New Year, New Recipes

Since the move, I’ve had to get back into trying new recipes. Mostly for my side hustle of recipe writing, but I also got really tired of having my kitchen supplies packed up for any amount of time.

In the last month, I’ve mostly been crafting from this book, The Vegan Baker, by Zacchary Bird.

What I love about this book is that he rates the difficulty of each recipe because baking is no joke. And vegan baking is even more of a challenge. I’ve only tackled some easy/medium recipes so far, mostly for the sake of time, but I’m excited to try the very technical pastry stuff.

Side note: If you try his recipes, get a kitchen scale. If you want to bake at all, get a kitchen scale, but Bird is from Australia and his ingredients are measured in ounces or grams.

It’s still cold out. I low-key envy my Ohio friends, who have been experiencing a lot of snow in the last week, but we did experience a whisper of winter down in Georgia for all of one beautiful hour, and then it turned into sleet and slop and wet. Blech. My partner was also a little sick, and everyone around me has been getting sick, so here’s a hearty recipe to get your tired bones through the coldest parts of the year.

HEARTY CHICK’N & RICE SOUP

Serves: 6-8 Time: 45-50 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large onion, diced

• 3-4 garlic cloves, minced

• 2 large carrots, diced

• 1 1/2 cup peas, fresh or frozen

• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced

• 2 cups jasmine rice

• 1/2 tsp paprika

• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary

• 3-4 bay leaves

• 1 tsp dried thyme

• 1 tsp dried sage

• 12 cups vegetable broth

• 1 lb. seitan chick’n homemade or store-bought, cut into chunks

DIRECTIONS

1. In a skillet, set heat to medium-high. Once hot, coat generously with oil and cook the seitan chick’n for about 5 minutes on each side until lightly browned. Once cooked, set aside on a plate with a paper towel. Then, prepare all your vegetables.

2. In a large stock pot, set heat to medium. Once hot, add enough oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pot. Sauté the onions for 5 minutes. Then add the carrots and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for one minute. Then, add the seasonings and stir for another 1-2 minutes.

3. Next, add the rice, bay leaves, and broth and cover with a lid. Bring the soup to a boil. Reduce heat to low, remain covered, and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the rice is cooked. Stir occasionally.

4. When the rice is cooked, taste and adjust the seasonings. Add more broth if needed if the liquid is heavily absorbed. Add the chick’n to the pot, stirring for a few minutes. Then, the soup is ready. Top it with fresh dill if you have any around; dried dill will also work.

5. Serve fresh and hot! Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for 2-3 days.

Recipes To Try

• Malaysian Curry Noodle Soup by Rainbow Plant Life

• Miso Soup by Chopstick Chronicles

• Orange Cranberry Shortbread Cookies by Nora Cooks

That’s it for now. There are two new recipes up on the website! Give them a look, and there will be more recipes to come. May this new year bring you many new tasty meals and treats!