What I've Been Cooking & Growing Lately

Jun 08, 2011 17:26

- Gardening!
Gardening is great. I have half of the garden in the back. The roses and the irises are blooming, and in my little garden I have planted: about 6 tiny little lettuces, which I hope will grow; 1 fennel plant which was already sprouting; 5 wild onions and 5 regular onions; 1 garlic which sprouted right in the bag from TJ's and is now growing happily; two strawberry plants which will produce next year and not this year; and now 2 zucchini plants and 6 chili pepper plants I bought from the farmers' market today.

- Cooking!
Cooking is also great. I am mostly cooking on weekends or on the evenings of my days off, and making a lot so I can take it to work in my bento box. Stuff I've made lately: Cold pasta salad with lemon asparagus with garlic; romaine lettuce salad with apples and candied chestnuts and cilantro vegan dressing; little fake pizzas with capers and olives and Daiya cheese on a whole wheat tortilla, delicious to eat cold;
vegan chocolate mousse (fantastic when frozen, use an immersion blender and your life will be easier); and now I am making a quick rhubarb compote with farmers' market rhubarb.

But by far my favorite is My Grandma's Chicken Tofu & Dumplings!



Here is the vegan-ized recipe from my grandma. <3

Since it uses tofu rather than chicken, instead of taking hours to cook (the original recipe calls for 1 hr 30 min of chicken cooking time before you do anything else), it takes about 45m-60 m total, not counting cooling time. This is an excellent recipe to use up whatever vegetables are left in your refrigerator. Warning: the dumplings expand. Next time I make this I am planning on using half the dumpling mix and freezing the rest.

This is super-hearty; great for winter but also good eaten cold (IMO). You may want a really big soup pot/casserole. My 4-quart enameled casserole dish barely held all of this stuff; I think the only reason the lid did not fly off was because it was cast iron.

This freezes well and serves 4-6 people.

What you need:
1 pack firm tofu
3 to 4 c vegetable broth
thyme to taste
1 bay leaf
parsley to taste
salt
other spices to taste (I think I used rosemary, sage, and a little ground mustard)
carrot, sliced
onion, chopped roughly (optional)
garlic, chopped
celery, chopped roughly
potatoes, chopped (optional. I left these out because the dumplings are really hearty, and I am glad I did).
about 1/3 c Frozen or fresh peas (if using peas of whatever type, put them in last on top of the dumplings just before you steam them. It will cook them perfectly without making them mushy).
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 to 1/2 c chopped mushrooms (optional, but I found it did good things for the broth)

Dumplings
2 c all purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt (this salt really only interacts with the baking powder)
2 Tbsp cold vegan margarine or vegan shortening
1 c cold soy or almond milk (almond milk makes the dumplings sweeter)
salt/pepper to taste (optional)

Dice tofu into 1 in. squares. Saute tofu in pan with olive oil, garlic, and onions. When it is brown and crispy on the outside but still chewy on the inside, remove from heat.

In a large covered casserole dish or large stock pot, put broth, mushrooms, and all remaining vegetables (except peas). Add spices, salt and pepper. Let simmer until vegetables are slightly less than tender and still very bright (about 20m). After 20 min, add the onions, garlic and tofu. Remove pot from heat after adding these items. (This keeps the tofu from dissolving into nothingness, but stops it from getting cold, and also the garlic and onion have time to cook a little more into the soup since the soup is still warm).

While the soup is simmering make the dumplings:
Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder.
Cut in cold shortening or margarine using knives, pastry cutter/blender, or food processor.
Gradually add cold soy/almond milk. Mix until smooth (this will have the consistency of bread dough). (All this stuff is cold so the dumplings mix well and hold together better).

Drop dumpling dough by tiny tablespoon-fulls into soup. Sort of press the dumplings down into the soup so they do not all stick together at the top, though you want some at the top. At this time add the peas on top of the top layer of dumplings if you are using peas.

Then cover the pot tightly, put the pot back onto the stove, and simmer 10-12 m without removing the lid until the dumplings are all floating to the top and the vegetables are tender but still bright. (The entirely-in-soup dumplings will get chewy, the top dumplings will steam on the top and absorb the soup on the bottom and form a delicious crust of deliciousness).

You are left with only a little bit of broth at the end; the dumplings absorb the soup to turn everything into a light gravy-like coating. So if you don't like soup, don't worry: there is only about a tablespoon of soup that doesn't turn automatically into gravy deliciousness.

Enjoy!

gardening, recipes, food, bento, vegan, recipe

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