There are two key features that I want to note that make a vegan chili good. Flavor and Texture. Without meat both of these features can lack without paying special attention to your recipe.

Good Flavor is Number 1

Without the flavor that comes from meat we rely heavy on the seasoning for good flavor. To insure depth of flavor I make sure I have plenty of chili powder, paprika, cumin, salt & pepper as well as jalapeno, garlic, thyme, oregano and molasses.

For spice I have chili powder, paprika cumin, black pepper, and jalapeno. Each of these add little different level of spice and heat. The jalapeno being the hottest and the cumin more earthy and sweet. Each spice added a different type of spice and flavor.

Garlic, thyme, and oregano don’t add a whole lot of spice but they do add another layer of more earthy and warm, savory flavor. Adding herbs like this add much needed flavor to a vegan dish.

Molasses is such a powerful tool when it comes to flavor in the kitchen and also has great nutrition value. Molasses is described in so many different ways, sweet, bitter, savory, spicy, smoky, earthy, caramely, robust. How ever you want to describe this rich syrup is fine with me. Just know this, it adds so much depth to your chili and if you skip this 1 ingredient you will be missing out for sure.
To read more about molasses check out “Benefits of Blackstrap Molassess”.

Good Chili Needs the Right Texture

Dice your vegetables very small. The smaller the better in my opinion. I want the texture to be thick and hearty. I don’t want each bite featuring a 1 single vegetable like I would do in a vegetable broth soup.

Once all your ingredients are cooked and mixed together I also use my potato masher and mash up the chili a little to get a thicker more consistent texture. You can also use an immersion blender or take out a two cups and blend in the blender to create a thicker consistency. Just remember we are not trying to make a creamy soup. We just want to break up a few of the beans to release their natural starches to thicken up the excess liquids as your chili simmers. I find the potato masher works perfect for this job.

I simmer my chili for 30 minutes with the lid on but if your chili has a lot of excess liquids and its not thickening up the way you would like it. Simmer for another 10 minutes with the lid off.

Vegan Chili Ingredients

Beans

You can really use any beans you like, in the pictures you will notice I only used pinto bean but that’s actually quite rare for me. My 3 favorite bean to mix together for the recipe are pinto beans, black bean and kidney beans. I add 5 cups of bean or 3, 15 oz cans. One can of each bean works great.

I use dry beans most of the time. To convert dry beans measurement to cooked bean measurements remember 1/2 cup dry beans equals about 1 1/2 cups cooked beans equaling about 1, 15 oz can of beans. So to make this recipe with dry beans you will need 1 1/2 cups dry bean. 1/2 cup of each bean works great but you can choose any ratio you like.

Vegetables

Onions, mushrooms, bell pepper and a jalapeno are my 4 must haves for this recipe. I also often add carrots and zucchini or squash depending on what I have around. You can also add vegetables like corn or okra or sweet potato. Be creative with the vegetable you like. If carrots are two sweet for you taste when it comes to chili then leave them out or only add one carrot instead of three. You can also add more peppers like banana peppers or poblano peppers would be really good. Add the vegetables that you enjoy.

Petite Diced Tomatoes

Petite diced are my favorite tomatoes for chili. The normal diced is just to chunky for me, again I like everything to be diced small. The crushed tomato also work well. If all you have is normal diced tomatoes or whole tomatoes you can strain the juice into your pot and cut the tomatoes smaller or pulse in the blender a few times but don’t blend them into a sauce. You can also use fresh tomatoes if you have them. You will need 3 cups diced fresh tomatoes.

Spices and Herbs

This recipe calls for chili powder, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper, oregano, thyme, and fresh garlic (or garlic powder). Using both spices and herbs creates more layers and depth of flavor. If you don’t have all these individual spices and you like to buy blends then you could to something like 2 tables taco seasoning and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning if that’s what you have. I’ve personally never tried that exact combination but I do tend to experiment with my seasoning a lot. If you are missing a spice or herb try to replace it with something similar so you don’t lose out on a layer of flavor.

Molasses

Molasses is so full of flavor you don’t need a lot to add nice rich layer to your chili. I use blackstrap molasses. You can use a light molasses or Grandma’s Molasses, those are easier to find in the stores but blackstrap has a higher concentrate of nutrients in each tablespoon. Blackstrap also has a bit more flavor to it. I use 2-3 tablespoons blackstrap, if you use a lighter molasses I would do 3-4 tablespoons.
To read more about how molasses is made and the difference between the different type check out “How to Make Brown Sugar” or “Benefits of Blackstrap Molasses“

Toppings (optional)

Avocado, sour cream or plain greek yogurt, cheese, red onions, cilantro, limes, or cornbread. Your choice! My kids like greek yogurt and cheese, while my husband like cheese and cornbread, and I prefer avocados, cilantro and limes. Dec out your chili how ever you like or just eat it as is. It can holds it own.

