Vegan Teens - Cheering them On!!

As most of my blog readers may know, while I am vegan, my 'Sprouts' are technically not. They willingly and happily eat the vegan meals I prepare here at home, but lacto-ovo vegetarian when out and about (at their Dad's, school, friends, etc...). I didn't go vegan until my oldest two were teenagers, so I'm happy and quite proud that they've met me half-way on this adventure.

They much prefer what I make at home anyway, but I also realize they're old enough to cook and buy their own food. And while I'm clear about my reasons and ethics, I have always let them make their own choices about what they eat. Yes, my kitchen does occasionally see a fried egg or dairy ice cream, but I'm OK with it; In the end, they love my cooking (and even share it with friends) - there are much bigger battles with teenagers anyway, choose them carefully!

Well, after that wordy preface, I actually have an exciting announcement: My Middle Sprout has decided to take a summer-long "Vegan Challenge" with two of her friends and co-workers! Granted, she has a tremendous advantage when it comes to familiarity and availability of vegan foods. But I'm excited about the opportunity for her AND her friends and wish them all kinds of success!!

Naturally, I'm secretly hoping it lasts longer than "just for the summer" but realize that anything at all, even "attempting", is cause for celebration and goes a long way towards helping animals, the planet AND their personal health. And much as I'd LOVE to jump in, planning, shopping and cooking for all of them each and every meal of the summer, I'm letting them find their own way. They're incredibly smart kids - I think they can do this!

That said, I have a request:
One of my daughter's soon-to-be-vegan friends, Tanner, is blogging about the whole experience and I'm hoping you, my blogger friends and followers, can "follow" his blog and offer (gentle, helpful, non-vegan-police-type) advice. I know he'd appreciate it, and he has amusing teen-age insights and perspective that are honest and often quite funny. Totally worth reading.
OK - his blog is here: O Butter Where Art Thou and you can "follow" with the link on the right hand side of his page.

I'll leave you with a re-posting of one of my Sprout's most requested dishes and one of my busy-night go-tos. Good stuff chilled like a salad, for a hot summer afternoon - which we're actually starting to see here - FINALLY!!

Quick and Easy Peanut Noodles
(original post here )

1/2 cup vegetable or veggie-chicken-style broth
1 1/2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger root (substituting dry ground ginger will NOT work well here)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons peanut butter (creamy, chunky, plain, natural style, whatever)
1 1/2 tablespoons brown rice syrup, honey, maple syrup or agave nectar (or corn syrup works in a pinch)
1 - 2 teaspoons hot chili paste (like Schiracha - from an Asian market or well-stocked supermarket) or 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
3 cloves garlic, pressed thru garlic press
1/2 tsp. fresh lime juice or red wine vinegar

8 ounces noodles of your choice: Udon noodles, Buckwheat Soba noodles, thin vermicelli noodles or rice sticks (like for Pad Thai), plain ol' unseasoned Ramen noodles or whole wheat spaghetti!!

Toppings/Garnishes:
-- 1/4 cup chopped green onions
-- 1/4 cup chopped peanuts or cashews
-- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

First cook the noodles according to package directions for whatever type of noodles you have.
Drain and set aside, covered, to keep warm.

Meanwhile, (or while noodles are cooking if you can do two things at once) combine broth, ginger, soy sauce, peanut butter, syrup, chili paste, lime juice and garlic in a small saucepan.
Cook over medium heat, stirring until peanut butter melts and is heated through. Add noodles, and toss to coat. Serve warm, or cold as a salad.

Garnish with toppings: green onions, cilantro and peanuts. It's these garnishes that REALLY make this dish special!

At this point you can add whatever optional ingredients sound good, depending on who is making the dish:
-- Lightly stir-fried veggies of your choice
-- coarsely chopped fresh spinach
-- fresh bean sprouts
-- fresh basil leaves
-- fresh cucumber or carrots
-- toasted sesame seeds or almonds
-- chick peas/garbanzos
-- crispy cubes of tofu - we get these ready-made at the Asian Market. Flash-fried an even brown using a whole lot less oil than when I try it.

