Takin' Care of (food) Business

Need to get caught up on quite a few things with you today, and then I'll get to this foodie pic!
*update*: recipe is now posted!


First, I've posted the pantry list that is referenced in ed&bv. It will remain on this page, along with the ed&bv edits.

Second, the ed&bv reprint is on its way, but the shipment was delayed. To those of you waiting for ed&bv, and that have commented here and through e-mail, etc, wondering about the delivery time... I am so sorry. There is nothing I can do about it, except give you these details that while the shipment was supposed to be in Vancouver last week, the shipper experienced delays, and so now it will not arrive until about Feb. 7th... which means, another 2-3 weeks wait for those of you that have ordered through amazon, etc. If I could ship you a book myself, I would... but I don't even have any stock in my house! So, please, be patient... and I'll try to make up for it with some food posts, and a couple of recipes to keep you going? Okay?! (*note to ed&bv winners Kristina and veganmomma: this also means I haven't mailed your copies yet. If you'd like a copy of Vive instead of ed&bv, just let me know. I do have copies of Vive on hand, and can mail one to you this week.)

Third, congratulations to Dawn Ratcliffe and Joe Espinosa for your leafleting accomplishments with Vegan Outreach last semester (Dawn handed out 16,595 brochures to college students; Joe 27,623!). You have both won a copy of Vive le Vegan!, and it should be arriving within a few days at your doorstep... enjoy!

Next, I've adopted. Not a child. Not an animal. A blogger! You see, I received a request from Kristen at Dine and Dish. She started this 'adopt-a-blogger' event pairing 'veteran' bloggers with newer bloggers. She mentioned there was one vegan request from a new blogger and she hadn't found a veteran match. So, I signed up... and little did I know, I had adopted veggiegirl! Over the next couple of weeks, I will make one of Liz's recipes, and she will make one of mine. Fun idea, huh? (though, I told Liz that I don't think I have too much to guide her through with blogging... she is quite the expert already!)

Now, to the food. What is this picture of vegan sweetness above? It's Maple Banana Loaf from TEV, but I chose to bake it in a larger baking dish (8 x 12; baking for less time, about 26-28 mins), rather than a loaf pan, making it more of a snack cake. I posted about this quick bread before, and it's really an easy recipe that uses only maple syrup as a sweetener, and is also low in fat (if that's something you're looking for in baked goods).

I'll post this recipe (hopefully by this evening) so you can try it, and will also include with some notes about subbing another flour for the portion of kamut flour in the recipe (there is a blend of whole-wheat pastry and kamut flours in the batter). I sprinkled a handful of chocolate chips on half of the batter before baking... just for some fun and variety. What's truly excellent in this loaf, if you're up for it, is mixing chocolate chips and a handful of lightly toasted and chopped pecans or walnuts into the batter before baking. Makes the loaf higher fat, obviously, but boy that banana-chocolate-nut combination is wonderful!

Okay, so check out the recipe, and stay tuned... (hint: Food Network Canada recipes soon to come!)