The Most Flavorful Way to Multitask

Ask anyone who talks to or sees me on a daily basis, and I am sure that they will verify that I am the epitome of a multi-tasker.

For instance, in addition to studying for a midterm (or, in the case of this past weekend, I was studying for the three midterms that I have on Tuesday, all back-to-back - I want to cry, haha), I can be found listening to music, preparing/eating a meal or snack, checking out the latest blog post updates, watching a television show, talking on the phone, reading a magazine, getting ready to head out the door to run an errand... yes, the list goes on. I seriously do this many things (and more!) all at once.

Yesterday morning, aside from blending/drinking one of my daily hemp protein shakes, cooking/eating my oatmeal, doing full-body stretches, checking blog updates, glancing over midterm study guide notes, and preparing to get to the gym for my personal-training session, I also managed to have some time (and focus) to bake.

While reading through the November/December 2008 issue of VegNews magazine (which I read through while drinking my hemp protein shake, haha), I stumbled upon an entire recipe section devoted to muffins. I immediately realized, after looking over all of the tantalizing muffin recipes, that I have not baked muffins since July!

Considering how much I (and my "taste-testers") love muffins, this is simply unacceptable. So, I quickly chose one of the muffin recipes from that recipe section in VegNews - the Oatmeal-Chocolate-Chip Muffins recipe, to be exact.

Although the recipe sounds amazing as written, I made a lot of changes/substitutions: I used gluten-free flour instead of whole-wheat flour; hempmilk instead of soymilk; canola oil instead of olive oil; omitted the chocolate chips and added cranberry sauce).

Since I made so many changes to the recipe, I thought that I would share my creation with you:




(I apologize for the lackluster photograph!! Taking photographs while multitasking definitely yields less-than-stellar results)




VeggieGirl's Oatmeal-Cranberry-Walnut Muffins

(**Adapted from the Oatmeal-Chocolate-Chip Muffins recipe in the November/December 2008 issue of VegNews magazine**)



• 1 cup flour (I used Bob's Red Mill GF All Purpose Baking Flour)

• 1 cup rolled oats

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/2 cup nondairy "milk" of choice (**Note: I used Living Harvest hempmilk, and ended up adding about 3/4 cup of the stuff to the batter)

• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup (I used Grade B)

• 1/4 cup canola oil

• 1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

• 1/2 cup cranberry sauce (I used homemade cranberry sauce, which I adapted from a recipe found in the Eat, Drink & Be Vegan cookbook)



Preheat oven to 400°F. Fill a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.

In a large bowl, add in flour, rolled oats, baking powder, and cinnamon. Mix well.

In the same bowl, add in the nondairy "milk," maple syrup, canola oil, chopped walnuts and cranberry sauce. As the mixture starts to thicken up/combine, add as much nondairy "milk" as you need (but not too much) so that the batter is mixable.

Pour mixture into the cupcake liners, in 12-cup muffin tin.

Bake for about 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the blondies comes out clean.


Makes 12 muffins.




I really loved the mix of the crunchy walnuts, chewy oats, and sweetness of the cranberry sauce in these muffins - a true winner, if you ask me. But that is just my opinion - here is what my taste-testers (my grandfather, parents, and The Co-Worker) thought:


My grandfather loved how the muffins were packed with walnuts; my mom said that the muffins were a great accompaniment to a cup of coffee or tea; my dad gave me a more thorough review (I think that he is trying to compete with The Co-Worker now, haha):

"I didn't quite know what to expect with these muffins but when I took my first bite and found the top to be crispy I knew I would like it. Once through the top of the muffin, the rest was very fluffy with a nice taste from the cranberries and some good crunchiness from the walnuts. I really liked these."

I am very glad that my grandfather, mom, and dad enjoyed these muffins as much as I did. And now, it is time for The Co-Worker's review...




