Cantaloupe Bread

In the midst of Hurricane Sandy, lovingly known as Frankenstorm, I did what any other good foodie does:  I looked in the kitchen for something to eat or cook before the power went out.  Upon the counter I spied a cantaloupe, overripe for the eating.  "I don't want to just sit and eat a whole cantaloupe by myself though," thought I as I stared at the melon as it stared back at me.  "But what can I do with it?"  So, I did what any other foodie does when placed with the problem of "what do I do with this food object":  I went to the internet to the handy dandy AllRecipes.com.  There I found this handy recipe for Cantaloupe Bread.  I was skeptical at first, but after reading through other people's reviews I decided to give it a try.  After making a few adjustments based off of other comments and to vegan-ize it and, here is the recipe I came up with:

Vegan Cantaloupe Bread

 

Dry Ingredients

3 c all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp baking powder

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

Wet Ingredients

1/2 c + 2 Tbsp vegetable oil

3/4 c sugar

2 Tbps honey

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

2 + 1/2 c pureed fresh cantelope

Optional Ingredients

1/2 c raisins tossed in flour

1/2 c pecans

What else you'll need

2 loaf pans or as many muffin tins as this will fill

Cooking spray or grease

A rubber spatula

A couple of bowls

Measuring spoons and cups

An oven

 

Directions

1.)  Preheat the oven to 325F and grease and flour your pans or line with muffin papers.

2.)  Whisk together all of your wet ingredients

3.)  Sift together all of your dry ingredients.

4.)  Combine your wet and dry ingredients with a rubber spatula until combined.

5.)  Fold in the raisins and pecans if you used them.  I used raisins because I love them so much.

6.)  Pour the batter into your prepared pans and pop in the oven for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center.

7.)  Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5-10 minutes before removing.

8.)  Wait for the bread to completely cool before serving.

9.)  Enjoy!

If you have any leftover puree, you can freeze it and save for later or add some ice cubes and  make a smoothie out of it!  

Stay safe during Sandy/Frankenstorm and remain abso-foodie-licious!

My Natto Experience

In less than a week I will be leaving this country to spend 50 days in Japan learning Japanese and about Japanese culture.  For my last week in America before I leave, I have decided to throw a week of mini celebrations coupled with the copious amounts of pre-Japan studying I've procrastinated on, and no celebration is complete without food.  So, yesterday when I went to Jungle Jim's International Market I picked up some Japanese food items that I knew I would enjoy and some I had not tried before, most notably natto.

Cinnamon Rolls (Like a BOSS!)

Today I made vegan cinnamon rolls using a recipe I found in Vegan Baking Classics by Kelly Rudnicki.  I bout this book sometime last year and I've tried some of the other recipes in it like the Blueberry Buckle, the Classic Chocolate Birthday Cake and the Emerald Isle Coffee Cake, among other delicious things.  But, I've been craving cinnamon rolls, so they had to be made.

Fail/Japan

So, I've been doing all sorts of cool food things yet I haven't been recording anything.  I know.  I'm a bad food blogger.  But, I have plans to change that.  This summer I'll be hopefully/most likely going to Japan to learn Japanese.  While I'm there I plan on recording all the new and exciting food I'll be eating here on Abso-Foodie-Licious while recording my other adventures on my other blog, Adventures of the Rising Sun (link in the sidebar).  Until then, I hope to get the ball rolling again while I'm still in the States.  I look forward to continuing this food-venture with you guys.  Stay abso-foodie-licious.