Super Delicious Veggie Stew With Dumplings

On a really cold day like today ( is it spring yet?) nothing is yummier that a nice warm bowl of soup.  My entire family loves this recipe, and any mother will tell you, when you can find something that everyone will eat you stick with it!  The greatest thing  is that this doesn't take very long to make at all.  You can have it on your table in about an hour :)


You will need:

8 cups of broth ( I use Better than Bouillon No Beef Base)

1/3 Cup of nutritional yeast

a few dashes of onion powder

1 bag of frozen peas

1 bag of frozen carrots

1 bunch of celery (preferably organic)- chopped

1/2 cup of plain almond milk

1/2 cup of unbleached flour

1/2 cup of water

1 Tablespoon italian herbs

1 teaspoon salt

black pepper to taste

For the scrumptious dumplings:

2 cups of unbleached flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of pink salt

1 cup of plain almond milk

2 Tablespoon of olive oil

a few dashes of italian herbs


1. In a large soup pot combine broth, nutritional yeast, onion and celery.  Bring it to a simmer, then turn the heat down to low.  Cover the pot partially and allow to cook for about 20 minutes.

2. While you're waiting for the broth to simmer,  in a bowl mix the milk,  flour and water.  Whisk it until it's smooth.  No lumps!  Then slowly mix into the pot, and keep mixing until the broth starts to get thick. Bring the stew to a simmer again, then add the carrots and peas.

3. While the soup is simmering, it's time to make the dumplings!  In a mixing bowl combine all the dry ingredients and mix with a fork.  Then pour in the milk and olive oil.  Stir together until the batter is lumpy.   Make sure that you don't over mix!

4. Gently plop teaspoons of batter into the soup, cover the pot and reduce the heat.  Cook the dumplings for about 15- 20 minutes.  Only open the lid on the pot if the dumplings look like they are clumping and need to be broken up.

5. Take the lid off so that the soup can cool off for a bit because it's too hot to eat right away.  You can even test a dumpling to make sure that they are done to your liking.

This recipe makes a lot of food.  Our entire family will each eat 2 bowls and we usually have leftovers, which are of course fantastic the next day!

Chickpea Flour 'Omelette'

     Even before becoming vegan I was never a big egg eater, in fact if I wanted some, I always wanted someone else to cook them because I couldn't stand the smell.  Finding an alternative to scrambled eggs was so easy, there is nothing I love more than a  tofu scramble! To me it tastes 100% better than any eggs I ever had in my life, and I happen to be with the man that makes the best scramble ever!
 
      Once in a while however I do miss the idea of an omelette so I was determined to search for something that would be similar. After many internet searches and an experiment this morning,  I found my 'omelette'!

You will need:

° 1/2 Cup Chickpea Flour

°  2 Tablespoons Nutritional Yeast

°  1 Tablespoon Chia Seeds

°  1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder

°  1/2 teaspoon Tumeric

°  Salt & Pepper to taste

°   2/3 Cup Water

°   Chopped onion

°   Any kind of veggies you'd like to put inside, chopped

°    Vegan cheese if wanted, I used a little bit of shredded cheddar from Daiya

1. First add all dry ingredients into a bowl and mix well.

2.  Next add water and onion, and let the mixture sit for about 10-15 minutes until thick. After that  if needed add more water by the Tablespoon until it resembles pancake batter.

3. Heat a non-stick frying pan, once the pan is hot turn the heat to low and pour half of the mixture into the pan spreading it out with a spoon.

4. Cover tightly with a lid and let cook for about 4 minutes or until the top looks like a pancake does when it's ready to flip.

5. At this point add cheese and veggies, then fold the omelette in half, put the lid back on tightly and cook for another 4 minutes.

After that its finished! The batter makes 2 good sized omelettes. Although I will admit I ate both of them this morning, mostly to conduct the full experiment ;)

There is no doubt this will become a breakfast favorite in my house! Plus the greatest part is that I found a way we can enjoy an "omelette" without any chickens being  harmed! :)

ASHA's Vegan Valentine Celebration

Last Thursday ASHA Sanctuary held it's first ever vegan valentine's celebration at the Red Mill Inn located in Williamsville, NY. The event was a fundraiser to help with the rescue and up keep of our future residents at the sanctuary. The evening featured an amazing vegan meal which included gourmet "cheese", soup & salad and a Mediterranean stuffed "chick'n" breast with an array of delicious sides. 

We also had marvelous desserts charitably donated by Orange Cat Coffee Co. and Wheatberry bake shop as well as an awesome candy donation for our guests upon arrival from Aletheas. Yes their dark chocolate is vegan!!

The whole evening was an amazing experience and we could not thank Red Mill enough for all of their incredible work and accommodations. We can't wait until next year!

