Your Vegan Mom

Super Easy Homemade Baked Applesauce

I am surrounded by apples.  The preschool just completed their fall fundraiser apple sale and shelves and drawers and bowls are now spilling over with fragrant red and yellow fruit.

And I just finished reading The Orchard by Theresa Weir.  Have you read it?  It's both a memoir of her time living on an apple farm in Henderson County, Illinois in the seventies and eighties and a parable of the dangers of conventional farming.  She experiences firsthand the effects that pesticides and other farm chemicals have on the families whose livelihood is raising our food.  The book reads like chick lit - it's a quick, easy read - there's romance - but at the same time, it makes real what for many is just a vague idea - that there is a human cost to that piece of cheap flawless fruit in the grocery store that is far greater than what we are paying.  

And then my weekly produce box showed up, with more apples.  

So when I came across a recipe I wanted to try that called for applesauce, I thought, there is no flipping way that I am buying a jar of flipping applesauce. 

And I love Amelia Saltsman's technique for making it at home.  You cut the apples in half, roast them, and then scrape out the soft flesh.  It could not be easier.  She suggests you roast the apples with thyme and use a smidgen of calvados or cider to deglaze the pan, and that makes me want to throw a Hannukah party for grown-ups.  But my day to day applesauce needs are for the 2 to 5 year old set and their simple palates.  I did throw a few beautiful yellow pears into the mix that had recently fallen prey to a dangerous game of fridge jenga, and they added a nice floral sweetness to the sauce.  Also, it's important to note - if you use a red variety of apple, your sauce will blush a beautiful rosy pink.  That color, and the smell of roasting apples filling your house, just cannot be bought in a jar at Trader Joe's.  

Monster Milkshake

So, this is actually nothing but our current house smoothie - easy, action-packed nutrition all blended up into a creamy cold sweet treat, but that color makes it perfect for a Halloween breakfast or after school snack to fuel up for an evening of Trick or Treating.  Happy Halloween!  

Monster Milkshake
Makes: about 3 cups
Takes: about 5 minutes 

• 1 1/2 cups rice milk
• 1 seedless orange, peeled or 1/2 cup orange juice (depending on your blender)
• 1 tablespoon raw hemp seeds, or 1 teaspoon flax oil
• 2 leaves of kale, stems removed, or 1 big handful baby spinach
• 1 cup frozen pineapple chunks*
• 1 cup frozen mango chunks*

If you are using a high-power blender, blend the milk, orange, seeds and greens until you have a nice smooth brilliant green milk.  Add the frozen fruit and puree again until smooth.

If you are using a regular blender (and if you're not sure, then you're using a regular blender), blend the milk, orange juice, flax oil, greens, and frozen fruit until smooth.  

*Tip: For ease of measurement, 1 cup of fruit chunks will displace 1/2 cup of liquid, so add the pineapple until the smoothie level has increased by 1/2 cup, and then do the same with the mango. 

Cherry Almond Energy Bars: snacks for kids and other outdoor enthusiasts

I would like to posit that the snack needs of your average park-going mother of small children are the same as those of the wilderness guide leading a group into the backcountry.  With either a well-stocked multi-day pack or a well-fed baby strapped to her back, she's looking for nutritionally dense snacks that won't weigh down the pack (or purse) and will keep the troops going, if not all day, then at least until they stop for lunch.

When I received Laurie Ann March's new book, Another Fork in the Trail: Vegetarian and Vegan Recipes for the Backcountry, I pored over the sample meal plans and tips on organizing your food and equipment on long hikes.  I read through enticing recipes like Five-spice Pineapple Slaw and Harvest Hummus with Roasted Pepitas.  I studied instructions for dehydrating meals and reconstituting them in camp.  

But for me, right now, this was mostly fantasy reading.  I am not actually doing any of this at the moment.  I don't think I told you about the hike we took on my birthday last spring?  It was beautiful.  The boys cried and/or demanded to be carried the entire return trip.  We're staying indoors for awhile. 

So I mentally set aside the rest of the book for the future when the boys are a bit bigger and dove into the snack chapter, because our snack needs are huge.

Desmond and I made the cherry almond energy bars in all of about 5 minutes, including the time it takes for a 4-year-old to very thoroughly crush two cups of cereal in a ziploc bag.  (It is a pretty fun job.)

 The bars are chewy and crunchy, sweet and tart and even a touch salty.  They’ll be perfect to throw in my purse tomorrow with a water bottle and a sand shovel.  Packed and ready.  

 Desmond’s verdict?  “After this I’m going to have another one.  Are you?”

 I did.  (We cut them much smaller than the recipe calls for.  We netted 20 small bars which I guess is pointless if we’re eating two.)

Next up are the Garam Masala Roasted Chickpeas and the Almond, Carob, Flax Balls, and then, a ways down the road perhaps I'll be dehydrating some Butter Bean and Kale Ragout - before reading this book, this possibility never even occurred to me - that's where those backpacker meals come from!  I like this book.  It's inspiring.  Maybe one day these recipes will even make it farther afield than the wilds of the preschool play yard!  

