Sweet and Sour Vegan Meatballs with Zucchini and Peppers

 INGREDIENTS

for the meatballs:

1 pound Frozen Meatless Meatballs

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Sauce

½ cup pineapple juice

½ cup orange juice

½ cup distilled white vinegar

½ cup sugar

2 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

3 tablespoons ketchup

¼ - ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, to taste

⅛ teaspoon salt

4 teaspoons cornstarch

1 cup fresh pineapple cut into 1/2- 3/4 inch chunks

Stir Fry

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced

2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

1 pound medium zucchini (about 2) ends trimmed, cut in half horizontally and sliced 1/2 inch thick on the bias.

2 red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 teaspoon salt

4 scallions, thinly sliced on the bias

INSTRUCTIONS

for the meatballs:

Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a 12 inch skillet over medium heat until shimmering.

Add frozen meatballs in a single layer and cook on all sides until browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer meatballs to a plate and set aside. Do not wipe out skillet.

for the sauce:

Combine pineapple juice, orange juice, vinegar, ½ cup water, sugar, soy sauce, ketchup, pepper flakes and salt in medium saucepan and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until reduced to 1½ cups, 5 to 8 minutes. Dissolve cornstarch in 4 teaspoons cold water, whisk into simmering sauce, and cook until thickened, about 1 minute. Stir in pineapple chunks and reserved meatballs, reduce heat to low and cover to keep warm while making the stir fry.

for the stir fry:

Combine garlic and ginger in a small bowl with 1 tablespoon oil. Set aside.

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil over medium high in same nonstick skillet you used to sauté the meatballs. When oil is shimmering, add zucchini, peppers and 1/4 teaspoon table salt. Cook without stirring for one minute. Stir and continue to cook 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently until vegetables are lightly browned and tender crisp. Reduce heat to medium low, add garlic and ginger mixture to skillet and cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Pour reserved sauce/meatball mixture over vegetables in skillet and cook stirring occasionally until sauce is bubbling and meatballs are heated through, 2-4 minutes.Off heat, garnish with sliced scallions.

Serve over rice or quinoa.

Vegan Bean and Lentil Chili

 INGREDIENTS

- for the beans
8 oz dried black beans, picked over and rinsed

8 oz dried cranberry or pinto beans, picked over and rinsed

3 quarts water

2 tablespoons salt

- for the chile powder
3 dried Ancho chiles
3 dried Guajillo chiles
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano,  preferably Mexican
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon table salt

-for the chili
2 tablespoons avocado oil or vegetable oil
1 medium white onion, peeled and medium diced
1/4 teaspoon table salt
2 large cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1 bunch cilantro stems, finely chopped, leaves roughly chopped, reserved separately
6 cups vegetable stock or water
1 - 28oz can crushed tomatoes
1-2 teaspoons canned chipotle in adobo (about 1 pepper from the can) minced
1 cup dried green or brown lentils
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
2 teaspoons unsulfured molasses
1 corn tortilla, roughly chopped

- for the sofrito
2 tablespoons avocado oil or vegetable oil
1 large white onion, peeled and medium diced
1/4 teaspoon table salt
4 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 pounds ripe plum tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped
2 jalapeños, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
(for more heat, leave in the seeds of 1 or both jalapeños)
water to thin chili to desired consistency
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar, sherry vinegar or fresh lime juice
reserved chopped cilantro leaves, salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

-for the beans
1. In a large Dutch Oven, combine beans, water and salt and mix well to combine. Cover and soak beans at room temperature at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours. Drain in a colander and set aside.Wipe Dutch oven dry.

- for the chile powder
2. Cut stems from dried chiles, split them open with a paring knife, remove all seeds, and flatten them in a single layer in Dutch oven. Heat Dutch oven over medium heat and toast chiles 1-2 minutes on each side,adjusting heat as necessary to prevent smoking or burning chiles. Remove chiles to a cutting board and cool 5 minutes. Coarsely chop chiles and add to a blender jar. Grind chiles into a fine powder and transfer to a medium bowl along with cumin, oregano, coriander and 1/4 teaspoon table salt. Set aside.

- for the chili
3. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 300 degrees. Heat oil in Dutch oven on stovetop over medium heat until shimmering, but not smoking. Add onions and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally until they are beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, cilantro stems and reserved chile powder mixture and cook stirring constantly until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the beans and vegetable stock and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and transfer to oven and cook 1 hour, stirring beans once after 30 minutes. Remove from oven and add crushed tomatoes, chipotle in adobo, lentils, cocoa powder, molasses and the chopped corn tortilla to the beans and stir well to combine. Return beans to oven and continue to cook 1 hour or until beans and lentils are tender and thickened, stirring once or twice to prevent sticking to bottom of Dutch oven.

-for the sofrito
4.While the beans cook, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 12 inch non-stick skillet over medium heat until shimmering, but not smoking. Add onions and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally until well browned, 5-7 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook, stirring constantly until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add chopped fresh tomatoes and jalapeños, and cook, stirring often until tomatoes have broken down, their juices have cooked off and the mixture begins to sizzle, 10-15 minutes. A spatula should leave a trail down the center of the tomatoes in the skillet and the bottom should be sticky. Remove from heat and set aside. When beans in chili are tender, remove from oven and allow to sit off heat, uncovered for 30 minutes. Add sofrito to chili and return to stovetop over medium heat until heated though, adding water to adjust chili to desired thickness. Stir in vinegar or lime juice and reserved chopped cilantro leaves, salt and pepper to taste. Serve with desired toppings or simply with oyster crackers.