No Chicken Noodle Soup

Abandoned Edibles
chicken-style seitan, onion, celery, chives, white mushrooms, Mrs. Leeper's 'creamy tuna' boxed dinner
(additional ingredients: carrots, chicken base, garlic powder, onion powder, lemon juice, shallots, butter, olive oil, spices, etc.)

What I did: well, it was time to make some (no) chicken noodle soup, as I had been sitting on a package of chicken-style seitan for a few weeks. In addition, I picked up this box of outdated organic 'tuna helper' from the cull bin (as an aside, how creepy is the brand name "Mrs. Leeper's"?!) that I needed to use the egg noodles out of pronto. So I sauteeed some veggies, added chicken base and the seitan, slid in the noodles, simmered and seasoned. Pretty simple.



The Verdict
Warm, comforting, delicious--just as (no) chicken noodle soup should be. I must admit, I actually enjoy the seitan: the flavor AND the texture. And good ol' Mrs. Leeper came through with her egg noodles--perhaps I will use the 'creamy tuna' seasoning packet in a future AE dish! As an aside, I must tell you all that a little lemon juice in chicken soup goes a LONG way: it has always been my secret weapon to bring a tiny touch of acid to balance out the flavor of the chicken stock and inevitable salt that comes along with it.

Taste: 8
Creativity: 6
Appearance: 8

Improvements for next time: parsnips! Oh baby.

Creamy Mushroom Soup with Crispy Wontons

Abandoned Edibles
mushrooms, organic heavy whipping cream, Q'uorn chik'n cutlets (seriously the spelling of this product is really getting on my nerves), pepper jack cheese
*BONUS* leftover AEs: eggroll wrappers, "fresh" thyme (additional ingredients: mushroom soup base, onion, flour, garlic, milk, spices, etc.)

What I did: once again, I found mushrooms and heavy cream in the cull bin. It's been rainy here these past few days, so I figured a soup would be perfect! Also, I realized I LOVE crispy crunchy vittles in my soup (the baby bok choy soup taught me that), and I just so happened to have leftover eggroll wrappers in my fridge, so...viola: crispy wontons were made for the garnish! As for the actual soup, it was pretty simple: I sauteed mushrooms, faux chicken product (which is actually made out of fungi), onions, and garlic; added cream, milk, water, soup base; grated cheese, thickened soup, added thyme, simmered. As easy as a five dollar hooker!



The Verdict
Very rich. Delicious, but rich--perhaps I used TOO much cream? At any rate, the faux meat product worked perfectly in this soup, and, I swear--the crispy wontons made the dish. That added textural element is such a welcome addition!

Taste: 8
Creativity: 6
Appearance: 7

Improvements for next time: less cream, more mushrooms!