Have No Fear...

comfort food is here! I've been wanting to cook something hearty for a while now, but the weather had not been cooperating. This weekend it's supposed to rain, so that was the green light I needed to get a stew going. I also could not wait to try another seitan recipe from Vegan Diner so I paired the "Chicken Style Seitan Roast" with the "Veggies and Dumplings". Total success! I am really in love with this book and I have the ppk to thank for it. I bought it purely based off their rave reviews and I am so glad I did. If you haven't already bought it for yourself or your favorite vegan cook, the holiday gift giving season is fast approaching!

I made the seitan first since that takes a little over an hour to steam. I should have started earlier since I forgot it also should cool and be refrigerated before it gets cut. I used the hour to chop all my veggies for the soup and get the remaining ingredients ready. What I really like about this book is that the ingredient lists are very short, but there is absolutely no loss of flavor. I am used to putting way more spices/seasonings in soups but this one only had salt, pepper and parsley and trust me, it was enough. I did not have to adjust this recipe at all, yay! The only thing I did cheat at was to add more veggies than specified. I do that on every recipe though.

I have only made a "chicken" and dumplings type stew one other time and while I did enjoy that one, this will be my go-to recipe from now on. I am so excited I can finally make my own seitan that I can't imagine using frozen "chicken" pieces instead. I bow to Julie Hasson in thanks. My days of seitan fails are way past me. Now I have to try all the other recipes that feature the steaming method. I may try baking as well, but for now I prefer to get steamy.