Savory Frijoles with Natural Rice

Adapted from New Age Vegetarian Cookbook (1968)

Savory Frijoles with Natural Rice

1 1/3 cups cooked rice (preferably brown rice)
1 can pinto beans
1 Tblsp margarine
2/3 tsp Vegex (see note)
3 Tblsp vegan sour cream (see note 2)
Chopped parsley, to taste

Drain and rinse the beans. Heat the margarine, Vegex, and sour cream in a pan over medium heat, stirring,  until the sour cream dries noticably. Stir in the beans and continue to heat until warm. Serve beans over the rice. Garnish with chopped parsley.

NOTE (VEGEX):

Vegex is a yeast extract similar to marmite or vegemite. It is commercially available, although the alternatives may be easier to find without resorting to buying over the internet. Another good substitute in this recipe is Better Than Bouillon No-Beef Base.

NOTE (SOUR CREAM):

I generally DESPISE recipes that attach the word 'vegan' to an ingredient without providing more guidance, yet I'm doing that myself here. There are plenty of recipes for sour cream taste-alikes floating around the net to try out. When I see 'sour cream' in a recipe my mind reads 'plain soy yogurt', so that's what I use.

NOTE (GENERAL):

No, you didn't miss a post. I haven't reviewed the book this recipe comes from yet. Time issues. Again, my adaptations were modifications to fit the way contemporary cooks go about the business of cooking. If I was making this as a meal I would tweak the flavors quite a bit. As is it seems terribly bland. Could definitely use some cumin and oregeno ....

Peanut Soup

Adapted from A Vegetarian in the Family (1977), page 25

2 servings

1 cup vegetable stock
1/4 cup peanut butter
scarce 1/2 cup soymilk
1/4 tsp chili powder

Bring stock to boil in a pan. Whisk in the peanut butter. Reduce heat to a simmer. Add soymilk and chili powder. Allow to simmer for 15 minutes. Add salt to taste.

RECIPE NOTES:

Most of the dishes in this book are fairly everyday type food. There is little in the way of flash or flair. What intrigued me about this dish are its (unstated) African origins. It stands out compared to other more humdrum dishes.

The original recipe calls for 1/4 tsp salt, which I have changed to 'season to taste'. Peanut butter usually contains salt, as do many stocks. Additional salt will often be unnecessary.

Note 'natural' peanut butter should be used. Peanut butter should contain no more than 3 ingredients: peanuts, oil, and salt. Any additional ingredients are usually unnecessary.

Other than eliminating the additional salt my 'adaptations' are merely 'fixing' the quantities listed so they fit contemporary recipe style (e.g. '1 cup' instead of '1/2 pint')