Your Vegan Mom

Can we hang out?

"Oh mayonnaise!" says 3-year-old Felix at dinner last night about the dollop of white stuff that somehow escaped onto the table in front of him, thus coining my new favorite exclamation.

"Oh mayonnaise," I think this morning when I remember that I have somehow signed myself on for a Google Hangout tonight.  Perhaps you've noticed, but I'm not too hip to the social media know-how.  Actually I'm shockingly unsocial and luddite for an...ahem...blogger.  So, finding myself in this situation is fairly terrifying.  Will you come?  Hold my hand.  Join me for a beer?  (Is that totally inappropriate?  I'm pretty sure I'm going to be having a beer.)  

Roots and an Unexpectedly Delicious Sandwich

My friend, Kiley, dropped off a big bag of root vegetables that she had inadvertently stockpiled - weeks of CSA overflow.  There were turnips and rutabagas and watermelon radishes and a long bumpy piece of horseradish, but I didn't know that when I opened the bag.  Apart from the horseradish, they all looked like turnips.  

Avocado Basil Spread and My Current Favorite Sandwich

I love a good sandwich, and this is my current favorite.  You chop up a small handful of fresh basil and smash it into a ripe avocado with a little lemon juice, salt, and peper, and some walnut parm if you have it.  You thickly smear that on some excellent toast and top it with drippy slices of summer tomato and maybe another sprinkling of salt and pepper.  And you've got a meal.  It was breakfast on Monday before taking the dudes to swim lessons and lunch on Tuesday with a side of cold melon.  I think you could even stick an ear of corn next to it and call it dinner -  perfect for the sweltering days of ripe tomatoes.   

Avocado Basil Sandwich Spread
makes: a scant cup or enough to generously spread on 4 sandwiches
takes: less than 5 minutes

• 1 ripe avocado
• about 3 tablespoon chopped basil
• 1/4 cup walnut parm
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste

Mash that all together and spread on good bread.    

Hot Dog Reuben

I call myself your mom, and yet I give you nothing but junk food.  I keep meaning to do better, but I'll be honest, I've looked at the roster for the rest of the year, and it's not looking good.  Perhaps it will be a New Year's Resolution?  I assure you my own children don't eat near as much junk as I feed you.  

BLT

The BLT is a sandwich I feel strongly about.  There is a right way to do it.  And while many would insist that way involves bacon, according to Paul, the B stands for beer, which is absolutely what you should serve this sandwich with.

Apart from beer, you need good crusty bread.  A soft crusted sandwich loaf will absolutely not work here.  There is a deli near my house that sells prepackaged vegetarian BLTs on whole wheat sandwich bread with yellow mustard and cheddar cheese.  Despite its proximity to my house and even its other reputable vegan offerings, I cannot patronize this establishment.  

Just before serving, you slather two slices of that good bread (lightly toasted if not super fresh) with your favorite vegan mayonnaise (which is vegenaise, of course).  The act of slathering is important here.  Your finished BLT should ooze and drip.  This is not a polite sandwich.

On top of one slice of slathered bread you place several slices of beautiful ripe tomato.  This is a summer sandwich.  Make it now while tomatoes are juicy and sweet.  You should be eating a BLT at least once a week until the tomatoes run out.

On top of the tomato you will arrange your slices of smoky braised tempeh.  The order matters.  The mingling of tomato juice, mayonnaise, and then the sweet, smoky, saltiness of the tempeh forms a sort of essential dressing within the sandwich.

Now on the other half of bread mash a quarter of a soft, ripe, oily avocado.  You can, of course, make a BLT without avocado, but it's always better with.  Take one big billowy leaf of lettuce - the sort with a nice little crisp rib near one edge - and fold it in half.  (I know an even more reputable sandwich shop that once used a handful of soft, peppery mixed baby greens for the L.  I don't eat there anymore either.  The pliable crunch and mild fresh flavor of leaf lettuce is a supporting, though essential, element of the BLT.) Gently press the lettuce into the avocado. 

Place the lettuce and avocado half on top of the tempeh and tomato half and devour.  Often.   

[A quick note on the kid-friendliness of this sandwich - the five year old will not touch it, but the two year old is a sandwich-stealing super fan.]