Cherry and Almond Energy Bars 
From Another Fork in the Trail: Vegetarian and Vegan Recipes for the Backcountry by Laurie Ann March and published by Wilderness Press 
Makes: 10 bars

Author's Note: There is something I find very comforting about the flavor of cherries and almonds together.  This recipe was a happy accident that happened when I thought I was using cranberries.  These bars pair well with a hot cup of chocolate in the evening.  If you have celiac disease, look for a gluten-free cereal with a heavy flake.

• 1/3 cup agave nectar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup almond butter
• 2 cups cereal made of strong flakes, crushed
• 1/2 cup dried cherries
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds

At Home: Heat the agave nectar and brown sugar in a large pot and let simmer for 1 minute.  (Boiling too long will make the bars brittle and sugary.)  Remove the pan from the heat and add the almond butter.  Stir until the almond butter is well incorporated.  Add the crushed cereal, dried cherries, and slivered almonds.  Combine well.

Coat the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square pan with vegetable oil.  Scoop the mixture into the pan and pack down evenly.  Freeze for 30 minutes.  Transfer the pan contents to a cutting board.  Allow to return to room temperature and then cut into 10 bars.  Wrap the bars in waxed paper and store in ziplock bags.  The bars will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.  

Your Vegan Lunchbox: Onigiri

A few weeks ago, late on one of the hottest afternoons of the summer, with two boys getting into all sorts of trouble, not much in the way of groceries in our kitchen, dinner time rapidly approaching, and me feeling grouchy and uninspired, I sat down on the couch to take a break.  And there, on the side table next to me, I discovered the solution to all of our problems.  

It came from a yellowing old food section that I had set aside for some indeterminate time in my future when I would have a second to sit down and read it. Right there on the first page was a big platter of onigiri.  Sort of the Japanese equivalent of the peanut butter sandwich, these stuffed balls of rice are obvious lunch box filler and a nice change of pace from the usual American Mom staples.  

So that afternoon, while the rice cooker did most of the work, I whipped up a filling for our onigiri.  I found some edamame and peas in the freezer and a couple perfectly decent carrots in the drawer of the fridge.  Quickly cooked, roughly pureed, and seasoned simply with a little onion, soy sauce, and sesame oil, the vegetables were stuffed inside of the sticky brown rice and the savage beasts were tamed. 

It made a fun and unexpected dinner.  We dipped some in sesame seeds, wrapped others in seaweed, grilled a few to get a chewy, charred crust, and then, of course(?), returned to the chosen path of the small set - just plain.  And now that September is here, egad, I imagine these little rice balls will make a fairly regular lunchbox appearance.

But we've used the tasty filling for more than just onigiri.  

Deconstructed, it makes a great lunch for grown-ups (or a really messy one for my children) - pack some brown rice, the filling, and toasted seaweed, use the seaweed to scoop up the rice and flavorful vegetables. It's perfect to eat at room temperature.  Along with a simple salad of shredded lettuce and carrot tossed with seasoned rice vinegar - you have a super satisfying and simple lunch.

And last weekend, for one of our final summer picnics, we packed the filling to eat as a dip with wonton chips.  It was a total hit with the kids and grown-ups alike.

Vegetable Filling for Onigiri
makes: about 3 cups
takes: about 10 minutes (not including stuffing your onigiri, which with practice is pretty quick and easy - here's a good tutorial) 

• 6 ounces frozen edamame (that's half the bag I buy from Trader Joe's)
• 2 cups frozen peas
• 2 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 small white onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons tamari
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

In a medium pot, bring about a quart of water to a boil.  Add a generous pinch of salt and the frozen edamame.  After 2 minutes (set the timer), add the peas and carrots.  Cook for 3 more minutes and drain.  In a food processor, pulse the vegetables with the onion, tamari, and sesame oil until you have a coarse paste.  

Things I Like

Spare the Rock (the soundtrack of a good part of our life)

My newish crepe pan from the Beka people and the crepe recipe from Vegan Brunch.  Beka has a whole line of non-toxic non-stick cookware that is very well made.  This crepe pan does not seem to be from that line.  It's a beautiful pan - sleek and solid - a pleasure to hold, but I'm not sure exactly what sort of chemical business that magic coating is made out of.  I rationalize that we don't eat crepes everyday, and it's great to have one pan with the magic coating for things like crepes and tofu omelettes that just really don't get along with cast iron.  

Back to Nature Madagascar Vanilla Wafers (These are so good!  Plus, they're made with all whole wheat flour.  The fact that the box says Madagascar is a major selling point for the 4 1/2 year old lemur lover in our house.  And while, I do my best to avoid packaged snacks, this is a healthy indulgence that we have indulged in more than once lately.  I keep buying them to make banana pudding, and then we just eat them.)

Truckee (We just got back from a vacation with Paul's whole family.  Paul and I had a great dinner at Pianeta, lovely cocktails at Moody's Bistro and Lounge tucked inside the Truckee Hotel, and bought loads of provisions from New Moon Natural Foods - great market.  There were also hikes and hanging out and beer from Fifty Fifty Brewing Company.  It goes with out saying that I also like my family, right?  It was so much fun to have all the cousins in one house.) 

Ed Emberley.