Mother’s Day Salute
Happy Mother’s Day! And that goes out to everyone who nurtures, loves and cares for someone small. BAV has some really cool parents on the list, raising veg kids, and we’ve also got countless folks who love and care for rescued dogs, cats, rats, birds, cows, chickens, and pigs. So Happy Mom Day to everyone from Bay Area Veg!
Mother’s Day seems to revolve around a big breakfast, and that just doesn’t work for me. Old fashioned breakfasts are made from lots of eggs and milk. Eggs and milk come from mother cows and mother chickens. It’s the food their bodies create for their babies, but we take it away to give ourselves heart disease and cancer. Could anything be LESS celebratory of Mother’s Day?!?
This year, try some vegan goodies for your mom (or for yourself, if all your “kids” are furry and can’t be trusted to use the stove).
Pancakes are always a winner. The following recipe is for the classic, blueberry pancakes, and they’re pretty hard to mess up. Serve with vegan butter (Earth Balance), maple syrup, sliced fruit (grill it if you want to be really fancy!), and some strong coffee or tea with Silk soy creamer. Add a side of vegan mock “bacon” that you buy at the store, or make your own (recipe below).
If your mom prefers savory, try this recipe for breakfast burritos:
And if your mom is a runner, like mine, give her some more carbs! Try a heaping plate of hashbrowns with tofu scramble. Recipes below, and don’t forget the ketchup and Tabasco sauce!
Last but not least, I wanted to share a great local resource with you. 101 Cookbooks is an award-winning recipe blog written by San Francisco native Heidi Swanson. I *love* her vegan recipes. The site is veg, heavily vegan, with gorgeous photographs and idea. Here is a yummy-sounding cookie recipe that I’m going to make for my mom. It’s worth 10 minutes of your time to browse through Heidi’s vegan recipes. You’ll be inspired.
Have a wonderful Mother’s Day Weekend!
Blueberry Pancakes
Better Than Bacon
Hashbrowns
Tofu Scramble
Blueberry Pancakes
2 cups white flour, preferably unbleached
3 Tbsp. sugar, preferably Sucanat
3 Tbsp. baking powder, preferably aluminum-free
1 tsp. sea salt
2 cups vanilla soy milk
3 Tbsp. canola or safflower oil
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
-Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and sift together. Add the soy milk and oil and mix until the batter is smooth.
-Ladle the batter onto a hot pancake griddle. Add frozen blueberries. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side.
-Serve with fresh blueberries.
Makes 4 to 6 servings
Better Than Bacon
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp. nutritional yeast flakes
1 Tbsp. maple syrup
1/2 Tbsp. liquid smoke
1/2 lb. extra-firm tofu
-Mix the soy sauce, yeast flakes, maple syrup and liquid smoke together in a shallow container. With a cheese slicer, shave the tofu into very thin slices. Marinate the tofu in the soy sauce mixture for 1 day or more.
-To cook, heat a lightly oiled, heavy frying pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, fry the tofu slices until they are golden-brown and almost crispy on both sides, scraping underneath the slices as you turn them with a sturdy spatula. Turn several times during cooking and let cool in the pan; the slices will crisp up as they cool.
Hashbrowns
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 Tbsp. oil
2 large potatoes, grated
Salt and pepper, to taste
-Sauté the onion and garlic in the oil until the onions are soft.
-Add the potatoes to the onion and garlic, and cook until tender.
-Add the salt and pepper, to taste.
Tofu Scramble
Mix 4 Tb of Scramble Seasoning mix (see below) with 1 block of crumbled Mori-Nu silken tofu and 1 block of crumbled fresh, firm tofu.
Sauté with your favorite veggies. Serve with toast, homefries, fakin’ bacon and of course, lots of coffee with Silk soy creamer.
Taste before serving—some people prefer a stronger seasoning, if so, just add an extra tablespoon.
Scramble Seasoning Mix
Make a big batch and keep in your cupboard. If you’re eating less tofu these days, mix the seasoning with potatoes and vegetables and scramble that—yum!
2 and 2/3 cup nutritional yeast
2 Tb onion powder
2 Tb paprika
1 tsp celery seed
1 Tb turmeric
3 Tb salt
1 tsp pepper
–Mix and store in a sealed container. Keeps indefinitely.
Tags: Heart Smart Cooking, recipes, vegan
