Your Vegan Mom

Corn Bread

 

  So, it is officially no longer Valentine's Day on this blog.  If you'd humor me (Paul started another new job last week (the film industry is tumultuous, man), I relearned (again) how to function without him, Felix got the baby helmet, I catered a lunch for a ladies organization and gave a talk on veganism, and Paul and I both fulfilled co-op preschool duties), I'm running a bit behind schedule.  

But this corn bread, we need to take a minute to discuss this corn bread.  Everybody needs a go-to corn bread recipe, and if you don't have one already or really even if you do, I would like to nominate this one for your consideration.  It's adapted from this recipe to be a little less sweet, more wholesome, and vegan.  It is one-bowl simple, toddler-theiving delicious, and everybody-approved.  Make it.

Corn Bread

• 1 cup white whole wheat flour (or all-purpose if you don't have it)
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup unbleached sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon flax meal
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 cup non-dairy milk
• 1/3 cup canola oil (or other mild cooking oil)

1. In a small bowl, mix together the flax meal and water.  Set aside to thicken.  
2. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 400.  Grease a 9-inch round cake pan.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, and baking powder.
4. Make a well in the center and add the flax mixture, oil, and milk.
5. Stir to combine. 
6. Pour into the greased pan and bake for 20 - 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.  

 

Cream Cheese Cookies with Strawberry Icing

 

I'm trying to learn to take time to enjoy the process of making stuff with the boy and not stress so much about the perfect end product (Thank you Positive Discipline for Preschoolers).  These cookies, with their visible flecks of flax meal and strawberry seeds and their casually spooned on icing perfectly lend themselves to the imprecision of baking with a three year old.  Plus, I found that by sacrificing a small lump of dough to the creation of giant snail monsters that we were able to work in happy unison, me carefully cutting and him industriously squishing dough between his palms.  I have to say, this relaxed experience made the (not quite perfect) end product all the more sweet.  

Happy Valentine's Day!

PuPu Platter

 Vegan Heights is selling their wares at the South Pasadena Farmers Market on Thursday evenings.  So, so happy.  Fake chicken salad is a perfect convenience food, and the aioli is pungent.  

If you're looking for something to do on Valentine's Day, there's a karaoke dance party with vegan food and drink at 2 Headed Horse Art Studio in Silver Lake.  It's $20 a ticket, and proceeds go to Compassion Over Killing which works to end the abuses of factory farming.  Quelle romantique!  

I intend to make these dinner rolls over at Beans and Greens very soon (and actually I think you should probably make everything that she has posted for the past two months at least or maybe forever.  I may have a new plan to just eat what she eats.  Can you tell it's dinner time?  Also, if you're looking for high altitude vegan baking expertise - this is the place.)

And this seitan pepperoni recipe is making it clear that we will be eating pizza this week.  I am unreasonably excited about this recipe.  Well, if you get as worked up as I do over revolutionary seitan recipes, you may not find this at all unreasonable.  Thank you, as always, Have Cake, Will Travel.

I imagine you heard that all of that eating of baked goods a couple weeks back netted $3285.43 for Doctors Without Borders.  Amazing.  I brought home a box of little carrot cakes from Baked LA that were so spicy and moist and perfect - you should seek out all of this young company's goods.  And everything else was devoured somewhere between the sidewalk outside Locali and our front door, including delicious little oatmeal whoopie pies and decadent peanut butter blondies from Bunny Muffin Bakery.   

Let's meet back here tomorrow(ish) and make something for Valentine's Day.  I'm thinking cookies. 

Nacho Cheese Party

 

One of my heroes, my Great Aunt Joyce, used to throw a legendary super bowl party filled with snacks and cocktails and illegal betting.  It was almost enough to get me behind football.  A good vegan nacho cheese party could maybe do the same.  

Nacho Cheese For a Crowd
If you double this recipe it will fill your big crock pot and make a nice vat of slightly spicy molten cheese sauce to douse your tortilla chips.  If you don't have oat flour and arrowroot starch, you can replace it with 3/4 cups all-purpose flour.  If you want to make a more reasonable portion (enough for 3 or 4 people), divide the recipe by three (You can use 3 T oat flour + 1 T arrowroot starch or 1/4 c ap flour). 

• 1/2 cup oat flour
• 1/4 cup arrowroot starch
• 3/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 cup non-dairy butter
• 3 cups soy milk
• 1 14.5-ounce can fire roasted tomatoes with chilies 

In a medium sauce pan, or a big pot if you're going to double it, whisk together the dry ingredients.  Add the soy milk.  Turn on the heat and whisk continuously while the mixture heats.  When it begins to bubble, whisk constantly for about one minute.  It will thicken considerably, and begin to pull away from the sides of the pan.  Stir in the butter and tomatoes.  Blend until smooth.  (If you have one, an immersion blender is seriously the way to go here.)  In a pinch, you could just leave it chunky.  

Serve hot over tortilla chips.