Slack! But here is a hedgehog to make up for it.

[tweetmeme source=”VeganChickie”]I know, I know, I’ve been terrible at keeping this blog going!

In the last week I’ve made a really great vegan ragout in the slow cooker and some super delicious vegan chocolate cupcakes and I’ll update the blog with them in the next couple of days.. for now though, I just wanted to show of this gorgeous little guy:

He is a variation on our ginger scented vegan pot stickers that we blogged about last year. The only difference being that we steamed them in a bamboo steamer instead of frying them like potstickers.. well, that and the fact that they are super adorable hedgehogs..

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Beatrice’s Vegetable ‘Stoo’ with Dumplings (vegan)

[tweetmeme source="VeganChickie"]I got this recipe from a Joyous Mama that I know online. Her recipe is vegetarian, but in honour of Vegan Month I’ve made a few adjustments to make it vegan. It is the perfect dish for this week as the weather is starting to cool down and those dumplings were oh so yum! Such deliciousness! I’m already looking forward to having the leftovers for lunch at work tomorrow!

Vegetable ‘Stoo’ with Dumplings
ala Beatrice

STEW:
2-3 onions celery sticks (celery is our new onion replacement!)
1 clove garlic – crushed
2-3 carrots – diced
4-5 potatoes – diced
1 small sweet potato – diced
1/4 cup barley
1/4 cup dried lentils
basil
a slosh of balsamic vinegar
1 cup frozen peas
black pepper & salt to taste
1 tsp vegeta (vegetable stock powder)

Method: Saute onions and garlic. Brown the diced vegetables a little. Add barley and lentils and cover with water, simmer gently until root vegetables are just tender. (make sure you check the water levels as the barley and lentils will absorb some of it).

DUMPLINGS:
200g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
pinch nutmeg
1 tsp ground parmesan savoury yeast flakes
50g butter nuttelex
enough cold water to form a soft dough.

Method: combine dry ingredients, work in butter with your hands and then add water, kneeding to make a dough. Divide into 12 and roll into balls, before adding the dumplings to the stew, stir in frozen peas and fresh basil, add your dumplings and cover pan, leaving dumplings to steam for 10-15 minutes. Garnish with some fresh basil! Enjoy!

Ginger-Scented Vegetable Pot Stickers (vegan)

This is another of my favourite recipes, it is pretty well known that I am a bit of a dumpling fiend, I just can’t get enough of the stuff! My love of all things dumpling suffered in our move to Sydney; we are yet to find a dumpling house quite like the Camy Shanghai Dumpling house in Melbourne but in the meantime we have these delicious little pot stickers to keep me satisfied. The recipe comes from Vegan Planet, and calls for pre-made wonton or dumpling wrappers, but I have included the ingredients etc to make your own because that is how we do it. It’s pretty easy, and doesn’t add much more time to the recipe, just make sure you make the dough first and then wrap it and leave it to sit while you process the rest of your ingredients (or grate them on the microplane like we do) otherwise your timing will get confused.. anyway, without any further ado…

Ginger-Scented Vegetable Pot Stickers
(Vegan Planet)

Ingredients:

For the dumpling dough:
2 cups plain flour
1 cup boiling water

For the pot stickers:
1 cup minced wombok
1 cup drained and crumbled extra firm tofu
1/4 cup finely shredded carrots
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 tablespoon tamari or other soy sauce
1 cup water

Method:

For the dough: In a bowl combine the flour and boiling water, stir with chopsticks until lumps appear.

Knead the dough for approximately ten minutes (you may need to wait for a while for the dough to be cool enough to knead) then wrap in cling wrap and set aside for 30 mins to an hour.

After an hour, roll the dough out on a floured surface and using cookie cutters cut out dumpling wrappers.

For the pot stickers: In a food processor, combine the wombok, tofu, carrots, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, cornstarch, salt and pepper. Process until well combined.

Place 1 wonton wrapper on a work surface and spoon 1 tablespoon of the filling mixture on the lower third of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper over the filling to form a semicircle. Moisten the edge of the wrapper with water to seal. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling.

Heat 1 tablespoon of peanut oil in a large nonstick pan over medium high heat (wait until the oil is HOT!) Place the dumplings in the pan and cook until golden, about 3 minutes.

Stir in the tamari and the water, cover, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes.

Uncover and cook until the water evaporates, 2 to 3 minutes.

Serve hot, with dumpling sauce (preferably the spicy kind!)

NB: You might need to do that last step in two batches depending on the size of your pan.