**Here is The Co-Worker's official review of the Oatmeal-Cranberry-Walnut Muffins**:



“Healthiness in a muffin,” is the best way to describe the Oatmeal-Cranberry-Walnut muffin.

It’s a heavy muffin… not fluffy… so don’t let the size fool you. It packs a lot in a little size….

It’s not sweet or tart… but rather tastes almost like a “power muffin” with the nuts. The cranberry is very subtle, and the oatmeal sticks with you.

If you’re looking for a kick start in a healthy way… give it a try."




Even though I just barely had enough time to bake these muffins, they still turned out to be a complete success - definitely the most flavorful way to multitask, if you ask me!

Oh and for the record, I was most certainly multitasking while typing out this blog post ;0)

Baking Blogger Blondies

The more I continue to blog, the more I realize just how fortunate I am to even be a part of the blogging world - especially since I gain so much inspiration from my fellow bloggers when it comes to cooking and baking. The baking project that I engaged in just this past weekend illustrates this fact quite clearly (and deliciously as well, if I do say so myself).

Since I am quite indecisive when it comes to figuring out what to bake next (and since comments from my family, such as, "we love everything that you bake, so you can bake anything for us!" certainly do not help the process, haha), I often rely on my fellow bloggers for inspiration. For instance, if a blogger features a treat with a certain ingredient that peaks my interest, then I will figure out a way to incorporate that ingredient into a treat of my own.

Also, as a vegan (and gluten-free!!) baker, I love viewing the latest confections of those who bake "the traditional way," since this enables me to challenge myself with veganizing and "gluten-free-izing" (yes, a new word!! haha) the recipe.

The "traditional baking recipes" are actually my favorite types of recipes to gain inspiration from; and I was inspired by such a recipe (which I bookmarked to try this past weekend!) that comes from a certain fellow blogger whom I have "known" for quite some time now: Cookie Baker Lynn.

I have been reading/following Lynn's blog for quite a while - even before I started my own blog (which was in June 2007)!! Not only are her baked goods (both sweet and savory) incredibly tantalizing and elegantly-presented, but the stories that she shares in each blog post are so intricately and beautifully-written, that you feel as if you are experiencing everything that she writes about, firsthand. Lynn is truly a gifted blogger, and if you have not viewed her blog yet, I highly suggest that you do so, after reading the rest of this post ;0)

So how does all of this relate to the title of my post for today?? Well, about one month ago, Lynn posted about the latest batch of blondies that she made. While this fact alone was enough to make me swoon (since I adore baking and eating blondies), there was something else quite exciting about this particular post - it said that she baked the blondies to satisfy a request made by VeggieGirl... hey, wait a minute - that's me!!

Yes, it did take a moment for it to register that the blondies were made, after I had requested that Lynn bake this particular treat, haha. Aside from baking the blondies, she also wrote the most heartwarming statements, which truly brightened my spirits. Lynn, you are a gem, and do not let anyone tell you otherwise!!

Since Lynn was so kind enough to satisfy my request for blondies, I thought that I would create a "vegan cousin" (as Lynn puts it, in her post, haha) to her sensational blondies. Below, you will find my veganized, "gluten-free-ized" recipe for the blondies - I hope that they please all of you, as well as Lynn (the inspiration!!) as well:





VeggieGirl's Veganized Walnut Blondies

(**Adapted from the Walnut Bars recipe on the Cookie Baker Lynn blog**)


• 6 ounces (1 single-serving sized container) plain or vanilla vegan "yogurt" (I used So Delicious Coconut Milk Yogurt - it's soy-free!!)

• 1/4 cup canola oil

• 1 cup sugar (I used organic turbinado sugar)

• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

• 2 teaspoons molasses (I used the Plantation brand of blackstrap molasses)

• 1.25 cups flour (I used Bob's Red Mill GF All Purpose Baking Flour)

• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1.5 cups walnuts, coarsely chopped

• Nondairy "milk" of choice, added to the batter as needed (**Note: I used Living Harvest hempmilk, and ended up adding about 1/2 cup of the stuff to the batter)

• Caramel sauce (I used Santa Cruz Organic vegan caramel syrup), optional for serving purposes




Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Lightly coat an 8"x8" baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, add in the "yogurt," canola oil, turbinado sugar, vanilla extract, and molasses. Mix well.

