Plantain and Pinto Stew With Parsnip Chips

This was the first time I've cooked with plantains. I've had fried plantains before and thought they were one of the best things ever, but it had been at least 5 years since then so I forgot what their taste and texture was like.

In our case, the texture was somewhat dense and meaty, but from what I hear it can vary a lot depending upon the ripeness of the plantain. I think the one I used was maybe a little less ripe than I'd prefer, but my husband loved it. Next time I'd probably try to get one a little more ripe...or just wait longer until it was more ripe. However, the selection in our store was not the best as most of them were very green.

Anyway, the dish was delicious and filling. The flavors were deep and mostly mild, but with some tang and spiciness (I didn't seed the jalapenos...to me doing that is almost blasphemy). The parsnip chips were wonderful, although I probably oversaturated them with oil. No complaints here though! They were very tender and sweet, much like a sweet potato.

Cost: $12-$14.
Difficulty: Not. And only 45 minutes to boot.
Modifications: No jalapeno seeding, sub white wine for cooking sherry, NO cilantro.
Cleanup: Excellent...just one pot!

This recipe is on page 183 of Veganomicon.

Manzana Chili Verde

This was a surprising winner in this household. The husband was very (and I mean, very) skeptical as he's not a fan, or anything even close to a fan, of tomatillos. But the finished product won him (and me) over.

This thick and hearty chili was tangy, lightly tart, lightly sweet and very fresh. There's nothing bad I could say about it. I didn't make the jalapeno corn bread - I must have been feeling extra lazy that day - but I'd sure love to try that next time. Instead, we make some homemade pita crisps by slicing some tortillas, brushing them with olive oil and cripsping them in a hot oven.

It was a fair amount of work preparing this dish, so I'd save this for a weekend.

Price: About $15.
Difficulty: Moderate.
Modifications: No cilantro, thank you! Oh, and I skipped the avocados. It cost enough already and I didn't think that would change the end result that much.
Cleanup: Between easy to moderately difficult.

This recipe is on page 171 of Veganomicon.