Tag: vegan

essential banana bread

The world at this moment is filled with talk of essential activities. What is an essential activity? It is quite clear at this moment that we could do without or reduce the prevalence of many of the activities that are currently being classified as essential and the world would be a better place. Baking a vegan banana bread for your individual consumption would not be considered an essential activitiy by any standard, but the world would undoubtedly be a better place if there were more breads of this sort being baked and shared. I am comfortable saying this despite baking a bread of this sort requiring one to engage with a defective global economy and purchase ingredients that have a profound environmental and human impact. If you do the calculations, which I have, the ratio of joy:violence in a loaf of vegan banana bread is quite high.

So, I propose that you think about these questions from Virgina Woolf while your banana bread cooks in the oven for 50 minutes at 180C or 350F:

“Let us never cease from thinking — what is this ‘civilization’ in which we find ourselves? What are these ceremonies and why should we take part in them? What are these professions and why should we make money out of them? Where in short is it leading us, the procession of the sons of educated men?”

Ingredients

  • 4 overripe bananas (~9 of the small bananas)
  • 2/3 cup dark brown sugar (I use panela)
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil of some kind
  • Coconut oil to grease the pan
  • 2 cups all-purpose flower
  • 3.5 teaspoons of baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup chopped nuts. (I use Brazil nuts and walnuts)
  • 1 cup dried cranberries
  1. Chop up nuts and toast them in a pan for 3-5 minutes on medium heat until golden-brown. Set them aside.
  1. Preheat the oven to 180C or 350F.
  2. Mash bananas in large bowl.
  1. Add sugar and oil to mashed bananas. Mix thoroughly.
  1. Add flower.
  2. Add baking powder, cinnamon, and salt on top of the flour.
  3. Distriute/mix dry ingredients on top of mixture quickly before mixing them into the banana/oil/sugar. Only mix just enough to ensure that all of the ingredients are properly incorporated and distributed – probably less than a minute – as mixing too much can lead to insufficient rise. It should end up being thick and dough-like.
  1. Add nuts and cranberries and gently fold them intot he mix. Avoid over-mixing.
  2. Grease your mold with coconut oil that is solid at room temperature.
  3. Evenly spread the batter throughout the dish.
  1. Toss it in the oven. Bake for around 40-45 minutes – don’t forget about the Virigina Woolf quote.
  1. Remove from the oven and let rest in the dish for a few minutes.
  2. Flip upside down and remove bread from tray to let the rest of the crust breathe.

platano peace curry

There are curries from countless countries around the world, which makes it difficult to define what exactly is a curry. In my experience, there is only one characteristic that is common to all: a rich and complex flavour that is built by combining multiple spices and ingredients that complement one another. As these flavors merge together, the whole is more than the mere sum of its parts, thus the curry is an invitation to creativity and a celebration of diversity. Do not concern yourself with following the measurements or the steps of this receipe too closely. Whatever you do it will turn out delicious.

I have never eaten the same curry twice, for it’s not the same curry and I am not the same man.

Time:

1-3 hours

Ingredients:

Lentils:

  • 500g lentils (~1 pound)
  • 1 tsp salt

Fried plantains:

  • 3 ripe plantains
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil (more may be necessary)

Curry:

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 6 large garlic cloves
  • 2 thumbs worth of ginger root
  • 2 medium sized red onions
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 5 bay leaves
  • 2 tsp cayenne chili powder
  • 3 tbsp high quality curry powder. I like Madras curry powder.
  • 1 tbsp tumeric
  • 1 tbsp garam masala
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup tomato puree/sauce. I use Mutti Pomodoro. 1/4 cup tomato paste can be substituted.
  • 1/2 can coconut milk
  • Cashews (garnish)

Steps:

  1. Put on some jazz and pour yourself a glass of wine.
  2. Start your rice cooking. Make however much you will need to accompany the curry.
  3. Start your lentils cooking. In a pressure cooker add 500g of lentils, 9 cups of water and 1 tsp of salt. Once the pot reaches high pressure, cook for 9 minutes. If you do not have a pressure cooker, add 500g lentils, 6 cups of water and 1 tsp of salt to a pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer the lentils for 20-30 minutes, adding more water if necessary. Do not let them turn to mush – you can cook them more once they are in the curry if necessary.
  1. Slice plantains to create pieces that are roughly .5cm (.25 inch) thick and medium sized for frying.
  1. Add 2 tbsp of vegetable oil to pan on medium-high heat. Fry all of the pieces of plantain, flipping them occasionally to carmelize both sides. Add more oil if necessary.
  1. Place fried plantains on a plate and set the plate aside once all of the platains have been cooked so that they can cool.
  2. Draw the plate back towards you momentarily. Eat a few of them, then return it to its former location.
  3. Julienne the onions. Crush and then dice the garlic. The ginger can be finely grated, finely chopped, or left in large, easily avoidable or consumable chunks.
  1. Add 2 tbsp olive oil and 1/2 tsp of cumin seeds into a large pot on medium heat.
  1. Once the oil starts sputtering a bit, add: garlic, ginger, onions, cinnamon and bay leaves.
  2. Bring the heat to low-medium to avoid burning the garlic. Cook for around 20 minutes until the red onions have softened completely.
  1. Add all remaining dry spices: curry powder, garam masala, tumeric, cayenne pepper. Cook for 1 minute while mixing the ingredients together.
  1. Add: 1/2 cup of coconut milk and 3/4 cup tomato sauce or 1/4 cup tomato paste.
  1. Add lentils and throughly mix. Make sure that the heat is not too high. Continue stiring occasionally. Add more water if it is too thick.
  1. Chop up the fried plantains into smaller pieces.
  1. After the curry and lentil mixture has cooked for between 15 minutes and 1 hour while you continue drinking, stir in the fried plantains.
  1. Cook for five more minutes then turn off heat.
  2. Don’t eat the curry while it is too hot, the flavors will not fully come out.
  3. Serve with rice and cashews crumbled on top.