In the same bowl, add in the flour, baking soda, and chopped walnuts. As the mixture starts to thicken up/combine, add as much nondairy "milk" as you need (but not too much) so that the batter is mixable.

Pour mixture into the 8"x8" baking pan (coated generously with nonstick cooking spray).

Bake for about 32-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the blondies comes out clean.

Drizzle with caramel sauce for serving, if desired.

Makes 16 blondies.





Luscious, dense, gooey, chewy, and slightly crunchy - these words appropriately describe my take on the Walnut Blondies (which I enjoyed with a drizzle of caramel sauce, as pictured above - holy yum!!); but what did my "taste-testers" think??

My parents thought that the blondies were "very moist, and not overly heavy or sweet; especially liked the big pieces of walnut within the delicious texture of the cake itself; very tasty"; and here is what The Co-Worker thought:



**Here is The Co-Worker's official review of the Walnut Blondies**:



MOIST. CHEWY. AND REAL CHUNKY! That describes these walnut blondies.

If you’re looking for something sweet to eat, try a Snickers. These give you something that sticks to your gut…. AND is good for you with the walnuts. As much as I would love salted walnuts… or a few chocolate chips mixed in… that would ruin the “healthy feeling” I got after eating one.

Be healthy and give one of these a try… but don’t think it’s going to be full of salt, sugar and FAT… it’s full of something much better.




As an avid blondie-baker (and eater), I was so ecstatic to have the opportunity to veganize/"gluten-free-ize" this blondie recipe - especially since the recipe came from such an incredibly talented, genuine, and passionate blogger/baker, Lynn. Thanks again, Lynn, for allowing me the opportunity to bake not just any batch of blondies, but a batch of blogger blondies! :0)

Baking Bread? It Is Possible After All

While I have obviously baked an unquantifiable number of bread-loaves in my "baking career" thus far (and I have only been baking since July 2007, which is less than a month after I started this blog), all of these bread-loaves have been sweetbreads (especially Pumpkin breads and Banana breads, as many of you have seen time and time again on my blog, already, haha).

So what is the reason for this?? Well, not only do I love baking sweet treats, but I also love the fact that sweetbreads do not contain yeast. Yes, it is true: I have always feared baking "yeast-containing" breads. Until now, that is.

Although I always try to experiment with treats in my baking adventures, and "mix things up," baking yeast-containing breads has remained something that I just did not even want to deal with - I am not a fan of kneading/shaping dough, which has always been one of the main perks of baking sweetbreads (since I do not have to engage in this loathed activity).

Despite feeling "okay" with this baking avoidance of mine, all this time, I received an email about a week or two ago from a dear fellow blogger, Zorra, that changed my stance on this issue. The email contained information about an annual blogging event, known this year, specifically, as World Bread Day '08 (which is today, October 16th) .

I considered Zorra's email to be somewhat of an omen, and that I should really challenge myself with baking a yeast-containing bread. So, all last week, I searched for the "perfect" bread recipe, that would perhaps get me to like baking yeast-containing breads, and that would yield a "taste-tester approved" product. What type of bread did I decide to bake, you may be wondering by now (since I am so long-winded and have issues getting straight to the point, haha)??



I decided to bake a Challah bread!! Since this particular type of bread is quite ornate (at least, in my opinion), I thought that it would be fun to try, and to see how I would do with baking it.

But I did not bake just any challah, mind you - using this recipe from the "Holy Cow!" blog, I baked a Whole-Wheat Vegan Challah Bread.

