Cocoa Banana Bread.

I'm back in the kitchen. I love the kitchen. Especially by myself, with music, and nothing but a counter full of ingredients.

I checked out two vegan cookbooks this week from the library. My curiosity led me to the cookbook aisle. I've always wondered how hard would it be to switch up my food choices even more from vegetarian, and I've never known what vegans do and do not eat. These two books answered my questions.

Today, I tried my first recipe. A little modification was done. I'm not becoming a vegan, but I am intrigued by a few recipes and ingredients that I want to try. Plus, I'm always looking for new recipes, whether it be to cook or bake.

From the book, Vegan Express, I started with the recipe Dense and Fruity Banana Bread on page 239. Mainly, because I knew we had a whole bunch of bananas in the fridge way past their prime. What become of this recipe is pure delicious-ness.

The original recipe:

Oil for the pan

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/3 natural granulated sugar

3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

pinch of ground nutmeg

2 medium very ripe bananas, well mashed

1/2 cup applesauce or apple butter

2 tbsp safflower oil

1/3 cup rice milk or soymilk

3/4 cup finely chopped dates or dried apricots

1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts

My version:

1 cup whole wheat flour (we only had one cup of this flour left in the cupboard)

1 cup white flour

1/2 applesauce instead of apple butter

2 tbsp vegetable oil instead of safflower oil

1/3 soymilk (my mom only drinks this, so we always have soymilk on hand)

1/2 cup chocolate chips

No dates, fruit, or nuts

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan. I used vegetable spray and a glass loaf pan.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, cocoa, and nutmeg in a mixing bowl and stir together. 3. Make a well in the center of flour mixture and add the bananas, applesauce, oil, and enough soymilk to make a smooth slightly stiff batter. Stir until thoroughly mixed, then stir in the chocolate chips (or fruit or nuts as you wish).
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the top is firm and a knife inserted into the center tests clean. When cool enough to handle, carefully remove the bread from the pan, place it on a rack or platter, and allow to cool until just warm before slicing. I baked my loaf for a total of 41 minutes. The loaf sat for about 2-3 minutes to cool in the pan, then I ran the knife along the edges of pan and flipped over the loaf and set onto a wire rack to cool. Slice with a serrated bread knife for clean slices.

This loaf can easily be made vegan by not putting in chocolate chips or using dairy free chips. I just can't resist chocolate chips in banana bread. Enjoy!

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