Welcome to Day 2 of Vegan MoFo 2015!
I hope these recipes will come in handy for those hungry kids after school! Day Two is all about recreating a childhood meal. This one always hits close to home because my mother, a single parent, did not cook. The only time my family had a sit down meal together was around holidays or birthdays. I admit, reading narratives from other blogs about spending an afternoon with their family around their dining table making homemade ravioli or their Sunday traditional roast always made me a little jealous.My early life was not surrounded by homemade food and perhaps this is why I have committed my adult life to good and wholesome meals. This is no fault of my mother’s, she worked 2 jobs to support my sister and I and we never went hungry. Our meals were usually from a package so it was quick and easy for my mother to make between her two shifts that day. My sister and I went to a Catholic high school so it let out an hour earlier than most, which meant our lunch hour was at 10:40am. By the time we got home, we were so hungry and could not wait for dinner. My mother, standing in the kitchen, wearing her server uniform, would be chopping apples, slicing cheese, and piling crackers onto a plate for us to eat as soon as we got home. We chatted about our day, my mother would tell us what she prepared for dinner and how to reheat it for later, we started our homework while my mother sipped Earl Grey tea, and then she kissed us goodbye to leave for her other shift. This was our family time and I did not appreciate it when I was younger. I wanted the typical nuclear family that I saw on television, the kind that had pancakes from scratch on Sundays, and the mom that made cookies for bake sales at school.
I did not get that kind of mom. I got a fighter, a woman who sacrificed and pushed to make sure her kids had the best childhood she could provide. There were times that she and I did not see eye-to-eye but looking back now, I can see all the hardships she took on by herself.
This is not your typical childhood meal recreation. These recipes were not passed down from generation to generation on an old faded cue card. My mom did not make the best Mac & Cheese or the best chocolate chip cookies but she did make the best with the short time we had with us, which suits me just fine.
2 recipes down, 28 more to go! See you tomorrow for Day 3: Quick, Easy, and Delicious! Missed Day 1? Check it out here.
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- Avocado Sourdough Toasts:
- 2 slices sourdough bread, toasted
- ½ ripe avocado
- ½ teaspoon hemp hearts
- Fat pinch of fine grain sea salt
- Pinch of red chili flakes (optional)
- With a fork, smash the avocado onto the toasted sourdough bread. Sprinkle with hemp hearts, salt, and red chili flakes. Cut the toasts into halves or even sticks. Serve and enjoy!
- Fruity Pink Smoothie:
- ½ cup fresh or frozen strawberries
- 1 frozen banana
- ½ peeled orange
- 1 cup seed milk
- 2 tablespoons hulled hemp hearts
- Ice (if your fruit is fresh vs. frozen, you will need to add ice)
- Add all the ingredients to a high power blender. Blend until smooth. Serve with strawberry garnish and enjoy!
- Cinnamon Date Caramel:
- 10 soft medjool dates, pitted
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons melted coconut oil
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Water
- Pinch of salt
Apple wedges to serve
- Add the pitted dates, lemon juice, coconut oil, cinnamon, and a teeny pinch of salt to a high power blender. Turn on the blender and slowly add water, 1 tablespoon at a time until you have reached your desired consistency. I added about 7 tablespoons of water so the caramel would stick to the apples when dipped. Serve with apple wedges and enjoy!
- For the Nacho Dip:
- ½ cup sunflower seeds, soaked for 2-8 hours*, drained and rinsed
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- ½ red pepper, chopped fine
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon ancho powder (use regular chili powder for a flavourful but not spicy nacho cheese)
- ¼- ½ teaspoons fine grain sea salt
- 4-6 tablespoons warm water
Celery Sticks to serve
- Add all the ingredients to a high power blender and blend until completely smooth.
- Serve with celery sticks.
- Grapes
- Add the grapes onto the skewers.
- Place skewers onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet and place in the freezer. Once the grapes are frozen, serve!
Julie says
What an awesome, heartfelt post; much respect to your mom! The cinnamon caramel dip caught my eye right away!
Jessica DeMarra says
Thanks so much! The caramel dip is awesome and kid approved. I had my 8 year old nephew test out some of these recipes.
kimmythevegan says
Happy MoFo day 2! These are fantastic sounding snacks! And you certainly don’t have to be a kid to enjoy them haha ;p Sounds like the perfect mid-afternoon snacks for yours truly as a matter of fact.
Your mom sounds like a pretty amazing woman – she did so much for you, even if it didn’t involve cooking – she sacrificed that to make sure you didn’t go without. Truly amazing.