Vegan chili dog & waffle fries

I don't always know exactly what I'm going to do for my 'something new' before I get out of bed and start the day. In fact, I only decided on my something new at about 3pm today. I did some very quick Googling and went out to buy my ingredients to make some dinner before the shops closed at 5pm. 

Now for all of you who have been following the blog, you'll know how much I love trying out different hot dog recipes. There's just so much you can load up in your hot dog to make it tastier (and messier) to eat. 

Today I went for a vegan version of the American classic chili dog (In Australia chili is spelled "chilli", with two letter "l"s). It was surprisingly so easy to make, and I was chowing down this baby in no time. 

I got the recipe for the vegan chili from Oh She Glows. It's a simple and delicious recipe which can be easily changed and adapted to suit each individuals taste. I added some vegan mince into the recipe to give it a bit more of that hearty feel. I used Sanitarium Casserole Mince which can be found in the health food isle of Cole or Woolworths. 

Now I just can't have a hot dog without some sides. As I was googling some photos of chili dogs, I came across what's called waffle fries (aka lattice fries). These looked so cool that I wanted to make my own. I was lucky enough to actually have potatoes in our kitchen as well as having the appropriate slicing apparatus to make these! It was meant to be! :)

I thoroughly enjoyed this chili dog! I don't have any words to describe how much I enjoyed it. I'll just sign off by saying that food is great :)

Vegan chili
Adapted from Oh She Glows

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1-3 cloves garlic, minced (I used 1)
• 2 bell peppers, chopped
• 1 sweet onion, chopped
• 3 carrots, chopped 
• 1 can Sanitarium Casserole Mince (or 1 1/2 cup vegan mince)
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 3 tbsp chili powder
• pinch sea salt
• pinch cayenne
• 1 can each: black beans, white kidney beans, red kidney beans (rinsed) (I used 1 can of mixed beans and 1 can of kidney beans)
• 1 can diced tomatoes with juice 
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1 can organic mushrooms, drained
• 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (optional)
• juice of 1 lime (optional, I didn’t include)
• Secret Ingredient –> 2 tbsp CHIA SEEDS (it thickens up the sauce, but you don't have to use it if you don't want to. I didn't have to because mine was thick enough but I still added it anyways)

Directions:

1. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium. Add garlic, peppers, onion, carrot and sauté until everything is soft, approximately 5 minutes. 
2. Add the rest of the ingredients, cover, and cook for about 20 minutes on low to medium heat. Add more water if it becomes too thick and cook for longer if needed. 
3. I served mine up with a bun, vegan sausage, mustard and diced white onion; and of course the lattice fries. 

 For the waffle/lattice fries, I followed the instructions from the video below and then deep fried them in sunflower oil.