Sequestration Meal #436

 

More nostalgic vegan food, that takes me back to my earliest days as vegan, when my cooking was haphazard but I was earnest: Mock crab cakes made from chickpeas and hearts of palm! The recipe is from Vegan Huggs, and judging by some of those old, poorly photographed entries, I made this multiple times. Therefore, I knew the cakes would be delicious. (They are.) Alongside them, I had some semi-improvisational herbed lemon pearl couscous and steamed broccoli. I made my own tartar sauce to top my mock crab cakes, and it was lovely.

The couscous and broccoli were on sale, and I already had a can of hearts of palm in my cabinet, purchased, I am almost certain, during that time I wasn't leaving my apartment, and I managed a lot of my anxiety by scouring the internet for ingredients I could get shipped to me. Although everything else here is pretty darn cheap, I probably paid a premium for the hearts of palm. I don't know. It was long enough ago that I'd rather not think about it! I can get hearts of palm inexpensively in a market near me, however, so I'd say this is a pretty budget-friendly meal in general.

(Why they are three times as much in the market I visit most frequently is one of the great mysteries of life. But that's okay; that's why I go to the other one every couple of months.)

It's also one of the few recipes I ever make that uses Old Bay seasoning, so if you have other suggestions for ways I can use up that big tin, let me know!

When I was beginning to learn how to be vegan, like many people I've seen who are on the edge of taking that leap or who just have, I was really confused and frightened a lot of the time. This meal made me think of that time. I suspect the reason I made this so many times back then was because it was something I knew worked. When I gave up everything familiar (or so it seemed to me), I needed to create a new sense of the familiar. Flavors hold memories. The ones this meal held surprised me. I'm so glad I learned how to eat again, better than ever. 

And these memories are the reason I try to be patient with other people feeling that confusion or fear, even though I no longer feel that way. I know how hard it can be. I also know that there is a whole world out there, still waiting to be explored.