Oh how I love banana bread! And I have finally tweaked my mom's recipe to modernize it. Bye-bye Crisco! Here we go:
1/3 c. applesauce
3/4 c. sugar or 1/2 c. agave nectar
1/2 T. oil (I use safflower generally, but grapeseed or canola works fine)
2 eggs or egg replacer
1 tsp vanilla
2 to 3 ripe bananas (the blacker the skin, the better)
2 c. all purpose flour (or K.A.'s white wheat)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 c. soymilk + 1 T white vinegar (aka "buttermilk")
1 c. chopped nuts (optional)
Mix your wets (except for the soymilk/vinegar), and add mashed bananas. Mix your drys separately. Add your wets to your drys, mix. Gradually add the soymilk/vinegar and mix well.
Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake for 1 hour in a 350 degree oven. Check with a toothpick for doneness (doneness?). Cool 5 min in pan, then flip out and cool 5 min upside down. When completely cool, eat it, or wrap it up and freeze it. Mom used to make a double batch and freeze one for later.
Oh and by the way...if you use that egg replacer, it's VEGAN!!! :)
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Dinner in courses? Yep!
So if you haven't read the book French Kids Eat Everything, and you have a picky eater at home--it's time to Amazon it, asap. This book shows a great philosophy to eating in general, but especially where kids are concerned. After trying some of the author's ideas, I've found a pretty good system for busy weeknight meals at home.
Serve meals in courses. I know it sounds long and annoying and totally impractical--but it will actually SAVE YOU TIME. And time is a resource we all need more of.
a) 1st course: vegetables. Keep it simple--raw or lightly steamed veg. Just one variety, whatever is on sale and is seasonal/local. Examples: lightly steamed broccoli with red wine vinegar, sliced avacado, sliced radishes w/ sea salt, boiled/mashed sweet potatoes with a drizzle of maple syrup, artichoke hearts with lemon juice, etc. Something that does not take long to prepare.
b) 2nd course: main. Keep your weeknight main courses VERY simple--hearty soup/stew (can be made on Sunday and eaten later in the week) with bread, pasta with vegetables/pesto/tomato sauce, flatbread baked in the oven with sliced peppers/squash/mushrooms or other seasonal veggies. That's it. If there are folks in your house that get cranky without a hunk of protein for their main course, you can add a side of protein: baked chicken thighs, baked tofu, sausage, etc. Again--keep it very, very simple.
c) 3rd course: dessert (sort of). In our house, you have 3 options for your final course: yogurt (or soy yogurt), a small amount of cheese, or fruit. I let the kinds spoon some homemade jam or honey into their plain yogurt (this has way less sugar than store-bought flavored yogurts).
The rules with dinner are simple: you can't move on to your 2nd course until you have had a significant amount of your 1st course. The same is true in moving from course 2 to course 3. Tantrums are not allowed. Neither is gagging and pretending that you will throw up if you eat something you don't like. Or actually throwing up. Dinner table manners are mandatory. If any of the above happens, we calmly excuse you from dinner and you are sent up to bed. I know this sounds harsh, but it took about 3 nights for my kids to figure out that we were not going to budge on the rules, and now they just eat. AND now that the dinner-table-wars are over, we laugh and have fun at the table--which is what family dinners should be about!
I still love to cook long, involved, complicated meals, but now I save this for the weekends.
Serve meals in courses. I know it sounds long and annoying and totally impractical--but it will actually SAVE YOU TIME. And time is a resource we all need more of.
a) 1st course: vegetables. Keep it simple--raw or lightly steamed veg. Just one variety, whatever is on sale and is seasonal/local. Examples: lightly steamed broccoli with red wine vinegar, sliced avacado, sliced radishes w/ sea salt, boiled/mashed sweet potatoes with a drizzle of maple syrup, artichoke hearts with lemon juice, etc. Something that does not take long to prepare.
b) 2nd course: main. Keep your weeknight main courses VERY simple--hearty soup/stew (can be made on Sunday and eaten later in the week) with bread, pasta with vegetables/pesto/tomato sauce, flatbread baked in the oven with sliced peppers/squash/mushrooms or other seasonal veggies. That's it. If there are folks in your house that get cranky without a hunk of protein for their main course, you can add a side of protein: baked chicken thighs, baked tofu, sausage, etc. Again--keep it very, very simple.
c) 3rd course: dessert (sort of). In our house, you have 3 options for your final course: yogurt (or soy yogurt), a small amount of cheese, or fruit. I let the kinds spoon some homemade jam or honey into their plain yogurt (this has way less sugar than store-bought flavored yogurts).
