First snowfall of the season – check. In time for a white Christmas – check. Grey skies for days to come – BAH HUMBUG! So much rich food over the last few days, with the obligatory leftovers... time to lighten it up a little. Michael Symon had the ticket. This hearty Mushroom Stew with Dumplings is super easy to make, and extremely quick once you've made the mushroom stock. You can even cheat on that, as I did, when there were no dried mushrooms to be found?! And I checked two different stores... I used one quart vegetable stock, and one quart beef stock, and just to ensure umami, I added a generous dash of soy sauce. I'm sure the authentic shroom stock would be better, but this was a mighty fine substitute. The slight sweetness of the root vegetables and the squash really bring a nice balance to the savory ingredients. The dumplings take only seconds to make, and are light as air, melt in your mouth good. If you wanted to be REALLY conscientious you could omit them, or make a smaller batch... Despite what I told Santa, I'm not that good - and a little bit of carb and fat in an otherwise vegan recipe is not a bad thing.