Cook Book Challenge Week #4

Vegan with a Vengeance: Over 150 Delicious, Cheap, Animal-Free Recipes That Rock
Today's Menu: Soup!
Soup #1 Chili Sin Carne al Mole
Soup #2 Curried Split Pea Soup

Assuming the weather holds out and we have school all week, this is going to be another busy week for us.  We planned ahead by preparing two crocks full of soup last night.  Also, this week's cookbook "Vegan with a Vengeance," is probably my favorite vegan cookbook.  Maybe because it was the first one I bought, maybe because it's just that awesome.  Either way, I'm looking forward to trying a few new things this week... starting out with soup!

First, the chili.  We just threw everything in the slow cooker to make preparation easier.  Also, we didn't have any seitan on hand, so we skipped that and replaced the jalapeno with chipotle.  Other than that, we followed the recipe pretty closely.  I had a bowl for lunch today with a few tortilla chips.  I couldn't finish the whole thing though, because the soup was really rich.  I don't know if it was because I used Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder that it was so strong or maybe I added a little too much molasses?  It was filling, smelled good cooking all night and Chad really liked it, so I'm not sure.  If I have any more, I'll probably add some more chili powder or broth.  It would also be good with cornbread, something with a simpler flavor.

For dinner, we ate the Curried Split Pea Soup.  This was also a pretty easy recipe to make using the slow cooker.  If I make it again, I would saute the onions and garlic, like the recipe called to do, to make it more flavorful.  I also used some veggie broth that was left over from the chili.  There wasn't as much curry flavor as I expected, but it was a good soup for a cold, wintry night!  It actually reminded me more of my mom's split pea soup than I expected.  I also made a loaf of homemade artisan free-form bread to go with the soup, instead of the suggested rice.  AND ever since we had the Fettuccine Alfredo last week, Chad has been obsessed with nutritional yeast!  We always dip this bread in balsamic and olive oil, but all he could think about after school until we ate was spreading EB and "nooch" on his bread.   I'm not sure which he likes more, eating the nutritional yeast or saying "nooch." 

As I finish typing this, I received word that school has been canceled for tomorrow!  I'm off to enjoy my evening...