Your Vegan Mom

Vegan Baked Ziti

I recognize that it is not hearty pasta bake season.  And yet still, somehow, I have made this bubbling casserole twice in a week (and I'm eating some leftover right now at 8:45 AM on June 26th - I'm pregnant and looking at food photos, okay?)  It is just such a simple crowd pleaser.  And this past weekend, out in the desert to visit Paul's family there was a crowd to be pleased.  With new babies (the niece, this one's not due til September) to be snuggled and stories to be shared and many, many back issues of food magazines to be read, I did not want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.  So, I came with my giant tub of cashew ricotta and my jar of sauce and my bag of pasta, and all that was left was for Paul, despite the fact that we were there to celebrate father's day, to assemble it.  (Have I mentioned lately how much I love that dude?)  

After lots of running around and ducking of father-son water wars and playing toddler rules pool, there was a gaggle of hungry cousins and aunts and uncles and a nana and tapa to devour this super simple pasta dish.

So tuck this recipe away for when you're ready to turn your oven on again.  Or, if that happens to be right now, then let me suggest you start by doubling the ricotta recipe.  It will keep in your fridge for about a week, and that creamy cashew cheese goes really nicely scooped into half a juicy ripe summer peach.  

Baked Ziti

Way easier than lasagna, but packing that same crowd-pleasing punch, this will serve 6 - 8.

1 lb. tube pasta (such as ziti, penne, or rigatoni)

2 1/2 c. tomato sauce (psst, that's how much is in your favorite jar)

1 c. cashew ricotta (see recipe below)

olive oil

topping:

1/4 c. bread crumbs 

2 T. nutritional yeast

1/4 t. salt

1 T. olive oil

Heat oven to 400 and smear some olive oil around a 9 by 13 inch casserole dish.  Boil pasta until just al dente.  In a small bowl, stir together ingredients for topping and set aside.  Toss cooked and drained pasta into prepared casserole dish.  Pour in tomato sauce and cashew cheese.  Stir gently to coat pasta while still leaving pockets of cheese in tact.  Sprinkle bread crumb mixture on top.  Cover and bake 25 minutes, until heated through.  Uncover and bake 5 more minutes.  

Cashew Ricotta

This is the same cheese you made for the fig topped pizza last fall.  And if you didn't listen to your mom and make that pizza, well figs are getting ripe again, and I did already tell you to double the recipe, right?  Also, I'll mention again that this recipe is adapted from my favorite vegan cookbook, Nonna's Italian Kitchen by Bryanna Clark Grogan.  

1 (12.3 oz.) box firm silken tofu
1/3 cup whole raw cashews
1 T. lemon juice
1/4 t. salt

Grind the cashews in the food processor until very fine.  Add the tofu, lemon juice, and salt, and process until smooth.  

Free Cooking Class This Friday! Bring the Kids!

In addition to all the baked good eating that I have planned for you this week, I'm going to need you to pencil in a date for Friday as well.  One of my favorite cooking mother-daughter duos is teaching a vegan class at the Whole Foods in Redondo Beach this Friday from 5 to 6 PM.  Entitled, Summer Treats, this class will focus on kid-friendly fare like smoothies and popsicles and ice cream and a berry topped chocolate cake to take to your 4th of July picnic.  There will be an as yet to be determined (by 10-year-old Tyler and her mom, Dawn) main dish as well.  (They're looking for a compromise between mac and cheese and a picnic salad.  Can you guess which side the young lady is on?)  

Filled with tasty samples and simple summer recipes, this should be a fun evening for the whole family.  And if you would like to make a night of it in the South Bay, Dawn and Tyler recommend dinner nearby at The Spot, Green Temple, Veggie Grill or Happy Veggie (I love the Vietnamese Chicken Salad).  

See you Friday!  (And Thursday and Sunday!)       

