Lake Life

My lovely friend Lisa has a boat that she was kind enough to let us all play on this summer. We had such fun times wakeboarding, going to secluded beaches, and stopping at our favorite restaurants on the lake for lunch picnics. Yesterday we took the boat out of the Lake so Lisa can store it for the winter, and we're all feeling a little sad reminiscing about it. I thought I'd post a few photos from one of my favorite boat outings that we took a couple of weeks ago.

Jeff driving...he's the best wakeboarder ever!



Lovely Katie:



Lisa's tiny dog Anoush:



Lisa's son:











One of our favorite lunch places in the background:



Jeff's slightly alternative way of wearing a life jacket:







Me doing one of my favorite summer activities...wakeboarding!







What are you going to miss most about summer?

Vegan Banana Bread

A couple of days ago we had a little taste of the changing seasons; it was 30 degrees and we had a few inches of snow so I made my favorite winter staple, banana bread! This is so good warm out of the oven and you can use up all the over-ripe bananas you've got kickin' around the kitchen. I just pop them in the freezer and then I'm always ready for banana bread making (frozen bananas are really good in smoothies too!). I used this recipe from Post Punk Kitchen as a base and then tweaked it a lot. The measurements for the crumb topping aren't exact, just go with what you feel, making sure there is enough melted butter to dry ingredients ratio so that it isn't too dry.
It's sunny and warm here again so perhaps I need to get started on some of those summery smoothies!

Vegan Banana Bread

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup White Sugar
1/2 Cup Earth Balance (or other butter substitute)
3 Ripe Bananas, Mashed
2 Cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1/4 Cup Rice Milk, mixed with 1 Tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tsp Vanilla extract
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp Ground Cloves
1/2 Tsp Nutmeg
1/2 Tsp Ginger
small handful of crystallized ginger, chopped
1 Cup vegan chocolate chips (optional)

Topping:
4 Tbsp Melted Earth Balance
1/2 Cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
1/2 Cup Oats
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Pecans, Chopped
cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, to taste
small handful crystallized ginger, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 8×4 bread pan with non stick cooking spray, or lightly coat with margarine.

Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, spices, and ginger.

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

Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Mix well. Add chocolate chips. Mix together ingredients for crumb topping. Pour batter into pan. Top with crumb topping. Bake for an hour to an hour 10 minutes.
Enjoy!

Wally the Winnebago

Big news! I moved into our "house Winnebago", Wally! I am only here for two months until the snow starts falling really heavily, but I am so excited to have my own space. I've been decorating, and filling the refrigerator with lots of yummy veggies. I love it already; it's from the 70's and has mustard yellow upholstery, a plaid carpet, and "patchwork" leather walls. My friends Chris and Tori own it, and they have already decorated it with so many beautiful tapestries and filled it with their happy lovely energy. Tori is the one who has been my inspiration and constant support for going vegan so it's nice to be living in her spot for a little bit!







This last weekend I went on a trip to Yosemite which was so much fun. Good food, good friends, good beers, good hikes, and good times. It was wonderful! I took a few photos before my camera battery died so I will post those soon so you can see some of the lovely scenery.

Cowboy Boots: Thrifted, Dress: UO







My friend Ashley made this necklace for me, isn't it lovely? What's the best present a friend has ever given you?

Vegan Peanut Butter Cups

A few months ago I decided to go vegan, and this is one of my favorite dessert recipes. The problem is, every time I make these peanut butter cups, all of my roommates eat them right up, they definitely don't stay around for long! I got this recipe from Alicia Silverstone's book, The Kind Diet. If you're interested in going vegan it is a great book to read.

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Earth Balance butter
3/4 Cup Crunchy Peanut Butter (Unsweetened)
10 Graham Cracker Squares (crushed)
3 Tablespoons Agave Nectar or Brown Rice Syrup
1 Cup Vegan Chocolate Chips
1/4 Cup rice milk

Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs, and agave and mix well. Remove the mixture from heat. Evenly divide the mixture, approximately 2 tablespoons per cup, among the muffin cups.
Combine the chocolate and milk in another pan. Stir over medium heat until the chocolate has melted. Spoon the chocolate evenly over the peanut butter mixture. Top with chopped nuts. Place in the refrigerator to set for at least 2 hours before serving.



Do you have any favorite vegan recipes?