Vegan Banana Bread

Hello Everyone!  I apologize for the hiatus – I am currently expecting (our 3rd!) and have only just gotten over my morning sickness.  During those queasy months, I could hardly bring myself to eat anything, let alone cook!  My family subsisted on convenience foods of all sorts, unfortunately.  But now I’m at that glorious stage where I am hungry, energetic, and craving healthy foods!

This morning as I was about to put bananas on the breakfast table, I noticed that they were way past their prime.  When that happens, I usually do one of two things.   If I’m pressed for time I will peel them and cut them into large chunks, and put them in the freezer for smoothies.  But on a nice rainy day like today, I decided to take the time to bake banana bread.

Here is a recipe that I have tweaked ever so slightly from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook to make it vegan, and a bit healthier.  I replaced the eggs, changed the flour from white to whole wheat pastry, and reduced the sugar.  It was quite sweet (might have been the super-ripe bananas at play) but I think next time I’ll try reducing it a little bit more.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg (or a few grates of whole nutmeg)
• 1/4-1/2 tsp salt (I used 1/4 tsp but it could have used a bit more)
• 1 Tbsp Ener-G egg replacer whisked with 4 Tbsp warm water
• 1 1/2 cup mashed bananas (I used 4 fairly large ones)
• 3/4 cup unrefined sugar
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9×5x3-inch loaf pan.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a large mixing bowl.  In a medium bowl combine mashed bananas, prepared egg replacer, sugar, and oil.  Add wet mixture to dry ingredients and combine until just mixed.  Fold in chopped nuts.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 55-60 minutes.  Loosen bread from sides of pan with a knife and let sit in pan for 10 minutes.  Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before slicing.  Store bread in refrigerator, wrapped in foil.  Enjoy!

Homestyle Vegan Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin pie has always been my favorite holiday pie! The first time I tasted a vegan tofu-pumpkin pie, my heart sank. Though it was good, it didn’t taste like the pumpkin pie that I had known and loved my whole life. After MUCH trial and error, I have finally found a way to make a vegan pumpkin pie that tastes just like the traditional thing! And it happens to be very simple to make, too. If you’ve ever been disappointed by a vegan pumpkin pie, please give this one a try!

Ingredients:

• 1 8-inch or 9-inch unbaked pie crust (homemade or storebought)
• 1 14-oz can pureed pumpkin*
• 1 cup plain soy milk
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 – 3 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• vegan whipped topping, if desired

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine canned pumpkin, soy milk, sugar, cornstarch, salt, and spices in a large bowl, and mix very well with an electric mixer (alternatively, you can combine these ingredients in a blender). Pour into unbaked pastry shell, and bake for about 60 minutes. The pie will still be jiggly when you take it out of the oven, but it will firm up as it cools. Cool completely on a cooling rack, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for several hours or overnight before serving. Serve chilled and top with vegan whipped topping if desired.**

* I have had the best results using canned pumpkin such as Libby’s for this pie, as the consistency of cooked and pureed pumpkin can vary so greatly. However, if you prefer to cook your own pumpkin, simply substitute 2 cups thick pureed pumpkin for the can of pumpkin.

** Soyatoo soy whipped topping (pictured above) is a delicious vegan alternative to whipped cream, and can be found in some supermarkets such as Whole Foods. You can also make your own whipped topping by creaming silken tofu and sweetener in a food processor.

Red, White, and Blueberry Tart

Here is another dessert that I made for our 4th of July celebration! This couldn’t have been easier to make, and I won’t post it as a recipe because it isn’t 100% “from scratch.” I used the same pie crust recipe that I use for everything (including the Strawberry Pie below), pre-baked it, and filled it with a pudding made from Mori-Nu Light Silken Extra Firm Tofu and Mori-Nu Mates Vanilla pudding mix. Then I decorated it with fresh raspberries and blueberries (also from our wonderful farmer’s market!). I chilled it for a couple of hours and it firmed up quite nicely and made a tasty treat. I’ve only recently discovered the delicious Mori-Nu pudding mixes, and I love them! The chocolate is delicious on its own, and I am dreaming up all kind of possibilies for the vanilla!

Fresh Strawberry Pie

We got a big crate of strawberries from the Farmer’s market last Tuesday – freshly picked and bursting with flavor! Since very ripe strawberries don’t keep for very long, I decided to make this fresh strawberry pie for the 4th of July festivities! It can be a bit time-consuming to de-stem the berries, but otherwise this pie is incredibly easy to make!

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 pre-baked pie crust (I’ll post a recipe for that later, or just use your own!)
• 8 cups small to medium fresh strawberries, stems removed*
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch

Preparation:

Prepare baked pastry shell, set aside.

Place 1 cup of the strawberries plus 2/3 cup water into a blender, and blend until very smooth. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in blended berry mixture. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from heat and cool for 10 minutes without stirring.

Spread a bit of the glaze over bottom and sides of baked pastry shell. Arrange half of the remaining strawberries, stem ends down, in pastry. Spoon half of remaining glaze over strawberries, being careful to coat each one. Arrange remaining strawberries over the first layer, and spoon remaining glaze over berries, again coating each one.

Chill for 1 – 2 hours.** Enjoy!!

*Using small whole berries makes this pie very attractive, yet still manageable to eat. You can use larger strawberries if that’s what you have, just cut them in half first.

*Don’t chill this pie for much longer than 2 hours, as the glaze will begin to become watery and the pie won’t hold together as well. Unfortunately, this isn’t a pie that you can make the night before. You can, however, bake the pie crust and de-stem the berries ahead of time, which will save you lots of time on the day you plan to serve this!