A Lovely Curry

Dad brought this gorgeous pan for me when he last visited.  He said it was just too big for him to use for only himself since Mom died.  He's a wonderful chef and he would tend to get carried away, filling it to the brim as I've done here.  It saddens me to see his joy of cooking dim a bit, but I see his point.

I'm grateful for the gift and am honoring it by creating piles of gorgeous, healthy food like this vegetable curry.

My daughter and I have had a fantastic long weekend here at home with our dog while the other family members were away.  It's been spent mostly in pajamas!  My daughter, who is vegetarian, really likes a little curry restaurant around the corner where she goes with her friends, and wanted me to go with her at one point, but I was loathe to change out of my pj's so, from my full larder, I created this panful.  It was a big hit!  I'm sorry I didn't write down the recipe but it was that kind of weekend.  From memory, here's what I used, and you'll want to tweak the amounts and ingredients to your liking anyway.  I hope it serves as inspiration.

a large yellow onion and several cloves of garlic, caramelized slowly over low heat in coconut oil
a head of cauliflower, trimmed, but including leaves and clean stems
a bunch of broccoli, including trimmed and peeled stems, which are SOOOO delicious
a zucchini
a can of chickpeas
a can of coconut milk
vegetable broth
2 star anise
cumin
turmeric
dry ginger
garam masala
sea salt
nutritional yeast

From trial and error, I've learned to use the spices sparingly in curry.  You can always add more, but you can't take away.  When tasting, if it first seems bland, I try adding a little more sea salt first, which usually wakes the deeper flavors so I don't need so much of them.  I love a fresh curry, kissed with spicy warmth, but allowing the veggie flavors to star. After the flavors had melded, I threw some fresh raw spinach in there too, which wilted a little in the warm pan.

Japanese Sweet Potatoes

There seem to be so many varieties of sweet potatoes out there, and maybe there are several names for each one.  I don't believe "Japanese Sweet Potatoes" is the actual name for these delicious tubers, but that's what they were called at Whole Foods.  Strangely, they look on the outside exactly like a less exotic, orange-fleshed potato.  Both types had a pretty purple skin and the same general size and shape.  I'd inadvertently gotten a few of each.  Sometimes you don't know for sure until you cut into them.

I mixed the cut, raw potatoes with coconut oil and 1/2 tsp of sea salt, and roasted them on parchment on a pan preheated to 400 degrees for 30 minutes, flipping halfway.  They were amazing tossed into a Swiss chard saute at the last minute.  I'd forgotten how much I love chard.  Mom used to grow a lot of it in her big backyard garden when I was young.  This bowlful made a delicious breakfast.

Remembering

Mom's been gone two years now. It feels like she was just right here -- such a bright beautiful star -- the kindest soul. I love this photo of my Mom and Dad. I love you Mama, and remember you every day.

Speckled

I like that word. It connotes a certain type of fun as in these unexpected organic, speckled butter beans or this lovely organic speckled eggplant:

Currently, I am witness to a speckled sky (snow), though my photos don't do it justice, so I'm not including one here. The snowy speckles make me happy because this winter in the deep South has been devoid of the Currier and Ives ambiance of my Virginia childhood. The snowfall lends a bright, hush to the day and reminds me of a magical memory from when I was three years old, making stained glass windows out of melted crayons with my sweet mom. I can feel her smiling now.

Speckles remind me of freckles across my sweet niece's and nephew's faces, and of my own speckled pup, Ellie Belly Jelly Bean:

Look at that grin -- I probably woke her from a dream of her earlier bird-dog days. The songbirds didn't realize until it was too late that she also could fly with her vertical 6 foot leap in days of yore. It's true -- she wasn't a vegan dog, but she does love carrots and raw sweet potatoes! The old girl is not quite as spry anymore, so the birds can relax around here as she munches another tuber.

I'm enjoying this speckled day in the spirit of my "Happy" Board on Pinterest (here's a link if you want to take a peek at random photos et al which bestow giggles: http://www.pinterest.com/cherylasalinas/happy/)

Enough of the spotty-happy-stream-of-consciousness, back to business. Here's what became of my speckled beans:

These were SO GOOD! I'm not kidding. I used a recipe from the epic culinary tome Veganomicon, by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. Those girls know what they're doing. I've not made a bad dish from the book. This recipe, "Mediterranean Lima Beans", lent itself well to my organic speckled beans. I have never tasted better beans. When I wasn't eating them I was daydreaming about eating them, and now I miss them.

Next, I'll put that speckled eggplant to good use.  I'll keep you posted . . .

