url_meta":{"origin":2675,"position":2},"title":"The 4 Gram Coat","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"December 17, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Copyright 2007 Ben S. Pollock It's overeating season, followed by Resolve Month beginning on New Year's Day. I eat healthier than some but know I fall short. Dr. Arthur Agatston emphasizes whole carbs and not too many of them, especially the simple or sweet ones, and his South Beach Diet\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Kook Cooks&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Kook Cooks","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/kook-cooks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5996,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2018\/03\/vegan-queso\/","url_meta":{"origin":2675,"position":3},"title":"Vegan Queso Tastes Right, Feels Good","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"March 15, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Behold, a dairy-free cheese recipe you might want to make often. Tastes authentic without making you feel bloated from dairy. Finally. It's a spicy queso, with the main ingredient cauliflower, emulsified with cashew butter or just cashews. Like most contemporary recipes my source calls for fresh. If you're cooking the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Condiments&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Condiments","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/kook-cooks\/condiments\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Diagram of a Fagor Splendid pressure cooker","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/pressure-cooker-diagram1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6558,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2020\/04\/thanks-giving\/","url_meta":{"origin":2675,"position":4},"title":"Thanks, Giving","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"April 5, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Here is a Thanksgiving menu that I've been refining the last three years. It's low-fat whole-food plant-based vegan. We've found that when you reduce the oil to near-zero you can move around after the dinner rather than lumber with groans over to the TV room. First is the \"meat\" or\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Holiday Cuisine&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Holiday Cuisine","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/kook-cooks\/holiday-cuisine\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Illustration of wire potato masher","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/potato-masher-open-clip-art.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/potato-masher-open-clip-art.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/potato-masher-open-clip-art.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/potato-masher-open-clip-art.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":127,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2006\/02\/dont-call-us-cracked\/","url_meta":{"origin":2675,"position":5},"title":"Don&#8217;t call us cracked","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"February 26, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Copyright 2006 Ben S. Pollock Sunday, February 26, 2006. I can throw out Mom's last stuff now. I've procrastinated long enough. One good thing about being a procrastinator is all the things that you get done. You on-timers don't understand this; I have a sneaking feeling you're not as efficient\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Body, Home, Street&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Body, Home, Street","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/body-home-street\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2675"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2675\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8246,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2675\/revisions\/8246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}