2 c all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 pinches sea salt
¾ cup coconut sugar and cane sugar mix
½ c butter (or sub with applesauce)
2 eggs, whisked
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 medium overripe bananas (blackened)

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt in a large mixing bowl. Cream sugar and butter/apple sauce in another bowl until combined. Add eggs, vanilla and mashed bananas to wet. If bananas are not mashed until smooth, there will be some appealing bits of banana chunks. Mix until combined. Mix wet into dry ingredients but careful not to over-mix as it will create a rubbery, dry bread.

Bake in a loaf pan at approximately 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 60-65 min.

Cool for ten minutes before eating.

Store in fridge for safekeeping.

Actual baking time: 80 minutes = 300 degrees Fahrenheit at 65 minutes. Then baked at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

two cups SamYook soymilk drink (found at Korean groceries or any soymilk)
heaping spoon cacao powder
heaping spoon or more of peanut butter
frozen banana
tsp or more cinnamon
optional: tablespoon of flax seeds/chia/hemp (to boost nutrition), spoonful of maca powder (to sweeten and for nutrition)

Blend together. Enjoy.

I was inspired to make a chocolate soymilk peanut butter smoothie like the one I had at Sadie’s in Toronto. They used chocolate soymilk and Kraft peanut butter. I used what I have at home and it turned out really smooth and refreshingly tasty. The cinnamon is barely noticeable though, a tsp won’t do much for flavour. A tbsp would have been better but I wanted a strong chocolate-peanut butter taste. I added cinnamon because it helps to reduce glucose and lipids in blood*.

*The results of a small study on diabetics’ blood lipids concluded that a small intake of cinnamon everyday lowered the participants’ triglycerides by 23-30%. http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/26/12/3215.abstract

4 cups Dashi stock made from bonito and kombu
light miso
one small delicata squash
two large celery stalks
one large broccoli crown
half of large red pepper

This soup turned out delicious despite being ridiculously easy and convenient. Heat dashi stock (you can use two cups dashi and two cups water). Wash and chop all vegetables into bite size pieces. The delicata squash doesn’t require any peeling. Add the squash and add other vegetables when it is almost fully cooked. When other vegetables are done, it’s time to add the miso. Add three tbsp of miso to a ladle and add hot broth. Whisk into a paste. Add the miso to the soup and stir to distribute. Don’t let the miso boil and immediately take the pot off the heat.

The soup is sweet from the vegetables and miso, with a rich flavour. The bitter, strong or stinky taste that might result from the broccoli or celery isn’t there. I’m so happy with the way it turned out. Best of all, the broth is enriched with the nutrients of the miso and vegetables so it’s healthy!

I was planning on adding spinach and tofu to the mix but the pot was already full. I think udon noodles, somen, soba or quinoa would also go great with the soup.

salmon filet
good quality sake
quinoa
vegetable broth
green tea
green onions
nori sprinkles (your flavour)
dashi stock

First pour a little sake on your fish and rub on both sides to rid the smell. I learned this from Cooking With Dog. (I went to buy sake at the store and was clueless about what to get. I bought Ontario’s local Izumi Nama Cho sake. It’s pretty good! Very clean and fresh-smelling.) Then, absorb with a paper towel. Fry golden brown on both sides.

Cook the quinoa with vegetable broth. A 1:2 ratio. Bring to a boil and cover on low for 15 min. Let sit away from heat for 5 min. Fluff with fork and place small amount in bowl.

Make green tea. I had brown rice green tea from Korea.

Slice the green onions into fine slivers. Pour dashi stock and green tea half-half ontop of rice. Place flaked fish on top. Then, onions. Then nori sprinkles.

I made the chazuke today and it was really delicious. Went to Guu yesterday and had Salmon Dashi Chazuke with crisped rice and it was amazing but so small and fleeting. It reminded me somehow of instant ramen in how comforting and savoury it tasted, without the artificial flavours and crappy feeling afterwards. In the future, I’ll crisp the quinoa in a dolsot bowl with sesame oil.

adapted from Simple Daily Recipes Instead of cooking the garlic separately, you can let it cook with the quinoa.

1 cup vegetable broth (or 1 cup water with ½ tsp Better Than Bouillon veg paste)
½ cup uncooked quinoa
olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2-5 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 bunch of broccoli, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 cup old cheddar, diced fine
½-1 cup parmagiano reggiano, grated
1 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste

Wash and drain the uncooked quinoa.
Cook it on med-high heat with olive oil to let it toast and bring out nuttiness.
Pour in vegetable broth or equivalent water with ½ tsp of Better Than Bouillon veg paste.
Bring to a boil and then lower heat, covered, for 15 min.
While it cooks, preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and steam the broccoli.
Take off heat and let sit, covered, for 5 min. Fluff with fork. Put into mixing bowl.
In the pot, cook garlic and onion with oil until caramelized for 5 min on med heat. Add to bowl.
Combine cheese, milk, salt and pepper to ingredients in bowl. Pour into medium sized baking dish.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until hot and browned on top.