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As you may have noticed we've brought the blog back - front and center.

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Thank you for your continued support of VB, I hope you enjoy this new feature!

With the cold weather upon us I've been wanting to make soup! Haven't made soup yet but tonight I made the next best thing... chili.

I made the "Awesome Spicy Black Bean Chili" which can be found on VegWeb...

http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=10219.0

We both liked it. We love cilantro and with 1/3 of a cup it had a strong cilantro flavor. Plus it had just enough kick - not too mild and not too hot (I used 1 jalapeño).

Mandy made some mini corn bread muffins and oven-baked fries to go along with it.

It made plenty so we'll have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. It's also something you can make in advance and freeze in individual serving containers.

We're a big fan of this type of dish. If you're not much of a cook or you're on a budget they're ideal. Quick, easy to make (basically mixing and heating ingredients) and cheap!

It seems like everything we make has the same basic ingredients and basically tastes the same. But that's not necessarily a bad thing.

I don't usually post recipes until after I've tried them but this one came highly recommended by a co-worker and I won't be able to make them until this weekend. I'll post an update once I do.

It's been a while since I've made anything, I really need to get back into cooking.

Roasted Poblano Quesadillas

Ingredients:

• 2 large poblanos
• 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 large flour tortillas
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Directions:

Heat the broiler to high.

Char the poblanos under the broiler to blacken their skins on all sides, 7 to 8 minutes. Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let stand 10 minutes.

Peel and seed the peppers, then slice. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and add a tortilla, cover the tortilla with 1/2 cup cheese and 1/4 of the peppers. Fold the tortilla in half and cook 2 minutes to crisp and char the tortilla evenly and melt cheese. Remove and cut into wedges; repeat.

This is a Rachel Ray 30 Minute Meals recipe and can be found on the Food Network website here...

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/reci..._36598,00.html

With warmer weather just around the corner I wanted to share my tabouli recipe. It’s cool, refreshing, delicious, and easy to make. A perfect recipe for beginners. Try it and let me know what you think!

Tabouli

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cracked wheat*
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup scallions
• 1 cucumber
• 2 medium tomatoes

*Cracked wheat can be found in the bulk bin area of most health food stores or the health food section of most grocery stores. If you don’t see it don’t be afraid to ask!

Directions:

Bring 1 cup of water to a boil. Add cracked wheat and salt. Turn off heat. Cover and let sit for 20 minutes. Dice veggies. After 20 minutes add olive oil, lemon juice, and diced veggies. Mix well. Refrigerate.

Optional: Add ½ cup garbanzo beans (chickpeas).

You can eat this plain (as a side) or spread the inside of a pita with hummus and stuff it with the tabouli.

I wasn’t particularly fond of this recipe but quite a few people on the forum go ga-ga for it. I found it to be more like a gravy than a cheese so I would recommend it on something like a baked potato and not necessarily on something like nacho chips.

Probably more appealing to people who aren't used to eating the real thing.

Punkmommy’s Nacho “Cheese” Sauce

• 1/2 C nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp mustard powder
• 2 C water
• 1/2 C flour
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• lots of fresh ground black pepper
• 3 TBSP vegan margarine
• lots of salsa ( or about 1/4 C )
• hot sauce

Instructions:

Whisk all dry ingredients together in a small saucepan. Whisk in the water. When it is smooth, add the vegan margarine. Heat on med. until thickened, whisking constantly. Add salsa and hot sauce and serve!

Mandy and I made this for dinner the other night. It was surprisingly good for such an easy recipe. We also added corn (I don’t remember exactly how much but it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out).

Taco Soup from the Pantry

• Two cans of beans (I think we used red beans and pinto beans, black beans would probably be good too)
• One can diced or stewed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
• 2 tablespoons taco seasoning (about half a packet)
• Cilantro (we used quite a bit)
• 1 1/2 cups water

Combine all ingredients, including liquid (I think we drained the corn), bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. Vegetarians can top with cheese or sour cream.

One thing I really missed when I went vegetarian was tuna salad sandwiches. They do make tuna substitutes but I’d read mixed reviews and none of the stores around here seem to carry them.

When I stumbled across the original mock tuna salad recipe I was hopeful but doubtful. Chickpeas spread on bread didn’t sound too appetizing. Boy, was I wrong! This recipe is quick, easy, and delicious - perfect for beginners or those who can’t cook. If you ever liked tuna salad I highly recommend it. I suggest following the directions the first time and then adding more/less mayo/relish to taste on subsequent batches.

Mock Tuna Salad

Ingredients:
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2 cans of garbanzo beans, drained
1 tbsp lemon juice
4 tbsp Veganaise, to taste
5 tbsp pickle relish, to taste
2 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
3/4 cup finely chopped onion

Instructions:
—————————————————–
Place all of the ingredients except the onion and pickle relish into a food processor and process until it reaches the desired texture (you probably don’t want it too smooth). Then stir in the onion and pickle relish. Refrigerate.

I usually have this on bread but it also tastes great on crackers. For those of you that aren’t familiar with nutritional yeast you can find it at most health food stores in the bulk foods section. Also, most grocery stores carry vegan mayo, it can usually be found in the produce section.

If you’re interested in reading other comments on this recipe you can view the original post in our forum by clicking here.