Thanks UNGREEN and all at vegweb...
I just have to say thank you so much to Ungreen for her Ennui chili recipe, DH actually suggested a few changes! So I made it again using (along with the basic recipe) Tofu Gan chunks, raw peanuts (needed to use them up and they are a good addition) and broccoli, as per DH's request. He really likes it, tho this time it came out a biteeen spicey! Good homemade recipes like this that have been tried and tested by "real" people are convincing him that there's more to life than meat! Given that he will soon probably be on a retirement/disability pension, even for him there's an upside to eating less meat (which is hideously expensive here.) We hope to move house in the next 3 yrs to a smaller town instead of the region's capital where we now live, in order to save money...but I tell him wherever we end up has GOT to be on the train line so I can get to a place that sells tofu!
I love me some tofu---and I love me some Ennui Chili! I had made "typical" bean-and-ground-beef chilli yrs ago and DH wanted no truck with it. This is just the greatest.
YAY, that's wonderful, yabbitgirl! It seems like with some people, imitating meat recipes is the way to get them to try veg foods, but then with others, you just have to serve them dishes that look nothing like a meaty favorite so that they don't feel like something is "missing." The peanuts sound like an interesting addition. I have added walnuts to chili before (ground or chopped) and like the nutty taste it gives, but never thought of peanuts... I have actually been requested to make more Ennui Chili for dinner tonight by my DH. I have been making chili for years and trying to get him to love it, but it wasn't until it occured to me to add a little maple syrup (like I said, he's got a wicked sweet tooth!) that I finally did it. ;D
I've been wondering for a while now, by the way, what is Tofu Gan? Can we get it here? I'd like to try it...
Tofu Gan is smoked and pressed tofu, it is sold in foil or clear plastic packages in the cold case at a good Asian grocery. It comes in squares about 1/2 in (1 cm) thick, and about 2-3 inches (5-7 cm) square. It's dark brown on the outside and pale ivory when sliced. It's the only tofu I like straight out of the package. I can't read Chinese but I prefer the clear plastic package to the foil one. It's very meaty in texture and v. satisfying. I am right now chowing on a fried Tofu Gan sandwich on ww bread, with mayo, lettuce and roast red pepper strips. Pickle on the side and a glass of red wine. 8)
I don't know where you live so I don't know if you can get Tofu Gan there. Google it and see what you get? Any Chinese shop should know what it is. I love it, and plug it every chance I get.
The peanuts also came from the Asian store and were raw..white. DH bought them and I kept saying "you won't like them, they have no salt and aren't roasted." He didn't; so I stirfried some (see Pepe's Stirfry here on vegweb) and threw a couple of plain raw handfuls in the chilli; I had meant to fry them when I did the onion but forgot. After an hour in the pot they still had some crunch. Very nice and crisp.
Ok, I'll be on the lookout. There's a huge Persian community where I am so we have tons of awesome Middle Eastern grocery stores (horray for wonderful fresh breads of all types and a billion kinds of hummus,!) but I have yet to find a good Asian grocery. I need to get on that anyway, so now this gives me a reason!