The "vegan" part of the recipe title is relevant, since challah is traditionally made with eggs; and challah is also typically made with white flour, so I guess that that would make the "whole-wheat" part of the title relevant as well ;0)

Okay, now I am sure that you are all wondering if this challah bread is gluten-free. Unfortunately, this challah bread is not gluten-free. I purposely went out and purchased enough whole-wheat flour to bake this bread, since I did not even want to attempt baking a gluten-free version yet - I hope that you will forgive me! :0)

Believe me, I did not "take the easy way out" by not trying to bake a gluten-free version of this bread - trying to bake the challah "as is" posed enough of a challenge; but at least it was a fun one.



Instead of creating a long, braided loaf, I manipulated the dough in such a way that it formed not a braid, but little mounds (which then turned into a round loaf). Although I was a bit disappointed with this in the beginning, I realized that this "style" of challah could be easily sliced or broken into biscuits for my "taste-testers" to enjoy, so it was not a lost cause (hooray!!).

My "taste-testers" this time around were my parents and grandfather. My parents loved the "thick, firm crust and the softer middle. The whole-wheat variety is a nice change from traditional challah!"; and my grandfather loved eating it toasted and topped with strawberry preserves.

The Co-Worker is currently ill (but is getting better!!), so there is no official review from him for the challah, I am afraid. But I am sure that he will be recuperated and ready to review my next treat, so stay tuned for that.

Overall, I am quite pleased with how my first "yeast-containing" bread-baking experience went - especially since my taste-testers loved the end result. It is a lot more work (and more frustrating than relaxing) to bake yeast-containing breads than it is to bake sweetbreads, in my opinion; but that does not mean that I will forgo baking yeast-containing breads in the future.

So, I guess it really is possible for VeggieGirl to bake a "yeast-containing" bread, after all! :0)

Thanks again to Zorra for "indirectly" encouraging me to bake a yeast-containing bread, in honor of World Bread Day '08.

Sharing "The" Recipe, and Another List

Earlier this morning, I had an incredibly strong urge to bake; so I asked myself, "Why fight it?? When will you actually have an opportunity to bake again??" I answered these questions by, well, baking of course!! :0)

However, this latest baking adventure of mine is not the subject of today's blog post - I will save that treat for my next post (which will appear on my blog later, during the upcoming week). Please stay tuned for that!!

As for today's post (which has two parts to it), I am starting off by sharing "The" recipe that quite a number of you have expressed interest in: The Peanut-Butter-Banana Bread recipe from my previous post.

I did not post the recipe in my previous post, since it was adapted from my all-time favorite banana bread recipe from the Veganomicon cookbook (the recipe that I always use, when baking a banana bread - and you know just how frequently I bake those, haha). But after receiving so many requests for my peanut butter variation of the recipe, and considering the fact that I modified the original recipe quite a bit (and always give the original recipe the credit that it deserves!), I figured that it would be okay to post my version after all.

Also, considering how much I rave about this recipe (and the cookbook itself) on my blog, the authors should appreciate the highly-favorable press, right?? So, hopefully I will not get sued for this - and if I do, at least all of you will still have a scrumptious loaf of banana bread to enjoy ;0)

So without further ado, here is "The" recipe:




**(Above is the photograph of the loaves again, just in case you forgot what they looked like, haha)**



VeggieGirl’s Peanut-Butter-Banana Bread

(**Adapted from the Lower-Fat Banana Bread recipe in Veganomicon cookbook**)




• 4 overripe bananas (reserve the smallest banana of the four, for the topping)

• 1/4 cup applesauce

• 1/8 cup canola oil

• 1/2 cup sugar (I used organic turbinado sugar)

• 2 teaspoons molasses (I used the Plantation brand of blackstrap molasses)

• 2 cups flour (I used Bob's Red Mill GF All Purpose Baking Flour)

• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1.5-2 cups natural peanut butter

• Nondairy "milk" of choice, added to the batter as needed (**Note: I used Living Harvest hempmilk, and ended up adding at least 1 cup of the stuff to the batter)



Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Lightly coat a 9"x5" loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, thoroughly mash three of the bananas. Then, add in the applesauce, canola oil, turbinado sugar, and molasses. Mix well.