How to Make Vegan Chili

1. If you are using dry beans, soak and cook those first.
   
2. Dice your onion and saute those first in a large pot. You can use a little oil if you like, I have found it unnecessary and usually don’t add oil.
   
3. Dice you bell pepper, fresh garlic, mushrooms and jalapeno and any other vegetables you choose to add. Don’t forget to peel items like carrots and sweet potatoes… etc.
   
4. Add the vegetables as you dice them into the pot and continue to mix as you chop and cook.
   
5. Add spices and herbs, mix in.
   
6. Add tomatoes, mix in.
   
7. Add molasses, mix in.
   
8. Add bean, mix in.
   
9. Mash with a potato masher to break up some of the beans to release their natural starches and thicken the juices and liquids in the chili.
   
10. Cover with a lid and let it simmer on low for 30 minutes. If your chili still has too much liquid, simmer for another 10 minutes with the lid off.

Its pretty easy and straight forward and always turns out so delicious!

TIP: How To Get The Seeds Out of A Jalapeno

If you like more heat you can leave the seeds and core in the jalapeno but in order to make this a little more kid friendly I take them out.

Vegan Chili with Molasses

Yield: 4-6 Servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

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Ingredients

• 1, 15oz can pinto beans
• 1, 15oz can black beans
• 1, 15oz can kidney beans
• (OR 1 1/2 cups dry beans making about 4.5-5 cups cooked beans)
• 2, 15oz cans petite diced tomatoes
• 1 medium onion
• 1 bell pepper
• 2 cups frozen mushroom (or 1 1/2 cups fresh mushrooms)
• 1 jalapeno
• 2 cloves garlic (or 2/3 teaspoon garlic powder)
• 2-3 tablespoons blackstrap molasses
• 2 teaspoons chili pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2-3 carrots (optional)
• 1-2 squash or zucchini (optional)
• Other vegetables you like (optional)

Instructions

1. If using dry beans, soak and cook them first.
2. Dice your onion and saute those first in a large pot. You can use a little oil if you like, I have found it unnecessary and usually don’t add oil.
3. Dice you bell pepper, fresh garlic, mushrooms and jalapeno and any
   other vegetables you choose to add. Don’t forget to peel items like
   carrots and sweet potatoes… etc.
4. Add the vegetables as you dice them into the pot and continue to mix as you chop and cook.
5. Add spices and herbs, tomatoes, molasses, and bean, mix together.
6. Mash with a potato masher to break up some of the beans to release
   their natural starches and thicken the juices and liquids in the chili.
7. Cover with a lid and let it simmer on low for 30 minutes. If your
   chili still has too much liquid, simmer for another 10 minutes with the
   lid off.

The post Homemade Vegan Chili with Molasses appeared first on Embracing The Home.

This year I’m making a big effort to pick every lemon and preserve everything. Here are the 5 ways I will be freezing my lemons.

1. Freezing Lemons Whole
2. Freezing Lemons Slices
3. Freezing Lemon Zest
4. Freezing Lemon Juice Cubes
5. Freezing Lemonade Popsicle’s

Freezing Lemons Whole

Freezing Lemons whole is the easiest thing in the world. Just throw them in the freezer. Done! You can store in the freezer for about 6 months. Whole frozen lemons take about 10-15 minutes to thaw out in a bowl of warm water. The remain very juice. The longer that are frozen the softer they get once thawed but still remain very juice. You can also zest your lemons when they are frozen and it’s actually very easy to do so as long as your finger can handle the cold lemon.

They downside to freezing lemons whole is the space it takes. Throwing a couple lemons in the freezer before they go bad is great but not for a full 5 gallon bucket full of them. I freeze my lemons whole when I’m out of time or energy to juice and process any more lemons.

Freezing Lemon Slices

Freezing lemon slices takes a few more steps than freezing them whole. This method includes slicing, placing on cooking sheets with parchment or wax paper and freeze. Once frozen you can put in zip lock bags or air tight container and keep in the freezer for up to 6 months.

