Banana Teabread

This recipe comes from the Ener-G Egg Replacer box. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this product, it's an egg replacing powder you mix with water. It's made out of potato starch, tapioca flour, and other leavening agents (no animal products).

1 1/2 cups wheat flour
2 teas. egg replacer powder
2 teas. baking powder
1 teas. baking soda
1/2 cup sugar (I did 1/4 cup turbinado and 1/4 cup agave due to what I had on hand)
3 table. oil
4 table. water
1 table. orange juice concentrate (I didn't have this-it was fine)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup mashed banana

Preheat oven 350.

Mix dry ingredients. Add remaining ingredients, mix one and a half minutes.

Pour into 1 pound pan (...? I just used a bread loaf pan)

Bake 40 minutes or until golden brown.

-we made an orange glaze with powdered sugar, orange juice, orange concentrate, and a little butter (smart balance). And I'm sure you could add nuts or raisins to the bread batter and it would be delish.

Mushroom and Garlic Cream Pasta

WARNING!!!!!!! This recipe is TGTBV!!!! (too good to be vegan)

I adapted this recipe (http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1735,154167-239201,00.html) from cooks.com

Blend=
1 1/2 cups cashews (soaked)
1/4 cup sunflower seeds (not soaked)
2 cups water

Set aside. This is your cream.

Sautee in a generous amount of olive oil and black pepper=
6 jumbo cloves garlic
1 small onion
8 ounces mushrooms
1 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
(all the above ingredients are finely chopped, I used my chopper)

Stir in cream and let simmer for a few minutes. Season with sea salt to taste (I did quite a bit)

Serve over noodles (we chose whole wheat penne) and tell me you are not sitting in macaroni grill when you are eating this!

Quick Curry

I got this from Nathan's sister, I'm not sure where she got the recipe. It's so mild and fast. You could use fresh tomatoes if you want to make it even more fresh.

Cooked lentils or garbanzo beans (recipe calls for 2 lbs chicken, we chose lentils
1 1/2 Tablespoon canola oil
14 oz. can coconut milk (Thai Kitchen brand)
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 Tablespoons curry
2 cloves garlic, crushed
14 oz can stewed tomatoes (or you could use fresh)
8 oz can tomato sauce
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix oil and curry in pan and heat for 2 minutes.
Add onions and garlic, cook 1 minute.
Add beans, tossing to coat in curry sauce.
Stir in coconut milk, tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt and pepper. Heat until warm enough to serve.

Eat with brown rice, potatoes, or anything.

Tortillas

We can't get any good tortillas in Kansas. Or bread for that matter. You would think when you are in the grain-center of America, surrounded by farms, you could find some quality whole grain products. Not so.

The "best" tortillas I can find are these

and the ingredient list is one mile long with words I've never seen in my life!

Let's go back to the basics:

-2 cups wheat flour
-1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup oil (I used canola)
-2/3 cup warm water

Mix dry ingredients. Work in the oil with your hands, until everything is evenly dispersed. Drizzle the water a little at a time, work it in with hands, until you have a ball of dough. You may use a little less than 2/3 cup.

Make 12-15 little balls, cover with a clean towel, let the dough rest 15 minutes.
Roll out as thin as you can get 'em and heat them through on a non-stick pan.
And don't forget to save one (or two or three) to eat with agave and cinnamon :)

Eggplant Manicotti

From: www.cok.net (compassion over killing)

1 large eggplant, cut lengthwise into 12 1/4-inch thick slices
1 medium onion, chopped
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
dash of nutmeg
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
2 cups marinara sauce
Lightly oil a nonstick skillet and cook the first side of the eggplant slices until slightly browned. Turn and cook the second side until easily pierced with a fork. Set aside.

Heat 1/4 cup of water in a large, nonstick skillet and cook the onion over medium-high heat until the liquid has evaporated. Stir in 2 tablespoons of water to loosen any bits of onion stuck to the pan. Cook until the liquid evaporates again, then stir in 2 more tablespoons of water. When the liquid has evaporated, add the spinach and seasonings. Stir in the flour and cook 2 minutes. Set aside to cool. (WE ALSO STIRRED IN 1 CAN OF KIDNEY BEANS, DRAINED AND CHOPPED UP IN THE CHOPPER, TO ADD SOME PROTEIN)

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Place a spoonful of the spinach mixture across the center of each eggplant slice. Then, beginning with the narrow end of the eggplant, roll around the filling. Arrange in a baking dish, seam-side down. Top with marinara sauce. Cover and bake for 20 minutes.

Kitchen tools and link

OK, you techno wizards, I don't know what I'm doing yet with posting info--so info me when I mess up.

I wanted to mention two kitchen tools that have been invaluable to me in this adventure of "raw" eating.

1. World Cuisine A4982799 Tri-blade plastic spiral vegetable slicer--This tool takes zucchini (or cucumbers or whatever vegetable you'd like) and makes spaghetti noodles. It is GREAT! The raw noodles are scrumptious! I tried an apple with the slicer and my grandson scarfed down the foot long strings of apples with great delight!
I had a saladacco a couple years ago and found it totally useless. THIS device really works!

2. Vidalia Chop Wizard. This simple device makes short work of onion, celery, carrot, red pepper--whatever (!) dices. Making soups or dicing vegetables for salads is a snap.

The other thing I wanted to mention is www.greensmoothiegirl.com. The site is extremely useful. She has free videos and multiple resources for healthy eating.

Have a great day, y'all! Karla

Is it sauce, or hummus?

Or soup? Eli ate a big bowl of it for lunch and loved it.
You get to decide.

BLEND:

1 cup sunflower seeds
1 can garbanzo beans, drained
juice of 1 lime
1 cup water
2 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 yellow bell pepper