Vegan From The Pantry

A pantry can yield a host of different ingredients. You can get tinned cherries for a pie or sundae.There are the basics for making sauce ro chili. You can even go vegan with  all these cans.

New contributor Hetty Lui McKinnon and co author of the great vegetarian cookbook Tenderheart wrote about easy vegan cooking in yesterday's New YorkTimes Food section. As with any vegetarian diet  she recommends eating seasonally but don't stress if you can't find what you need or head to a farmer's market. Go to your pantry, Her recipes are built on te presence if unami or the Japanese word for deliciousness. The veggies themself star in the dishes as opposed to be second string. The first recipe is crispy potato tacos, made with chunks of any kind of potato cut into one and a half sized pieces, They're cooked and then roughly mashed with cheddar cheese (you could sub in Montery Jack for some bite)cilantro, garlic and cumin. The spicy red salsa can be made with fresh or canned tomatoes. It's mixing them with red onions, Serrano chiles.garlic cumin and oregano. A pinch of sugar is added to this as it's placed into a food processor and pureed.It's then poured into a saucepan with vegetable broth and cooked for fifteen to twenty minutes.It'll turn dark and become slightly thickened. Serve it over the warm tortillas for more flavor. Add sliced avocadoes if you want.

The other recipes also from Ms. McKinnon;s cookbook Tenderheart is a tasty soy butter corn ramen and salt and vinegar kale chips with fried chickpeas and avocado. The ramen is a nod to pasta dishes, fusing Japeanese and Italian cooking traditions. This is made with four ears of fresh corn, now in season. strip the cobs of th e kernal and add these to boiling water. Cook until the smell of corn permeates the kitchen. Noodle blocks are then added to this, being boiled until the pasta is loosened up for about two to two and half minutes. Drain and add the soy sauce, corn and butter.Tosss for a few minutes  and then sprinkled some chopped scallions on top. There is the fun kale chips. The kale is tossed with olive oil, either red wine or apple cider vinegar and garlic.The leaves are spread on two sheet pans and roasted for twenty-five to thirty minutes at 275 degrees Farenheit. After remove from the oven and season with salt. The olive oil should be fried in about three to four tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet. Reuce the heat a bit of the chickpeas pop and bounce out of the skillet. Take them out of the skillet with a slotted spoon,  and drain on paper towels. season the peas with cayenne and  paprika. Add salt and pepper if you like. You can add a  fried egg and sliced avocado if you want. This makes for a nice brunch bit also for a good appetizer  at a barbecue,.

The pantry can yield up all sorts of canned ingredients. Use these treasures to create a tasty vegetarian dinner or even a brunch dish. They three great recipes for bringing more veggies into the diet

What Makes A Good Chili?

Chili recipes are always up for debate. Like pasta sauce and French toast, how it's made is up to the individual home chef. Some add ground beef, others prefer lamb, A few home recipes calls for more beans than chilis. What's the best recipe to use? Stick with the basics and build from there.

That's what New York Times Food great Sam Sifton wrote about in today's Wednesday 's issue. Chili always causes a great debate. everyone has his or her own opinions on it He suggests starting with the bare bones of the recipe, using fellow co-writer Julia Moskin's chili formula. The most important ingredient is protein. Whatever you use, make sure it is high in fat and flavor. Use a quarter of a pound per person. What's the best meat? Mr. Sifton recommends chuck beef from the steer's shoulder,however short ribs and brisket are also good choices.A good idea is mixing cuts. Add stew meat to ground. Pork can also work as can lamb. You can go low calorie with chicken or turkey but remember that they can dry out. if this is the case, Mr, Sifton suggests a few strips of bacon to keep things juicy. Dark meat can also be used because its' got  fat too or you can use duck meat which is also rife with fat. Game meats such as venison, buffalo and even moose (!)along with marsh duck and pheasant. Vegans can add beans or fake beef crumbles as I do.Many Texans consider adding beans to be sacrilige but they can add more flavor and more protein

The next big debate are the chilis used. Mr. Sifton gives a entire list with their definitions. Most people, including myself, just use a heaping tablespoon or two of chili powder, an amalgam of dried chilis , paprika dried oregano and dried garlic. Authentic chilis use poblanos. These are big green peppers that are not too wild in their heat. Their color changes to red as they ripen. These are perfect for those who don;t want a five alarm bowl. For a sweeter and smokier mix try blending in ancho peppers. They can range from mild to medium hot, The pasilla pepper is a dark chocolate brown color of moderate pungency and brings a great deepness of flavor. Of course jalapeno brings spark to the table. Smoke and dry it and then transform into a chipotle. Chimayo is a New Mexican genus and its deep adobe red hue turns the chili the same rich brick color,Another suggestion from Mr. Sifton is also using chili powder along with the actual chilis themselves.  You can make your own powder . A good recipe is taken from Texas restaurateur Robb Walsh. It's toasting three ancho peppers in a pan, allow them to cool and add half a teaspoon of pan roasted cumin seeds. Garlic powder and dried oregano are also added. Everything is ground in a spice mill. An easier way is just add a heaping tablespoon of commercial chili powder to the mix

Chili is in the eye of the beholder. Stick with whatever works and whatever is delicious. It's the kind of recipe that c n be varied if you want  something new.