Chocolate Chip Banana Bread (or muffins)

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread (or muffins)

I only make banana bread when I have bananas about to go bad. That is to say, I make banana bread often. It took me a while to find a recipe that was vegan, gluten-free and delicious. The link to the recipe I found is here: http://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/easyrecipe-print/3094-0

Given that I do not own a dishwasher and hate doing dishes, I opt to prepare everything in the same food processor. This makes clean up a little easier and I still like the finished product. Also, I have a deep need to add extra chocolate to everything, so I add in a bit more than suggested :)

Ingredients:

- 3 cups of oatmeal (I use Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Oats)
- 3-4 very rips bananas
- 1 1/2t Baking Powder
- 1/2t Baking Soda
- 1/4t salt
- 1T Olive or Coconut Oil
- 1/3c Brown Sugar + 2T
- 1T Pure Vanilla Extract
- 2/3c-1c Vegan Chocolate Chips (I use Trader Joe's Brand)

Equipment:

- Food Processor (you can use a blender if you are in a pinch)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan (or muffin tins)
2. Pour oatmeal into the food processor. Process until the oatmeal resembles flour
3. Add in bananas and process
4. Blend in all other ingredients except for chocolate chips and 2T brown sugar
5. After all other ingredients are blended together, fold in chocolate chips
6. Pour in mixture to loaf pan (or muffin tins)
7. Top with 2T of brown sugar
8. Bake 35-40 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick and have it come out clean (bake about 20-
25 minutes if using muffin tins).
9. Cool for about 10 minutes before cutting

Georgia, my niece (the person tho gave the courage to start this blog), has offered to review some of the recipes on this site. Georgia is in middle school and eats a standard diet. Her three favorite foods are hamburgers, baked potatoes and cake. Her favorite vegetable is cucumber. Below is her first official food review.

Georgia's Review: "I think it was very good and it tasted like chocolate chip cookies and bananas. I would recommend this to other people."

Baked Tofu: 3 Ways

This is it: the first official blog post. I have been a bit scared to post but some words of wisdom from my niece helped me out! So here it goes :-)

Tonight I wasn't sure what to make for dinner. I checked out a mostly bare kitchen, not exactly the type of scene I expected for my first blog post. I thought I'd think of the recipe weeks ahead of time and prep and take all the best pictures, but no. This is what we have: a block of tofu, some seasonings and an iPhone camera.

I started by pressing a block of extra firm tofu. I do not have a fancy tofu press. I gently press the water out the tofu using 2 cutting boards. The trick is to get most of the liquid out of the tofu while having it maintain its shape. (It can take a few attempts to get it right.) After most of the liquid is out, I cut it into equal sized steaks. A traditional size block of tofu usually gets me eight steaks of tofu. If I find the tofu to still be too moist, I gently press the tofu between two clean dish towels. This usually gets me the result I am looking for.

Tonight, I did not know what I wanted, so I decided to make a few different options: Bragg's Tofu, Agave and Cinnamon, and "Cheezy" Tofu.

Baked Bragg's Tofu
For those of you not familiar with Bragg's, do yourself a favor and run down to the store and pick up "Bragg's Liquid Aminos: All Purpose Seasoning." The bottle claims it is a "Natural Soy Sauce Alternative." It is delicious and works really well with stirfrys and tofu.

Ingredients:

- Extra Firm Tofu
- Bragg's Liquid Aminos

Directions:

1. Lay tofu steaks on a baking sheet
2. Cover the tops of the steaks with Bragg's (about 1T per steak)
3. Let sit for about 10 minutes to marinate
4. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes

* Some find Bragg's a bit salty. If you are not used to it, start out with just a little at a time.

Baked Agave and Cinnamon Tofu

Ingredients:

- Extra Firm Tofu
- Agave Nectar (about 1T per steak)
- Cinnamon (about 1t per steak)

Directions:

1. Mix agave and cinnamon together in a bowl
2. Dip steaks in mixture until covered
3. Lay steaks onto baking sheet
4. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes

Baked "Cheezy" Crusted Tofu

Ingredients:

- Extra Firm Tofu
- Flour *I use Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free Flour (about 1T per steak)
- Nutritional Yeast (about 1T per steak)
- Onion Powder (about 1t per steak)
- Garlic Powder (about 1t per steak)

Directions:

1. Mix flour, nutritional yeast, onion and garlic powder together in a bowl
2. Dip steaks in mixture until covered
3. Lay steaks onto baking sheet
4. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes

So there you have it. A simple way to make baked tofu three ways. Serve it with a side of veggies, rice or over salad. I hope you enjoy!