Your Vegan Mom

Everyday Dessert: Cashew Date Custard

 
Have I ever mentioned that my kids have dessert every night?  Are you scandalized?  It's true that I haven't seen Fed Up yet.  But before you leave in disgust, let me explain.  Dessert is a legitimate meal in our house composed of real food as opposed to its more common components - white flour and sugar.  It comes about an hour after dinner and serves to top off little bellies before bed.  I'm totally not saying you should do this too, but it's an essential part of our day for these two reasons:

Desmond and Felix on the Subject of Hunting and Vegetarianism

We're reading the Little House books right now, and it's fascinating to see how my vegan kids make sense of Pa being a trapper.  Here's a conversation from the back seat while we went to pick up their pa from the office.  

4 year-old: I’m a hunter riding on a horse.

7 year-old: Do you kill animals?

4yo: Or course not.  (Indignant.)  I’m a vegetarian.

7yo: What do you hunt?

4yo: What do vegetarians eat again?

7yo: They eat cow stuff...milk...cheese...and they eat eggs...and vegan stuff.

4yo: Ok.  I hunt cheese.

7yo: You can’t hunt cheese.

4yo: ..that people drop!  I look for cheese that people accidentally drop. 

The Rice Plate, or Sharing Lunch with a Four-Year-Old

While Paul was working out of town (for 6 weeks!  Did we talk about this?), this was the go-to lunch for Felix and me.  I would make a big pot of rice at the beginning of the week, and then I could stick all this on a plate for us to share when he came home from school.  It's totally conducive to the addition of leftovers - in particular slivers of fried tofu.  You grab a piece of seaweed, spread it with some gochujang (unless you're four), pinch up some rice, top with avocado, dip the sticky rice ends in toasted sesame seeds and eat.  Or eat it any way you like.  It's finger food or fork food - the perfect sort of meal to keep a kid interested while you chat about his day at preschool.  And it's totally simple and delicious to boot.  

On the topic of rice, the insert for my beloved wedding present rice cooker is looking a bit scratched up after 10 years of constant use, so I've been employing this method of rice cooking with good results, though I prefer it cooked for 5 minutes longer here where soft and sticky is preferable to light and fluffy.

And related to nothing at all, but I want to talk about it anyway, Wheeler del Torro's new cookbook just showed up in the mail, (along with a copy to share with one of you guys) and I had to force myself to put it down so that I can savor it like a novel this weekend.  It looks really good.  We'll discuss further.  

What's for lunch at your house?  

On the Road with the Vegans

Stop and Play

We were in San Jose last weekend for the Cinequest Film Festival.  It was spectacular to see Paul and Sean and Kiley's movie on the huge screen in a beautiful theater with a crowd of people that were laughing and crying and audibly digging the movie.  It was so good.  I am so incredibly proud of them.  

It was a whirlwind weekend - I dropped the boys off with Nana and Tapa, grabbed Banh Mi and Spicy Noodle Soup from Tofoo Com Chay and picked up Paul from the San Jose airport.  La Pinata did an admirable job putting on a nice spread after the screening.   It was intensly fulfilling and emotional to spend time with some of the people who made the movie possible and who identify with the story so much.  The food was entirely beside the point, and yet still I noticed.  The margaritas were excellent, the beans were vegan, and with some coaxing they made a tray of vegetable enchiladas with green sauce.  Thumbs up, La Pinata.  

We couldn't find vegan breakfast in San Jose (What the what?  They're must be vegan breakfast in San Jose, right?), so we just grabbed a bagel with avocado and a cup of coffee and hit the road.  We had a day with the whole family in Pacific Grove, which of course, included lunch at El Cantaro, the little vegan Mexican place in Monterey, right up the hill from the aquarium.  And the next day we drove home in time to get Paul to the office in the afternoon.

We continue to practice the drive and eat - stop and play - drive and eat model for family road trips, and apart from the roadside shopping center with the enticicingly muddy field where we stopped (Juicy peaches!  Ha!  The nemesis of the backseat on this trip was two boys coated in three inches of mud.), it was a success.  I had swung by Whole Foods in Monterey for provisions.  We had crunchy apples and excellent sandwiches that consisted of:

Sumano's Sourdough + Vegenaise + Sonoma Brinery's Bread and Butter Pickles + Field Roast Lentil Sage Deli Slices

I'm still thinking about those sandwiches.  Such a good combination.  And almost completely lost on the children - the seven-year-old, my pickle-eater, preferred his without, and the four-year-old ate bread.   

What's your current favorite road food? 

 

Weekend Lunch: Smoky Tempeh and Brussels Sprouts Sandwich

crusty bread + mayo + dijon + smoky tempeh + shredded brussels sprouts = weekend lunch

For the brussels sprouts: Cut them in half and then shred them fine with a big, sharp knife.  If you have a few shallots, sliced those up too.  Heat a skillet over high heat.  Add a bit of the oil of your choosing.  Throw the shredded greens (and shallots) in the hot pan with a big pinch of salt.  Give them a stir and let them really brown.  Add a glug of apple juice, turn the heat down to low, and braise them in the juice until they're soft and sweet, about 15 minutes.  When the apple juice has cooked off, and your brussels sprouts are tender, season them with a splash of apple cider vinegar, a few cracks of black pepper, and a pinch more salt if it needs it.  

As per usual, this Saturday sandwich is totally designed to go with a beer.  

Happy Weekend!