Erin Tries Not To Go Vegan and Fails - Part One

I'm not really a vegetarian, let alone a vegan, but I'm inching my way closer and closer to the two. What's not to love about light and flavorful tofu? Fresh veggies? An excuse to over-spice everything? Sure there's no cheese, but there are greater things in life than old milk, right? Right? Okay, maybe not, but I've gone about as vegan as one can -- soy milk, tofu, lots of grains and dried fruit. It's a little too easy to do here in Austin -- granola capital of the South. So here are two of my favorite new recipes, made up completely from my brain. Like magic. Woah.

Vegan Elvis Bread

3 very ripe bananas
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
1/4 vegan margarine, at room temp
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup vanilla soy milk, mixed with 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt


Preheat oven to 350 F. Place bananas (in their skins) on a cookie sheet and bake for 12 minutes. Remove and let cool.

Spray a 8x4 bread pan with non stick cooking spray, or lightly coat with margarine.

Remove bananas from their skins and mash well.

Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and spices.

Cream together the margarine and sugars. Add bananas, peanut butter, soy milk and vanilla.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Mix well. Pour batter into pan. Bake for an hour to an hour 10 minutes.




Erin's Sweet & Spicy Stir-Fry

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow squash, chunked
1/2 red onion, chunked
1 medium tomato, chunked
1/2 cup tofu, chunked
1/4 cup crushed pineapple
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup cooked bulgar wheat

Heat olive oil in pan over medium heat. Add squash, onion, and tomato. Saute for five minutes. Add tofu. Continue to cook. Add pineapple, brown sugar, cinnamon, and red pepper. Stir and saute together for five minutes. Salt and pepper and serve over cooked bulgar. (Or rice. Or whatever.)

(Of course with all stir-fries, these things are interchangable. I made this one solely because it was what was in the house. But I recommend regardless.)