Saturday, September 17, 2011

In Which I Make Vegan Banana Nut Bread

Our Little Man inadvertently left my new Nikon Coolpix in the rain and it's ruined. I can't find my cell phone today. So I can't provide you with a photo of the vegan banana nut bread I baked this afternoon. These past few weeks I've deliberately stopped buying dairy products: eggs, yogurt, butter and cow's milk. I'd like to tell you this change in my shopping habits comes from some high-minded concern over the treatment of cows and chickens. But it doesn't.

Our 11-year-old son is lactose-intolerant, so I've been buying Lactaid for many years. My new-found love of HMart, a Korean-Asian supermarket chain, has opened my eyes to the wonders of soy. I've started buying soy milk instead of the lactose-free cow's milk. And because of HMart's extensive selection of soy products, I've been buying tofu, which is incredibly cheap, and healthy. I've discovered everyone in my family loves tofu stir-fried with veggies. Then, I read about how one can make olive oil spread as a butter substitute and so I've started to make that, too.

As for eggs, I realized as we were heading out of town this summer for our two-week vacation to New Brunswick, Canada, that we have been consuming far too many in my baking. I discovered an 18-egg carton in the refrigerator. (I gave the eggs to our neighbors, who made lots of omelets while we were gone)

Lest you think I've gone vegan, please know I still am an enthusiastic meat, fish and poultry eater. What can I call myself right now? A carni-anti-lacto-vore?

It's struck me lately we are the only mammals who drink the milk of other mammals. My son's lactose-intolerance has led me to do a bit of research. In some parts of the world, Asia and Africa in particular, the ability digest and metabolize lactose is the exception, not the norm. The idea of consuming the milk of other animals has started, frankly, to gross me out.

The recipe I found for tonight's banana bread was delicious. And the proof is, as they say, in the pudding: the four of us are devouring it while watching The Shawshank Redemption on TNT.
















4 comments:

  1. Milk is one of those things that I try not to think too much about....come to think of it eggs are another!

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  2. No camera and no cell phone??!! Oh no. Well, I'd love to tell you we'd jump on the anti-lactose bandwagon, but we drink a gallon of milk a day in my house!

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  3. @May: Meaning you consumer a lot or not so much? @Jen: I hate to say I am heartbroken over the camera but....there you have it.

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  4. Have you put your camera in a bowl of dry white rice, covered it with more rice, and seen if that dries it out? I hope it can be saved!

    I feel good on days I happen to go vegan. Vegan banana bread? That, I may need to try....

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