Gone Banana's...Bread, that is

This is part two in the series, Baking with The Hungry Vegan Bear.

What goes better with banana bread than a cup of coffee?

As the heat climbed up and up this morning, I found myself craving a cup and since my former flatmate, Linda, has left for the Santa Barbara region, and I now find myself as the sole coffee drinker in our flat, I was left to my own devices, which meant hiking over to Target to get a bag of Pete's.  As the coffee was brewing, I pulled out the maple syrup and coconut milk in preparation.  In my humble opinion, coffee is best with maple syrup especially when the other option is just boring sugar.  I mean, come on!  Pure 100% maple syrup is beyond addictive.  During the fall season I find myself adding it to my cup out of comfort and nostalgic for the days when I could see the changing colors of the trees at my grandparents cottage in the Midwest.  This yearning also lead me to the kitchen and my affection for my mom's banana bread, so this weekend I took a stab at making vegan banana bread.

Tools
bowl
fork
plastic spoon
bread pan

Ingredients for Goin' Banana's Banana Bread
2 bananas
2 c. flour (dealers choice of wheat, unbleached, etc.)
2 Tbsp ground flax seed (mix with 3 1/2 Tbsp of warm water to create an egg replacement)
1/2 c. canola oil
3/4 brown sugar
1/2 c. water
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 c. chopped almonds
dash of salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon

First, create the egg replacement and set to the side.  Next, mash the two brown banana's in a bowl with a fork.  Once the banana's are mashed properly, add in the dry ingredients and follow with the ground flax.  I do not own a hand mixer, so I folded all of the ingredients by hand.  Lastly, add in the chopped almonds and fold into the mix.

Make sure you use either margarine or a cooking spray on the bread pan prior to adding in the completed mixture.

This recipe makes one loaf of bread.  Bake at 350 for 30-35 or until golden brown.

Baking With The Hungry Vegan Bear

As I've mentioned in a prior post, I'm not a baker, but one of my flatmates had some zucchini and said, "can you do something with this?"  My first thought was that since it wasn't a tuba it was rather unlikely that I could get a tune out of it, so I opted for my second idea, which was to make Zucchini Bread.

Tools
cutting board
grater or food processor (for those who are fancy)
knife
bread pan
mixing bowl
spoon

Zucchini Bread Ingredients
1 1/2 tbsp ground flax seed (mixed with 3 tbsp water to create an egg replacement)
1/2 c canola oil
1 c brown sugar
1 c flour
1 c zucchini
1 c vegan chocolate chips (optional)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
dash of salt
1 tsp bourbon vanilla (plain old vanilla will do, but it's not nearly as fun)
1/2 tsp cinnamon

The first thing that I like to do is to wash the zucchini, then peel a bit of the skin off, and scoop out the seeds.  If you prefer to keep all of the skin on the zucchini, you may, there's really no right or wrong way regarding the exterior of this vegetable.  Next, prepare the flax seed with warm water and set to the side until it becomes a thick paste. 

There are some that do not like the flax seed replacement, so if you happen to fall into this category, then I suggest using a banana or the vegan egg replacement mix.  I like the nutty taste that flax seed adds to bake goods, which is why I usually rely on flax.  Also, flax seed is a great source of fiber, omega-3, and has a lot of health benefits.

Preheat the oven at 350.

Begin by adding the dry ingredients, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, into the mixing bowl.  Next, add the vanilla, grated zucchini, flax, and oil.  Fold all of the ingredients together, but make sure you don't beat the mixture too long, otherwise you might end up with a very tough loaf of bread, which makes for a lot of chewing and possibly a lecture from your dentist.  Finally, add in the chocolate chips and gently fold the mixture together. 

Also, if you find your mixture to be too dry, add in a splash or two of soy, rice, or coconut milk.  As I understand, baking is about following the rules, which I've never been very good at, so I often find myself improvising along the way and stumbling on to happy accidents.

Don't forget to grease the baking pan with margarine prior to adding the mixture into the pan. 

I used a glass baking pan for the bread, which helped accelerate the baking time.  I cooked the bread for about 28 minutes, so if your on a tight schedule this might help a little bit.

Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.

Once the bread is cooked, tilt on a cutting board to cool.  Also, I like to run a knife around the edges of the bread to eliminate any sticking points when you cut it.