Classic French Toast

Every once in awhile I like to sneak French toast into my pancake routine. Last Saturday morning I did just that, arriving at the local bread shop by 8:30 a.m. in search of a day-old loaf of French brioche. This recipe from Alton Brown of the Food Network produced a classic French toast taste, that was perfectly sweet. I swapped the recipe's half and half for whole milk, which I happened to have in the fridge, and added some cinnamon to the batter. Serve the French toast with bananas, powdered sugar, and real maple syrup for happy bellies.

Banana Pecan Zucchini Muffins

Almost a year ago, I shared this recipe for a vegan zucchini bread, all spiced up and filled with walnuts.   That recipe calls for two whole cups of shredded zucchini making it a perfect bread when you have a garden full of giant zuccs.

This banana pecan zucchini muffin recipe is much simpler, calling for only one zucchini and adds a banana for extra flavor and moisture. The original recipe came from a farmer friend in Vermont, who made her own adaptation of the version posted on Taste of Home. On Caitlin's recommendation, I swapped out vegetable oil for coconut oil and halved the sugar. I also split the entire recipe in half (the original makes two loaves or 24 muffins).

The moisture in these muffins is perfect. They are just a bit spicy with the cinnamon and you could easily add nutmeg and/or cloves if you want to really spice things up. I dig the pecans as well, and as always you can opt to leave them out or swap them for walnuts. 

Banana Pumpkin Walnut Bread

Here's an easy vegan quick bread, perfect for autumn. This bread combines two favorites - banana bread and pumpkin bread. The addition of oats and walnuts give the bread a nice texture.

Banana Pumpkin Walnut Bread
Makes one loaf

1/2 c. oats
2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. ground gloves
1/2 c. pumpkin puree
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 c. maple syrup
1/4 c. soy milk (or other nondairy milk)
1 t. vanilla
1/3 c. walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease an 8 in. by 5 in. bread pan.

Combine oats, flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and spices in a large bowl.

Mash bananas in a separate bowl. Whisk in maple syrup, soy milk and vanilla, and mix until smooth.

Combine dry and wet ingredients and stir just until incorporated. Fold in walnuts. Transfer batter to your bread pan and bake for approximately 45 minutes.

Vegan Chunky Monkey "Ice Cream" Sandwiches

These little gems happened by accident this afternoon. I've wanted to make my own version of (never home)maker's vegan chunky monkey cookies for some time now. My three favorite foods in this world are peanut butter, bananas, and cheese. Luckily two of them pair up nicely.

Chunky Monkey = banana, peanut butter, and chocolate. After I pulled the first batch of cookies out of the oven, I realized how perfect they would be for ice cream sandwiches. I've been craving ice cream for the past two weeks. It's an annual craving that occurs around this time of year. I blame the summertime blues: summer's almost here, but it's still a little too chilly to eat ice cream every night (yes, I do that).

Of course, I have no ice cream in the freezer (hence the cravings). But I do have bananas. I always have bananas. Solution: mash frozen bananas and make "ice cream." Brilliant. Even better, the end product is still 100% vegan.

Vegan Mango Banana Bread

... or why I can never become a locavore.

I eat a banana with breakfast just about every day and snack on dried mango slices like they’re chocolate caramels. Naturally, I was thrilled when Joy the Baker posted this recipe for a vegan quick bread that combines two of my favorite flavors.

Do you know Joy the Baker? If you like to bake you must visit her blog. I have yet to try a recipe that wasn’t delicious, even if my product wasn’t as picture-perfect as Joy’s.

This one has become one of my favorite quick breads. The first loaf didn’t last but a day. The next two loaves sustained my friend Erin and I over three hot, stormy days of camping at the Philadelphia Folk Festival, and I’ve even tried this bread as a muffin. It’s moist, sweet, and just as good cold as it is warm. The bread will last up to five days, but that’s a total joke. I’d like to see you keep your hands off of it for that long!

Be sure to use ripe bananas!

Banana Cupcakes with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting and Caramel Drizzle

I’ve been making my own birthday cakes since high school and this year was no exception. I wanted to spotlight one of my favorite flavors, (real) banana, and after a few days of deliberations, decided on cupcakes.

A banana cupcake recipe from the book Hello, Cupcake! by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson (2008) resulted in a dense, banana bread-like cake. I am a huge banana bread fan and the flavor was satisfying. As with any banana recipe, use very ripe, even black, bananas.

I paired the cakes with my go-to cream cheese frosting with a new twist. My friend/chef/ultimate foodie/supermom Lindsay suggested browning the butter in the frosting. Brown butter makes everything better. That’s a fact. The melted butter made my frosting a bit runnier than usual but the flavor was worth it. Just be sure to transfer the cakes to the fridge shortly after icing.

I finished the cakes off with Trader Joe’s Fleur de Sel Caramel Sauce and banana chips. Perfection.