Blueberry Bread

 As you know, I am very focused on making a good showing at next weekend's vegan potluck brunch. I feel a little bit like Michelle Trachtenberg in Ice Princesses, where she had only been taking skating lessons for a few weeks when she had to enter some big ice-skating competition. Like Michelle's character, I want to make a strong showing and shoot up about 3 or 4 divisions from amateur to junior novice, or whatever the shit she did. It's been awhile since I've seen the movie, but feel free to correct me in the comments. I'm a little disappointed that no one ever comments on this blog. Let's start a flame war or something, people.
Anyway, let me shift back to the potluck. I have committed to the idea of a vegan blueberry bread, but I have 3 different recipes. One is for a straight up blueberry banana bread, one incorporates a walnut struesal topping, and one will use a hint of lemon and possibly some sort of a glaze. So, I'm going to do what any ex-highschool overachiever would do, I'm going to bake all three of them this weekend and then force my coworkers to do a taste test on Monday.

I love breakfast breads. They are super easy to bring in to work, because they require relatively little prep time, can be healthier than cookies, and aren't as messy as cakes or pies. Everyone at work knows that my desk is usually a good place to find baked goods, and it was even mentioned at my last performance review when my boss got to the topic of "contributing to team morale". I also like the idea of anything that I can cook on a Saturday or Sunday morning and eat for the week. A loaf of this bread, baked on the weekend, can save me a lot of time in the mornings, making it easier to get to the gym. I just have to toast a slice and smear it with a little Earth Balance or perhaps some preserves. Lately I've been jonesing on Trader Joes Pumpkin Butter. It was delicious on oatmeal scones, and I imagine that it would be pretty good on this as well. Another option might be to mash up half a fresh banana and use it instead of spread. The possibilities are endless.

A coworker of mine was talking about this delicious non-vegan recipe that she has for blueberry banana bread. It got me to thinking that I would love to take said recipe and turn it into a healthy, vegan breakfast bread. I did what I always do, and consulted a couple of different recipes until I decided what to use in my own. This recipe uses a banana base. I like using bananas in cooking, but they tend to have an overpowering flavor, so I usually only put them in something that I actually want to taste like bananas. I also used some steel-cut oats to supplement the flour. This is my second blueberry bread recipe test, and I was much more pleased with the results this time. The bread is still very dense and satisfying, but it's also baked all the way through and not too chewy. So far, this is clearly the front-runner.

Nicole's Vegan Blueberry Bread

• 3 ripe mashed bananas
• 1/3 c soymilk
• 1/4 c. organic raw sugar
• 1 tbsp. ener-g mixed with 4 tbsp water.
• 1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/2 c. rolled oats
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 tsbp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 c. blueberries

1. Boil a pot of water and drop in the blueberries for 2 minutes. Then, immediately drain them and pour cold water over them until they cool to room temperature. Kids, this is called blanching.
2. Take your oats and pulse them in a food processor until they resemble a very coarse powder. 
3. Mash your ripe bananas and mix in the soy milk, sugar, vanilla, and ener-g until well blended.
4. In a separate bowl, mix whole wheat flour, oats, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Stir this in to your banana mixture.
5. Fold in blueberries. 
6. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake at 325 for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. 

8 servings at 207 calories each