Vegan *Chicken* & Dumplings

It's winter in Texas, which means we have random cold weather sprinkled into the normal January days. Time for some comfort food! Daddio requested chicken & dumplings, and instead of my regular recipe I decided to try something new. I used the instant pot and the stove top, mainly because I was running behind (what's new?) and wanted to speed the process. With some very minor adjustments, this stove top recipe turned into a mixed IP/stovetop meal.

Ingredients:

3-4 carrots, sliced
3-4 ribs of celery, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 white potatoes, large dice
1/2 t rosemary
1/2 t thyme
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper, freshly ground
1 bay leaf
3 Not Chick'n bouillon cubes (divided)
6 c water (divided)
seitan (rinse and chop to preferred size)
8 oz white mushrooms, rough chop
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 c corn meal (I prefer Bob's Coarse Grind for texture)
1 T baking powder
2 T parsley (optional)
1 1/2 c almond milk

Place the following in the Instant Pot and give a stir. Set pot to 5 minutes at high pressure. Manual release.
3-4 carrots, sliced
3-4 ribs of celery, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 white potatoes, large dice
1/2 t rosemary
1/2 t thyme
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper, freshly ground
1 bay leaf
2 Not Chick'n bouillon cubes
3 c water (enough to just cover veggies in the IP)

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While the IP is working its magic, bring the following to a simmer on the stove top in a large soup pot:

seitan (rinse and chop to preferred size)
8 oz white mushrooms, rough chop
1 Not Chick'n bouillon cube
2 c water

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After manual release of pressure, pour contents of IP into soup pot on stove top, add 1 cup of water ( for a total of 2 cup per bouillon cube). Bring this to a boil.

While soup is coming to boil on the stovetop, mix dumpling batter:

1 1/2 c flour
1/2 c corn meal (I prefer Bob's Coarse Grind for texture)
1 T baking powder
2 T parsley (optional)
1 1/2 c almond milk

When soup is boiling, drop batter by spoonfuls into soup. DO NOT STIR. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. DO NOT STIR. (PS: It is inadvisable to stir, even though you really, really want to. Trust!)

Serve immediately, but also makes for good leftovers!


Some notes worth mentioning:

-I am not a fan of meat substitutes, but like to try them from time to time in certain recipes since we have omnivorous friends & family over for meals often. My family liked the seitan in this dish, but we likely won't use it again unless we make this for non-family members.

-I enjoyed the potatoes in this soup, but I also like my dumpling base to be creamier instead of brothy (is that a word?). Next time, I may add one more potato but mash it to try to adjust the consistency of the broth.

-Served with a hearty green salad (leaf lettuce and spinach) topped with hard boiled eggs for a protein and B vitamin boost.