In the same bowl, add in the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and peanut butter. As the mixture starts to thicken up/combine, add as much nondairy "milk" as you need (but not too much) so that the batter is mixable.

Pour mixture into the 9"x5" loaf pan (coated generously with nonstick cooking spray), add the remaining banana on top (in slices!!).

Bake for about 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Makes roughly 10-12 slices/servings.





**And now, onto the second part of this post (if you have made it this far, haha):

I had so much fun filling out the Vegan 100 List, that when I stumbled upon a new (but similar) type of list (on Peabody's blog), I knew that I just had to fill this one out as well.

What is this 100 list for, you are wondering?? It is a Sweet 100 list!! And considering how much I love sweets (as evidenced by all of the baked goods I have made and eaten thus far, haha), I thought I would share with you which sweet treats I have delighted in, over the course of my lifetime.


First, here are the rules:

1.) Copy this list into your site, including the instructions!

2.) Bold all of the sweets you've eaten--or make them a different type color.

3.) Cross out any of them that you'd never ever eat.

4.) Consider anything that is not bold or crossed out your "To Do" List.

5.) Optional: Post a comment here linking to your results--or just post a comment letting us know how many you've tried, or what you're going to try next!



And now, here is...




**VeggieGirl's Sweet 100 List**



1. Red Velvet Cake

2. Princess Torte

3. Whoopie Pie - Indeed! We have a joke in the family about this treat as well :0)

4. Apple Pie either topped or baked with sharp cheddar

5. Beignet - While in New Orleans, years ago.

6. Baklava

7. Black and white cookie - While in New York City, years ago. It's one of those quintessential cookie varieties, for sure!

8. Seven Layer Bar (also known as the Magic Bar or Hello Dolly bars)

9. Fried Fruit pie (sometimes called hand pies) - I have eaten an Apple Hand Pie, to be exact.

10. Kringle

11. Just-fried (still hot) doughnut

12. Scone with clotted cream

13. Betty, Grunt, Slump, Buckle or Pandowdy - An Apple Brown Betty!

14. Halvah - also known as the "Turkish Delight."

15. Macaroons - in many different flavors, including Banana Split.

16. Banana pudding with nilla wafers - I really need to try this vegan version of it.

17. Bubble tea (with tapioca “pearls”)

18. Dixie Cup - major nostalgia with these little ice cream cups, since I used to share them with my grandmother (may she rest in peace).

19. Rice Krispie treats - seriously, who hasn't eaten these??

20. Alfajores - I have eaten the jam-filled ones, covered in powdered sugar.

21. Blondies - here, here, here, and here.

22. Croquembouche

23. Girl Scout cookies - considering the fact that I was a Girl Scout for many years, obviously the answer is a resounding yes, haha.

24. Moon cake

25. Candy Apple - perfect for the Autumn season, no?

26. Baked Alaska

27. Brooklyn Egg Cream

28. Nanaimo bar

29. Baba au rhum

30. King Cake - yes!! Such a colorful, traditional cake for Mardi Gras. I remember one year, I almost swallowed the plastic baby figurine that is baked into the cake, while eating my slice, haha.

31. Sachertorte - had some in Vienna, Austria.

32. Pavlova

33. Tres Leches Cake - topped with cherries! :0)

34. Trifle

35. Shoofly Pie

36. Key Lime Pie (made with real key lime) - had some in Florida.

37. Panna Cotta

38. New York Cheesecake

39. Napoleon / mille-fueille - a vegan version, actually!

40. Russian Tea Cake / Mexican Wedding Cake

41. Anzac biscuits

42. Pizzelle - used to top them with peanut butter.

43. Kolache - with a blueberry filling.

44. Buckeyes - a classic!

45. Malasadas

46. Moon Pie

47. Dutch baby - can't go wrong with a giant pancake! :0)

48. Boston Cream Pie

49. Homemade chocolate chip cookies - oooh yes! just do a search on my blog for "chocolate chip cookies," and you will find many posts featuring them.