All Sorts of Baked Goods

Just in case you haven't heard, there are all sorts of vegan bake sales happening the world over this next week.  If you're not already baking and are looking for some treats to enjoy in your neighborhood you can find the nearest one here.

And if you live in my neighborhood, you have three to choose from.  This Sunday (June 21) and next (June 28) there will be a table set up outside of locali in Hollywood from 11 to 5.  On Thursday (June 25), you will find a booth next to the fountain at the City Hall Farmers' Market from 10 to 2.  

Do you mind if I just plan your weekend?  Because locali is awfully close to Griffith Park and makes a great place to pick up a sandwich on your way to go play.  But for the next two Sundays you can also load up on all sorts of homemade treats to take on that picnic.  If you park at the bottom of Ferndell and take that leisurely walk through the shade, then you will certainly need a cake break by the time you get to the picnic tables under the trees by the little playground.  And if you choose to hike from there, up the trail to the Observatory then you will need some serious snacks at the top.  And then again on the way back, I imagine you'll stop under those same trees at the top of Ferndell before heading home.  And of course it would be sad to go home empty handed, so set some time, cash, and calories away for this Sunday and next. 

And I happen to know that some seriously talented bakers will be plying their wares.  If you've ever lusted after what comes out of this kitchen or this one or this one, here is your chance to actually sample their cooking.  

The Thursday sale downtown will benefit the L.A. River Keepers.  And if you're interested in donating vegan baked goods to this sale you can contact Monica Valencia.

 

Good thing I'm eating for two.  

 

What the Jaconi Bierys Ate for Dinner, the June Edition

A few months ago I told you about the real-life dinners that our family had for a week.  I wrote it down as we went so that I wouldn't be tempted to lie or make it sound more nutritious or beautiful than it really was.  Having the chance to look at our quick, easy, normally undocumented meals all together like that made me kind of embarrassed - there was a shameful lack of fresh vegetables.  To be fair, I think it was a particularly harried week, and I wasn't in my own kitchen at the time, but still I've been meaning to revisit the idea to prove to myself (and you) that we eat more than frozen veggie burgers.  This past week was better.  Here's what this family really ate:

Sunday: BLTAs with bacon and chive potato salad and apricot upside down cake for dessert (BLTs are hard for toddlers to eat.  He sort of ate it open faced, but he mostly had chunks of avocado.  And cake.)

Monday: Fried tofu with soy sauce, korean chili powder and green onions (the way my roommate Cindy used to make it, or a lot like this), Korean braised potatoes (again Cindy, but kind of like this), sesame seared zuchini, and brown rice (I made the potatoes too spicy for the boy, but he loved the zuchini and rice and raw tofu.) 

Tuesday: I packed up sausage sandwiches and left over potato salad and took it to the free family night at the Kidspace Museum in Pasadena.  (The boy was way too busy too eat.  He scarfed down an almond butter sandwich in the car on the way home.  Then went straight to sleep upon our return.  I love free family night.)

Wednesday: Pasta with this red sauce (Yes, it uses the majority of a stick of Earth Balance, but it's really easy and delicious, and those were the two qualifiers for this evening's meal) and Italian restaurant salad (Pasta is always a kid hit, but the boy scorned the lettuce for the chickpeas in his salad.)

Thursday: Bean burritos and watermelon and almond cake with strawberries and whipped coconut cream for dessert (Kid is crazy for watermelon.  But everything else here was a hit too.)

Friday: Taco Spot (Paul and I order two different taco plates to share and an extra tortilla for the boy.  Then we make him a little bean and rice burrito.  Taco Spot is perfect for our family when I just can't bring myself to dirty another dish in our kitchen.  Did I tell you that we don't have a dishwasher here?  Our proximity to Taco Spot almost makes up for it though.  Man, they have good salsas.)

Saturday: Thai curry with long beans, shiitake mushrooms, and tofu over brown rice (Desmond now says with his labored 2-year-old pronunciation, sounding as if he's memorized each syllable, "I want shiitake mushrooms."  I love that kid.  He loves long beans, shiitake mushrooms, tofu, and brown rice.)