Rainbow Veggies

No recipe tonight, just some simple, colorful, DEEEELICIOUS, beautiful veggies!

The other day, my friend, D (of the über awesome Soundly Vegan blog) and I took off in her sweet little convertible; top down, wind in our hair, (worth mentioning because there are few days in western Washington where you can actually DO that!) for a great little afternoon veggie-road-trip to the wonders of the Olympia Farmer's Market (it's actually just a few miles down the road).

We had such a nice time, and I realized how refreshing it is shopping with a fellow vegan who totally "gets" my shopping habits and choices.

Anyway, while at the market (and the Olympia Co-op) we picked up all sorts of beautiful produce, and this supper is just a rainbow-colored sampling. It seemed a shame to do anything other than steam the veggies and enjoy them at their simplest and tastiest: Peruvian Blue potatoes, Russian Kale with some peppery nasturtium blossoms, the sweetest carrots in the WORLD and some darling little Easter Egg radishes (those aren't steamed, btw). Seriously, the prettiest dinner I've made in ages.

Super-Easy Mexican Bean and Corn, (Empty-The-Refrigerator) Bake

This is a lifesaver casserole on busy nights with starving kids.
Make it ahead of time and set in the fridge, then pop in the oven when you get home. Pretty much anything goes here, I LOVE how super-flexible this dish is!

Get creative (or desperate!) empty out the 'fridge, use up the leftovers, change the ingredients as you like; add vegetarian taco meat, use lentils or red beans or chili instead of black beans, leftover rice instead of corn, canned tomatoes instead of salsa, more or less or no peppers and onions and garlic. trust me, it all works.


Super-Easy Mexican Bean and Corn, (Empty-The-Refrigerator) Bake

* 1 Tablespoon oil
* 1 mild onion, chopped
* 1 clove garlic, minced (or garlic powder if you're lazy like I can be some nights)
* 1 red or green bell pepper, finely chopped
* OPTIONAL: 1 - 2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced
* 2 roma or other smallish tomatoes, chopped, (use their juice too!)
* 1 cup mild-to medium salsa (your choice)
* 2 15-ounce can black beans, or 3 cups home-cooked - drained
* 1 can or 1 1/2 cups fresh, corn kernels, well drained
* 8 soft corn tortillas (aprox)
* OPTIONAL: 1 cup grated vegan "cheese"

Garnish:
* 1 cup shredded lettuce
* 2 green onions, sliced
* 1 small can sliced black olives
* chopped fresh cilantro
* OPTIONAL: Vegan sour cream

Preheat oven to 350º. In a medium saucepan, sauté onion and garlic in the olive oil for 5 minutes. Add bell and jalapeno pepper and cook for 3 minutes more. Add tomatoes and juice, and salsa. Heat to bubbling then remove from heat and add beans and corn.

In an 8- by 12-inch baking dish, spread 1/3 of the bean mixture over the bottom. Top with 3 - 4 tortillas, overlapping and tearing tortillas to fit as necessary. Add another 1/3 of the bean mixture and top with remaining tortillas. Spread the last 1/3 of the bean mixture over the top. Cover the dish and refrigerate at this point, or bake for 40 minutes, or until heated through.

If it's been in the 'fridge, start the pan in a cold oven, heat to 350º and bake 1 Hr and 10 min or until hot and bubbly all the way through.

Remove from oven, uncover and top with cheese (if using - but it's very good without. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes until the cheese melts). OR top with crushed corn chips.

Top each serving with lettuce, green onions, cilantro, olives and/or sour cream to each person's preference.

Sometimes Things JUST Don't Turn Out As I Imagined They Would...

Sometimes a plan just doesn't come together as I envisioned.