I use lemon slices two different ways. Number one, cooking fish or chicken. Fish is the main meat we eat in our house and I love flavoring it with lemon. Have lemon slices frozen and ready to place on top of the fish while it cooks adds a fresh flavor. You can do the same for chicken or even add a few slices of lemon to pasta. The second way is simple to add lemon slices in my water cup for a quick refresher. In our hot summer days a cool refreshing drink with natural electrolytes, as lemons have, is exactly what I need. Throw in a sprig of mint from the garden while I sit under our shade tree watching my children play outside describes a perfect summer day for me.

Freezing Lemon Zest

Freezing lemon zest is worth the work. The work is not necessarily hard, I just don’t like it zesting. But I love zest. First you use a grater or zester to grate the lemons. Then place on a sheet with parchment or wax paper and freeze, put it in your zip lock bags or air tight container. You can keep this in the freezer for up to a year.

The lemon peel and zest holds a lot of flavor as well as some weight loss benefits. If you are not used to using it in your recipes I highly encourage you do. The zest of a lemon adds just that much more lightness and citrus flavor to any meal.

Freezing Lemon Juice Cubes

Freezing lemon juice in ice cub trays is the number one way I freeze my lemons. I use all the lemons I just zested, cut them in half and juice them with my electric juicer, strain the pulp*, and pour into my ice cube trays to freeze. You can use a hand juicer or a press, I like my electric juicer when I’m juicing hundreds of lemons at a time.

One cube is approximately 3 table spoons of lemon juice. So when I have a recipe calling for a similar amount I just grab an ice cube, melt it, either by sitting in a bowl on the counter or a quick microwave or just tossing it in a hot pan then add it to my recipe. If you want the measurements to be exact, you can measure it out once its melted. The ice cube size is perfect for dropping in my water cup for some lemon water along with my lemon slice. Add a little honey and you have a sweet lemonade. I will also add a cube in our smoothies, or make frozen lemonade in the blender.

*tip, if you will be adding any lemon juice to a drink dispenser be sure to strain with a fine mesh strainer. The pulp will clog the nozzle and you will get a very slow pour if any./

Freezing Lemonade Popsicles

This is my kids favorite! I buy the a pack of 100-150 Popsicle Bags from Amazon and fill them up with lemonade for us to enjoy through out the summer. First I make the lemonade by heating up a ratio of 1 part lemon, 1/2 a part sugar and 3 parts water. Heat until the sugar is fully dissolved, let cool and then pour in the popsicle bag with a funnel. Seal the bags, freeze and enjoy all summer long!

This ratio is not always perfect and I also end up going by taste more than anything. I do like my lemonade a little tart. The Old Fashioned Lemonade ratio has the lemon and sugar at equal parts. My lemons are a little sweeter then most so I don’t add that much sugar. So feel free to experiment with the ratio to get your lemonade popsicles to your liking.

More Ways To Preserve Lemon?

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Quick links for a few kitchen tools I used in this post.

Electric Juicer, a must have for juicing over 100 lemons. There are fancier more expensive ones out there that I would be tempted to try but I’ve had this $15 (now $20) one for 8 years now and it has worked great for me this whole time. In the amazon description it says small but it holds 32oz just like the $40 one, so I don’t know why it says small.

Cheese Grater/Zester, This is the one I use, It’s a 4 in 1 box grater, with 4 different blade sizes. I use the small blade to zest my lemons.

Zester, smaller than a grater with just 1 size grater for if you don’t care for a bulky box grater this is the type my sister uses, it is the a smaller and easier to store.

Ice Cube Trays, These ice cube trays live in my freezer and always have ice in them. We are always making ice and in the lemon season lemon ice cubes.

Popsicle Bags, my kids love popsicles and these bags make it easy for me to make them in bulk to have all summer.

The post 5 Ways To Freeze Lemons appeared first on Embracing The Home.

1. The ordering process
2. Delivery/pickup process
3. Their food quality
4. Price comparison to Walmart

A few things to note about Azure Standard before we get into the review.

Azure Standard runs like a co-op. They deliver their goods once a month to delivery drop locations throughout the United States. When you make an order you are committing to meet the delivery truck at the drop location and pick up your order straight off the truck.

Although Azure Standard is known and believes in the benefit of organic foods they do have some non organic products. And although they are known for their bulk quantity they also offer smaller or regular sized quantities for their products. Flour for example, their organic all purpose flour has size options of 30oz, 5lbs, 10lbs and 25lbs.

The Ordering Process

How Azure Standards ordering process works is actually very simple. It works like any other online store, you search for items, add to cart, and check out. You can search by category, sale, or even by your previous orders. Then add your items to the cart and check out like you would anywhere else. You do need to have an account, (name, email, password) not unlike many places.

