First, though, I wanted to show you what I found on the beach last night.
The rain finally abated yesterday evening, and Phil and I hiked the beach from 7.30pm until almost 10 and were home with just a vestige of daylight left. The crazy-long days are definitely on the wane, and as I look around at all the baroque green lushness, I have a wistful awareness around my extremities that it's only six weeks or so until we start to freeze here again. Probably not more than two months 'til the snow flies.
Now of course, sea otters have the habit of crunching down on clam and mussel shells their whole lives. It seems a bit surprising, considering that their paws appear so dexterous and delicate, that they haven't figured out a more tooth-friendly approach. But crunching on something that hard day in and day out must shiver their timbers pretty good. Those are some beautiful teeth, however--pearlescent and purplish.
It bugs me when raw food advocates spout that wild animals never get sick, never get tooth decay. Mostly, though, I feel grateful to live close enough to wild animals that I get to see how things really are with them. No global warming? Then how come so many sea otters around here are dying of canine distemper, which formerly only affected Atlantic seals, and only showed up in the subArctic when the Polar ice melted enough for infected Atlantic animals to pass through into the Pacific?
OK--off my soapboxes... Banana bread...
(gluten free, vegan, all that good stuff...)
Preheat oven to 350, prepare a 9x5 loaf pan.
Mix together:
2 cups flour (if using a gluten free mix, as I did, add a teaspoon of xanthan or guar gum)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon (if you like)
Mix together separately:
6 mashed bananas
1/2 cup sugar (or xylitol, or a mixture of the two)
3 tablespoons oil (I used to always make this with butter just so there was a reason I couldn't eat it!)
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix wet and dry together and, if you like, stir in a half cup each of nuts and dried fruit. (I just added a half cup of raisins: I really don't like nuts in baked goods.)
Pour out into the loaf pan and bake for around 50 minutes.
Enjoy!
What lesson have you learned from an animal recently?
So, how was your banana bread when you finally tasted it for your self? Did it hit the pleasure center? Did it feel like a really special treat when you were eating it? :) I hope so.
ReplyDeleteI remember collecting a nutria skeleton and bringing it to show and tell at school as a child. That is a beautiful jaw bone you collected. I'm with you on the silly business of insisting that wild animals don't get tooth decay, as if the people stating this have actually gone out and done a survey to confirm this. I always get annoyed when I read that soaking in water will cause nuts and seeds to sprout, as if that is all that is needed - just water. In studying Botany and Horticulture, I learned that many seeds have to be scraped with a file (similar to what would happen in the gut of a bird) and that others will never, ever sprout unless they are exposed to freezing temperatures for a period of time. If you were to just expose them to moisture without the freezing treatment, or the filing, you would just get soggy dead seeds. So many factors that can't be oversimplified. Oh well.
Ela,
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoyed your wonderful banana bread. I was happy to hear you share my frustration with raw gurus who misuse "wild" animals as examples of perfect health. Animals get sick, animals get cavities - just like us. I know it makes the path to wellness more complicated if the answer isn't simply, eat raw, but I would rather have the truth than the easy answer.
How interesting about animal tooth decay...I guess I never really thought about it. It makes me feel a little better, though, since despite a mostly-very-healthy diet and not consuming all that much sugar, I have very weak tooth enamel and have always been very prone to cavities and gum recession. There doesn't seem to be much I can do to fix that...I'm guessing it's a result of largely not eating - and when I did eat, eating 100% junk - for the first 18-19 years of my life...
ReplyDeleteThe scent of banana bread baking is my favorite smell in the world. It's also always seemed like, to me, one of the most easily veganizable baked goods, since bananas add so much moisture and, as you said, easily replace both milk and eggs. Your version looks terrific.
Mindy--yes, I should have said what the banana bread tasted and felt like, shouldn't I? It was really yummy. I'm not crazy for baked goods (maybe because I'm just not used to eating them) but they connote 'comfort food' for so many people and they're also 'convenient:' with my time issues, I'm trying them out for size. So, not ecstasy-producing, but very nice.
ReplyDeleteYes, I totally hear you on the seeds thing! So many nuts simply don't sprout once they're shelled, and there are many seeds that simply have a very low rate of germination. And what about all the other forms of plant reproduction... Although of course I agree that the seed sprouting is such a beautiful image of continuity...
love
Ela
Lisa--Amen on the 'truth' rather than the 'easy answer.' I know that there's a part of me that craves a simple, black and white picture, but every experience I have in my life tells me that that's not how it is.
ReplyDeleteYes, the banana bread was yummy!
love
Ela
Thanks, Amber. And I'm in the same boat as you: I've always been very careful with my teeth but have an obscene number of cavities. Like you, I suspect poor nutrition for way too many years has quite a bit to do with it: in my case, both my parents have really bad teeth, so I got a genetic two-strike as well. At least we're not chomping down on clam shells!
ReplyDeletelove
Ela
Yes, Ela, I actually enjoy sprouting - and it is a beautiful process. For those nuts and seeds that will sprout, it does seem to make them more digestible, and some, like walnuts and almonds, just taste better and feel better in my stomach after the tannic acid is leached out of the skins. But I'm very suspicious of some things - like companies that charge through the nose for "sprouted pecan butter". I love pecans, but I don't think shelled pecans will sprout, and I found that soaking them just seems to give them a really weak and watered down flavor. Also, I don't find that soaked nuts make a very flavorful or tasty butter at all (I've tried this at home). Anyway, I just get suspicious of the integrity of the companies that make these claims. Ah well, I'm just going to focus on gratitude for all the many food choices we do have, and for the gift of discerning minds. :)
ReplyDeleteMmmmm .... banana bread ... I haven't made that in a while. My family loves it. We'll have to try your version.
ReplyDeletebanana bread looks great! one of my favorite things growing up
ReplyDeletelori and I are trying raw yolks in our smoothies again, we have done it twice now, one on Monday and then to one today. we will let you know how we do, hoping for more energy ;)
Shannonmarie--I hope you try that banana bread--it's so simple and good. I think it might have been the first time I ever had banana bread!
ReplyDeletelove
Ela
Hey Michelle--good to hear from you! I hope the yolks treat you well: looking forward to hearing what you feel from them. When I did eggs, I did the whole thing, but I know that there's very mixed messages about raw egg whites...
ReplyDeletelove
Ela