Your Vegan Mom

Apple Cider Soda

 

One part soda water + one part apple cider. 
Serve over ice.

Apple Town

 

Last Friday we drove to Oak Glen to pick apples for Paul's birthday apple pie.  There weren't any apples to pick.  Before we left I read that you should call ahead to find out what is being harvested.  You should call ahead.  Especially before you tell your three-year-old for a week that he'll be picking apples on Friday, and before he's started practicing at home with some sort of paint scraper or something that he calls his apple picker, and definitely before you check out books from the library to help him get excited about picking apples, and then before he starts speculating about whether he'll need a ladder.  You should call.  I'll give you all the numbers you need at the end.  There were some raspberries though.  And they were delicious.  Desmond ate about half that basket before we got home.

We also managed to pick a pumpkin.  (When we got home the boy had a melt-down because I wouldn't let him eat it.  Ah, the son of a food blogger.) We also watched apples being pressed into cider and brought home a gallon of our own.  

And we bought apples - little tiny sweet tart cameos for snacking.  And then a big bag of granny smiths and another of pippins (I think.  We bought those just before we drove home at 2:30 when we had finally resigned ourselves to not picking apples, and by that point we all really needed a nap, and the bag's not labeled.) for baking.  

There were also old-timey tankards of cider for drinking.  Riley's Apple Farm does this whole big colonial schtick - New England colonial - with costumed guides and candle making demonstrations and kids rolling hoops on the big center lawn.  We went for a pint in the period reproduction tavern, but the only thing on tap at Riley's Apple Farm is juice.  You should know this before you tell your husband for a week that he can have a nice pint in a big tankard, before he starts imagining what sort of ales they'll have on tap, before he says that he doesn't mind that his birthday's not a big deal this year - just as long as he gets a good pint.  

Despite the disappointments (that could have been avoided with a bit more research and preparation on my part) we actually had a pretty fun day out.  The weather was crisp - we got to wear sweaters. And we had our first successful family of four major outing. (Did I tell you about our previous family of four outing where we forgot Desmond's shoes?  So the relative success of Apple Town was huge.)  We'll go back.  Cheers.    

 

Riley's Apple Farm  (909) 797 - 4061
(In the future, I will save the colonial schtick for field trip groups.)

Riley's at Los Rios Rancho (909) 797 - 1005
(We picked a pumpkin here.)

Willowbrook Apple Farm (909) 797 - 9484
(This seemed like one of the least gimicky apple farms, but they're only open on the weekends.)

Snow-Line Orchard (909) 797 - 3415
(This was my favorite - fresh pressed cider, berries to pick, and picnic tables underneath a huge chestnut tree.  Incidentally they're famous for their apple cider donuts, but I haven't checked on their vegan-ness so I wasn't going to bring it up.)

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

I keep thinking that maybe if I have just one more cookie I can get some writing done.  I'm afraid that this is going to soon expand to other parts of my life - you know - just one more cookie and then I can make dinner for my children, and so on.  Please, before this becomes a bigger problem - you take them.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
This recipe is pretty directly adapted to my kitchen from the package of Quaker Oats and was originally brought to my attention by Joy the Baker, who writes an adorable blog filled with beautiful photographs, delightful writing, and enticing recipes.

• 2 Earth Balance buttery sticks
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached sugar
• 1 tablespoon black strap molasses
• 2 tablespoons flax meal + 6 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour (if you don't have this use 1 1/2 cups all-purpose, do not substitute regular whole wheat)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• rounded 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Heat oven to 350.  In a small bowl, mix together flax meal and water and set aside to thicken.  In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt.  In a large bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, and molasses until light and fluffy.  Add flax mixture and vanilla and beat again.  Stir in flour mixture until thoroughly incorporated.  Stir in oats, chocolate chips, and nuts.  Drop by rounded tablespoons* onto ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Cool for one minute on the cookie sheet before transferring to wire racks.  

Makes about 6 dozen 3-inch cookies.

*Do you have a cookie scoop?  It might sounds like a silly kitchen gadget, but if you like cookies, it makes getting them a lot faster.  Please don't tell me that's not a good thing.   

Pasta with Smoky Eggplant and Tomatoes

There was a brief period in our lives before Desmond and Felix, before we were married, when I had my first grown-up job, and there was no mortgage, when Paul and I went out to eat whenever we felt like it.  It was pretty great, and obviously, fleeting.  We were even regulars.  There was this little Italian restaurant in that mini mall across from the Beverly Center where we ate every week or so.  The waitress knew us and we always ordered the same thing - I can still taste it - it was this perfectly luscious, summery pasta with smoky eggplant.  It was so good.  And so worth making our own.

Pasta with Smoky Eggplant and Tomatoes

Serves 4 - 6

 1 lb fusilli
 about 1/4 cup olive oil (divided)
 3-4 cloves garlic, sliced
 2 1/2 lbs tomatoes (I used 2 big fat heirloom tomatoes)
 1 medium eggplant
 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
 about 1 T red wine vinegar (optional, depending on your tomatoes)
 a few leaves of basil
 salt 
 smoked sea salt (optional)

Boil pasta.  In a large skillet gently toast the garlic in 2 - 3 tablespoons of olive oil.  When the garlic is lightly browned and fragrant, add the chopped tomatoes and a good pinch of salt.  Let simmer until the tomatoes have grown saucy and begun to reduce.  In the meantime, slice the eggplant about 1/4 inch thick, brush with oil, sprinkle with salt, and grill over medium heat until squishy and nicely browned.  

Once the tomatoes have reduced a bit  (They’ll still be more watery than you would like in the finished pasta dish.) stir in the nutritional yeast and the eggplant.  

When the pasta is just al dente, drain it and toss it into the sauce to finish cooking.  Just before serving, stir in another swirl (about 2 T) of olive oil.  Taste for salt.  If you happen to have it, you could add a pinch of smoked sea salt at this point, but it's just a little bonus.  And if your tomatoes are very sweet and mild you might want to add a little swig of vinegar.  

Garnish with fresh basil and serve. 

Excuse me,

I'm having difficulty thinking straight.  The baby woke up something like every half an hour last night.  And then there's the laundry.  I forgot about new baby laundry.  There's a lot of it.  That kid can poop on anything.  And good land, he's hungry again.  I have to go.  Did you seen that list over there on the left?  I've got a rotating roster of VeganMoFo blogs that you should be reading - I'm changing it every week.  So get going.  I'll see you tomorrow.  Thanks so much for being here.