When searching for items Azure will keep track of previously purchased and item and that makes restocking my pantry quick and easy. Another feature I like is that I can add to my order after I’ve completed my order as long as its before the cut off date for shipping. Azure Standard only ships and delivers once a month, so I can add to my order all month long. They will not charge you for anything until it gets shipped out. The flip side of this is that if you forget to complete your order before the cut off date you have to wait a month to get your order. I don’t like when that happens.

Something else that has disappointed me is when I place something in my cart and then when I check out its out of stock. I do believe this is my fault for not completing the order earlier in the month when it is in stock, then adding more as the month goes on if needed. I think I can fix this problem by ordering earlier and not waiting till the last minute.

The Ordering Process Pros and Cons Summary.

• Pro – Easy and simple to navigate.
• Pro – Add Last minute items to your cart

• Con – Forgetting to complete order on time, results in waiting a month to get your goods. (I was 1 hour to late today and I have to wait. I might be more mad at myself…)

Delivery/Pickup Process

Like I mentioned before, Azure Standard delivers once a month to your local delivery drop off location. The location is hosted by a Drop Coordinator, they are often a local from your community who has the space for delivery truck to drive in and out of. On the day of the delivery, the delivery truck driver keeps in contact with the Coordinator on the their ETA and the Coordinator is responsible for letting you know what time you need to be at the drop location for a quick and smooth delivery. So far we have not had any issues with this system at our drop location. Our Coordinator has been great with the reminders and updates on time of arrival and we have always received everything we’ve ordered undamaged.

The Con to this system is that you have to be available at that time. If you couldn’t make it on time you would miss the truck and not receive your order. So far this has not happened to us. I honestly don’t know if our coordinator would be gracious enough to collect our goods for us, or if we would be able to send someone else in time to pick it up. I have heard of other peoples stories of someone forgetting a part of their order so their another azure friend grabbed it for them. I’ve heard that as you wait for the delivery truck you can make friends with those waiting with you and created a great community that helps you out if something goes wrong. Again, I have not experienced anything go wrong yet so I don’t know how it would play out. If I do have a horrible experience at some point I will be sure to update this post.

Delivery/Pickup Process Pros and Cons Summary

• Pro – Great communication
• Pro – Received everything undamaged

• Con – You have to work with their schedule

The Quality of the Foods I’ve Purchased

To be honest, I have loved it all! I’ve ordered a lot of dry goods, baking goods, like rice and beans and flour and baking soda. They have all kept so well in my food grade buckets and I haven’t found any contamination in anything. The only fresh produce that I have gotten has been organic apples that were on sale. I had heard these were hit or miss when it came to freshness but I took the chance and bought 20lbs of apples. There were some rotten apples in the mix but not many. I was warned so I wasn’t disappointed. So I made applesauce with the apples and my kids love it. Yes, I would order them again, but they would still have to be on sale. I have also ordered things like oats, raisins, frozen fruits, butter, elderberry syrup, and rice cakes and more and everything has been delicious and kept well.

Pros and Con for Quality of Foods Summary

• Pro – Stores wonderfully and tastes delicious.

• Con – I’m always nervous the fresh fruit will not be fresh

Price Comparison (to Walmart)

Walmart my not be the best comparison to prices against but we live in a small town and the Super Walmart is kind of all we have here. Walmart is where I shopped before discovering Azure so its what I price check everything from.

Here’s a list of some of my essentials. This will be the price for organic unless otherwise noted. (updated 5/8/25)

• Oats – Azure: 5lbs, $1.65 per lbs | Walmart: GV $3.58 per lbs
• Flour – Azure: 10lbs, $1.32 per lbs | Walmart: King Arthur, 5lbs, $2.32 per lbs
• Raisins – Azure: 5lbs, $3.23 per lbs | Walmart: GV not organic $4.58 per lbs
• Sugar – Azure: 5lbs, $1.57 per lbs | Walmart: GV 4lbs, $1.44 per lbs
• Brown Rice – Azure: 5lbs, $1.88 per lbs | Walmart: Mahatma 2lbs, $2.09 per lbs
• Black Beans – Azure: $1.78 per lbs | Walmart: Not organic $1.76 per lbs
• Rice Cakes – Azure: .55c per oz | Walmart: Not organic .80c per oz
• Peanut Butter – Azure: $7.12 per lbs | Walmart: GV, $4.68 per lbs
• Frozen Fruit (blueberries) – Azure: 5lbs not organic, $2.36 | Walmart: not organic, $2.98

Organic is typically more expensive but it’s something I don’t mind paying for because I do believe it is best. But when shopping with Azure I have not felt like I’m spending a ton more for organic healthy food. In fact, I’m saving money. If you buy the larger, 10lbs or 25lbs with Azure the price does go down as the quantity goes up, so I buy in bulk. I’m very happy with the prices.

