MAKE THIS TODAY!

I had some bananas that were getting ready to go bad and searched online for a yummy vegan banana bread recipe and ran across this. It just so happened that I had an extra zucchini in my fridge that was crying to be used and was just enough for me to double this recipe. I made 2 loaves and cut into one as soon as it was cool enough. Sweet sassy molassy!!! IT. WAS. SO. GOOD.

The skeptical roommate nearly bit my hand off trying to get more. He took the rest to work with him and his coworker (the same one who loved the cookies) ate it and told him to leave the rest of the loaf so he could eat it for breakfast the next morning.

The other loaf was taken to a bbq (or cookout depending on where you're from) where we were made to leave half the loaf. They really should rename it "Crack Bread".

The only changes I would have made are: due to the fact that the bananas I had were so ripe, I would have cut back a little on the sugar and I would have used whole wheat flour in place of some (if not all) of the flour that I used. Aside from that, this bread was PERFECT.

Make some today. You won't regret it!


Here is the link in case you missed it up top: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=28286.0

No Bake Cookies!

Recently, I've been seeing these already made at the grocery store. As the name suggests, they are cookies you don't have to bake and therefore a TIME SAVER. I think it's terrible that people are too lazy to even make their own no bake cookies anymore.

My mom used to make these all of the time when I was a kid. We had trouble waiting for the delicious piles of goop to set up before we ate them, and even when I make them now I will eat the remnants off of the utensils and whatever is left in the pot.

This was an incredibly easy recipe to adapt to being acceptable to a vegan diet. I even made an addition that isn't in the traditional recipe that the roomie agreed was a wise decision. The roomie took a few of them to work and his coworker had a hard time believing they were vegan. Vegan or not, give them a shot!

No Bake Cookies
1-1/2 cups sugar (evaporated cane juice)
1 stick non-dairy butter (Earth Balance)
1/2 cup non-dairy milk (I used almond.)
1/3 cup cocoa powder (I used Ghiradelli. Worth it.)
1/3 cup peanut butter (I used natural. Don't be like me and forget to stir it AND refrigerate it. Even if you ARE like me, your cookies will still turn out splendidly.)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (Don't use imitation. That's just gross.)
3 cups of Rolled Oats (May need a little more.)
1/2 cup cocao nibs (My addition. Do it.)

1. Combine first four ingredients in medium sized saucepan. Cook over medium heat stirring occasionally. Once the mixture comes to a boil, continue to cook and continually stir for 1 minute.
2. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla extract. Add oats and cocao nibs. Pay attention to how the mixture is coming together. May have to add extra oats depending on the mixture. I ended up adding one more cup of oats for a total of four cups. Mixture should look glossy, but not be runny with excess liquid.
3. Scoop out large tablespoon-fulls onto wax paper or aluminum foil. (I like to scoop them out using an ice cream scoop with a lever to push them out.)
4. Allow to cool and set up. Yield: About 16-24 depending on size of scoops

You're welcome.

The Other Night's Dinner

I got a little behind on posting our dinners and different delicious dishes I've made, but I'm going to make an attempt to catch up starting now.

One night last week I faced a common dilemma: What to make for dinner.

Spaghetti is always an option for me and it just so happened that we had spaghetti and organic/vegan pasta sauce. So, I decided that's what I should make.

We had a bunch of in season veggies and I knew I wanted to incorporate those some how. I sliced eggplant and sprinkled it with salt to draw out the bitterness. I then sliced zucchini into thin "planks", drizzled them with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper and slid them under the broiler for a few minutes. I made whole wheat spaghetti noodles and cooked them to the desired done-ness and drizzled them with olive oil so as not to stick together.

I roasted asparagus the same way I did the zucchini and decided to not roast the eggplant the same way since I had already roasted 2 other veggies. I instead cut the eggplant into chunks, sauteed it in olive oil and added diced red onion and minced garlic later on. Of course, I seasoned this with salt and pepper as well and added some cracked red pepper flakes. I added the jarred pasta sauce and warmed it all together.

After the veggies came out of the oven, I served up spaghetti with the sauce on top and got all fancy like and fanned the zucchini over the top. I served the asparagus on the side.


IT WAS SO DELICIOUS! It tasted like eggplant Parmesan without the Parmesan...but the cheese was not missed. I would HIGHLY recommend making this dish as even non vegans will be satisfied. Dinner dilemma solved!

Happy eating!

Happy Independence Day!

Sorry I've been so lazy with the posting this weekend. I will be back tomorrow with some meal ideas and reviews, but for now, hope you're enjoying the 4th with people you love.

God Bless America!!!