Happy Birthday Mama

Remembering my mom this second Christmas season without her, red cardinals have gotten my attention. I've been reaping the benefits of yoga these last few months, where one little red cardinal has been a frequent visitor, pecking on the windows of the studio almost every day. Eventually, I began to notice that a memory of Mom often preceded the bird's visit. He would come and go, and some days I'd forget all about him until Mom's pretty face popped into my mind and then I would hear the "tap .... tap, tap" again. The cardinal has been an appropriate messenger from Mom, always drawing to mind her red lipstick -- the only makeup she ever wore. One of Santa's elves put this token in my stocking this year:

Here she is, Jeanine McKenzie Allen, in a photo taken not so long ago. Can you see why the red bird resonates? I'm the luckiest girl in the world to have had this angel for a mother -- so many blessings.

Mom would have been 74 today. Happy Birthday Mama -- I love you.

Sustenence + Odds-n-Ends

Just a couple of weeks out now, when fueling body, mind and spirit, it behooves us to choose wisely. This Italian preparation of one of my all time faves -- broccoli rabe -- fit the bill perfectly this morning. This was lovely with a tiny drizzle of balsamic vinegar (a little goes a LONG way!) but it would also be great with nutritional yeast on top. Here's my simple recipe:

Italian Broccoli Rabe

1 large bunch of broccoli rabe, washed and trimmed roughly
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium tomato, diced
1 can of chick peas, rinsed (you may choose white beans instead)
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. earth balance "butter"
a pinch of salt

On medium high heat, quickly saute onions and garlic in the oil, stirring frequently for about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add chick peas and salt, stirring frequently for a couple more minutes. Turn the heat back up to medium high and add the tomato and the broccoli rabe, stirring constantly as the greens wilt. You may need to add the greens in batches since they take up a lot of room when raw. Don't worry, no need to remove the original batch before adding the next. The size will quickly dramatically reduce, and the next batch can be stirred right in. I use two wooden spoons to more easily keep it all in the pan. Once all the greens have begun to wilt, add the earth balance to temper the bitter greens and silken the texture. Stir for a couple more minutes and remove the pan from heat, covering so it can continue to steam  until you plate it. This would be perfect with polenta, pasta, brown rice, quinoa or amaranth.

Incidentally, my sweet Mom made that pretty plate! I have mugs to match. I don't use her homemade pottery often because I would hate to break it, but I do feel closer to her when I use it.

For the odds-n-ends portion of the post, here are a couple of photos from the last few days --

The other night we attended a "white elephant" party where you bring an anonymous gift, pick a number and either choose a gift from the pile or steal one from someone else who has already opened it. The party goer whose gift is stolen then gets the same choice, and so on. When it was my turn, I stole this blooming tea system from a very sweet lady who is married to one of Andres' coworkers. Luckily, since I was the 11th chooser, I had already witnessed the sometimes ruthless nature of the game, so I didn't feel too bad about engaging in the shenanigans, myself. I love this! Isn't it cool? You boil water, put a little dried tea pellet into the teapot and then add the water and watch the tea bloom into a lovely flower. There are about 8 other pellets of different flavors and colors, so if I bloom any more pretty ones, I will share photos. I'm not competitive by nature, but I do enjoy this game.

My brother and his family sent us this beautiful  holiday arrangement all the way from Kazakhstan! Thanks, guys! Enjoy the season.

Avocado Woes and Moe's

A first world problem, to be sure, but lately I've had trouble finding good avocados. Maybe the "10 avocados for $10" sign should have tipped me off, but the last 3 I bought were rock hard and the next day ripened rotten. I'm glad I didn't buy 10. It's not the avocados' fault. My theory is mishandling somewhere between the avo farms in Mexico and the lush produce display of the local Kroger. By mishandling, I simply mean the avocados are likely being picked too early, then stored cold, which anyone tropical hates. Ask my husband, who was born in the jungle. He rolls his eyes when I say that. He really was born in the jungle, by the way, albeit in a hospital within the jungle. In any case, the jungle boy does not like the cold.

Back to the avocados -- the one in the photo actually wasn't that bad. The other two were beyond help, and many folks would have given up on this one as well, but in the "waste not want not" spirit of my mom, I got out my scalpel. I always think of Moe's surgery as I strive for a "clear margin" on this tropical fruit. For those unfamiliar with Moe's, it is a cancer surgery invented by a guy named Moe where the least amount of tissue is surgically removed while leaving a clear, cancer-free margin for the patient. The surgery involves multiple passes, testing each sample and going back for more if the margin isn't clear. It is a tedious process, so if I have somewhere to be, I pick a different breakfast that day. For the days I do have 15 minutes to perform my Avocado Moe's, it is well worth the effort.

