Banana Bread

Ryan and I went on a field trip to Michael’s Craft Store last week because Sarah was too terrified to go. She says it’s overwhelming. Like going to IKEA on a Saturday afternoon after taking acid. 

I wonder how she would know what that’s like. She’s had a wild past, I guess.

Anyway, Ryan and I fared just fine and I only got a little sweaty. I got some so much very very needed craft supplies and I also picked up four adorable little ceramic loaf pans that were on mega deep discount. I only regret not getting 12 of the little bastards.

So I made banana bread because I am amazing. I’m going to put ribbons on them and give them to the neighbours.

I used a recipe from the Veganomicon (vegan bible), but made a few twists. The original recipe was posted HERE.   I added mushed up pear and some ginger and allspice. I also forgot to add the .5 C apple sauce the original recipe called for. I know. Idiot. It was the whole point. But I guess the pear helped. 

So it’s pretty darned good, must say. Not terribly sweet, so if you like it sweet, pour a bag of sugar over it and maybe some corn syrup.

You’re welcome.

Lower-Fat Banana Bread 

Makes one loaf or 4 adorable mini loaves

Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease your loaf pan(s)

2 large very ripe bananas and one ripe, cored and peeled pear

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons molasses

2 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

a few dashes of Allspice

1/2 teaspoon salt

Mush up the banana and pear really well.

Add the oil, molasses and sugar. Combine.

Sift in the dry ingredients and stir until just combined - it’ll be all lump-tastic.

Plop into loaf pan(s) and bake for about 50 minutes (40 for mini loaf pans). Oven heats differ, so I’d check your bread after 35 minutes or so. Toothpick should come out clean after poking into the centre of the bread. But you know that kind of stuff already because you’re a superstar.

Oh, and Sarah’s not getting any of this banana bread because she wouldn’t take me to Michael’s. I guess we’re even because I told her I wouldn’t got on her eleventy billion mile charity bike ride with her.

What is up with her?

Jeez.

I love her.

Except when she won’t take me to Michael’s.

And she’ll probably get some banana bread.

Foodie Friday - Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

There is kind of a glut of recipes for vegan chocolate cupcakes. It's like the lawyer of the vegan baked goods world. There might actually be too many.  Still, when you need a lawyer or a cupcake, you usually need one RIGHT AWAY and don't care it's charging you $400 an hour/400 calories a serving. 

But if I'm going to fit in in the vegan world, I know I have to do a few things: avoid animal products; float 2 inches off the ground at all times; and make a good vegan cupcake.

I love baking. I mean, I really love it. But cupcakes have never been my forte. So I turned to my friend Ryan, who you all know and love, because he is our circle's go-to baker for cupcakes and for high end baked delights. He has his own food blog which we are all imploring him to get back to. After begging him and promising not to draw any embarrassing portrait of him, Ryan consented to help me with this week's post - for Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate frosting.

The original recipe is found at this site, but we made several changes. 

But before we could embark on our morning of baking, as every vegan knows, it is important to align your Chakras before you start. If your Chakas are out of balance, your cupcakes will fail and butterflies will die and the Euro will plunge further.

So we aligned our Chakas.

Whew, that feels better.

Ryan is more of a purist than am I when it comes to baking - he sources out the best ingredients,

sifts his dry ingredients, and weighs them rather than just scooping them up slap dash in the measuring cups like I do. 

He even did research to ensure that the icing sugar we were using was vegan. Lantic icing sugar IS vegan. Redpath sugar is NOT vegan. Ryan says, "you're welcome".

UPDATE (SEPT 8, 2012). I HAVE LEARNED THAT REDPATH SUGAR IS VEGAN. LANTIC SUGAR IS ALSO VEGAN, BUT IT'S SISTER COMPANY, ROGER'S SUGAR, USES BONE CHAR IN ITS FILERING PROCESS, SO ROGERS SUGAR = BAD, REDPATH IS GOOD.

Ryan created a pousse cafe of oil milk and sugar

Sam wants cupcakes. Sucks to be Sam. No cupcakes for Sam

 Here is the recipe as adapted by Ryan and Elpoo:


Vegan Deep  Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

275 g/2 cups all-purpose flour

100 g/3/4 cup natural cocoa powder  (Hershey's)

1-2 Tbsp espresso powder (Ryan suggests the King Arthur Flour brand of espresso powder)

2 teaspoons (10 ml) baking soda

1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking powder

a pinch of salt

450 ml/1 +3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

2 teaspoons (10 ml) red wine vinegar

320 g/ 1 + 2/3 cups raw sugar, pulsed to make a fine powder (or caster sugar)

320 ml/1 + 1/4 cups oil (we used vegetable oil - next time I'd use sunflower or canola to keep the soy content down)

2 tablespoons (30 ml) vanilla extract (Rebecca's home made!)

