Vegan Banana Bread

I liked this so much I honestly thought it was better than my traditional “Sour Cream Banana Bread” with eggs, butter, and of course lots of sour cream. I adapted this from a vegan carrot cake recipe.

• 1/3 c. Earth Balance, softened
• 1/2 c. packed organic brown sugar
• 2/3 c. organic raw cane sugar
• 1/3 c. unsweetened applesauce
• 1/3 c. unsweetened almond or soy milk (vanilla or plain)
• 1/2 t. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 c. mashed banana
• 1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
• 1 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1 1/2 t. cinnamon
• 1/2 t. nutmeg

Cream Earth Balance and sugar. Add remaining wet ingredients. In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients and slowly add to wet mixture. Pour into greased bread pan and cook at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

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Vegan Black Bean Burgers

This has become a new staple in our house—so easy, delicious, and full of protein. Here is the recipe:

• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 can black beans, well drained
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 slices bread, crumbled
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
• salt and pepper to taste
• oil for frying

Sautee the onions till soft, about 3-5 minutes.

In a large bowl, mash the beans until almost smooth. Add sauteed onions and the rest of the ingredients, except the oil, adding the flour a few tablespoons at a time to combine well. Mixture will be thick.

Form bean mixture into patties, approximately ½ inch thick and fry patties in a small amount of oil until slightly firm.

I make homemade rolls for buns (using my peasant bread recipe below), slather guacamole on top, and then serve with lettuce and tomato. Great served with salad and/or sweet potato fries.

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Homemade Tomato Sauce

One of my favorite quick meals is homemade tomato sauce with pasta. Whenever I have extra tomatoes that are starting to go soft, I quarter them, throw them all on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, basil, and salt & pepper. Then I roast them under high heat (450) for about 15 minutes, then puree them in my VitaMix. You can also add a little cream, but with or without he cream there are not words to describe how delicious fresh tomato sauce tastes compared to jarred sauce. Mitch and I cannot get enough of this meal. Next time you have some extra over-ripe tomatoes , try it!
Here’s a recap of how to do it; chop and roast tomatoes:
I use my VitaMix instead of my Cuisinart to process because it’s quicker for me, but I’m sure either would do. Pulse quickly so it doesn’t get too pureed and add extra salt to taste.
Pour over pasta and enjoy.

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Fabric.

Fabric always makes me happy… especially with new sewing projects and our baby girl coming in July. Also helps that two of my best friends are having girls within a month of us. Here are some recent fabrics for a little girl blanket. Soon after I’ll be getting started on the baby bumper and quilt.

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