Vegan Practically

When I think of comfort food the first four things that come to mind are mac and cheese, chili, lasagna, and chocolate layer cake.

What qualities does comfort food need to have? What makes it comforting? For me it has a nostalgic aspect to it, where it takes me back to moments in my life where I felt safe and cared for. But comfort food also has a hearty element to it. It feels substantial and filling. I’m sure the list is longer than my four things. People might want to include pot pie (or any pie) and stew. I myself might add any baked pasta dish. And soup.

My family has gathered this weekend for a bit of an emergency (we are okay) and to add to that last night we were expecting a big storm. After five hours on the road yesterday I was happy to hear my brother had planned for us to make a big pot of chili.

My non-vegan brothers and I have all taken to making Nora Cook’s “Ultimate Vegan Chili” since my older brother discovered the recipe last year. So that’s what was on the menu. What I love about it besides that it’s easy and delicious and comforting is that it gets additional substance and texture from tofu crumbles. Before this recipe, I used to make chili just with veggies. I would add cauliflower and mushrooms and all manner of things along with the beans and the tomatoes. Sometimes I’d even add olives, sometimes carrots. All in an attempt to get that old school chili experience from my chili con carne days.

Finally along came the tofu crumbles as per Nora Cooks’ recipe. You make these separately, tossing some crumbled tofu in a pasty mixture of soy sauce and slices and nutritional yeast. Then bake it for half an hour at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Meanwhile, you cook up the onions and add the spices and tomatoes and beans. When that’s all ready just dump the tofu crumbles in and you have a hearty, tasty, satisfying and comforting pot of chili that has more than earned its badge as a comfort food.

We had ours with a baguette and a salad. I added some avocado as a topping. Yum. No chocolate layer cake but after two desserts a day for the last two weeks of December I’m on a short cake hiatus at the moment anyway.

Do you have a favourite comfort food? Please tell me about it in the comments. links to recipes are always welcome!

Bon appétit!