Your Vegan Mom

Mashed Potato and Kale Taquitos

 

You guys, I don't really want to talk about taquitos.

Tangerine Macerated Strawberries

"We're not really good sharers," says the three-year-old, earnestly protecting his bowl of vanilla soy yogurt topped with straberries, "that's why we have our own."  

I put a dollop of yogurt on top of the last few juicy berries in the blue mixing bowl, and I totally understand the boy's concern.  It's hard, but I hand Paul a bite.  

Tangerine Macerated Strawberries

makes: 4 dainty servings or enough for my two children, with a tiny taste left for Paul and me
takes: less than a minute, plus 10 for sitting 

• 1 pint strawberries, sliced
• 1 heaping tablespoon raw sugar
• juice of half a big tangerine or a fat wedge of orange

Sprinkle the sliced strawberries with sugar and citrus juice and stir it up.  Let sit for about 10 minutes for the strawberries to soften and release their juices and the sugar to disolve.  Serve over vanilla yogurt or ice cream.  

Coconut Biscuits

The boys and I have been hunting for signs of spring for the last few weeks.  We've found pink blossoms on trees, irises peeking up in a neighbor's front yard,  the first purple pom poms on the ceanothus we planted two years ago, strawberries (!) at the farmers market, and gaudy advertisements for plastic bunnies and easter dresses.

Let's Start with Breakfast

I have a new vow to care for myself as well as I do my children.  Are you with me?  Let's start with breakfast.

At first I intended to replace my morning cafe au lait with a big ol' green smoothie, the sort that I usually just make for the boys. That plan lasted less than a morning.  A very short hungry and cranky morning.  

My new breakfast plan is:

1. water
2. (guilt-free) cafe au lait* (Heat half a mug of soy milk.  Top with strong coffee.)
3. winter toast** (avocado + sea salt + thinly sliced radishes)
4. green smoothie

* That doesn't mean sugar-free or low-fat or anything like that.  I do like a little sugar in it.  And it is naturally and inadvertently low in fat.  It just means that I am choosing not to allow myself to feel bad about having a little coffee.  

**As opposed to summer toast which is walnut parm smashed into vegenaise and topped with sweet and juicy tomato slices.  Mmm, it's getting close.    

Tropical Green Smoothie

Hey, this recipe is for a super blender.  (I use a vitamix, generously given to me by my in-laws Bud and Cecile.  Cecile has been in and out of the hospital, mostly in, all month, which is what has got me thinking about mom health and also the not writing.  She's really cool. If you have a minute, she could use your thoughts or prayers.)  If you don't have a super blender (or super in-laws) you should sub 1/2 cup juice for the tangerines, a spoonful of nut or seed butter for the chia seeds and a handful of baby spinach for the kale.  All of that will blend up more easily in a less-than-super blender.
 

makes: 4 cups (or enough for 1 grown-up and 2 kid servings)
takes: 5 minutes 

• 2 cups rice milk
• 3 seedless tangerines, peeled
• 1 teaspoon chia seeds
• 3 big leaves of kale, rinsed
• 1 heaping cup of frozen mango
• 1 heaping cup of frozen pineapple or peaches

Blend the milk, tangerines, seeds, and kale until smooth.  Add enough frozen fruit to bring the liquid up to almost 4 cups in the blender and blend again until thick and frosty.

 

Donna Klein's Sesame-Orange-Glazed Tofu Nuggets with Broccoli and Red Bell Pepper

I'm going to tell you right now - this is a bit more labor-intensive than what I would usually make for dinner on any given Thursday, but it was just so delicious that I could see it becoming a regular in our kitchen.  Maybe I can get a kid to dip cubes of tofu in sesame seeds.

I was skeptical of the recipe too.  I feared the tiny seeds wouldn't stick.  I thought they would just burn in the hot oil.  I thought the sauce had too much hoisin, and that it probably shouldn't be there at all.  I hate steamed broccoli.  And it was kind of a lot of work for something that I was pretty sure wasn't going to work.  

But it did.  As soon as I pulled one plump little pillow of sesame encrusted tofu from the sweet tart sauce and popped it in my mouth, I was totally hooked.  And I needn't have feared the still crisp broccoli.  

The recipe comes from Donna Klein's new cookbook, The Chinese Vegan Kitchen.  She spent a year in Hunan province, where the food is spicy and fresh, teaching English in a middle school and committing herself to learning all about Chinese home cooking.  We are so fortunate that she came home and wrote a book about it.