Daniel's Banana Bread

Banana Bread

INGREDIENTS

• 3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

METHOD

No need for a mixer for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Pancakes in Japan Idea

I keep kinako powder-- ground soy bean powder that is typically eaten on mochi-- in my kitchen, because it is tastey in a banana and yogurt smoothie. Today I tried cooking it into pancakes, because I have so much and move through it so slowly, and I don't want it to go bad.

It was tasty, but it would probably be better with white flour (I did it with whole wheat), and no cinnamon.

Mushroom, tomato, bell pepper, kimchee, basil omlette.

Surprisingly yummy. Another example of "let's throw what I have together in a skillet and see."

1 tablespoon sesame oil
fry 1 cubed eringi mushroom (some onion optional). When it gets soft, add
1 cubed red bell pepper. when it is soft, add
3 cubed cherry tomatoes.
1 teaspoon soy sauce.
When it's stewed for awhile, add a scrambled egg. Push all ingredients into the egg so they get coated, but try not to move the egg around until it's firmed up, then flip.
When finished, garnish with kimchee and shredded basil.

Yum!

(I ate it so fast I have no picture. Sorry!)
(Sausage would possibly be an excellent addition.)

Summer Recipes

These are some good foods for the hot summer months:

Frozen Fruit
Frozen watermelon (~courtesy Dana), grapes, bite-sized chunks of banana. Great icecream substitutes!

Fruit and Veggie Smoothies (~courtesy Ron and Vicki)
1.) carrot, spinach, strawberry, blueberry
2.) carrot, tiny bit of ginger, cucumber, banana, apple, spinach, half a lemon, a bit of yogurt for creaminess
3.) carrots, cucumber, bell pepper, strawberry, banana, ginger, yogurt, pineapple juice, protein powder, aojiru.
Ideas: Watermelon is abundant, but it has a rather delicate flavor, so I'm trying to find good matches for it. Watermelon and tomato, or watermelon and cucumber? (Please don't try it with yogurt or tofu! My attempts have been disgusting at best.)

-Mary's Smoothies:
1.) yogurt, an 8th of a brick of tofu, frozen blueberries, banana
2.) yogurt, banana, kinako powder.

Cold Soups
-Gezpacho: Blend five small tomatoes, an 8th of an onion, two cloves of garlic, a bit of celery and red bell pepper, a splash of lemon juice, and a cucumber together in a blander, and serve chilled. Good also with some black pepper and salt.
-Veggie Juice Soup: Marukyo sells a no-sugar, no-salt 100% veggie juice (primarily tomato and carrot juice) at the market, and it is a great base for a cold soup. I blend in a bit of garlic and onion, sprinkle on some dried basil [because my fresh basil was eaten by a happy caterpillar :'( ] and then drop in leftover stir fried mushrooms and potatoes that have been chilling in the fridge. Great served with a fried egg, or some macaroni noodles!!


-Alternative Tuna Salad: tuna (that is stored in water, not oil), olive oil, balsamic vinegar, capers, a chopped onion, chopped pickles, sometimes mayo, sometimes chopped olives, fresh thyme, lemon juice. Serve over lettuce or chopped spinach. Side with red bell pepper or cucumber.

I want to look up:
-Vegan frozen banana and soymilk "icecream"

Homemade Peanut Butter

http://www.abeautifulmess.com/2012/03/make-your-own-peanut-butter.html

Vegan Banana Bread

From Daniel:
http://dairyfreecooking.about.com/od/breadsbakery/r/Recipe_LowFatVeganBananaBread.htm

18 Recipes in a Mug

http://www.buzzfeed.com/arielknutson/delicious-snacks-in-a-mug