El Burrito Product Recipes
SAVE THE CHILLUNS CHILI
Exclusive Interview with Mimi Kennedy, "Dharma & Greg's" TV's Hippie Earthmom as She Cooks Up Her Soyrizo Chili For Benefit
TSD: Tell us what you do with soy.
Mimi - I drink it -- I was really guzzling there for a while, but now about one glass a day. I eat soy yogurt. I use tofu and am experimenting with soy meat substitutes in all my family dinners. We've gotten to the point where we don't like to cook meat or eat it, though I'll still have chicken for guests and in restaurants.
TSD: How long have you been cooking with soy?
Mimi - About five months.
TSD: How did you start?
Mimi - I started drinking Soy milk because someone said it helps with hot flashes, and I'm of the age where that matters! Then I gave a house party for Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich -- who is a vegan! So volunteers came in and made a vegan spread that was absolutely so delicious that two hundred guests, from barbecuing Republican neighbors to Dennis (strictly vegan) snarfed it down with compliments! I saw much of the stuff made, and saw there were all KINDS of soy substitutes I hadn't considered. I started with veggie chili, once I found Soy Chorizo! I LOVE the flavor of chorizo, but at this point, not enough to overcome my mistrust of the health of factory-farmed pork, or my sense of tragedy about what it's doing to the environment. So as consumer, I vote with my dollar. And I can spend it on Soy Chorizo!
TSD: How did you develop the recipe?
Mimi - Experimentation. And I expect others will experiment. One of the things about this is you can make it with ingredients on hand, as long as you have the soy meat in the fridge, canned tomatoes in the cupboard, and spices. Almost everyone has veggies that need cooking, but maybe not enough to do one veggie dish on its own. I used to love cooking chili with meat, so I had a sense of what I liked in chili. Then I had children. My son liked meat, but not tomato sauce of any kind. Then my husband stopped eating meat, and I cooked chili with ground turkey or chicken. Then my daughter was attracted to vegan eating. So...I found this veggie meat, and this summer, when I made my first batch of veggie chili, everyone loved it!
TSD: Now that Dharma and Greg has moved to syndication, what is your next project?
Mimi - I'm finishing the third draft of my novel for my literary agent in NY, Janklow-Nesbit. And acting occasionally, when people ask.
Thank you, Mimi! Now readers, enjoy Mimi's Chili!
SAVE THE CHILLUNS CHILI
Use a pot for however many you want to serve, and size your ingredient portions accordingly.
General proportions per 1 Cup Bouillon:
1 can tomatoes (I use canned diced for the liquid, but throw in fresh - don't waste!)
1/2 to 1 cup each of diced veggies (the more types of veggies, the less of each-except onion and green pepper!)
1 1⁄2 package of soy meat (Veggie Ground round (mild) Soy Chorizo (spicy!)
Red or Black Beans - canned or home-cooked
Corn (ideally fresh, shaved off cob)
In as little a bit of oil as you can get away with, sauté:
Diced Onion (white or red or heck, both.) Diced Green pepper ( I like LOADS of green pepper.) And other color peppers, including tiny bits of hot ones, if you like 'em (Serrano, jalapeno); Garlic (I use loads. Up to 10 cloves.) Diced Veggies that You Like (diced Carrots - I have a friend who says never, but I like them; diced celery; whatever you have around that you don't want to waste.)
Sprinkle dried spices as you stir-fry the veggies (sage, oregano, thyme, crushed bay leaves, salt). Enjoy the fragrance! Stir.
When the veggies are softening, add the bouillon. Let that cook nicely and aromatically while you get something good on the radio or answer homework questions or return a phone call or read the paper, keeping an eye on the pot. You need time, here, to soften the veggies so the chili isn't too chunky when done. 20 minutes? I never know. Then, add the tomatoes (I used canned Organic, about 15 oz. can. But throw in whatever fresh ones you have that will go bad if you don't use them now.) Next, add the miracle ingredient: Veggie Meat! Soy Chorizo is fabulous but spicy - I use only one sausage of the two-sausage pack for mild chili. Then, half-to-full package of Ground Beef style, Mexican or Hamburger flavor. Then, a little of Sausage Style (you have to chop that up well, it comes like breakfast sausage)l. Now add the beans, as many as you like. Then the corn (about three cobs' worth. Sure, you can use canned or frozen.) Simmer to mix the flavors. Add a bay leaf and a fresh spices you like: marjoram, oregano, thyme. I'm promiscuous with fresh spices. Another secret ingredient: Ground Cinnamon! Cinnamon is fabulous in tomato-based sauces. (I am sure I got this from Alice's Restaurant Cookbook, my bible back in the day.) Salt and pepper to taste, and another liberal sprinkling of dry spices until they" show up" in the flavor to your satisfaction. Don't serve it until the veggies are well-cooked; all their vitamins are in the liquid, so don't worry! Garnish with diced green pepper, mild and spicy, diced onion, chopped cilantro, and sour cream -- real or, for vegans, soy -- and enjoy, knowing no animals have been harmed, and the Midwest Aquifer has not been drained, to make this tastes-like-the-cowboys-loved-it- chili! -- Mimi Kennedy
The Event:"Dharma & Greg's" TV's Hippie Earthmom, Mimi Kennedy Cooks Up Her Soyrizo Chili For Benefit
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