I know the comparison between the rot of the avocado and cancer will be unsettling to some. Keep in mind, vegans, that you've likely not touched animal flesh in some time, and may not remember how horrible prepping chicken is. As the wife of a tropical carnivore, I do still prep dead flesh from time to time, unfortunately (that's how much I love him). So Avocado Moe's is a piece of cake for me!

I have the utmost sympathy for those with a more intimate knowledge of the actual Moe's procedure and by my light-hearted use of the term, mean no disrespect for what you have gone through or may still be going through. I'm just telling you what goes through my head as my scalpel goes through my avocado.

I'm no surgeon, but look at my luscious Avo-Toasts this morning:

Kris Carr's recipe calls for red pepper flakes, but since I am having a red-hot love affair with chipotle powder (smoky! warm!), the Avo-Toast is an apt vehicle for it. The recipe calls for half an avocado, but after this morning's surgery, I needed to use the whole avocado. This was a wonderful, clear-margined breakfast!  Kris is a cancer patient herself -- check her out if you haven't: http://kriscarr.com.

Supermom

This photo is unrelated to today's short post -- it's just pretty, recognizable, vegan food: broccoli rabe, tomatoes, chick peas, pine nuts, sauteed. Yum -- this dish was made and consumed some time ago, but now I'm craving it again. I've only had a fabulous green juice today, and you've seen enough of those on AMLV+, hence the above photo.

I've been thinking about the roles we play. The role dearest to my heart -- the core of who I am -- is MOM. I've been doing a pretty good job of momming lately! No, not mamming (a recent online trend for breast cancer awareness -- google it if you've not seen it), momming. We get to an age where there's no point in being humble about what we do well. I'm tooting my own horn -- TOOT!

Being a parent of teens is no joke. I believe it is much harder now than it ever was "back in the day". I don't need to go into all the ways the world has changed since I was a teen, challenging my own sweet mom. As a mom, myself, I've made mistakes and I've had successes. I have no doubt there will be more of each but today, for my own brilliant, talented, multi-dimensional, out-of-the-box kids, I can see that I'm being a good mom. Ah, the Zen that brings. My husband is being a great Dad too, by the way -- thanks honey!

Yes, I'm tooting my horn, but I want to give credit where it's due -- my inspiration, always:

My own gorgeous, amazing mom, Jeanine McKenzie Allen. Following your example brings sunshine to my life, and I'm so grateful. I miss you, Mommy.

Wrinkly Tomatoes + Odds-n-Ends, Plant Rehab Edition

You've seen this before on AMLV+, I know. The reason I know is that, bar none, the #1 Google analytics search terminology for A Midlife Vegan+ is "wrinkled tomatoes" or "are wrinkly tomatoes safe to eat?" or something of that nature. Seriously, someone finds me that way almost every day, so it must be uppermost in the minds of the world. Either that or other bloggers aren't really dealing with the subject of puckered pomodoros.

Years ago, I did a post on the very subject -- basically from a waste-not-want-not perspective. My fabulous Mom, may she rest in peace, used to recycle, reinvent and resuscitate like a pro. We learned early on it was better to just not ask how old the food was since it tasted better if we didn't know. She was inventive and creative, and I've absorbed much of her wisdom by osmosis, I suppose, since my head is full of random tidbits of unknown origin.

Back to the tomatoes -- The earlier post  included a suggestion for turning tomatoes such as those above into a compote -- simply a quick saute with garlic and olive oil, then taken off the heat and topped with fresh Italian parsley. This is amazing on a baked potato or stirred into pasta or soup of almost any kind. I do stand by this compote suggestion, and the proportions don't matter. Each creation will be unique and delicious.

With all the search terms concerning "safety" I thought a followup with more specificity might be in order. While the tomatoes in the photo above would be perfect for a compote or tomato sauce, these would not:

Again, knowledge of dubious origin:  these tomatoes are sprouting -- making baby tomato plants. I don't think these would be "unsafe" to eat, but they don't really appeal, so instead of going into the saute pan, they were planted in the garden. It goes without saying that moldy or soggy produce should be avoided as well.

After finding a good use for these inedibles, I was inspired to continue in the "creativity with plants" bent as follows:

I made some fresh avocado aioli (stay tuned for the recipe) and remembered Mom's avocado plants. This is how she sprouted them. For the first time, I decided to try it myself. I wondered how Mom got the toothpicks into the pit, and was surprised at how easily they slid right in. I guess Mom was worried I'd hurt my toddler hands trying to poke a toothpick into a slippery pit. I'll keep you posted on the avocado's progress.

