Veganomicon

This is not a food blog, by any means. There are tons of people out there that have a lot more time on their hands that give the world a much better, more thorough look into recipes and cooking. That, however, does not negate the fact that I love to cook and am a health conscious person.

Today in the kitchen at work, a coworker was heating her lunch. She's a vegan and the meal she was making smelled mysteriously like Sloppy Joes. I built my turkey sandwich about 2 feet down the counter top from where she was building 2 generous open-faced sloppy joe sandwiches. I had to call her out. The mixture looked and smelled so much like the real thing that there was NO WAY this could be anything else.

To my surprise, it is a completely 100% vegan recipe from Veganomicon. A cookbook, and as I have been informed, a vegan cooking bible. The recipe looks easy and the nutritional information- VERY appealing. My coworker explained how it "tastes amazingly like the real thing" and "how easy it is to freeze and reheat". Alright, you've got me- I'm sold on vegan "Snobby Joes".

Snobby Joes from Veganomicon

60 Minutes to Prepare and Cook

Number of Servings: 5

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked lentils

4 cups water

1 tblsp olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, small dice

1 green bell pepper, small dice

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tblsp chili powder

2 tsp oregano

1 tsp salt

1 (8-oz) can tomato sauce

1/4 cup tomato paste

2-3 tblsp maple syrup

1 tblsp prepared yellow mustard

Directions

1. Pour the lentils and water into a small saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil; once the mixture is boiling, lower the heat and simmer for ~ 20 minutes, until the lentils are soft. Drain and set aside.

2. About 10 mins before the lentils are done, preheat a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Saute the onion and pepper in the oil until softened (7 mins). Add garlic and saute for one minute.

3. Stir in lentils, chili powder, oregano and salt. Add tomato sauce and tomato paste. Cook for about 10 minutes. Add maple syrup and mustard. Heat through.

4. Turn off the heat and let the pot sit on the warm burner for approx 10 minutes so that the flavors can meld.