Banana fana fo fana ...

The reason I didn't get a picture of these bars until the pan was almost empty is that, well, I pretty much just couldn't stop eating them long enough to grab my camera. Earlier this week I wanted to make something sweet and yummy and different, and I also happened to have five over-ripe bananas chilling out in my freezer. I found the recipe on the Post Punk Kitchen, made a few modifications, and ended up with a lovely, cakey, chocolate chip-y version of banana bread. Click the PPK link above for the original recipe; my slightly modified version is posted below.

3 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
A dash of cinnamon
5 very ripe bananas, pureed
1/2 cup canola oil
6 oz container vanilla soy yogurt
1/2 cup soy milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
12-ounce bag mini chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350. Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl. In a smaller bowl mix all wet ingredients. Slowly add the wet mixture to the dry mixture until well blended. Fold in chocolate chips. Bake in a greased 9x13 pan until well-set and nicely browned on top, 45 minutes or so. *My oven tends to burn things on top while leaving the middle mushy, so I covered the pan with foil and ended up baking it for a little over an hour. After 35 minutes in the oven I checked the underside of the pan every ten minutes until I was sure the center was completely cooked.

Vegan Scones

I just came across this photo on my camera (the picture is of some not-so-memorable scones I made a few weeks ago) and it got me thinking about vegan scones. Fantasizing, actually, but not about any scones I've ever made. The most heavenly vegan scones in the world, in my opinion, are made at May Day Cafe in South Minneapolis. I haven't actually been to the bakery yet, for fear of eating them out of house and scone (heh), but the Linden Hills Co-op used to get daily shipments. The scones are moist and chewy, and come in mouthwatering flavors like cherry poppyseed, apricot date, apple cinnamon, and fresh blueberry. I desperately long to recreate these delights in my own kitchen. Nothing I've tried has come close, but I won't give up until I have my own recipe for the world's most perfect vegan scones.

Miso Soup

There are lots of meals that I love when I go out to eat, but never actually make at home because I don't realize how insanely easy they are. Miso soup is a perfect example. I order it pretty much every time I go out for sushi, so why haven't I ever thought to make it myself? Well, last night I actually did. Well, a version of it at least. I got a recipe from my mom for this fabulous tofu-spinach soup she makes, and with a few simple changes it turned into a miso soup of sorts. Here's my super simple recipe:

Easy Miso Soup
3-4 tablespoons miso paste (I used the brown kind, but I'm sure any will do)
1-inch piece of fresh ginger, grated
1 package extra-firm tofu, cut into small cubes or strips
5-ounce bag of spinach (or more!), chopped

Fill a pot with about 6 cups of water. Add miso and heat to a simmer until it's all dissolved. Add ginger and tofu, and bring it to a light boil for a few minutes. Add spinach and simmer for another minute or two. Season with salt and white pepper (if you have it--mine wasn't ground yet, so that would have been way too much work for me). Serve and enjoy.

The Wonders of Tempeh

One of Chris' (and mine, too) favorite dishes from Veganomicon is the Spicy Tempeh and Broccoli Rabe Pasta. I've probably made it a half a dozen times, but the version I made the other night was by far the best. In the past I've used regular broccoli instead of the rabe since the coop in my neighborhood doesn't carry that. But last weekend I randomly decided to do my grocery shopping at Minneapolis' newly remodeled Whole Foods--and of course they have pretty much anything you could ever want or need. Except pumpernickel bread, wtf? I've been quietly boycotting Whole Foods since I read The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan (if you've read the book, you get it). I may have felt a twinge of guilt as I entered the store, but after filling my cart with a bouquet of tulips, cans of 99-cent store brand chickpeas, and loads of super fresh produce, I have to admit I might become more of a regular again. Okay, that was quit a tangent--back to the main story. While at Whole Foods I noticed they had broccoli rabe, and I grabbed a small bunch figuring I could use it somewhere. The other night Chris was feeling down, so I figured that called for a fabulous dinner (yes, I use food to fix things). I had most of the ingredients for the spicy tempeh dish, so that's what I made. The one thing I usually do differently is really mash up the tempeh instead of leaving some small cubes. I've found that this makes it more flavorful (sort of like ground sausage) and you can't even tell it's tempeh. Well, the recipe calls for two tablespoons of tomato paste, which is something I always have on hand. I pulled the jar out of the fridge and realized that was once tomato paste was now raspberry preserves (no, it didn't morph--I reuse jars). I had a can of tomato sauce in the cupboard though, so I figured that would be a fine substitute. But after measuring out my two tablespoons of sauce, I realized that the rest of the can would probably end up getting lost in the back of the fridge and going to waste, so I just dumped the remainder in with the tempeh. It made the dish a little saucier but not at all runny, and I figure it added some extra nutrients from the additional tomato. As you can see from the photo, it's not a pretty dish (at least when I make it!), but the taste more than makes up for its appearance. Oh, and we'd already devoured our portions by the time I decided to take a picture, so that's another reason it looks so yucky.

My new favorite pastime ...

Visit www.taaz.com and you will not be disappointed. It's a new website where you can upload your photo (or a photo of your significant other, celebs, etc.) and give yourself a pretty realistic makeover. I have already wasted waaaay too many hours on this one! Chris thinks he looks like a young Ted Koppel (and not in a good way, I guess). I just think I look cute and now I totally want blue contact lenses.

Oh, baby!

Too cute not to post! The other day Tasha and I headed to Eau Claire to meet week-old (we share a birthday, yay) Jaron Robert, Mel and John's new bebe. He is so cute with his spiky black hair and big pouty lips--and he makes the funniest little faces. We had way too much fun hanging out with him, and seeing Mel (who looks fabulous already, btw). I can't wait for them to move back to Minneapolis later this spring!

Birthday Cupcakes!!!

Since it was my birthday I decided that just one variety of cupcake would never do, so I made three: vanilla with (purple) vanilla frosting, mocha with Bailey's frosting, and choco-banana with peanut butter frosting. My initial grand idea was to make three completely different frostings for the cupcakes, but after an hour-long failed attempt at my childhood favorite--fluffy white frosting--I was out of time and energy. I ended up just whipping up a big batch of my vegan vanilla icing and dividing it into three bowls before the addition of the soy milk. In the first I added the soy milk and some blue and red food coloring to use for the vanilla cupcakes. Chris finished off the other two, adding peanut butter and soy milk to one, and a bit of Bailey's Irish Cream (we cheated--I'm pretty sure that's not vegan) to the other. It was fabulous because we ended up with three distinct frostings from a single recipe/batch.