Next, I beheaded my bamboo. It had been dead as a doornail up above, so I am trying to give it a fresh chance here. It lived happily in a vase of water for years, and then pooped out. A refrigerator repairman once remarked,

"Oh, you have a very lonely money tree!"

So I guess I've been inadvertently hexing my financial house -- nice. Wonder what kind of karma I'm sowing by lopping the head off the money tree?  I'll keep you posted on that as well.

P.S. I noticed, upon re-reading this post, that it is rife with alliteration. Maybe some of these would be great names for a band. My daughter is forming another one in addition to one in which she's the vocalist and also an acoustic twosome where she sings and plays guitar. How about "Puckered Pomodoros"? "Beheaded Bamboo"? "Dead as a Doornail"? "Refrigerator Repairman?" Just kidding about those last two -- having fun after my second cup of coffee! Let me know what you think!

Draco Hortus

"What is this we see?" you ask. These are the remains of two lovely okra plants mulched with large clumps of Emma's fur. The stalks were about three feet tall and crowned with beautiful, spreading leaves, and then one morning I found them like this, with about 18 inches of stalk remaining. The sweet potatoes were completely obliterated with no evidence they were ever in the garden. The Chinese long beans also met the same fate as last year, chewed off close to the soil, leaving abundant climbing vines to die on the trellis. Is it Buster again, the darling, naughty chipmunk? I think not. Buster wouldn't have been able to scale these slender stalks without breaking them under his weight. I thought about deer, but the aluminum fence is topped with pointy tips and the scale of the garden is only 5'x8' up against a brick wall, so there would be no room for a deer to clear the fence without hitting the wall.

Then I remembered his face -- glaring, lurking each time I came out to the garden, and I knew who had been sampling my veggies -- a garden dragon. Unlike the skink-like creatures with the blue tails we often see around here, Draco Hortus (his name, henceforth) has a nubby, horned gray face  and a long tail. Draco is more like a smallish iguana, and would be easily able to climb anywhere he likes. Since I got the bright idea to spread my dog's coat around the garden I think I've spoiled his fun. I no longer see much evidence of his philandering, and I haven't seen his greedy little face in a while. I'm glad of this discovery, since there's no shortage of dog hair around my house. When I sweep, I often imagine I could stuff a pillow or create a new puppy from the pile. It's nice to have a more practical use for it.

In happier garden news, I have had success with tomatoes and cucumbers so far, and the radishes are looking good too. We cleaned up the rest of our yard a bit and here are the results:

A new stone path and a patch of begonias . . .

 The stone steps down to the lower part  of the yard . . .

We trimmed some trees so we can actually see the house from the street now. It all feels much cleaner and was way overdue.

I recently made it through another milestone -- my first birthday without my mom. As expected, the days leading up to it were rough. Every year, a day or two before my birthday, my mom would call me to tell the same story again, where she was however many years ago on that very day. She was heavy with me, and bursting with excitement, and couldn't wait to meet me. Then, on the day itself, I'd get a message on the machine with no speaking, only sweet Jeanine singing, "Happy Birth - day to you!", every last word of it in a staccato cadence. Through the sound of her voice we could hear her smiling from ear to ear. A year ago when she left the message for my 46th birthday, I had no idea it would be the last. I am so blessed to have had each moment I shared with her.

I'm Cookin'!

Another ubiquitous dish, but bear with me . . . at least I've got my appetite back and am creating in the kitchen again!

On Fathers' Day, The kids were fast asleep until noon (teenagers) so I made Andres three nice eggs over medium with some whole grain toast. I offered to make french toast (his fave) but he's been more health conscious lately, so I'm feeding that trend. Besides that nice breakfast, I did nothing at all, and in fact remained in my pajamas all day long. Andres was sort of lying around too, so I didn't feel bad about indulging in sloth. The first Fathers' Day request was that we all go out to lunch together, but since we were so pajamafied and the kids were similarly sluggish, we opted for our weekly Chinese takeout, but we had it for lunch instead of dinner.

Normally I have no qualms about ordering whatever I want from our awesome Chinese restaurant, since I'm the only one who wastes nothing. Ever. It may take me three days to eat two gigantic entrees plus a large brown rice, but I waste nothing. But on Sunday I decided, since I had half a block of tofu left over from my fab tofu feta creation, not to order the Chinese tofu. This time I ordered only my beloved Garlic Baby Bok Choy (will never pass that up) plus the large brown rice, of course. The others ordered their usual, and will waste it or not, yada yada yada.