50. Pralines - topped with peanuts, in Savannah, Georgia.

51. Gooey butter cake

52. Rusks

53. Daifuku

54. Green tea cake or cookies

55. Cupcakes from a cupcake shop

56. Crème brûlée

57. Some sort of deep fried fair food (twinkie, candy bar, cupcake) - thankfully, no.

58. Yellow cake with chocolate frosting

59. Jelly Roll

60. Pop Tarts - guilty as charged.

61. Charlotte Russe

62. An “upside down” dessert (Pineapple upside-down cake or Tarte Tatin) - thank goodness I was able to make a vegan version of the pineapple upside-down cake, since it is a traditional family favorite!

63. Hummingbird Cake

64. Jell-O from a mold - another "guilty as charged" treat (but aren't most of these?? haha).

65. Black forest cake

66. Mock Apple Pie (Ritz Cracker Pie)

67. Kulfi

68. Linzer torte

69. Churro - sprinkled with cinnamon, and filled with strawberry jam.

70. Stollen

71. Angel Food Cake

72. Mincemeat pie

73. Concha

74. Opera Cake

75. Sfogliatelle / Lobster tail

76. Pain au chocolat - in France.

77. A piece of Gingerbread House - yes, even though I ruined the gorgeous work of art.

78. Cassata - from an Italian restaurant in Little Italy.

79. Cannoli - another treat from Little Italy.

80. Rainbow cookies

81. Religieuse

82. Petits fours

83. Chocolate Souffle

84. Bienenstich (Bee Sting Cake)

85. Rugelach

86. Hamenstashen - I even worked up the courage to make some.

87. Homemade marshmallows

88. Rigo Janci

89. Pie or cake made with candy bar flavors (Snickers pie, Reeses pie, etc) - I have eaten a Reese's Pie, Snickers pie, Butterfinger Pie... I'll just stop there ;0)

90. Divinity

91. Coke or Cola cake

92. Gateau Basque

93. S’mores

94. Figgy Pudding

95. Bananas foster or other flaming dessert - Bananas Foster and Cherries Jubilee (another flaming dessert).

96. Joe Froggers

97. Sables

98. Millionaire’s Shortbread

99. Animal crackers - brings back memories of snack time, in kindergarten.

100. Basbousa



Now remember, all of the sweets that are in bold font are the ones that I have eaten over the course of my lifetime - so obviously, they are not all vegan (since I have only been a vegan since March 2007). But I still had fun realizing/revealing just how much sugar I have consumed over the years, haha! :0)

A Popular Sandwich Just Got Sweeter

After a 3-day break from dance practices (this past Friday, Saturday, and Sunday), I must admit that I am more than happy to be back to my "crazy-busy-always-on-the-go-no-time-to-stop" routine - it just feels right for me, since I am so used to it and enjoy what I do.

On the other hand, it was nice being able to have some time off to fully recuperate, since my dance partner and I were not feeling 100% well (we are both all better now, hooray!!); and it gave me a chance to do something that I have not had time to do lately: bake!!

Since I have not baked in a while, I had the urge to bake my "stand-by treat": a banana bread. But, as always, I tried to make it a little more "interesting," so that I could still impress my "taste-testers" (and not bore you by featuring yet another loaf of banana bread on my blog, haha).

When baking sweetbreads, it is always fun to enjoy the finished product with a popular spread, such as jam, apple butter, pumpkin butter ('tis the season!!), Nutella, nut-butters; and speaking of nut-butters, the ever-popular peanut butter is often the "spread of choice" for sweetbreads.

