I made this recipe with my dear friend Kristi in mind. She doesn’t eat dairy, likes to have the ingredients on hand, prefers no processed vegetarian meat, wants it to taste just as great when reheated for her husband if he gets home late, same goes for packing it for lunch the next day, and would like it to be a one dish meal! Note: A one dish meal is not a meal put together in one bowl. A one dish meal means your complete meal is in this one dish/recipe.
This recipe is for you, Kristi!
She and I haven’t been friends long, but long enough to know that we are going to be friends for life no matter where her journey takes her. The minute I met her I knew I loved her!
As we’ve gotten to know each other, we discovered that her Grandpa goes to the same quaint old country church that I did in the summer as a kid. Growing up we had a cabin on Sugar Lake in Glen, Minnesota. It’s in the middle of nowhere, and other than my immediate family and friends, nobody knows it even existed. So, to find out that Kristi knew exactly what and where I was talking about AND went to the same little church my Great Grandma Smith used to take us to during the summer was THE coolest discovery EVER! We bonded.
She has been very supportive of my blog and took the time to let me know what she looks for in a meal. She lives such a healthy lifestyle, and well, my lifestyle gets a ‘needs improvement.’ It would be great if she and my Grandma LaLonde would take shifts and just cook all of my meals for me!
I finally thought of a recipe that she needs to make! This Vegan Farmer’s Delight.
Not only does it meet her criteria, but my Great Grandma Smith used to make this for us during our summers at the cabin! The recipe is packed with delicious fresh vegetables, great memories, and new friendships!
Here’s the thing, and I will note it again in the recipe, my pictures were taken after we ate dinner and put my son to bed. I don’t let blogging interfere with my family time, so I wait until my son is in bed to take pictures. It’s also very relaxing to be out on our deck as the sun is setting – just me, the food I am taking pictures of, and the hummingbirds.
So, your Vegan Farmer’s Delight is going to be more creamy than what my pictures show. I reheated it for these pictures, but right off the stove it’s at it’s creamiest texture. But… also take into consideration the number of vegetables you put in your pot. Potatoes take up a lot of room. The more vegetables you put in the pot, the less creamy it will be when you reheat it. Make sure you don’t add too many vegetables. Leave room for reheating, so it’s still creamy. That is the best part!
Each time you make it, you’ll have to guess on the number of vegetables you’ll use. This will be great practice for you! Let go of those measurements you think you have to have and just go with it. I would have used less potatoes this time, but I didn’t have another purpose for them so I just threw them all in there. Go ahead, you can totally do this! Have faith in your eyeballs and intuition!
I prefer comfort food in the Fall, but the comfort this one dish meal offers is one of my favorite meals for the Summer time!
You can put whatever vegetables you’d like in this Vegan Farmer’s Delight. If I had beans, I would have added those, too!
I just love, love, loooooooove going to the Farmer’s Market! We have so many local Farmer’s Markets, I make excuses to go to all of them. I will get a tomato at one, lettuce at another. And sometimes I go just to walk around and look. Sometimes I ask if I can take pictures, because it’s good experience and practice for me. Food photography isn’t easy. Chasing a toddler around with my ankles tied and balancing a bowl of spaghetti on my head would be easier! So I just keep practicing.
I can’t think of better produce to practice on! They have beautiful and bountiful bouquets of flowers, too. Support your local Farmer’s Market!
Vegan Farmer's Delight
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp Vegan Butter
- 4 tbsp Flour
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Pepper
- 2 cups Unsweetened Almond/Soy Milk
- Vegetables of Choice
Instructions
Peel and chop potatoes in big chunks. Boil until a fork pokes through the potato easily. You don't want to boil the potatoes so much that the potato falls apart when poking. You want the potato to keep it's shape and be somewhat firm, but not too soft.
Peel and chop carrots. Boil until ready in a separate pan.
Shuck peas and boil if desired. I don't boil because I like the fresh peas to be crisp.
If using other vegetables, like beans. Clean, cut, and prepare accordingly. As the vegetables are boiling, start preparing the sauce.
To make the sauce, heat the butter in a large sauce pan on low heat until melted. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mix is smooth and bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in milk. Return to heat until boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir for one more minute.
Once the sauce is ready, stir in the prepared vegetables.
NOTE: You will have to eyeball the number of vegetables for the portion of sauce you are making. Add vegetables, then mix in. Repeat until you have plenty of vegetables in the pot, but not too many. You want the Vegan Farmer's Delight to be very creamy!
