french ukeles & banana bread

#1... i can't do mornings without coffee and music. beauty always comes first in the day for me.

#2... the holidays have been a great time to express myself in baked goods... fortunate for my family, i have been home in virginia the last few weeks and have been dishing up some vegan fare to show them just how i get by... they seemed very confused at first to 'what exactly a vegan eats,' but alas, i hope i have calmed their nerves with recipes such as this banana bread...
my hopes are set high to impress them with my vegan baking skills christmas day... little do they no i am planning on doing some subvertive substitutions in our classic christmas menu, such as a swiss chard and potato tofu-tartlette for breakfast, haricots-verts almondine for dinner, pumpkin bread pudding, and a mocha bouche-de-noel for dessert....
keep in touch for those soon to come recipes!
happy holidays, hope you and yours are well!

Lower-Fat Banana Bread from Veganomicon
Makes one loaf

2 large or 3 small very ripe bananas
1/4 cup applesauce (I used cinnamon spiced)
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup sucanat sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.

In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas really well. Add the sugar, applesauce, oil, and molasses, and whisk briskly to incorporate.

Sift in the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. Use a wooden spoon to mix until the wet and dry ingredients are just combined. If you're using chocolate chips or nuts, fold them in here.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes (it took 50 for me). The top should be lightly browned and a knife inserted through the center should come out clean.

Remove from the oven and let cool!

coconut pineapple cupcakes with "cream cheese" frosting

oh dannnnnng. i think i just created a little bit of heaven here in my kitchen: these cupcakes are mad delicious, and i have to ask all of you to try this recipe out and tell me what you think. it was a lot of experimenting on my part: i honestly had no idea what i was doing, i had an idea and just 'whisked' with it.... here it is:

vegan pineapple dream cupcakes
cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups canned*, crushed pineapple
1 cup soy, or dairy alternative milk (i like to use the so delicious brand of unsweetened coconut milk)
1 tablespoon pineapple juice (drained from can)
2/3 cup canola oil
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup finely shredded coconut (unsweetened is best)
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cup white all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

*fresh pineapple will not work because the enzymes in fresh, un-canned pineapple interfere with the leavening process

preheat oven to 350 degrees. line 12 cupcakes with papers (you may need more, depending on the fill-level you choose).
drain the pineapple. set 1 tsp pineapple juice aside. pour milk into a bowl, add pineapple juice, whisk until mixed through. add sugar, lemon zest and vanilla. add coconut and pineapple. sift in flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. whisk lightly, just until mixed. sprinkle in cinnamon and nutmeg.
fill cupcake molds full, the nature of such a moist and luscious cupcake as these does not have a tendency to rise much. set timer for 20-25 minutes, bake until golden brown along edges. use a toothpick to check when ready, keeping in mind they will be a touch more dense and a little more gooey that your average cupcake... think muffin consistency.
allow cupcakes to cool completely, while in the meantime you whip up some vanilla tofutti cream cheese icing!

icing
1 8 oz. container of tofutti "cream cheese"
1/4 cup earth balance soy-free margarine
2+ cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp coconut milk
6 tbsp shredded, toasted coconut (flakes can be fun too)

soften margarine and tofutti (it doesn't take much, i keep them out on the counter during the "cupcake-stage" just at room temperature). sift half of the powdered sugar into bowl atop of the margarine and tofutti. beat at high speed until whipped. add vanilla, milk, and rest of the powdered sugar. the texture will be soft and creamy, but stiff to the touch. add sugar sparingly until the texture consistency is right (not too dry, but not too gooey... just like goldilocks would want).
toast coconut under a broiler for about 3-5 minutes, keeping a keen eye and nose on it. once you smell its delicious aroma and see it becoming a crispy golden hue, take it out. allow it to cool for a few minutes.
spread icing on cupcakes (who should have cooled 10 minutes). sprinkle toasted coconut atop.
enjoy.
:)

how better to say thank you than with cookies?

ugly at first site.... but delicious at first bite!
so then i had to make a composition of a photo so that the subject matter looked more delicious and "eatable".

thanks new followers for keeping in touch! i have so many big ideas for this blog... most of which will have to wait for my next paycheck so that i can get a few goodies to start cooking with. in the meantime, even the poorest of kids like myself can scrounge up some dough (hehe) to roll out some freshly baked vegan chocolate chip cookies. it meant living off cliff bars and oranges for the week, but i will live, if not on sugar, then on the gallon of veggie vichysoisse in my fridge! note: 6 potatoes, one onion, 3 leeks, 1 fennel bulb, and 2 cups of broth = loads of soup.

here is the recipe i am going to use for my vegan chocolate chip cookies in the morning, pictures soon to follow!

