The Vegan Experiment - Day 2

We've made it through two days of veganism--sans the honey restriction. Yesterday D was sad to miss the chili/cream cheese dip his family traditionally eats during the Rose Bowl. I honestly was so excited to be able to make something extra, I hadn't been in the kitchen for almost ten days!
For New Year's dinner we had butternut squash (cubed, then baked with brown sugar, cinnamon, cayenne and salt) and broiled seitan and peppers with chimichurri sauce. I used the recipe from the Whole Foods website, which was previously a hit at the last bbq of summer (before going back to my school-based job, circa 2007.) I cooked them--and several other dishes--with a vegan guest in mind, who was more than thrilled to have an option beyond the frozen veggie burgers she brought with her. The triumph however was my roommate munching on these seitan chunks, recently returned from Kazakhstan, exclaiming about how glad he was to be back in the states, eating real meat again.
They were yummy even in the oven--and the sauce is super good for rice, too. I may also try it with pasta salad.
Today I made chili loosely based on a recipe from the Post Punk Kitchen website: Lucy's Real Vegetarian Chili. My changes:
Started with Field Roast mexican chipotle sausage, which I sauteed and broke into chunks, then set aside. Then, I sauteed olive oil, 3 garlic cloves, and spices for a couple minutes. Honestly I don't measure spices very often--1/8 tsp of cayenne, about 1 tsp cumin probably, several dashes of oregano, a few cumin seeds....I should really measure. I added half a large onion and 2 carrots, sauteed together; then a can of pinto beans, half a can of black beans (both 15 oz) and a 28 oz can of whole tomatoes. I cooked with some beer too--IPA. Once I re-added the seitan sausage, it got very flavorful, a nice smoky flavor. We ate with cilantro and green onions, with some baguette. The hammy chili with sour cream and cheese garnishes just sat innocently next to ours on the stove. Sufficiently ignored it. :)
Tomorrow--lunch with an old friend, and I need to figure out a place to go close by that won't be too awkward!