I ended up traveling on day one, and traveling for a vegan or locovore (or anyone trying to eat more veggies) can be difficult. Of course, I didn’t plan ahead; I could have made a sandwich or something. I decided to buy a soda for the caffine (I drink coffee, but can’t drink most coffe on the challenge), because I knew Faygo is a Michigan company. Soda can be so delicous sometimes, I don’t drink regular soda (I try not to consume high fructose corn syrup), but I felt sick after drinking it. I munched on a few fries my brother had (didn’t help the sick feeling); I was starving when I got home.
I made cabbage and dumplings for dinner, and they were so satisfying. For the cabbage, I used a little earth balance to saute over medium-high heat a large local onion and 3 cloves local garlic, then added half a large local cabbage, and cooked until tender. Salt and pepper to taste. For the dumplings, I found a recipe online, then altered it for spelt and my own memory of my grandma’s methods.
The recipe I used is 2 1/2 cups whole Michigan spelt flour, 2 teaspoon baking powder, 1teaspoon salt, all sifted together, then cut in 3 tablespoons margerine (I used earthbalance) until it resembles coarse meal. Then add 1/4 to 1/2 cup milk (I used almond, for Michigan I should have used Edensoy, but what are you gonna do about it?) until it forms a manageable dough. Meaning, not sticky or dry. Meanwhile, I had a large soup pot (not huge, you can do them in batches) filled about 2/3 with water or broth coming to boil on the stove. Once the dough is ready, break off even sized hunks about the size of your thumb and drop them into the boiling stock. Let them boil for about 7-10 minutes ( I did 7 and it worked out), remove them with a slotted spoon, I put them into a waiting large sauce pan with a dab of margerine waiting, covered. Pretty close to what grandma used to make. This makes about 4-6 servings, depending on the hunger of the participants and the size of your thumb. It could go further if you do only 1/2 a thumb.
I ate that for dinner and for lunch the next day (I only had Michigan roasted coffee for breakfast), and will have it today sometime. Yesterday for dinner, I made the Roasted Garlic and White Bean soup from Vegan with a Vengence (which is my favorite soup), with Stone House Bread (the ciabatta). I also made pumpkin cookies made with leftover bits. I will post those recipes later.
