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.

Somebody find Carl Weathers...

because "Baby, I got a stew going."

My sister has been pestering me to make stew, or a pot pie, for the past few weeks. When we visited our Bay Area friends forever ago, they cooked us a delicious stew with dumplings. I know that is the taste she was really going after. I'm not sure mine turned out quite like Jon's but it was delicious nonetheless.

I followed a recipe for "Chik'n Stew and Dumplings" I found on VegWeb (thanks certifiedmoxie!). I added some peas right before the dumplings and I also put way more carrots, celery, garlic than it called for. I always put more of those since there never seems to be enough. I did most of the prep earlier in the day so when it was time to start cooking I only had to chop the potatoes and meal starter strips. The only things I would change next time would be to not chop the chik'n as much since it tends to get broken up during all of the stirring and I'd add more carrots.



Everyone loved the stew, but I kept hearing that it should have more carrots. At first my niece was whining that she did not have any dumplings but after further review she discovered she had two. To make a dish that appeals to a slightly picky six year old and my sister's omnivore boyfriend is quite an accomplishment. This recipe is a keeper and is going into the overstuffed binder right away. It was tough to get an attractive photo, but trust me it tastes much better than it looks.

I am having way too much fun in the kitchen lately. I think my next purchase will be a dutch oven, an enameled cast iron skillet, or a waffle maker. A kitchen aid stand mixer is still at the top of my list though. A gal can dream.