From my remaining half-block, I created this delicious tofu curry -- no recipe (sorry, I made it on the fly) but here's what's in it: tofu, half a tomato, diced, a couple stalks of celery with leaves, diced, a ginormous organic carrot, diced, a couple of scallions, thinly sliced, and curry powder, turmeric and salt to taste. I threw the carrots and celery in first on a pretty high heat with olive oil. I think I put the curry and turmeric in next, just so I could sort of cook it a little to round out the flavor. then came the tofu and the tomatoes. I only added the onion as I was taking it off the burner. I wanted the greens to still be fresh and bright. This was fabulous and healing (turmeric is anti-inflammatory and my middle-aged back is riddled with arthritis), and went very well with my Chinese takeout standbys.

This morning, after my fabulous Fathers' Day of sloth, I felt like a rock star!

Today's Jeanine story:
My mom was a "waste not, want not" kind of girl, so she saved everything, and carried a very large bag almost everywhere she went, so she could always be counted upon to have what anyone might need. Once, when my family of origin was at Epcot Center, one of us got a cut (I think it was my brother).

My mom said, "Ooooh, I think I have a tissue or a napkin,"

For what seemed like several minutes (I'm sure it was really only a few moments) she dug around in her giant, decorative bag. Finally, success! She held up a large paper towel with grease stains. Upon closer examination, my mom's triumphant expression changed as she was momentarily perplexed. Then she began giggling as she proceeded to dig deeper into the abyss that was her handbag.

"I think that used to hold some fried chicken!" she announced, as tickled with herself as we were. Who knows how long that fried chicken had been in there!

Beautiful Things

This lovely, nutritious Primavera is appropriate comfort food for the season. I love preparing food simply based on what's on hand. This was tinkyada brown rice pasta, grape tomatoes, sauteed purple onion and garlic, frozen peas and Italian parsley with olive oil. I didn't cook the tomatoes or peas. I just added them to the warm pasta at the end to keep their flavors bright.

As I try to adjust to a world without my mother, my heart is warmed by beautiful things all around me. My Mom was always the first to notice, and be grateful for the stunning beauty found in nature and also  in man made things. So beauty will always remind me of her.

My amazing friend, Cheryl, sent me this beautiful dried bay leaf wreath. It is so pretty, I was inspired to take down my dusty old window valance and hang the wreath in its place. My sweet husband brought the lilies to cheer me, and even arranged them in the tall, amber-glass vase my Mom had given me. I love how the vertical reach of this vignette feels somewhat holy.

Upon our return home, I received this gigantic bouquet from my husband's employer. It takes up most of the dining room table. My Mom would love this. Incidentally, the morning before I received this, the large sun, still low in the eastern sky when I dropped my daughter at the bus stop, was exactly the coral-papaya color of the rose up front. My Mom would have loved that for sure. In the background of this photo is an oil pastel portrait of me as a teen, drawn by my Mom.

More beautiful things in my springtime yard:

Even Winter's leftovers are still pretty:

Today's Jeanine story:

When my father used to do business overseas, we sometimes were lucky enough to tag along. One summer, after my freshman year of college, two weeks in Greece turned into a couple of months because of the TWA hijacking that occurred the day after our arrival. All U.S. airlines suspended service to Athens. Eventually, with summer winding down, we opted to board a freighter ship to Ancona, Italy, for a bonus vacay in Rome, and then a flight home. The tragic circumstances of the hijacking aside, we had a lovely summer. At our second hotel, on the outskirts of Athens, My Mom decided to go parasailing. To my immature, 20-year-old sensibilities, my Mom was way too old for such shenanigans. Now, as I do the math, I realize she was the very age I am today -- 46! She was fit and beautiful and very brave. You won't catch me doing most of what she did!

Mama

Jeanine McKenzie Allen, my mom, passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday morning. We are all shell shocked and have not yet laid her to rest.  I just need to express how lucky I've been for 46 years to be the daughter of this amazing woman. A better mother and human being I cannot imagine.

When we spoke with her just hours before she passed, she was so positive and full of joy. She and my Dad had spent the afternoon on their deck, in the warm sunshine.  She was hoping to see us soon. In my grief, I am still heartened by her joy, and her effusive, palpable expression of selfless love. Her words were like a warm hug.

My mom was many things. I cannot possibly pay her adequate tribute, but I will try.  She was:
The best stay-at-home mother I've ever met
A talented artist
The most loving grandmother
A seeker of truth
A dedicated daughter and sister
A loving wife
A philanthropist, with her funds, time and intuitive sympathy
An amazing teacher
Lots of fun at parties
A role model
An interested and compassionate ear, even with perfect strangers
The one person who could always look on the bright side
My best friend.

I love you Mama.


A favorite charity of my Mom's was The Wounded Warrior Project. If you are so inclined, please check it out.