My history with beets has been fairly limited until recently. In my youth, I caught a whiff of some canned, cubed beets and decided I did not like them. Years later, in my early twenties, I had a turkey sandwich topped with shredded beets. I found them completely inoffensive, and made a mental note to give them another try. That mental note was completely forgotten until I got a few beets in my CSA share, and I realized I was dealing with a vegetable that was all but foreign to me.

Initially, I focused on sweet recipes, because who can resist beets when they’re cloaked in chocolate or studded with poppy seeds? I also made a tasty batch of veggie burgers loosely based on this recipe, in an attempt to recreate my usual order from our favorite Ohio burger joint. At some point, I stumbled across the words “pickled beets”, and knew immediately it would be my next dish.

A lot of the recipes I looked at started by boiling the beets, but I elected to roast them– I already had the oven going, and I’ll take a roasted veggie over a boiled one any day. To prepare beets for roasting, cut off the stems and leaves close to the top of the beet (if you like, save the greens for later). Rinse the beets thoroughly and wrap them in foil. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about an hour, or until a butter knife easily cuts through to the center of the beets. I roasted my beets a day ahead of time, and let them cool in the fridge. When I was ready to make my pickles, I peeled off their skins and cut them into quarter-inch slices.

As I do with everything I cook, I read a lot of recipes and reviews before I got started. Lots of people mentioned adding hard-boiled eggs to their pickled beets, and I was totally on board. I imagined some purple-hued slices of pickled egg tossed with salad or arranged artfully on a tray with some antipasti. I also thought about the most probable scenario: me, standing in front of the fridge with a fork in hand, eating pickled beets and eggs out of a jar and trying not to leave a trail of fuchsia drops to the sink. It was then that I decided full size chicken eggs might be a bit unwieldy, and I used that excuse to visit a local Vietnamese market and pick up some quail eggs.

At a fraction of the size of a chicken egg, I knew they’d be perfectly bite-sized and easy to fish out of the jar. To hard boil quail eggs, cover with water in a small saucepan, and bring to a roaring boil. Cover the pan, remove from it from the heat, and let it sit for 5 minutes. Immediately rinse the eggs with cold water and allow to cool before peeling. I boiled my quail eggs a day in advance and kept them in the fridge until it was time for pickling.

Pickled Beets, based on this recipe.

2 cups cider vinegar
1 cup water
2/3 cup sugar
3 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pickling spice
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
1/2 bunch fresh dill
2 red onions
3 medium beets, roasted, peeled and sliced
Optional: A dozen hard-boiled quail eggs, or 4 hard-boiled chicken eggs

Combine the first nine ingredients and half of a red onion in saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for half an hour. Allow the pickling liquid to cool, then chill overnight, allowing the flavors to develop.

On day two, strain the pickling liquid, discarding the solids. Slice the remaining red onion into quarter inch slices. Alternate slices of beet, red onion, and peeled, hard-boiled quail (or chicken) eggs in two quart jars. Fill jars with pickling liquid, then marinate for 24 hours. Keep in the refrigerator.

I had grand plans for these pickled beets, but rather than putting them in elaborate salads or elegant, open-faced sandwiches, I’ve found myself mostly just eating them straight from the jar. After going through a jar and a half, I decided I really needed to put them to use in something, and made myself a rosy-tinted egg salad sandwich by tossing in some diced beets and quail eggs. It was perfect between two slices of thick-cut white bread. It’s no antipasti platter, but the beets transformed a humble childhood favorite into something kind of fancy.

Although this is a blog about things I’ve made, most of what I spend time making isn’t featured here at all. I do post about the occasional baked good, but I don’t really document my everyday cooking (and I have to do quite a bit of it to keep up with all this). One reason is that there are already a ton of food blogs out there doing a fantastic job, and while I do my share of off-the-cuff cooking, I’d rather not stop and figure out how much rosemary I just threw in the pot so I can blog about it– that would take away from an activity I find really relaxing and enjoyable. Most of my cooking takes place in the evening, which usually means conditions are less than ideal for food photography. And most importantly, the evening is when I spend time with Nick, and I can’t really do that if I’m stuck behind a camera or jotting down recipe notes.

