Tacos

When we were eating meat we ate tacos all of the time. They are so quick and easy, and most importantly, they are so good!! Rob really likes tacos, and he always loved taco nights. Once we quit eating meat we started eating these lentil tacos. I made them several times when we first stopped eating meat, and I haven't made them since. I was so surprised when I was skimming through my blog the other day, that in all of the time I've been blogging these haven't appeared. Although, I guess getting out of that rut was the point of starting this blog, wasn't it?

I follow the recipe exactly, only I always have to add about 1 1/2 additional cups of water, and therefore I like to bump up the chili powder by about 1 tsp. The lentils just don't seem to get cooked before one measly cup of water is absorbed.

I topped the tacos with diced onion, tomato, and homemade guacamole. Then I poured a little salsa on top and gave each taco a good squeeze of lime juice. Shredded vegan cheddar, or a little vegan sour cream is also good on top.

Rob and I have both agreed that these tacos are WAY better than tacos made with ground beef. And, as I said before, Rob loves tacos, so for him to say they are better than the ground beef version is really saying something. They have all of the flavor and texture of your traditional beef tacos, but none of the grease. They really are good, try them.

Banana Bread

For weeks the girls have been eating bananas like they are going out of style. I haven't been able to keep enough bananas in the house. So, last week, I bought 16 bananas!! I went to the store Saturday and bought 10 more, and when I got home to put them away I see that our banana consumption has slowed, and I have 4 bananas sitting in the fruit bowl that are on their last leg.

What to do with almost cashed bananas???? Banana bread of course. So, I searched the web today for a vegan version, and found this on the PPK. I altered the recipe slightly, leaving out about 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup of margarine. I can't imagine this bread would have been any better with the extra fat. What I love most about this bread is that the soft, moist inside is surrounded by this hard, crunchy, sweet crust......delicious.

Vegan Banana Bread

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup margarine, softened

1/4 cup organic unsweetened applesauce

3 very ripe bananas, mashed

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup + 2 TBS vanilla rice milk, mixed with 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly oil bottom of a bread pan. Cream together sugars, margarine, and applesauce. Add in flour, baking soda, spices and salt and mix to combine. Pour in rice milk mixture and continue mixing until batter forms. Finally add in banana and mix to combine well. Pour inot pan and bake for 1 hour. Let cool for 30 minutes or so before removing from pan. Best served warm, but darn good at room temperature too.

I encourage everyone to try this bread. And more importantly to try making all of your goodies free of eggs and milk. You will be surprised at how delicious vegan treats can be!