But why go through all the "trouble" of spreading the condiment on the bread, when you can have it baked right in?? This question led me to channel my inner Peanut Butter Boy (thanks for the inspiration, Nick!!), and create...



...not one, but three loaves of Peanut-Butter-Banana Bread!! That's right - it is basically a sweeter version of the quintessential Peanut Butter & Banana sandwich; but the step of adding the peanut butter and banana slices to the bread is already done for you!! Perfect :0)

My "taste-testers" this time around were my parents, grandfather, one of my brothers and sisters-in-law (the ones who baked those brownies), dance partner, and The Co-Worker. Here are their reviews:

My parents loved the strong peanut butter flavor, and how it mixed with the banana flavor as well; my grandfather loved the "heaviness" and sweetness of the bread; my brother and sister-in-law just shouted out "YUM!!" (haha), and want to bake a loaf of the peanut-butter-banana bread themselves; and even my "peanut-butter-hating" dance partner (I know - crazy, right??) liked it, since it "tasted soooo good" and did not have "that peanut butter texture"; and here is what The Co-Worker thought:




**Here is The Co-Worker's official review of the Peanut-Butter-Banana Bread**:



"IN THE NEVERENDING SEARCH FOR NEW AND INVENTIVE WAYS TO SPICE UP THE OL’ RELIABLE BANANAN BREAD…. WE NOW HAVE PEANUT BUTTER BANANA BREAD.

AT FIRST THOUGHT, "IS THIS RIGHT?" BUT AFTER FIRST BITE, YOU KNOW IT IS… AND THE PEANUT BUTTER IS ACTUALLY A VERY SUBTLE UNDERTONE FLAVOR.

IT’S SORT OF LIKE THINKING ABOUT JESSICA SIMPSON GOING COUNTRY…. AT FIRST THOUGHT… NO WAY. BUT AFTER YOU HEAR HER BELT OUT A FEW “YA ALLS,” IT IS ALL RIGHT.

ONE THING JUST LIKE PEANUT BUTTER THOUGH… IT SORT OF STICKS TO YOUR MOUTH LONG AFTER IT’S SWALLOWED. ENJOY…"



And what did I think? Well, I (humbly) thought that it tasted brilliantly - peanut butter and bananas are a perfect pairing after all, and I felt that this flavor-combination was successfully captured in each slice of the sweetbread; and hey, I didn't have to spend time slicing up a banana and spreading peanut butter on the bread, since those steps were already done for me - that makes the sweetbread a winner already ;0)

Oh yes, the popular Peanut-Butter-Banana sandwich variety just got sweeter, with this sweetbread!!

And Now, On With The Show

For once, I think that I am actually speechless. I seriously cannot properly articulate how touched I am by all of your kind words and feedback on my previous post (which was basically part one of the new and ongoing VeggieGirl on the Dance Floor blog post series).

While baking, cooking, and traveling are definitely integral parts of my life (and the main focuses of the VeggieGirl blog), dancing is also a big passion of mine, and a significant part of who I am; so, I am quite elated that I will be incorporating my dancing as yet another focus of this blog.

In my previous post, I mentioned that the first dance that my partner and I performed at the ballroom dance showcase was the Cha-cha (which earned us a score of 97 out of 100). Since this dance was our "main routine/performance" (our solo), this dance had extra choreography and "theatrical elements" added to it, which made it even more fun to perform.

While you have already seen the "action-shot" photographs of the Cha-cha performance, you have not seen the video clip yet (since Blogger just did not want me to upload the video before).

The video is just 3 minutes long (Beat that, Justin and Madonna!!), so I hope that you will be able to enjoy it in its entirety - please let me know what you think! :0)



And now, on with the show!!:






On another note, my partner and I are off from our multiple dance practices this weekend (we are both not feeling very well), so I am hoping to do some baking. Stay tuned to find out what treats will emerge from my kitchen this week!

I hope that you have a lovely, restful weekend :0)