Satiated

Last night, I experimented and made a vegetarian version of chicken and dumplings. I found a good base recipe from PETA: http://www.vegcooking.com/recipeshow.asp?RequestID=1118 and tweaked it a bit with some recipes at www.allrecipes.com (allrecipes is basically my favorite site on the web).

It was delicious! I rarely cook with celery, so the smells of it sizzling on the stove top reminded me of my mom's cooking. The meal itself reminded me of Grandma Jo; back in my younger, meat-eating days, she'd take me to the Cracker Barrel for chicken and dumplings (which was the only time I ever ate that meal). So, anyway, the meal was also good for warming my heart. Yummmm.

The soup recipe I used was almost exactly the PETA recipe, but here's what I did:

2 stalks of celery, sliced up
1/2 of an onion, diced (honestly, a whole onion wouldn't hurt)
1/2 stick of butter
healthy pinch of celery salt
salt & pepper
1/2 cup flour (all purpose, whole wheat, whatever)
8 cups vegetable broth
2 carrots, chopped
1 bay leaf
8 oz. firm tofu, diced
8 oz. Morning Star Farms chik'n strips, thawed and torn into smaller pieces
12 oz package of biscuit dough (I used Pillsbury. Make sure it doesn't have lard!)

On medium-low heat, melt the butter in a big pot. Once melted, toss in the celery and onion, giving it a stir. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until veggies are soft. Add a healthy pinch of celery salt and add some salt and pepper to taste (I've never been one to add salt to my food, but my blood pressure is a little too low, so I'm trying to add it to more dishes!). Add in the flour (I used whole wheat because that's all I had. I worried it would ruin the soup, but it worked out just fine). Stir until it's a paste. Slowly add in vegetable broth, stirring thoroughly with each addition. Turn heat up to medium-high and bring to a boil (this takes approximately 30 minutes, but it allows the soup to thicken).
Once boiling, add in the chopped carrots, the bay leaf, the tofu and chik'n strips (you can use a full pound of chik'n strips instead of the tofu, or vice-versa). Allow to cook for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, pop open your package of biscuits. Tear the biscuits into pieces that are approximately 1 inch wide. Drop the pieces in, one at a time, stirring after each piece so they don't stick together. Once all the pieces are in the soup, simmer on the stove top for 10 to 15 minutes more. Stir once more and serve hot.

Delicious!