____________________________________________

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F. Line 24 muffin tin cups with paper liners.

2. Sift twice, the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large  bowl. 

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the almond milk, vinegar, sugar, oil and vanilla extract. Pour into the flour mixture and stir until well combined.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared cupcake pans about 1/2 full,  and bake in the preheated oven for 40-55 minutes.

 A wooden skewer inserted in the middle should come out with almost no crumbs attached, and the middle of the cake, when pressed, should spring back slightly instead of sink. Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes if necessary.  

5. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Slide a table knife all around the edge to loosen the cake, then remove from the pan. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 1 hour

They will be VERY moist. So be careful if you take off the paper wrappers. It's better to leave them on, actually. You could refrigerate the cooled cupcakes for a bit to firm them up before frosting them.

Psychotic weirdo puts cupcakes into oven

Dark dark dark and deleeeeeeeeeshus.

Vegan Chocolate Frosting

1 cup (227 g) Vegan, non-hydrogenated margarine. I used Earth Balance or Becel Vegan margarine.

1 cup (125 g) icing sugar (confectioners’ or powdered)

1 tsp espresso powder

1 1/2 teaspoons  pure vanilla extract 

5 oz (145 g) quality bittersweet, chopped, melted and cooled 

1/4 cup (60 ml) almond  milk

pinch of salt

_____________________

1. In a bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, combine the icing sugar and margarine and beat on low speed for about 1 minute.

2. Add vanilla and beat on low until well combined. Add the melted & cooled chocolate and beat on medium speed until smooth (about 2 minutes).

3. Add almond milk and salt, and beat on medium speed for another minute. Do NOT over beat. Keep an eye on it.

adding the cooled chocolate to the sugar and vegan "butter"

The frosting should look creamy and smooth. Decorate with vegan approved silver coloured smartie things.

_________________________________________________________________________________






Full disclosure time. The first time we made this, the cupcakes turned out great. Super moist and dark, almost black. But the frosting was a disaster.

Ellen is saddened by awful icing. Yes. icing an be awful.

We tried to tart up the awful icing with a silver smartie thingie, but it just looked like a silver smartie on a cow pat.

 Not wanting to waste all the time and ingredients, Ryan whipped up a new batch of vegan frosting when he got home so he could take the cupcakes to a barbecue without losing his King of Cupcakes status.

We couldn't figure out why the icing failed so epically. We may have beaten the margarine and sugar too long. Was it because our Chakas were not really aligned? As a vegan, was I not being strident enough? In the end, we decided that it was most likely because instead of using a good quality chocolate to melt and use in the icing, we just used an old Easter Bunny broken up and melted down. 

not really for baking.

What were we thinking? How could I use an innocent chocolate bunny in this, this what was supposed to be VEGAN! I'll never harm another animal shaped food again. Serves me right. I have been chastised. 

Now I have to go and put tiny razor cuts in my leg and sit in a bath tub full of vinegar. Because that's what vegans do when they know they've been bad. 


Anyhooo, have a good weekend. Save the bunnies.

These cupcakes are so good - before he ate this cupcake, Peter had brown eyes.

Foodie Friday - Peanut Butter Surprises

You’re not going to forgive me for this one. Unless you are desperately trying to gain weight, you’ll probably want to give this post a miss.

These cookies will freakin’ kill you.

I only make these when I know they will be leaving the house in someone else’s hands. They are pure evil. 

These cookies, if I make them at just the right time (i.e. there are no sports on TV), are a sure fire way for me to get lucky. These cookies are Brian’s kryptonite. The only protection Brian has against these cookies are the distraction of sports on TV.

These are chocolate cookies with peanut butter inside. The peanut butter is the surprise part, but you probably already figured that out. I suppose you could adapt these and put a surprise in the surprise, like a Hershey’s Kiss, or a bit of gum. Or a sardine. Listen, I’m not the boss of you. You have to make your own choices here.

Right after I made these cookies, I was talking to some Hydro workers outside the house and told them I'd just made cookies. I gave them some and then went on my way, because I'm just that awesome. When I came back the big burly hydro worker asked for the recipe. He said they were the best chocolate and peanut butter cookies he had ever, EVER had. I swear there were tears in his eyes.

