This recipe was created by David George, an artisan-woodworker and chef. It was published in The Herb Companion, February/March, 1996 p . 21
Vegitative Chili
Marinade:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup tamari
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon cardomom
Main Ingredients:
1 lb fresh firm tofu, cubed into bite size chomps
1 large onion diced
1 teaspoon or more minced garlic
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon mustard seed
1 large can red kidney beans drained (save juice)
1 large can black beans (save juice)
1 big can crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons basil
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Step 1. Put the cubed tofu in the marinade, preferably a glass bowl with plastic sealing lid so that the tofu + marinade can be shaken and evenly coat the tofu. The longer the tofu soaks, the deeper the marinade seeps into the tofu. For a fresh taste, add a cup of cranberry or orange juice to the marinade, also horseradish and a pinch of tumeric – under
a half teaspoon! Tumeric is anti-inflamatory, good for human skeleton.
Then you saute the onion, garlic and dry spices in a big cast iron fry pan or similar large skillet (with the little dab of oil listed with the spices) – ideally the mustard seed will pop like popcorn (medium high heat) so use a lid! Now before anything burns, but after the onions go limp and translucent, scoop in the marinated tofu with marinade if it isn’t too much liquid.
The heat should still be medium, but you will probably want to reduce after the mustard seed has popped. Of course, you can omit the mustard seed too. If the fry pan is well seasoned, the tofu should start to form a crust. Expect some to stick and scrape back with a metal spatula to keep the tofu loose and browning on all sides. The next object is to bring all the tofu up to temp while not too gently browning the sides of the tofu cubes. This can take as long as 15 minutes. When the heat is right around medium-low, the fu will not stick too much as it browns and you can flip it every two or three minutes. If some of the cubes go the way of the Berlin wall – not too worry.
The tofu can be served at this point as a flavorful cubes over rice with vegetables.
Take the brief time between tofu flips to mix the rest of the goods in a stew pot, pressure cooker or slow cooker. When the tofu meets with your satisfaction, or you’re sick of flipping it, go ahead and toss it in the chili.
Cook slowly over low heat for at least two hours. Test for flavor and consistency. Add liquid if necessary as the cooking proceeds.
The original version of this recipe appeared August 6, 2008 in the award winning Washington Post Food Section, as part of writer Stephanie Witt Sedgwick’s excellent series on preparing meals using ingredients from a week’s CSA delivery.
CSA is community supported agriculture, a system where members buy shares early in the growing season when food growers need support and the growers deliver produce each week through the season.
I’ve changed the recipe several times to accommodate seasonal produce and to use leftovers. Sometimes I slice the squash, especially the zuccini, on the long side to simulate slabs of lasagna. If using mature eggplant, “milk” the slices first in salt. Substitute cooked leftover rice or bulgar for the bread crumbs. Substitute a mixture of cheese — whatever is on hand that doesn’t conflict with flavour. Crumble blue or feta cheese with the parmesano. If focused on a Mediterranean theme, increase the quantity and variety of fresh herbs. Consider a layer of chopped olives, a tapenade with olive oil. The key is to alternate “dry” layers such as the squash, with “wet” layers such as sliced tomatoes.
Resources
Allen, Gary. (1999) The Resource Guide for Food Writers. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-92250-x
Allhoff, Fritz and Monroe, Dave, Editors. (2007) Food & Philosophy – Eat, Think and be Merry. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4051-5775-9
Cronin, Isaac. (1999) The Mindful Cook – Finding Awareness, Simplicity, and Freedom in the Kitchen. New York: Villard Books. ISBN 0-375-50275-0
Jacob, Dianne. (2005) Will Write for Food. The Complete Guide to Writing Cookbooks, Restaurant Reviews, Articles, Memoir, Fiction and More. New York: Marlowe and Co. ISBN 1-56924-377-8
Pitzer, Sara. (1984) How to Write a Cookbook & Get It Published. Cincinnati: Writer’s Digest Books. ISBN 0-89879-132-4
Appetite for Books — cookbook reviews
OOOOMMMMM white food
Potatoes, rice, plain breast o’chicken.
Noodles, cream sauce, and yogurt.
Cottage cheese, chou de Chine, cassava and celeriac.
Inside the cucumber, ginger and almond.
Coconut milk, kohlrabi and powdered sugar.
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Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826)
On Starch: An excerpt from The Physiology of Taste, Or, Meditations on Transcendental Gastronomy by Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, translated by M.F.K. Fisher, The Heritage Press, New York, 1949
“Starch is a perfect food especially when it is least mixed with foreign matter. By this starch is meant the flour or dust which comes from cereal grains, from legumes such as beans, and from many root vegetables, among which the potato at this moment holds first place.
Starch is the base of bread, of cakes, and of thick soups of all kinds, and for this reason forms a very great part of almost every person’s nourishment.
It has been observed that such a diet softens a man’s flesh and even his courage. For proof one can cite the Indians, who live almost exclusively on rice and who are the prey of almost anyone who wishes to conquer them.
Almost all domestic animals will eat starch with avidity, and they are, in contrast, unusually strengthened by it, because it is a more substantial nourishment than the fresh or dry leaves which are their habitual fodder.
Sugar is no less negligible, either as a food or as a medicine.”
***
Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin was born in Belley, in the Ain, in France, on the first day of April, 1755. He lived and died a lawyer, like the other men of his family. As Mayor of Belley he resisted the blood revolutionists in 1793, and was forced to flee his country, first to Switzerland and then to America. He spent some two years in New York, giving language lessons and playing his violin in a theatre orchestra. In 1796 he returned to France, and although he had lost almost everything, including his fine little vineyard, he was reinstated as an honorable citizen. In 1825 he published at his own expense The Physiology of Taste, on which he had been working with amusement and pleasure for some three decades. He died on February 2, 1826. p. 23, (The Translator’s Glosses, M.F.K. Fisher).
