Banana Bread Recipe, perfected

A few changes to this recipe to make it better. Yes.

Ingredients

• 1.5c white whole wheat flour
• 1tsp baking soda
• 1.5tsp baking powder
• 1tsp salt
• 1/2c brown sugar
• 3 very ripe bananas
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/3c. buttermilk
• 6 oz low fat plain yoghurt
• 1 T. cinnamon
• 1/2 c. chocolate chips, or until it looks right

Changes are bolded. Mix dry and wet as before, combine and bake at 350 for ~1 hr. If veganizing (which I haven't tried), I would replace the buttermilk with soy milk + vinegar and add plain or vanilla soy yoghurt or about 1/4 c. soy margarine. I will have to try this sometime.

Eggplant Rolls

Some recipes on here start out as “I was hungry”. Some start out as “I was bored”, or “I was tired”, or “I needed to use up a bunch of vegetables”. This one started out as a sort of combination of all of these, and turned out to be something amazing. Don’t be put off by the lengthy prep procedure; it wasn’t really very hard, and the results were worth it. Inspired by this recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 medium eggplant
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 zucchini
• 1/2 onion
• 1/2 tin diced tomatoes (~14 oz)
• 1 large crimini mushroom
• 1/2 package frozen chopped spinach
• 1 piece baked tofu (optional)
• 2 T. feta cheese (I used fat-free feta)
• Salsa, to taste (optional)

Methodology

1. Slice eggplant into “steaks” the long way, about half an inch thick. Lay them out on a plate and salt them on both sides with sea salt, then let them sit for a while (about twenty minutes?)

2. Chop other ingredients. Heat wok with oil of choice (I use garlic oil), add garlic and sauté a little. Add onion and mushroom, wait a few minutes, then add zucchini. Season with paprika, basil, salt, and pepper.

3. After that starts to look cooked (or dry, I guess), add spinach, tofu, and tomatoes. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally.

4. Heat up a frying pan with a little oil in it. Wash off the eggplant “steaks” and blot them dry, then put in the pan. Drizzle with a little oil, season with paprika, salt, and pepper. After about 3-4 minutes, flip them and let them cook on the other side. They will become sort of pliable and soft, but they should not become mush.

5. When all the eggplant is cooked, mix the feta into the sauce. Put one piece of eggplant on a plate and top with about 1/4 cup sauce, then use your fingers or a spoon to roll it up. This is something of a delicate operation if you are really hungry.

6. Top with salsa or pasta sauce.

Notes

*Makes about enough for three people if they are not too hungry, or two if they are (which is to say, if they’re me).

*This took about 45 minutes start-to-finish, including a little time-out to clean up after a cat, yell at him, sulk, and deal with him sulking.

*Fantastic and delicious. 0/7 on the disaster index.

*Next time I will try adding either rice or chickpeas, for more texture/carbs/protein.

Lazy Brownies with Rum Glaze

What do you do when you don't want to go to the store, but you are craving fudgy brownies like woah? Improvise.

This is based on my mother's parve mayonnaise brownies recipe.

Ingredients

Brownies

• 1 1/4 c. flour
• 3/4 c. cocoa powder (unsweetened, non-dutched)
  
• 1 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 T. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 c. water
• 1/3 c. mayonnaise
• 1 small container (~6 oz.) low fat plain yoghurt
• 1/4 c. mini chocolate chips (semi-sweet)
• 1/4 c. dried cranberries and raisins
  

Glaze

• 1/3 c. rum
• 2/3 c. powdered/icing sugar (approx.)
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• a sprinkle of cardamum

Methodology

1. Preheat the oven to 350*.

2. Mix flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, cocoa, and spices.

3. Add in mayo, water, and yoghurt. You may need to add more water to bring it to the right consistancy.

4. Add chips, cranberries, and raisins. Put in a greased 9x13 pan and bake for ~30 minutes.

5. Mix glaze ingrediants while brownies cool. Cut brownies, then drizzle glaze over with a fork. Eat.

Notes

*Not quite what I expected, but rich and fudgy. Also, rum + running is maybe not my greatest idea ever. Or perhaps it is. Mmm.

*Could have plumped raisins first with hot water. Hm.

*Had to call Daniel to ask him how long mayo keeps for. Apparently a long time.

*2/7 on the disaster index.

ETA: These keep well in the fridge, becomng even more fudgy. I recommend serving them with whipped cream and fresh raspberries. Going to try freezing them to see how that works.

Cauliflower Curry

I've been feeling kind of off my game lately. In a rut, so to speak. So I thought I'd try something much different - caulflower curry, or gobi aloo (I think this is its Hindi name). This recipe is based on a number of recipes I looked up, primarily this one. That said, if you're asking where the potato which crept in came from, the answer is I'm really not sure. A lot of the other recipes (though not all of them) called for varying amounts of potato.

Ingredients

• 1 medium sized cauliflower, cut into florets
  
• ~1/2 T. garlic powder
  
• 1 medium sized onion, chopped
  
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
  
• 1/2 tsp red cayenne pepper
  
• 1/2 tsp coriander (dry, not fresh)
  
• 1/2 tsp cumin
  
• salt to taste
• 1/2 tin diced tomatoes (large-size tin, about 14 oz.)
• 1 T. garam masala
• 1 tsp. curry powder
  
• oil
• 1 tsp. brown sugar
• 2/3 c. rice and 1 1/3 c. water
  

Methodology

0. Start rice.

1. Cut up cauliflower and blanch in salted water - just drop it in for a minute or two until it is a little tender. Drain.

2. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a wok and stir-fry the cauliflower until it starts to brown. Remove and set aside.

3. Heat half a tablespoon or so of oil in the wok and add the garlic powder, then add the onion and sauté until transparent. Add the spices except for salt, garam marsala, and curry powder, then add the tomatoes and cook for a while. The original recipe said "until the oil separates", but I just waited until it looked kind of sauce-like, about 5 minutes.

4. Add the potatoes, the cauliflower, the garam marsala, some salt, the curry powder, and the brown sugar. And keep an eye on the rice or it will burn.

5. Add about half a cup of water and cover until the potatoes are done, about 5-10 minutes. Check periodically and add more water if necessary to prevent burning.

6. Readjust spices. Serve over rice.

Notes

*A really labour-intensive recipe, and the results were...not what I'd hoped for. I had some cauliflower dumplings (I think this is what they were referred to as) at an Indian restaurant a few weeks ago, and this was not the same. That said, it was edible, and certainly not the worst thing I've ever made for myself. It seems to be growing ever-spicier in the fridge, which is kind of neat.

*5/7 on the disaster index.

*Might have been better with bread, if I'd gotten my act together and made some rotis or something instead of the rice.