Seitan and Dumplins

I've been working on perfecting my Seitan and Dumplins recipe, my vegan version of Chicken and Dumplins, for awhile. But tonight, I think I've finally settled the right combination of ingredients.



Last night, I made some quick seitan from vital gluten flour and simmered it in a "chicken"-flavored broth. Tonight, I simmered cubed potatoes, chopped carrots, and onions in vegetable broth. I made a batch of vegan biscuit dough, and dropped little pieces in the boiled broth mixture and then added the seitan. In the last minute of cooking, I added frozen peas.

This was definitely a hearty winter meal, even though it's spring now. But I really wanted to get this one right before it got too hot to eat hearty food. It's going in the cookbook since Chicken and Dumplins (notice there's no "g" at the end of "dumplin") are totally Southern fare.

My friend Leslie stopped by and sampled the dumplins, and she also brought me a very special treat — homemade herb-infused cinnamon maple syrup!!! I took a picture, but I'll have to flip it in Photoshop. I think I'll wait to post it when I make waffles again...which will be soon because I'm dying to try this stuff.

For dessert, I whipped up a batch of Mississippi Mud Cookies, a no-bake treat made with cocoa powder, peanut butter, and oats.



Stef from the Poopie Bitch blog brought a batch to lunch yesterday, and that got me craving more. I've been wanting create a veganized version for the dessert section in my cookbook anyway. These are REALLY simple.

Here's the recipe:

Mississippi Mud Cookies
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1/2 cup soymilk
2 cups evaporated cane sugar
1/2 cup soy margarine
3 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1/2 cup natural crunchy peanut butter (or any crunchy nut butter)
3 cups oats

Mix soymilk, sugar, margarine, and cocoa in a saucepan. Heat to a rapid boil, and then boil one more minute. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter and oats. Drop tablespoonfuls onto waxed paper and place in the fridge to cool and harden.

UPDATE: This batch did not set completely so they were a little gooey. My mom tells me I should have let the mixture boil for 2-3 minutes. She also suggests plopping a little of the cocoa/butter/soymilk mixture into a glass of cold water before turning off the heat to see if it forms a ball. If it does, she says it's ready. Either way, they taste the same. It's just easier to pick up when the cookies are harder.

BTW, this will be my last post until Sunday or Monday....going to Nashville for the weekend...see ya!