The rules with dinner are simple: you can't move on to your 2nd course until you have had a significant amount of your 1st course. The same is true in moving from course 2 to course 3. Tantrums are not allowed. Neither is gagging and pretending that you will throw up if you eat something you don't like. Or actually throwing up. Dinner table manners are mandatory. If any of the above happens, we calmly excuse you from dinner and you are sent up to bed. I know this sounds harsh, but it took about 3 nights for my kids to figure out that we were not going to budge on the rules, and now they just eat. AND now that the dinner-table-wars are over, we laugh and have fun at the table--which is what family dinners should be about!
I still love to cook long, involved, complicated meals, but now I save this for the weekends.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Cold Cucumber Soup
Wow, I have so many recipes to add, and no time to do it! I will try to get caught up soon.
Here's a simple recipe for a cold cucumber soup that is perfect for a hot summer day.
Ingredients:
2-3 cucumbers, peeled and seeded, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon dried dill, or 3 T. fresh
1 teaspoon dried parsley, or 3 t. fresh
1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 container plain yogurt of your choice (greek, low fat, soy, etc)
salt to taste
Throw everything into your Vitamix, blender, or food processor. Blend until smooth and chill overnight.
If you want to make this soup a bit more savory, follow these directions:
* blend all ingredients except yogurt, adding 1/2 cup vegetable broth/stock. omit the lemon juice.
* after blending, transfer to bowl and stir in 1 container of greek yogurt. chill as directed. (the greek style yogurt will thicken the soup, which is necessary after adding the broth)
Here's a simple recipe for a cold cucumber soup that is perfect for a hot summer day.
Ingredients:
2-3 cucumbers, peeled and seeded, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon dried dill, or 3 T. fresh
1 teaspoon dried parsley, or 3 t. fresh
1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 container plain yogurt of your choice (greek, low fat, soy, etc)
salt to taste
Throw everything into your Vitamix, blender, or food processor. Blend until smooth and chill overnight.
If you want to make this soup a bit more savory, follow these directions:
* blend all ingredients except yogurt, adding 1/2 cup vegetable broth/stock. omit the lemon juice.
* after blending, transfer to bowl and stir in 1 container of greek yogurt. chill as directed. (the greek style yogurt will thicken the soup, which is necessary after adding the broth)
Friday, April 22, 2011
Butternut Squash Muffins
Ok, here it is--finally! The delicious butternut squash muffins! These are easy to make vegan, fat free, and whole wheat. You can make them non-vegan by using real eggs as well. I swiped Jamie Oliver's muffin recipe and tinkered around with it till I lowered the sugar and made it fat-free.
Note: The recipe calls for fresh squash, but I always use frozen because I'm in a hurry. I've used canned before, and it's ok, just a little on the heavy side. If you use fresh, I recommend you chop it up and boil for 5 minutes to soften.
Butternut Squash Muffins
14 ounces butternut squash, skin on, deseeded and roughly chopped or frozen cubed, boiled for 5 minutes.
1 1/4 cups light soft brown sugar
4 large eggs, or equiv. of Ener-G brand egg replacer
¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
Pinch of sea salt
2 1/2 cups white wheat flour (King Arthur makes this kind, or you can mix 1 ¼ cup all purpose + 1 ¼ cups whole wheat)
2 heaping teaspoons baking powder
Handful of walnuts, chopped (optional)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350*
Whiz up your squash, sugar, eggs, and applesauce in the blender, then set aside.
Mix your drys.
Slowly add your drys to the wets (squash mixture). Be sure you do not OVERMIX! Just mix till incorporated.
Pour into greased muffin pan—I have a pan that makes 12 big muffins, and I just fill them up to the top and it uses all the batter.Bake 20-23 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then pop them out.
Note: The recipe calls for fresh squash, but I always use frozen because I'm in a hurry. I've used canned before, and it's ok, just a little on the heavy side. If you use fresh, I recommend you chop it up and boil for 5 minutes to soften.
Butternut Squash Muffins
14 ounces butternut squash, skin on, deseeded and roughly chopped or frozen cubed, boiled for 5 minutes.
1 1/4 cups light soft brown sugar
4 large eggs, or equiv. of Ener-G brand egg replacer
¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
Pinch of sea salt
2 1/2 cups white wheat flour (King Arthur makes this kind, or you can mix 1 ¼ cup all purpose + 1 ¼ cups whole wheat)
2 heaping teaspoons baking powder
Handful of walnuts, chopped (optional)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350*
Whiz up your squash, sugar, eggs, and applesauce in the blender, then set aside.
Mix your drys.
Slowly add your drys to the wets (squash mixture). Be sure you do not OVERMIX! Just mix till incorporated.
Pour into greased muffin pan—I have a pan that makes 12 big muffins, and I just fill them up to the top and it uses all the batter.Bake 20-23 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then pop them out.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Fresh Tomato Soup
Last night I realized I had about 6 tomatoes that were going to go bad if I didn't use them right away. I ended up making a quick fresh tomato soup that was fantastic. This can be served hot or cold. I served it room temp with croutons, which really hit the spot.