"Happy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies"
from vegweb.com

2 cups unbleached flour
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp.salt
cinnamon to taste (optional) *not optional. absolutely delicious with the extra sweet spice.
vegan chocolate or carob chips - put in as many as you like
1 cup raw sugar (turbinado #1, sucanat works too but sucks up a lot of the moisture)
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup water
*1/3 cup sunflower seeds (for a "healthy" touch)

Directions:
VERY IMPORTANT-make sure all ingredients are at room temperature. It will work if they're not at room temp but it works MUCH better if they are. Also while your oven is pre-heating put the cookie sheets you are going to use on top of the oven so they get preheated as well. Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl mix flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon (if you choose: CHOOSE). Add chips. Make a well in the center and set aside.
In a medium size bowl mix vegan sugar and oil.(If you don't do this, they will be crumbly.) Mix it well. Add the vanilla and then add the water. Mix it well. Add the wet to the well in the dry. Mix it well but be careful not to overwork it. Add more chips if you need to. Spoon onto ungreased cookie sheets. Put them in the oven. Bake for 5 minutes and then flip and rotate the sheets.(top to bottom,and 180 degree rotation) Bake another 4 minutes and check them.

The cookies are done when they seem a little bit softer then you want them to be. They will harden up some as they cool. I usually go in two minute increments from here untill they get to where I like them.

Take them out when they are done and move them to wire cooling racks. If they split or come apart when you try to remove them let them sit on the pan for 2 minutes before transferring them to the racks.

inspiration

why go vegan?
there a many reasons that a person should go vegan, ranging from religion to health, but in a way, i have discovered, they are all interconnected. why is religion so much different from health? does one not feed the development of the other? a healthy body needs a healthy mind, and a healthy mind cannot exist without a healthy body. whatever your religious views are, it is fundamental that we respect our bodies as places of worship, as elements of divine creation, and more than just mere accidents on this place called earth. life is full of experiences that lead us to believe there is more than just survival to live for, for in fact, that idea is too simple, too brutish and short, to be real.
one small story that keeps repeating itself in my life, and continually brings me closer to enlightenment, is about a family of foxes. i bike to work, about two miles, every day. on early mornings, right after sunrise, i pass a family of foxes at a small intersection in a quiet neighborhood. each day, there is at least one fox looking around, finishing his morning hunting and gathering, along the street where i bike by. as i pass, the fox just looks at me, he doesn't run, but just stares knowingly, as if to say, "hello, friend". the other day i saw all three of the foxes at three corners corner of the intersection, looking on at me passing by. as i biked, i greeted each of the foxes with a nod, and truly felt they understood that the best part of my day was seeing the three of them in the glowing light of dawn, greeting me with their black eyes and jaunty postures.
this experience, for me, is a real moment of life, wherein i felt the love of an animal enter my being, convincing me there is more than my perspective of life to be observed. the foxes know life differently than i do, but still, we are part of the same world. the anthropocentric existence that most humans lead does not allow for such revelations, unfortunately. we live our lives on so many occasions without even knowing what we are missing because we are too focused on our own meager existences.
a vegan diet encourages an enlightened mind, a mind knowing ahimsa, and a soul full of prem. by expressing our values through our diet, we can change our lifestyles, and shed the tired and desperate ways of anthropocentrism. we can live fuller, happier lives that make us more than what we eat, that make us aware of the love that is within us as well as within our animal friends.

tu es responsable de ce que tu as apprivoisé.
you are responsible for what you tame.
-antoine de st. euxpéry, le pétit prince

soon to come: vegan baking experiments, recipes, and more food for thought!
stay in touch, and please leave any comments on your vegan/ vegetarian experiences!