One of my goals for the new year is to spend less time online and more time reading. I have so many books and I have only put a dent in a little more than half.
The book I decided to read this month was “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” by Betty Smith. This book takes place in the early 1900’s in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It is about a girl named Francie Nolan and the obstacles and daily occurrences she faces growing up so poor. You follow her from the time she is very small up until she is old enough to attend college and you see how she grows and matures. This book is rather old and was a rough start for me, as I felt the plot was going nowhere at first. I stuck with it and ended up really enjoying it. This book made me realize how far we’ve come as a society and how simple life used to be. Having anything to eat at all, clothes that fit or heat on cold nights were once such a huge obstacle, we take for granted how even the poorest people these days have it so easy.
I made two things last week where the main ingredient was tofu. The first dish was a tofu spinach lasagna. Tofu and spinach were ground in a food processor giving it a ricotta like texture. The texture and taste were very similar and this was pretty good for my first attempt. I was out of salt so it was a little bland but I am going to try it again perhaps with some modifications.
The second dish was a tofu peanut butter pie. It was my second time making this and it is soo good. Soft silken tofu, peanut butter, sugar, soy milk, and vanilla extract are combined in a food processor and spooned into a pie crust. I added chocolate and crushed pretzels to the top as garnish. I obtained fresh made peanut butter and this added a cruchier taste then the first time I made this pie… I am unsure if I liked this texture better or not.
Most people that have known me for along time know that I used to follow a very strict vegetarian diet. I did not stray from this for 7 years but have been very on again/off again for the past 3 years. I am trying to get back on track and have decided to incorporate vegan dishes into my diet at least once a week. This week I made vegan banana bread and I have to say it was the most amazing banana bread I ever had…. and it was fat free. Here is the recipe:
Ingredients:
- 5 ripe bananas
- 1 cup vegan sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 cup water
Directions:
In a large bowl mash bananas with sugar and vanilla until combined and creamy. Then mix in the water.
In a smaller bowl, sift together the flour, soda, powder and cinnamon.
Add the dry to wet and stir until just mixed. You don’t want to over mix or the bread will be dry.
Pour batter into sprayed loaf pan and bake in preheated 350°F oven for one hour. Your house will smell so good you will be tempted to take it out a few minutes earlier but don’t or it won’t be done on the inside.
Soooo sooo good, I can’t wait to make it again!
Since I haven’t been working much I have been trying to spend more time sewing and working on other craft related projects. I have always been interested in learning how to patchwork and decided to give it a shot using a bunch of old fabric I had laying around. I cut the fabric in squares that were 4 inches by 4 inches and hand sewed them together. This was tedious but did not take as long as I expected. Because this was a project I decided to do on a whim I did not have proper material for the backing so I used an old scarf I had laying around. This was kind of a shoddy attempt at patchwork, esp since it was hand sewed but I still think it turned out cute.
New Year
I know I am a little late jumping on the “new year, new blog” bandwagon, but January isn’t over yet. I decided to start this to keep track of my goals for the new year, keep track of places I go, books I read, foods I cook and bake and other various things I decide to embark upon in 2011.
