Bejeezus 11 Tease

Hey hey, so here are a couple of pictures of the recipes that will be featured in Bejeezus 11. I've decided not to post the recipes because you need to buy Bejeezus 11 (and by buy, I mean purchase...not get a copy from a friend who works on the zine)! Trying to keep a zine going in this weird world can be quite daunting so it would be awesome if you could just support some hardworking, enthusiastic people with your five dollar bill. Keep the dream alive!


Cold Watermelon Soup:



Zucchini Banana Loaf:


I'm pretty psyched about these two because they accidentally feed alternative lifestyle eaters. This is the Zucchini Banana Loaf I've been making for years and it happens to be vegan. And it's not vegan because I use some alternative butter or egg supplement, it's vegan because it needs nothing of the sort. No butter, no dairy and no eggs. Bananas are magical and can do terrific things when called on. And I just realized that the Cold Watermelon Soup is not only vegan, but raw. Yep, absolutely no cooking was done in this process. Simply a lot of chopping and mixing. Bejeezus 11 should be out by the end of the summer. The issue is themed Second Hand. I'll let you know when its off the press.

Sam's Baking Success: Banana Cake

So, my friend Sam Whitaker has recently been inspired to bake (maybe I'm rubbing off on her...hehe). Past baking experiences had left her with a bad taste in her mouth, literally, but her will is strong. The woman can cook you some vegetarian soul food that'll really stick to your bones. She is an amazing cook (you've never had mashed potatoes until you've had hers), but was an intimidated baker. Well, today was a triumphant success in the Whitaker Kitchen! Just Look:



She made the Decadent Banana Cake inspired by Southern Living: Our Best-Ever Cakes & Pies. Although she did not follow the recipe step by step, the result was one tasty banana loaf and one tasty banana short cake (not shortcake, but a short cake).

Recipe:
2 1/2 cups plus 5 1/2 tbsp cake flour
1 tbsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1/2 unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
4-5 large, very ripe (like stinky brown) bananas
2/3 cup buttermilk


Preheat oven to 350. Sift flour, baking soda and salt (this is an unecessary step, you can simply wisk it. Most flours come pre-sifted these days). Beat butter with an electric mixer on medium until smooth. Add sugars and mix on medium until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating mixture until blended after each egg. Add bananas and mix on low speed. Add 1/3 flour mixture and 1/3 buttermilk, mix on med-low until just blended (do not over mix). Add another 1/3 of flour mixture and 1/3 of buttermilk, mix on med-low until just blended (do not over mix). Add the remaining flour mixture and buttermilk and mix on med-low until just blended (do not over mix). Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool for about an hour. Ice (or not) and eat.



Brooke Hint: Every time you add another ingredient, stop your mixer. And when a recipe says not to "over mix" or to "mix until just blended", this means that you mix the ingredients just barely. If you over mix a cake or a loaf, they will be dense and a little hard. If you want the cake/loaf to be moist and soft, you want to have little flour balls in your dough. These flour balls are your friends, they create air pockets and fluff!

For this cake, Sam used a standard Butter Cream icing. I don't feel like icing is necessary with this cake, the flavors are wonderful without the sugar additive. In fact, they would make delicious morning muffins. However, the Cream Cheese frosting on the Carrot Cake below would be a good match.

P.S. Other things Sam makes well...babies!

Vegan Zucchini Banana Muffins

Part of the reason I have yet to go totally vegan is the unnaturalness of all of it. Tofu doesn't grow on trees. Where the hell does fake butter come from, a chemist? Egg replacer wtf! I just have more of a hard time justifying eating a synthetic rather than milking a cow and creaming it to butter, you know? So, I read that bananas can substitute for eggs in some baked goods and that made me happy. And then created these delicious muffins that will now be a breakfast staple at the Vaughn-Pierce household. J loves them with his hot black coffee in the morning.

Recipe:
2 zucchini (shredded chunky with a cheese shredder)
2 ripe and squishy bananas
3 unbleached, organic cups flour
1 1/2 cups organic canola oil
2 cups vegan sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp bk. soda
1/2 tsp bk. pwdr
1 tsp cinnamon (i think i used more, but not sure)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
lemon zest (just do it until you are bored)
chopped walnuts (maybe a 1/2 cup)

whisk flour, soda, powder and spices in one bowl. mix sugar, oil, banana, zucchini, vanilla and zest in another bowl. mix them 'chocolate chip cookie style' in a mixer. add walnuts by hand and i put in a handful of chocolate chips last minute. grease your pan.

for a loaf 350 for 45-60
for big ass muffins (like a 6 pan, never tried a 12) 350 for 25min or so

let them cool for 20 minutes before you dump 'em out and eat 'em.