BANANA BREAD!

Okay, so I have some old bananas. Time to make banana bread but..........okay, I need a new recipe. Something without eggs......enter the Post Punk Kitchen, with a great recipe to try. Here's the link:

http://www.theppk.com/2007/10/banana-bread/

First, I should say I took some liberties with this thing. I threw in some dark chocolate chips and leftover walnuts, used almond milk instead of soy, and completely did not follow the directions. I finished up a variety of sugars all mixed together and accidentally threw the sugars in with the dry ingredients instead of creaming them with the margarine. If this still comes out good, I think I may have to declare Isa (the author) a goddess in her own right for making a recipe even a non-cooking new Vegan can't screw up.

I also have no sense of maturity in the kitchen. The dough looked too nice and squishy to simply stir with a spoon, so I brought my margarine to " room temperature " by taking it directly out of the fridge and then squishing it through my fingers into the dough like a three-year-old discovering the concept of "gooey" for the first time, howling "eeeeeew, GROSS!" the whole time. Now THAT'S how you party on a Friday night, people.

Okay, it's in the oven now, and my pantry is cleaner due to all the bits and ends I used up. Now to wait an hour and see the results.........

It's really moist, but my altitude on the mountain makes stuff bake funny, so I'm going to stick it back in for another10. It's exploding out of the pan! I forgot to leave room for all the chocolate chips and nuts I put in. I couldn't resist breaking off a hunk of crust while it was cooling and OH MY GOD THIS IS SO FREAKING GOOD!!!! Much better than my normal....or should I say, my OLD recipe. Isa is a goddess. I'm a vegan baker now!!!!!

Taking the Plunge!

In my mind, I'm standing on a diving board. I have spent the last month or so researching Veganism and what it takes to do it....reading books, blogs, picking the minds of everyone who works at Whole Foods, etc. I' ve always wanted to go Vegan; I have five rescued animals and abhor cruelty towards them, plus it's supposed to be very good for you.

I even tried a few times before, but failed. I didn't know how to cook and ended up eating mostly convenience and junk foods, and it wasn't long before I felt terrible. But this time will be different; this time I am informed. Also, after 10 years of living in the suburbs of Washington, DC with fast food on every corner ( which I have become horribly addicted to), we moved a few months ago to a 3 1/2 acre property in the Blue Ridge Mountains. There is no fast food here.....heck, it takes me 1/2 hour just to get to ANY grocery store. The place I will be working has no available take-out anywhere near it. I have removed a lot of the convenient temptations.

The point of this blog is to track and share my progress. I'll be trying recipes, recording how I feel, sharing thoughts as I explore the Vegan community. I'm kind of scared. I just turned 40 and my whole life I have been a a fast-food burger eating, giant portion scarfing, non-cooking entity
who blocked out the effect what was on my plate did to other creatures and the environment. I'm going to have to learn new skills, meet new people, and try new things. It sounds good in theory, but I am used to being an overweight woman of a certain energy level who does most of her socializing in restaurants. Comfort food has made me......well, comfortable on some level. What if I lose weight? What if I don't? What if I have trouble connecting with friends if there isn't a shared appetizer on the table? What if I learn so much and feel so strongly about it at I become vocal and make others uncomfortable? What if began Vegan if freaking awesome and I have spent all these years doing it wrong? What if my meat eating husband starts to silently resent kale?

This sounds silly, but it's also true. The plan is to use up all the non-vegan food my husband doesn't like by September 1 and then go Vegan. I am 210 pounds at 5' 4".........so waaaay overweight.
Diabetes runs in my family, as do knee problems from carrying too much weight. I want to change my odds, have more energy, and make good choices for the creatures around me. I hope this change puts me on the road to a better life for me and those around me. So.......I guess it's time to jump!

We are very good in Western Society at believing there is always tomorrow and so we can start then to be healthier, kinder, etc. We're also good at being so far removed from our sources of food and clothing that we can actually advertise bar-be-que with a smiling cartoon pig and not make the connection that bar-be-que IS THE PIG. I have let myself be fooled by my own desires for a feeling of fullness and convenience for a very long time.

God, I hope that Vegan water is warm under this diving board!