The other day, after viewing a beautiful and tasty-looking post for Fritto Misto, over at "What The Hell Does A Vegan Eat Anyway?" (One of my favorite titles for a blog in all of vegan-land, by the way), I got the brilliant idea to do my own version - dipping garlic-scape buds in Panko breadcrumbs and deep-frying them.

Now, garlic scapes (the stem and flower bud of garlic) are lovely and mild and a beautiful shade of green. See the picture? They're beautiful! Very plentiful at farmer's markets this spring - and I've used them adventurously and deliciously in the past few weeks. And deep-frying? Mmmm, pretty-much guaranteed to make ANYTHING golden, crispy and wonderful. You'd think I couldn't go wrong here.

But no.

Dipping the pretty green buds in soymilk and then in Panko crumbs and frying turned them golden and crispy, (and actually VERY tasty) but had the unfortunate result of making them LOOK incredibly UNappetizing!!

In all seriousness, they looked startlingly like fried crispy tadpoles or tiny green drumsticks (actually, now that I think about it, they looked freakishly similar to the fried frog's legs I once had the miserable experience of sitting next to...shudder...).

So much so, that I didn't even bother to get a decent picture. Trust me. They were NOT pretty. I couldn't even enjoy them; golden, crunchy-fried, little green vegetables that I KNEW they were... green and brown and crispy-tadpole-shaped on the outside, squishy like guts on the inside. Poor lil' guys!! And normally I'm not at all squeamish when it comes to "fake meats" and such. (Sorry for the mental picture but it really gave me the willies, so I thought I'd share.).

But who knows? Your kids may think fried tadpoles are a wonderful addition to the menu, try at your own risk.

Italian Caprese Sandwich

Yes. Hello! Once again, I've been blog-delinquent, and while I have a few fairly valid excuses (end of the school year, my oldest Sprout graduating, dead computer, etc) I think I'm up and running again and have several new posts I'm excited to share in the next few weeks! Please stay tuned. No more wandering off...

Vegan Caprese Sandwich

"Caprese" is a traditional Italian combination of tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and fresh basil. While it's usually served as a salad, I like to serve it on crusty bread or focaccia.

I also skip the mozzarella (even though I know this is a signature ingredient in the "traditional" sandwich) and use either marinated, thinly sliced tofu, or, since the introduction of a fairly good vegan mozzarella (Teese) sometimes I'll use that. Either way, use garden-ripened tomatoes and lots of basil and the end result is fresh tasting, easy and the perfect picnic food!


For about four people:
Bread for four people: Crusty baguettes or rolls, chewy ciabatta or focaccia bread (Safeway bakery makes some beautiful, little, all-vegan, ciabatta rolls that are perfect here!)
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves
4 garden-ripe fresh tomatoes
4 thin slices very fresh, firm tofu, marinated** OR thinly sliced Teese brand mozzarella-style vegan cheese
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Cut bread in half. Lay, cut-side up, on baking pan and toast under broiler until just barely starting to toast.
Remove from oven and rub with clove of garlic, as much or little as you like. Drizzle just a tiny bit of olive oil on bread.
Layer sliced tomatoes and sliced tofu or cheese evenly over four sandwiches. Lay basil leaves on top. Season with salt and pepper. Make into sandwiches and cut in half for easier eating.
Can be wrapped well and kept for a day or so in the fridge or ice chest. The flavors soak into the bread and are DELICIOUS!!

**Marinated tofu: thinly slice 1/2 a block of firm tofu and lay in shallow glass dish. Sprinkle heavily with salt and pepper. Pour 1/2 cup FRESH squeezed lemon juice over tofu and turn to coat. Refrigerate several hours or overnight, turning several times. The lemon juice won't cover all of it and it won't really soak in, just flavors the outside. Drain and pat off excess marinade to use.

I'll proudly leave you with a picture from Jessika's high-school graduation two weeks ago - because even though it's not actually food-related, I'm just that proud.