Leaving You With a New Product Preview, Recipes, and a Surprise

I am officially in "summer mode" right now (despite the severe lack of sunshine where I live - I need my Vitamin D fix already!!)...


No more classes, exams, assignments... and it feels FANTASTIC :-)


I want to kick off my summer vacation with all of you; so what better way to do that then with Episode 15 of VeggieGirl TV and with more featured recipes??





First, here is the "Topics Overview List" for Episode 15 of VeggieGirl TV:


- Remember when I mentioned that my "official" 21st birthday celebration would be taking place in May?? Well, the time has come!!

Tune in to find out where I will be celebrating my 21st birthday (since I couldn't really do it when school was still in session)...



- I discovered a new "potentially holy yum" food product while shopping at Whole Foods this past week.

What could it be?? I will preview this upcoming product review.




**This episode is 4 minute and 11 seconds in length - hope that you have time to view it and enjoy!!**








And now I present to you my latest baked good creations and a recipe:




Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes


I used this recipe from the September 2008 issue of Vegetarian Times magazine, making my usual substitutions (using gluten-free flour, hempmilk, etcetera; didn't make the glaze).

These cupcakes have a mousse-like texture, rich flavor, and heavenly aroma. My parents, grandfather, siblings, nieces, nephews, Shannon, and myself (a "no chocolate" girl) absolutely loved these treats!!




Chocolate Chip Banana Bread


I received many requests from my family members to bake a loaf of banana bread; and hey, I always aim to please my best "customers," so of course I complied. Although a Chocolate Chip Banana Bread seems rather simple, it is often the simplest treats that satisfy the most.

I used this recipe for the banana bread, substituting 1.5 cups of chocolate chips into the batter in place of the peanut butter.




And now, my newest treat...





Caramel Banana Bread


I baked this banana bread variety for Heather and Mark, of the "Hangry Pants" blog. The aroma alone is enough to make anyone swoon, whether or not you are a caramel fanatic (like me) or not.

Heather presented a fabulous review of the Caramel Banana Bread on her blog, here.




VeggieGirl’s Caramel Banana Bread

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




• 3 overripe bananas

• 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 - but any flour will do, depending on your needs)

• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1.5-2 cups caramel syrup (I used the Santa Cruz Organic brand of caramel syrup)

• Nondairy "milk" of choice, added to the batter as needed (**Note: I used Living Harvest hempmilk)



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 caramel 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 9"x5" loaf pan (coated generously with nonstick cooking spray).

Bake for about 48-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Makes roughly 10-12 slices/servings.







Have a glorious weekend, everyone!! I will "see" you when I return.


And of course, I would like to wish all the moms out there a very happy Mother's Day (for Sunday, May 10th). Celebrate and enjoy - you deserve it!!