I have never experienced any hidden fees, or shipping fee’s. Its actually the opposite, when you purchase certain items you receive Azure Cash Rewards. So when I go to check out often I have about $5 of reward cash I can use based of off my previous purchases.

To Sum Up

I have been very happy with Azure Standard and plan to continue shopping there for the bulk of my needs. The site is easy to navigate, communication on delivery/pickup has been excellent, the quality of food is wonderful and I’ve been saving money.

I highly recommend Azure Standard for anyone looking to purchase high quality, organic foods.

The post Azure Standard Review. Pros, Cons, Price Comparison. appeared first on Embracing The Home.

Where To Buy Bulk Food

Azure Standard is my number 1 place to shop. I love the clean, Non-GMO, organic food they offer. Azure Standard is an online whole food distributor. They skip the middle man and deliver your order to drop off location near you. You pick up on the day and time they deliver. For example, for me they deliver on the 1st Tuesday of every month around 6:00pm. Knowing this allows me to plan out my orders knowing my food needs to last at least a month long. Although most of what I order lasts us 2-3 months, some items, like dry beans, last us 6+ months.

There are other places to shop in bulk like Costco, AllBulkFoods.com, and many more… Each place differs a little on what they carries so you will need to shop according to your needs. I shop Azure for their Non-GMO organic whole foods.

Foods You Can Store In Buckets

• Dry Beans/lentils
• Rice
• Flour
• Oats
• Popcorn
• Sugar/brown/powdered
• Seeds (flax, chia, sunflower, etc)
• Salts and spices
• Pastas
• Even cereals

This list is not exhaustive but the more common items that are stored in buckets. You can store pretty much any pantry food in a food bucket. But just because they are in food grade buckets doesn’t mean they will last longer. Although most items that can be stored in a food bucket can last a good long time. Do you research the shelf life of the foods you want to store and don’t simply believe that because it’s in a food bucket that it will automatically stay good for 30 years.

Food Grade Buckets

Which buckets are safe for storing food? Can I just pick up some $5 buckets from Home Depot or Walmart? Regular $5 buckets are made with releasing agents that can be toxic. They are not ideal for storing food and the FDA advises against it. Luckily food grade buckets are not hard to find and are typically only a few dollars more. To know if your bucket is FDA approved look for the recycle number “1”, “2”, “4” or “5” on the bottom of the bucket.

Where To Buy Food Grade Buckets

You can buy Food Grade Buckets online easily, I like buying them from Azure Standard but you can also find them on Amazon, Home Depot, Tractor Supply, even some Walmart’s. The prices for Food Grade Buckets is typically only a few extra dollars around $6-8 per bucket but it’s the lid that often comes separate and is another $5-7. 

I’ve actually bought most of my buckets from our local donut shop. When we first started buying in bulk it was because we were trying to save money and spend wisely. So buying new 10 buckets with lids at $12 was money I just didn’t have at the time. So I went to my local donut shop and found they sold their used buckets for $2.50 with the lid. Most of their buckets were only 4 gallons and didn’t always fit 25lbs of flour or sugar in one but I worked with it. The goal was to save money while providing my family’s needs and it worked.

TIP: I will advise, when buying from a local restaurant or bakery make sure to avoid putting your flour or sugar in a bucket that had jalapenos, vinegar or something strong smelling in it previously.

Where to Store Your Food Buckets

Keep your buckets in a cool, dry location. You want to keep food buckets out of extreme temperatures. A pantry or closet inside the house is always the ideal temperature but they are often not big enough for your needs. Some  Basements and garages are typically perfectly fine. Sheds and carports are not ideal due to their lack of insulation.

Along with temperature you always need to consider moisture or humidity levels. You want to store your pantry foods in a dry location. Too much moisture can lead to rot, fungus and molds. Often people who store in a cool room or basement will invest in a dehumidifier to insure a safe room for all their goods. If the room you are planning to store in has trouble with moisture this may be something you will want to look into.

I store my bulk foods in my kitchen under my worktable.

Remember there is not one right way to store food for your family while providing for them. But there are multiple wrong ways that might lead to contamination and food waste. Avoid the wrong and be creative with the right ways to fit your family’s needs and enjoy the fruit of your labor.

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