Run For Rover

Yesterday the organization I volunteer with, ASHA was invited to be a part of the Run for Rover. A wonderful event that the Pet Emergency Fund in Buffalo, NY has every year to help raise funds for families who can not pay for veterinary bills that can arise when an emergency strikes with their pet.


We spent the whole day at the event selling vegan goodies, handing out all sorts of leaflets promoting a vegan way of life and collecting donations to help us build a barn for the animals we can't wait to rescue and give a happy home.






  



If you would like to visit us at our next event we will be at the Williamsville Farmer's Market on Saturday August 24th from 7am-1pm.

The Orange Cat Coffee Co.

My kids,  fiance and I recently moved to Lewiston, NY and we absolutely love the area! There is so much to do, concerts at Artpark, the peach festival in September, the water front where you can have an awesome picnic lunch, Old Fort Niagara and not to mention downtown historic Lewiston where you can walk around and find all sorts of quaint little locally owned businesses. I am most thrilled about the move because I am short walk from my favorite coffee shop, Orange Cat Coffee Co.

They have so many different kinds of coffee, not to mention the fact that ALL of their baked goods are vegan!!! They have muffins, scones, biscotti and giant cookies which my kids totally love!

They have a small lunch menu that includes a hummus wrap, an amazing tofu sandwich and a fallafal salad that I could eat everyday! There is outdoor seating and the inside has a cute coffee house feel. 

They also have soup and coffee of the day which you can find out about by following them on Twitter.

Every single time that I have been, there has been a line out the door but you never have to wait long because they provide friendly quick service! The prices are very great too! I was able to get lunch for 3 adults with drinks and desserts for about $30.

If you are ever in Lewiston, vegan or not you should definitely give Orange Cat a visit!

They are located at 703 Center St in Lewiston NY
(716) 754-2888

Mini Vegan Donuts

My mom recently came to spend the weekend with us and after a busy day outside yesterday enjoying the weather and soaking up lots of vitamin D, we wanted to just relax and have a lazy Sunday. For me nothing starts a day like that more than some delicious donuts and coffee. 

A couple of months back my mom bought us a Babycakes mini donut maker . We have been using it with pancake batter to make mini pancake donuts but today I decided to try it out making actual donuts.

To make the dough you will need to following ingredients: 

1 Cup all purpose flour

1/2 Cup raw sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 shake of cinnamon

1/2 Cup of soymilk

1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Egg replacer for 1 egg

4 Tablespoon vegan butter 


Glaze Recipe:

1/2 Cup powdered sugar (lump free)

1 Tablespoon soy milk


In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients with a whisk to mix thoroughly. Combine the wet ingredients in a small sauce pan and heat over low-medium heat and mix until butter is just melted. Mixture should not get too hot, you should be able to stick your finger in it.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until just combined. It should form a very soft dough. After the dough forms spoon a little into each section of the donut maker, close the lid and cook until the green light goes on.

When they are finished dip them in glaze and then vegan sprinkles.

We made 15 mini donuts with this mix and they were absolutely delicious!

Amazing Vegan Bread Sticks

There is nothing that my kids love more with their dinner than bread sticks. They are the easiest thing to dip in sauce or just eat as a snack. Obviously frozen bread sticks are not vegan in any way so I decided to use my amazing bread machine (thanks mom!) and make my own. It's super easy and the machine does most of the work for you! I'm sure that you could even use this dough to make pizza, which we have not done yet but plan on trying sometime very soon!

You will need:

1 1/2 Cups Water

4 1/3 Cups Bread Flour

2 teaspoons salt

2 Tablespoons raw sugar

1 package of yeast


Add the ingredients in the order they are listed into your bread machine. DO NOT MIX!

Put your bread machine on the dough-normal setting. Then select "large" for the loaf size.

After the bread machine is finished doing it's thing, take out the dough and place it on a floured surface. Punch the dough down a few times to get the air out. Then place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Place in a warm place and allow to rise for 30 minutes.

When 30 minutes has passed take the dough out and again place it on a floured surface, punching a few more times to get the last of the air out. Place it back in the bowl, cover it and let it sit another 30 minutes.

I know this seems like it takes forever but trust me they are so yummy!!

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and place the dough back on your floured surface. Roll it out to a long rectangle. You don't want it too thin, but also not too thick.

Cut the dough into strips and then cut each strip in half or thirds, depending on how long the strip is and how long you want your bread sticks.

Place the bread sticks on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. I like to brush them with melted butter and sprinkle with garlic but what ever you want to do is fine!

Cook them for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

I get about 25-30 bread sticks using this recipe depending on how I cut them. We usually can eat them with 2 or 3 meals (depending on how many the kids eat!) For the simplicity and the price of the ingredients you can't beat it!