Heat 2 T. olive oil in a non-reactive pot. Add a few pinches of dried oregano, red pepper flakes, and 1 smashed garlic clove. Heat until fragrent. Now, hack up your tomatoes into chunks. Don't worry about peeling or seeding them, you can just throw everything right in the pot. Season with salt. Bring the heat up to boil, then reduce to simmer, stirring often. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl, and throw in the freezer to cool for 30 minutes. Serve w/ croutons. (PS--Aaron swirled some soft goat cheese into his before serving)
I served this along side some potato perioges that I sauteed with sweet onions. Perfect.
Heat 2 T. olive oil in a non-reactive pot. Add a few pinches of dried oregano, red pepper flakes, and 1 smashed garlic clove. Heat until fragrent. Now, hack up your tomatoes into chunks. Don't worry about peeling or seeding them, you can just throw everything right in the pot. Season with salt. Bring the heat up to boil, then reduce to simmer, stirring often. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl, and throw in the freezer to cool for 30 minutes. Serve w/ croutons. (PS--Aaron swirled some soft goat cheese into his before serving)
I served this along side some potato perioges that I sauteed with sweet onions. Perfect.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
White Bean Dip, version 2
I posted an earlier version of white bean dip, but I this one is my current favorite.
I love bean dips in the summer when it's hot outside. They are quick to make, healthy, and require very little clean up.
1 can cannellini beans (or similar)
1 clove garlic
tahini
water
sea salt
Crystal hot sauce
lemon juice (optional)
Drain & rinse your beans, then throw them in the blender or VitaMix. Throw in the peeled garlic clove, and add a few pinches of salt. Now get 2 heaping tablespoons of tahini and add those. Add a few glugs of hot sauce, and about 1/4 cup of water. Turn on the blender, and add more water as needed to loosen up the mixure and get it to a "dip" consistancy. Stores in the fridge for a week, and you can serve it with pita, pretzels, rice crackers, etc.
PS--Of course you could use some other brand of hot sauce if you like. In my opinion, there is no brand finer than the blue and white labeled Louisiana Crystal Hot Sauce. It's not too hot, and it tastes great on everything.
I love bean dips in the summer when it's hot outside. They are quick to make, healthy, and require very little clean up.
1 can cannellini beans (or similar)
1 clove garlic
tahini
water
sea salt
Crystal hot sauce
lemon juice (optional)
Drain & rinse your beans, then throw them in the blender or VitaMix. Throw in the peeled garlic clove, and add a few pinches of salt. Now get 2 heaping tablespoons of tahini and add those. Add a few glugs of hot sauce, and about 1/4 cup of water. Turn on the blender, and add more water as needed to loosen up the mixure and get it to a "dip" consistancy. Stores in the fridge for a week, and you can serve it with pita, pretzels, rice crackers, etc.
PS--Of course you could use some other brand of hot sauce if you like. In my opinion, there is no brand finer than the blue and white labeled Louisiana Crystal Hot Sauce. It's not too hot, and it tastes great on everything.
Grated Zucchini and Summer Squash Salad
This salad is so easy--it's perfect for a super hot summer day when you don't want to cook. It's also a great way to use up the cheap squash found at the farmers markets right now.
1 medium zucchini
1 medium yellow summer squash
1/2 or 1 whole lemon
sea salt
Grate the zucchini and summer squash, then throw them both in a ziploc bag. Sprinkle lightly with a bit of sea salt. Squeeze the juice from 1/2 a lemon over them, adding up to 1 whole lemon if you are a big lemon fan. Zzzzzzzzzzip up the bag, shake (to coat with the lemon juice), and throw it in the fridge. I think you need to leave it in there for at least 30 minutes. I usually make this in the AM before work and put it in my lunch box, so it sits for about 3 hours.
The acidic juice of the lemon starts to "cook" the squashes, which makes them tendor. Toss just before serving.
PS--you could add some crumbled feta or a dash of rice vinegar to this before serving if you like. Sometimes I even rip up a bit of basil over it too.
1 medium zucchini
1 medium yellow summer squash
1/2 or 1 whole lemon
sea salt
Grate the zucchini and summer squash, then throw them both in a ziploc bag. Sprinkle lightly with a bit of sea salt. Squeeze the juice from 1/2 a lemon over them, adding up to 1 whole lemon if you are a big lemon fan. Zzzzzzzzzzip up the bag, shake (to coat with the lemon juice), and throw it in the fridge. I think you need to leave it in there for at least 30 minutes. I usually make this in the AM before work and put it in my lunch box, so it sits for about 3 hours.
The acidic juice of the lemon starts to "cook" the squashes, which makes them tendor. Toss just before serving.
PS--you could add some crumbled feta or a dash of rice vinegar to this before serving if you like. Sometimes I even rip up a bit of basil over it too.
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