Vegan Banana Bread Muffins
Protest wait, no... Love Muffins
Yesterday the Westboro Baptist "Church" decided to protest the Rose Queen who is openly Bisexual and Jewish who attens school at Sequoyah School that is located on the same campus as the church I attend, Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church in Pasadena. I was heartbroken when I heard the news that they were targeting a child on her way to school.
Instead of staging a counter-protest our communities response was to stand on the side of love and respond in a peaceful way instead. We got together to make signs to show inclusion, standing on the side of love, and decorated the sidewalks so the children would have less of a disturbance as they were trying to enter school to learn.
I wasn't able to attend that morning due to work commitments, so instead I made some Vegan Banana Bread Muffins to sustain those that were able to be there in support. That seems to always be my go-to response to protest, feed the people who are able to stand-up when I am not able. It's a small contribution, but I hope it helped.
Normally I would bake this in a loaf pan instead of muffins because I think there is something festive that makes bread feel more like an 'occasion' when it is in loaf form, but for serving a lot of people quickly, muffins are the way to go. The photo would have been nicer with a loaf instead of muffins, and I didn't really like the muffin wrappers that I had, but hey, the point is to whip them up quickly and use what I had on hand, so I just went with it and guess what, it's fine.
I love this recipe because I almost ALWAYS have all the ingredients in the house.
I made them vegan and nut-free because I didn't know who all would be attending and wasn't aware of allergies. This recipe is lovely with a half cup of walnuts chopped and added to the mix. OK fine, chocolate chips are terrific in this as well!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup more cold water
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cardamom
3 very ripe bananas mashed
1/2 cup chopped walnuts if using (or chocolate chips)
Directions:
In a medium bowl sift together flour, salt, cinnamon, and cardamom and set aside.
In a large bowl, blend the shortening, sugar, 1/4 cup of water and vanilla.
In a small bowl, mix the additional 1/4 cup cold water and baking soda, add to large bowl and mix again. The mixture will seem like it has broken, but it will be ok.
Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir by hand until just combined.
Then add the mashed bananas and nuts/choc chips if using, again, until just combined.
Pour into greased 9x3x5 loaf pan and bake on 350 degrees for about 50 minutes.
If making into muffins bake for about 20-25 minutes instead.