And you, what was the most satisfying everyday meal you've made lately?  

What We Do Eat: Apricot Upside-Down Cake

I missed apricot season last year.  And cherry season too.  We spent the spring in northern Louisiana and then the summer back in Los Angeles, and a whole season got lost in the shuffle.  I am now very much making up for it. 

This time of year, and really any one of those magical times where one season is becoming the next, leaves me giddy.  I wander through the Hollywood Farmers Market in a haze of strawberry smells and tomato slices on tooth picks, pulling me one way and then the other.  I have no plan, but to buy any fruit or vegetable that looks delicious and elusive.  I'll figure out what to do with them later, and I do.  I buy morels, and then make pasta with fresh peas and lemon cashew cream.  And then some melon too, just to eat.  I spend most of our weekly food budget and don't feel at all bad.  It's important that the boy know that peas don't grow in freezer bags.   

I unpack the long beans and ginger and rhubarb and get to my most precious plunder - the net bag of tiny blushing blenheim apricots that I picked out of the almost empty black crate next to the mulberries.  With great hope, I lift one out of the bag, run it under cool water, and split it in half.  It is perfect.  Just perfectly apricot.   

I get out the bowl of very pretty, big ones that I bought in Torrance on Tuesday that did not live up to their apricot promise, cut them in half and get them ready for cake, making room in the fridge for all of the more authentic representatives of late spring and early summer (or the ones that manage to survive the day - as it turns out, I am not the only appreciator of perfect apricots in our house and those precious little fuzzy orbs are gone before the week begins.  Good thing there's a neighbor down the street with a lawn and side walk littered with them.  The ones on the sidewalk rarely have bug holes.  We walk this way often.)

Apricot Upside-Down Cake
Adapted from Gourmet, July 2003, via Epicurious

topping:
1/2 c. sugar
1 t. black strap molasses (Or skip this and go with 1/2 c. brown sugar)
3 T. butter (Earth Balance Vegan Stick)
about 8 large apricots 

cake:
1 T. vinegar
3/4 c. soy milk
2 T. flax meal
6 T. water
1 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. white whole wheat flour (if you don't have it, use more all-purpose, don't use regular whole wheat)
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
pinch of salt
1/2 c. butter (Earth Balance Vegan Stick)
1 1/2 t. vanilla
1/2 t. almond extract

Heat the oven to 375. 

Make topping: 
In an 8-inch cast iron skillet, melt butter.  Mix together the sugar and molasses, and add to the butter in the pan.  Stir.  Cook for about 1 minute, until sugar is mostly melted.  Slice the apricots in half and arrange in pan cut-side down.  Remove from heat.

Make cake batter:
Pour the tablespoon vinegar into a glass measuring cup and add enough soy milk to make 3/4 cup.  Stir with a fork and set aside until thickened.  (i.e. make non-dairy buttermilk)

In a very small bowl, stir together the flax meal and water.  Set aside to thicken.  

In a small bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, soda, and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butters, sugar, and extracts until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).

Give the flax mixture a quick stir, and add half of it to the butter and sugar.  Beat to incorporate.  Add the other half, and continue beating until the mixture is light in color and doubled in volume (about 2 minutes). 

Alternate stirring in the buttermilk and dry ingredients, starting and ending with the dry mix.  Stir in 1/3 of the dry, then 1/2 the buttermilk, and so on.  (Don't over-mix this part!)

Assemble the cake:
Pour batter over fruit in skillet.  Smooth with a rubber spatula.  And bake for 40 - 45 minutes at 375 until a tooth pick comes out clean.  Immediately invert onto a plate.  

Serve warm, or cool.  (Either way, you'll want to eat this.)

Happy Apricot Season!  Apart from eating them immediately, what's your favorite way to enjoy an apricot?