Peanut Butter Surprises

Prep: 40 min Bake: approx 10 min per batch

1 and 1/2 C flour

1/2 C unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 t baking soda

1/2C butter, softened

1/2 C white sugar

1/2 C packed brown sugar

1/4 C peanut butter

1 egg

1 T milk

1 t vanilla

3/4 C sifted powdered sugar

1/2 C peanut butter

granulated sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, and baking soda. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl beat together the butter, 1/2 C white sugar, brown sugar and the 1/4 C peanut butter until well combined. 

Put stuff in bowl

Mix stuff in bowl. Action shot!

Add egg, milk and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture.

Resist temptation to sit in darkened basement and eat chocolate cookie dough paste.

Form the chocolate dough into balls about 1 and 1/4 inches in diameter

3. For filling, combine powdered sugar and the 1/2 C peanut butter. Shape this mixture into 3/4 inch balls.

kinda looks like bone-fed dog's poops. But I assure you, it' is sugar and peanut butter

4. Flatten a chocolate dough ball. 

Top with a peanut butter ball. 

Cat is bored by shenanigans.

For each cookie, shape the chocolate dough over the peanut butter filling, completely covering the filling. 

Roll dough into balls

 Roll the balls in granulated sugar.

Aren't you glad of these highly instructive photos?  I don't think you're an idiot. I know that you know how to roll cookie dough in sugar. I just have to fill up the space here. You understand, of course.

Bake in a preheated oven for about 10 minutes or until just set and surface slightly cracks. 

Let stand for 1 minute and transfer to wire racks to cool.

Buy elastic waist pants. You'll need them after these.

Foodie Friday - Merry Binge-mas

My “fat” jeans are tight.

And here is the reason

I’m eating my way

Through the holiday season.

I spent November baking

Cookies and candies

And now I’m upset

‘Cause I can’t fit my panties

Or bra, dress or leggings

They’re all burst at the seams

Due to the sugarplums

Not just in my dreams

I spill out of my clothes

As I swill out on cheeses

I blame it all on

This season of Jesus.

For wasn’t it said

In the Old Testament Tale

That to truly love God

One must eat like a whale?

So really I’m doing

My true Christian duty

By stuffing my face

And expanding my booty.

As much as I love

the sweet salty tastes

It spells a full year

Of elasticized waists

And a full month of guilt

A sad January

Of seeing myself

As fat, ugly and hairy

Is it all worth it,

To eat like a glutton?

It just gives me gas

And a bursting pants button.

I suppose it is,

or I wouldn’t persist

In gorging on sweets

On the following list:

Almonds and pralines

And a chocolate torte

Brittle of peanut

Breads ginger and short

Fudges with nuts

Fudges without

(I’m wondering why Brian

Now says that I’m “stout”)

I’ll have a hot toddy

That begs for another

With chocolates that’d make you

Forsake your own mother

Peppermint bark

Made in my home -  A

Box of the same

From Williams-Sonom - a

Chocolate haystacks

I begged from my friend Ryan

Peppermint patties

I’m hiding from Brian.

Wafers of sugar

Striped vinnetarte

Imperial Cookies

Cakes whole, and in part.

Coconut clusters 

Lemony pies

A deluded belief

That the scale tells me lies

Must not forget chips

And cheese by the block

Crackers and french bread

Tins o' Poppycock

Gran Marnier and brandy

Mulled wine and grog

Hot cocoa and Baileys

Spiced rum and egg nog

With all of this food

For the season’s duration

It’s no wonder we all

Give in to temptation

So don’t beat yourself up

If you’re a little more round

Except for damned Kathryn

Who “won’t gain a pound”.

I hope that you’ll join me

I know that you will

In feeding your sweet self

Until you feel ill.

To eat, it is human

To gorge, it’s divine

So ease up the rules

Just for Christmas time.

There’s a time for feasting

A time to toast plenty

A time for Weight Watchers

A time for Craig, Jenny

I’ll see all of you 

On January One

All of us shame faced

At the damage we’d done

To our bodies and health

O’er the holiday season

Our hearts all cry “Mutiny”

Our arteries “Treason”.

We’ll drag all our asses

To treads and to Spins

To work off all of our 

Holy Days Sins

And while we’re all sweating

And bemoaning each mile

We all can take comfort

We’ll all have a smile

For misery likes comp’ny

We’re all Pigs of a Feather

I’m happy to know

We’re all fat together.

Go ahead.

Have another cookie..

xo

Elpoo