Chilli Sin Carne (vegan)

this is my version of chilli sin carne - I use what I have in the fridge and pantry and ingredients may vary based on that. Goes well with carrots also - so just use this as a guide and make your own! Easy and wholesome.

Ingredients

2 cans of beans (I used 1 can of kidney beans and 1 can of mixed beans including black beans and black eyed peas - but feel free to change that to what you have in your pantry)
1 can of plum tomatoes (you can also do your own fresh tomatoes and blanch them and peel them)
1 large onion (I use red onion)
1 capsicum
2 stalks of celery
1 zucchini
200g mushrooms (I used swiss brown mushrooms)
vegan "minced meat" (I used Beyond beefy crumble - but you could use other kind of meat replacer too - as long as it is firm - tofu will get messy, but tempeh would work well)
olive oil
apple cider vinegar
smoked paprika
chilli powder
cumin powder
sea salt
sundried tomato paste (optional)

Preparation

Cut all the vegetables and the mushrooms finely (up to your liking how fine).
Add oil in the frying pan/wok and fry the onion first till translucent, then add the minced "meat" followed by the mushrooms. Fry them while stirring regularly till they are brown.

Add other ingredients (onions, capsicum, celery, zucchini) and mix it all well and let it fry for a bit and then add a dash of water.

Add in the seasoning - the smoked paprika will give it that smokey flavour. Stir through and add the beans (the kidney beans in water I drain of the water first - but if you have one with seasoning or tomato base you can keep it in). Stir through, taste and add more seasoning if needed. Add the can of tomatoes and also if you have it a bit of sundried tomato paste (I happened to have it in the fridge). Add a dash of vinegar.
You can add some fresh herbs to this as well like cilantro or parsley.

Serve with rice, bread or nachos!

Roasted capsicum & tomato soup

(Serves 4-6)

Ingredients:
3 large red capsicums
1 large red onion
6 large tomatoes (or 8 smaller ones)
Fresh basil
Fresh rosemary
Olive oil
3 cups of stock
Tomato paste (i used Leggos stir through instead for extra flavour)
Roasted pumpkin seeds for garnishing

Preparation:
Cut the capsicum and onion into wide strips.
Sprinkle oven dish with olive oil, arrange the capsicum & onions on the dish and sprinkle a bit more olive oil over it. 
Arrange a few twigs of rosemary and basil leaves over the capsicum.

Put in preheated oven (around 200C) for 45-50 mins until the edges of the vegetables are slightly charred and the capsicum has softened but is still in shape.

While the capsicum is baking, heat a pan of water on the stove and cut a cross on top of the tomatoes. Dip the tomatoes into the boiled water for a minute and take them out soon as the skin comes loose. Remove the skins of the tomatoes. 
Cut them up into smaller parts and make your stock. Add the tomatoes to it. Cook till tomatoes get soft (about 5-10 minutes).

For the capsicum & onion, remove the rosemary and basil leaves (they have infused their flavour already with the capsicum) and cut the capsicum & onion to slightly smaller chunks. Add them to the tomato soup, bring to boil and let simmer for a few minutes.

Switch the heat off and use a stick blender to make it smoother.
Serve with a few rosemary & basil leaves & roasted pumpkin seeds (or pine nuts).