Your Vegan Mom

The Unturkey Hotline is Open

The Unturkey is simmering.  The boy is washing dishes, or at least getting soapy water all over the kitchen.  Next up is Bryanna Clark Grogan's pumpkin pie.  My grandma always put pecans on top of hers, so I'm going with the bourbon-pecan variation.  

I wanted to let you know that I'm here.  I'll be in the laptop-adjacent kitchen all day today and for the first half of tomorrow before we head to our family Thanksgiving.  Feel free to stop by with any vegan holiday questions or just to give me some company in the kitchen.  Happy Thanksgiving!  

Peanut Butter Fondue Party

Everything that I have been cooking, and eating, and thinking about is all wrong.  I have no pumpkin for you.  No sweet potatoes.  No cranberries.  Not even a green bean casserole.  

I have peanut sauce.  But here’s what makes it special, here’s what elevates it to worthy of the week of Thanksgiving: the fondue pot.  Simply pouring the rich spicy sauce into that crazy apparatus from the back of your cupboard transforms an otherwise humble and shockingly simple mid-week meal into a gathering, a way to involve your kids or your pals in dinner, a party.    

Back in our first married apartment, sitting at my grandma’s stylish-again dining table, Paul and I huddled over the tiny flame underneath our new white ceramic pot filled with warm peanut sauce, and talked about what a fun meal this would make for kids.  While not many of the starry-eyed ideals one has about parenting really work in the brutal world of parking lot tantrums and emergency snacks that you never imagined would pass your precious child’s lips, this one was spot on.  The peanut butter fondue party does in fact make a great family meal.  

Peanut Sauce for Fondue Pot

If you are using unsalted peanut butter, you will probably want a touch more soy sauce.  I measured and wrote this down for you.  I never measure when I make a sauce like this - you just want a balance of salty, sweet, sour, spicy, and that warm savory flavor that the peanut butter and sesame oil adds to the game.  So adjust to your liking, if it's too salty, add more sweet and/ or sour and vice versa.  If it's too spicy, add a little more everything, so it's really much easier to start with little bits of spicy.  On a similar note, if you don't have these exact ingredients, this sauce is endlessly malleable.  Sometimes I use lime juice instead of vinegar and fresh chiles instead of the paste, and coconut milk instead of sesame oil, and sugar instead of agave nectar.  I just always think of those 5 essential flavors.  This is really just a rough outline for you to play with.  Have fun.  

1/4 c. salted crunchy peanut butter
1 T. soy sauce
2 T. rice vinegar
1/2 t. chile garlic paste
1 T. agave nectar
1 t. sesame oil

2 T. hot water

Place all ingredients in a smallish bowl or glass measuring cup and stir until smooth.  Pour in fondue pot.

Serve with quick pan seared broccoli and tofu and bowls of brown rice, or whatever would be improved by a dip in peanut sauce, and really what wouldn't?  

Yield: This makes enough sauce for our little family of two grownups and one momentarily (crosses fingers) finicky toddler.   Speaking of which, if you're making this for children, you might want to cut down or omit the spicy.    

Tomato Soup

My boy is two now and has become a toddler cliché.  For the last few months he was incredibly agreeable.  His favorite word was, “yeah,” delivered in this sweet little voice.  Example:

Are you ready for a bath?

Yeah.

89 cents for tofu? What a deal!

Yeah.

Three fish in a tree! How can that be?

Yeah. 

Oh for f@#%'s sake, turn already!

Yeah!

That last one was heard from the back seat while we ran errands during rush hour/ cranky time.  I was rightfully frustrated, but...oops.    

Now it's different.  Sweet little "yeah" has been replaced with big, full-bodied, arching-with-self-delight, screamed-from-the-tippy-toes, "NO!"  He practices.  Apropos of nothing at all, you’ll hear from his bedroom, with varying emphasis and volume, “No.  noooooooo.  NO!  no, no, no.  noooOOO!”

Just about everything receives one of those responses.  All sure-fire kid hits are now pushed away with exaggerated disgust.  No oatmeal.  No mac 'n cheese.  No sandwiches of any kind.  No.  No.  No.

    

So you can imagine my shock and delight when this soup was met with an emphatic yes.  He happily ate three bowls-full, while sitting in his high chair (another marvelously useful habit that I feared was behind us), and then protested when I finally put his bowl in the sink.  Oh, and two insignificant side notes - I like it too, and it's really easy to make.    

Tomato Soup

2 T. olive oil

2 smallish onions, diced

2 smallish carrots, diced

3 red potatoes, peeled and diced

1 large clove garlic, minced

28 oz. can unsalted whole tomatoes with basil

1 bay leaf

1 sprig thyme

3 basil leaves

3 T. red miso

6 c. water

salt and pepper 

1. In a big pot saute the the onions, carrot, and potatoes in the olive oil until the onions are translucent, about 7 minutes.  Add the garlic, stir, and cook for another minute, until fragrant.  Add the can of tomatoes. Smash the big tomatoes with the back of the spoon or a potato masher and add the bay leaf, thyme, and basil.  Let the pot simmer while you prepare the broth.   

 
2. Bring 6 cups of water to a boil and stir in the miso until dissolved.  Add the miso broth to the pot. Stir and let simmer for about 30 minutes stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are falling-apart tender and the soup is reduced a bit.     
  
3. Remove the herbs from the pot and puree.  Taste for salt and pepper (the miso is salty, so it may not need any additional salt). 
  

4. To serve - top with your favorite tomato soup garnish - croutons or snips of basil or chives or thyme or a swirl of pesto or cashew cream.   

Makes 6 servings.  

P.S. Desmond just woke up from his nap and is now sitting on my lap polishing off the tepid bowl of soup that I put together for that picture.  I guess he was hungry.  The combination of lots of shouting and refusing to eat will do that to a kid.  How long does this last?  

Election Food

The "Ba-Rocky Road" at Scoops isn't vegan, and there's no time for a "Yes We Pe-Can Cheesecake" like that dude on NPR is making, so I'll just have to settle for some good old-fashioned....

No On Eight----er Tots
(Yeah, I know.  It's a stretch.  Do you have something better?)

1 lb. red potatoes
1 tsp. minced chives
1 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. salt 
black pepper
oil for frying

1.Cover the potatoes with water and bring to a boil.  Turn the heat down a bit and simmer for about 12 minutes, until you can pierce a potato with some resistance.  Drain potatoes and set aside to cool.  When potatoes are cool enough to handle, coarsely grate them on a box grater.  (I shredded the skin as well because I was using organic potatoes - I’ll leave that decision up to you.  Feel free to slip off the skins if you care to.)  

2. Place the shredded potato in a medium bowl and add the chives, salt, pepper, and flour.  Gently toss to mix.  Scoop about a tablespoon of the mixture into your hand.  Roll between your palms to make a fat little log, and flatten the ends to make your perfect tater tot.  You'll be tempted to make them bigger as you go to get this part done faster.  I discourage that - you'll have less of the essential crispy bits, and it's a perfect meditative activity to fill your time while you listen to results come in.  Better yet, find a kid to help you - it's surprisingly fun and easy.  

3. Heat about an inch and half of oil in a small sauce pan over medium-high heat to deep-fry.  If you have a thermometer, the oil should be 350 degrees.  If you don’t, wait until it’s good and hot, and it will take 2 - 3 minutes to get a nice golden brown on your tots.  Don't crowd them tots in the pan either.  

4. Drain on a paper towel or on a cooling rack set over a cookie sheet and serve with ketchup.  

Makes about 3 dozen 1-inch tater tots.