The color palette of my dogs matches the winter world now that our Golden Ret. mix is gone....mostly blacks, grey and white now and that is the other thing I crave in winter: COLOR!
Ahhh, all is not lost....a bit of color as our cat, Lakota (aka M.C. - "Man-Cat" as he is definitely a man's cat and a nod to M.C. Hammer as he has all the grace of a sledge hammer) has decided to accompany us on our walk.
Feeling a bit refreshed from getting some air and time with nature, I want something really hearty and substantial to eat. I was thinking of all the winters that I used to make up beef stew and have some buttermilk or baking powder biscuits with it. I realized it is the STARCH that I really want...not the beef.
(For a fascinating discussion on starch, see John McDougall's lecture: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XVf36nwraw The Starch Solution).
So, I made up a soup/stew initially trying for a simple potato soup. I sauteed some onions and garlic in some veggie broth, then started adding vegetables. Chopped carrots, celery, sweet potatoes and golden potatoes (cubed) all went in and I continued adding broth. I lightly seasoned with parsley, salt and pepper and a dash of Bragg's aminos. Later in the cooking process (probably about a half hour) I sauteed some mushrooms separately and tossed them in, liquid and all. By now, it was smelling about the way I had hoped, just simple flavors and lots of texture.
I made a batch of Susan Voisin's biscuits, finding a thin cast iron pan of my grandmother's that has circles in it and is perfect for this use. http://fatfreevegan.com/blog/2010/03/01/drop-scones-or-biscuits/ Instead of soy milk, I used almond milk and think I will try oat milk the next time and also reducing the liquid and adding 1/4 c of applesauce. They did come out well though and were the perfect compliment to my soup/stew.
Just prior to serving, I took my immersion blender and spot-blended for a minute or so right in the pot. I wanted to mash up some of the potatoes so that the soup would be very thick and stew-like. It definitely did the trick.
I had some collards that were threatening to wilt, so I had sliced those up and sauteed lightly to serve separately, but I ended up putting them on top of the soup and they were really good that way.
I guess it is one of the gifts of cold weather and dreary winter days, to be able to enjoy a simple stew and some basic biscuits.....this certainly wouldn't have been nearly as tasty mid-August!
Sue, keeping-it-simple, in Ohio