Drew is a peculiar vegetarian: he doesn't consider beans to be a main dish or a "real" source of protein. I've tried, but I cannot convince him otherwise. Though he's a fan of beans (particularly baked beans), he just doesn't think that they're main dish worthy, at least not on their own. For him, a meal has to have a "real" protein source: tofu, tempeh, seitan, or a mock meat (he is aware that this doesn't make sense and that he's being irrational). I, however, am a huge fan of beans and add them to whatever I'm eating whenever I can. I say that Drew's peculiar because shouldn't the vegetarian be trying to convince the meat-eater that beans can be a main dish and not the other way around?
Since Drew's return from China, we've fallen into a routine where we cook two days a week and eat leftovers on the remaining days (except Saturdays, when we go out to eat). We each choose a meal for the week, and we serve as executive chef when cooking our selected meal while the other serves as sous chef.
With the weather cooling off and as we transitioned into fall and then into winter, I wanted to make lots of soups and stews. The problem was that beans were the primary protein source in any soups and stews I wanted to make, and I had to figure out a way to get buy-in from Drew (we can always veto one another's meal selection). Somehow, I figured out that if I just agreed to add seitan or tempeh to the stew, Drew was satisfied. I can't remember how I stumbled upon this solution, but I'm happy I did.
We made a chile verde with white beans, seitan, potatoes, and tomatillos.
To go with it, I made a jalapeno scallion cornbread.
Both recipes are from Veganomicon, which is pretty much the vegan cooking bible.
