Thursday, June 10, 2010

Naan...na na na naan, na na na naan, na na naan, na na naan, na na na NAAN!!!


Such delicious vegan naan, makes you break into song.



Ingredients

  • 1 package active dry yeast
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 3 tablespoons soy milk
  • 1 egg-replacement
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 4 1/2 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic (optional)
  • 1/4 cup vegan butter, melted

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.*
  2. Punch down dough, and knead in garlic. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a tray. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.*
  3. During the second rising, preheat grill to high heat.
  4. At grill side, roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle. Lightly oil grill. Place dough on grill, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over. Brush cooked side with butter, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from grill, and continue the process until all the naan has been prepared.

*As I am always making this when I want to eat it, I have never ever waited an hour for the rising, or done the second rising at all...maybe this will make it fluffier and even more scrumptious if you have the patience, but it still turns out as an absolutely deeelish flatbread if you only let it rise once for about 15-20 mins.

Recipe snatched/adapted from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Naan/Detail.aspx

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Best Banana Bread bo began

james with his legendary banana bread in zero gravity
at hi-pdx reunion jan 2011!!!
First of all, you must love bananas and bread to enjoy this tasty delight. Second you need access to an oven. If you don't personally have an oven, call a friend and tell them you will make this recipe for them, and then maybe they will let you cook at their place. Once you are in the kitchen you will need:
2 cups flour ( simple white flour works best, some granola enjoying earthy people enjoy wheat flour. There is no reason for this phenomena to exist)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 pinches salt ( kosher please)
3-4 very ripe medium sized nanners(banana lover slang for banana).
1/3 cup oil (any kind works, olive oil gives it a rich bourgeois flavor)
1/2 to 1 cup sugar (you don't really need much sugar, it's all personal preference)
1/4 cup soymilk ( i like plain, some perverse people that lack properly developed taste buds enjoy vanilla, once again, personal preference)
1 teaspoon vanilla

To begin, find yourself 2 bowls, one very large and one medium bowl. Take the smaller bowl and put in the flour/baking soda/salt. let it chill while you do more baking.

Take the larger bowl and whisk the sugar and oil together. Then mash in the bananas until they are sufficiently mashifified. I am usually pretty lazy, so they don't need to be too mashed to be made into delicious bread. After that, add in the soymilk and vanilla. I sometimes add a pinch of cinnamon, but be careful as a little cinnamon goes a long way.

After this, mix in the dry ingredients and stir until it makes an awesomely gooey banana bread mixture. Its should slowly goop off of a spoon, if its too dry i add soymilk till i find the texture of my liking. if too wet i add more flour.

If you like chocolate, at this point you should add a cup or two of chocoalte chips. really anything can be added, ive made it with coconuts, cashews, raisins, oreos, etc. it is all good.

once you are done, get a bread pan and your mix should fill it about 1/2 way. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes, depending on how you like it. i poke it with a chopstick to see if it is ready. once the chopstick comes out dry, you should take it out.

Final Reminder: Baked good are like marijuana, they are meant to be shared. So if you make a delicious banana bread, don't bogart that shit. Go out and share it with your friends, neighbors, employees, fuck buddies, casual acquaintances, just share that shit.

Enjoy