That being said, I have a recipe for you. I made it during the day, when Nick was at work, and when I’d have more than enough light to snap a few pictures. And even though I usually season and taste until I get it just right, this time I took notes on how much of what was thrown into the pot. I give you vegan chili:

Folks, I like bacon just as much as the next guy. Even though I’m an avowed meat eater, I really don’t cook with meat more than a few times a month. Although it’s nice when a meatless dish turns out to be healthier than its meat-filled counterpart, it’s not always true that eating vegetarian is better for you (the ultra-cheesy greens and potato gratin I made last week is a testament to that). One of the reasons I make a lot of vegetarian dishes is that I like a little flexibility– oftentimes, vegetarian ingredients have a longer shelf life than a piece of meat, so I can put off making a dish without worrying about anything expiring in the mean time. However, I usually don’t cook with meat because it’s almost always more expensive, especially if you seek out free-range, hormone-free meats. In the case of this chili, a few cans of beans cost much less than 4 or 5 pounds of beef.

This recipe’s the meatless version of my mom’s famous chili– a dish she makes a giant pot of every Christmas Eve. I adapted her recipe so I’d have something similar to eat, but different enough that her Christmas version is still a special treat. Although there’s no meat, textured vegetable protein lends a toothsome texture. If you’re unfamiliar with tvp, you’re probably assuming it’s some kind of hippie food, and you’re kind of right– but it transforms a pretty basic vegetarian chili into something much heartier. I’ve only tried the kind I linked to, but I’ve also seen tvp chunks and textured soy protein, both of which would work just as well. If you can’t find any of these, you can use a full 1 1/2 cups of bulgur in their place.

A few other secret ingredients help boost the meatiness of this meatless dish: MSG gives this chili a big dose of umami flavor that it would otherwise lack. I found a bag big enough to last forever in the Asian foods section of my local grocery store. You can definitely omit this ingredient if you can’t get a hold of it, but it makes a big difference. I also chuck a few tablespoons of butter (or earth balance, if you’re vegan) into the pot to add some richness. Molasses may seem like an odd addition to chili, but the sweetness helps counter the acidity of the tomato juice, and the dark, malty flavor adds a complexity that rounds out the chili quite nicely.

Vegan Chili

4 poblano peppers (or 2 poblanos and 2 green bell peppers)
1 large onion
2 jalapenos
4 cloves of garlic
2 46oz cans of tomato juice
1 cup of textured vegetable protein
1/2 cup bulgur
2 30oz cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
2 30oz cans of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 15oz can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
4 1/2 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tbsp MSG
5 tbsp molasses
4 tbsp butter (or vegan alternative)
salt to taste

The first step is to remove the tough skin of the poblano peppers. If you’re lucky enough to live in a house with a gas stove, you can easily turn on a burner and char away, but I do not, and my broiler is weird and unreliable, so I just scorch them with a blow torch.

Once the skin is charred and blistered, immediately slip each pepper into a zip-lock bag and leave them to cool for 15 minutes or so. Afterwards, you should be able to rub the skin off with a clean paper towel.

I am not a big fan of chunks of peppers and onions, so I usually chop these ingredients into smithereens. If you don’t mind a chunky chili, you can make pretty quick work of chopping up the onion and peppers, but it takes me quite a while to get through it all. If I’m feeling lazy, I’ll only chop one poblano, a jalapeno, and half the onion. I put the rest of the onion and peppers into a blender with a little of the tomato juice and make a pepper puree. It takes a lot less time and adds a bit of body to the chili.

Heat a tbsp or so of oil in a large stockpot (I use a 16 qt) over medium heat. Add your chopped peppers and onion, and cook until they’re tender but not browned. Add the garlic, minced, and cook for another minute. Pour in the tomato juice (and pepper puree, if you’ve made some) and bring to a low boil.

While this is heating, prepare your tvp according to the package directions. If you want to keep it vegan, you can use vegetable stock, some of the tomato juice, or just plain old water to rehydrate it, but I often use chicken or beef stock for a little extra flavor.

When the tomato juice starts bubbling, add the beans, bulgur, spices, butter, and molasses. Keep at a low boil, stirring occasionally, until the bulgur is fully cooked. Toss in the re-hydrated tvp and salt to taste.

A batch of this chili will easily serve a dozen hungry adults, and can be stretched even further if you serve it with a side of cornbread, or my favorite, spooned over a baked sweet potato and topped with a little monterey jack cheese. Because it can be made vegan, it’s perfect for serving to a group with a variety of dietary needs. I like to freeze individual servings and reheat them for a quick and hearty lunch.

Of course, this is a pretty basic recipe and is easily adaptable. Feel free to swap the poblanos or jalapenos for whatever peppers you fancy, and don’t feel limited to black and kidney beans. If it’s your thing, add in some chopped roasted tomatoes or some corn. My recipe is what I’d consider a medium-level of spiciness, but you can make it milder by leaving out a jalapeno or hotter by adding another (or cayenne pepper, to taste).

If you make a batch, let me know what you think!