Sequestration Meal #622

 

Sometimes, when you just wing it, it turns out to be amazing. This bowl of goodness is evidence of that.

I had a couple of servings of RightRice left, plus some broccoli headed south. (Headed so far south, actually, that I had to cut away most of the florets.) There was half an onion in the fridge, and some Violife Tex Mex shreds. I always have carrots. So...why not soup? I based this soup to an extent on an omnivore recipe, but it was just a pretty rough guide. So basically, this is a cheesy broccoli-rice soup with RightRice. 

But I also wanted something bready, and I didn't want to use the bread I have earmarked for a sandwich later, and I definitely didn't want the oven on. So I made dumplings. The recipe for the dumplings, veganized with soy milk and vegan butter, is from All Recipes. I cut it in half, because I was only going to have about 2 servings of the soup overall.

Because the broccoli was mostly just stems, and I wanted some greenery, I cut some chives from my window and sprinkled them all over everything. And you know what? It was perfect. I'm really sold on RightRice, even though it can be pricey (though no more than many other meat substitutes, which is how I view it--it's a meat substitute in the sense that it's my protein source here), because I think beans or soy curls or what-have-you would have ruined the overall texture here. I also used unsweetened soy milk in the soup and the dumplings, of course, which boosts the protein a bit more.

I think this kind of meal is the best part of having a low spend month. I probably wouldn't have made it without being forced to be creative. I would have eaten the stuff, mind you--I wouldn't have thrown it out--but I would have supplemented it with more things from the store. Even if I'd made this soup, I probably would have eaten some bakery bread with it, and that would have been delicious and slightly easier. But dumplings aren't hard to make and I adore them, so why not?