betty goes vegan.

it's been a minute. i had a wonderful week in ohio with my fabulous family, including my two adorable nephews (i made them fried rice with a side of garlic green beans; that's the next post!). i made these donuts weeks ago, and am just getting to post them. my bad.

every christmas all my siblings, those who married my siblings, and the spawn of those matrimonies gather at my parent's house to make these delicious treats. this is straight out of betty crocker's recipe for "cake donuts" with the vegan substitutes, and double the nutmeg. dive into these babies.

Donutz

• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup soy or almond milk
• 2 tablespoons shortening
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 bananas
• lemon juice
• vegetable oil for frying
• flour for rolling out

1. your two bananas and lemon juice will be your egg replacers. just like in the cupcakes, mash your bananas with a bit of lemon juice until they are slightly thicker than an egg. mash as many of the chunks out as you can.
2. mix 1 1/2 cup of your flour with the rest of your ingredients. with a table or hand mixer beat for about 30 seconds. this is a thick dough so it might take a tad longer with a hand mixer. mix for another 2 minutes or so on medium speed while occasionally scrapping the sides of the bowl.
3. slowly add in the rest of your flour while continuing to stir.
4. generously flour a clean counter, table or cutting board. roll around to coat with flour then roll out to about 3/8 inch or so.
5. times to cut those babies out. i floured the rim of my favorite drinking glass a.k.a a jam jar to cut out the main chunk of dough. then i used a shot glass to cut out the donut-hole. we also traditionally have "monsters." these are the oddly shaped pieces between the circles.
6. heat 2-3 inches oil up in deep skillet to about 375 degrees.
7. gently place donuts into hot oil. turn over the donuts when they rise. about 1-1 1/2 minutes to get golden brown.
8. remove from oil and place on paper towel or coffee filter covered plate to drain excess oil.

this makes about two dozen donuts. these are not the typical "yeast donuts" you would get at dunkin' donuts. ther are denser, and wonderful. i had some leftover icing from the shark week cupcakes so, i topped a few with that. you can also toss them in a bag or container with powdered sugar. also, i thought making the dough a different color would be fun so, a few of them are purple! the pieces cut out with the shot glass make perfect little donut balls of goodness.

these things are dangerous. get a chilled glass of soy or almond milk, and be prepared to eat your weight in donuts.

104 heat index, and i want french toast.

whew, baby. nyc is in the middle of a heatwave, and not the fun dancey sing songy kind. if you tried to dance now you would die of dhydration/heat exhaustion on your way up from your first "drop it like it's hot."

standing next to a stove to cook sounded like torture, but i still had one thing on my mind: french toast. sure, i had all the fixings for a nice cool summer roll, but i had to go for the fired up bread. of course.

French Toast

• bread
• 1 cup soy milk
• cinnamon
• 1 1/2-2 bananas
• vanilla

1. in a blender combine soy milk, cinnamon, bananas, and vanilla then pulse until smooth. the amount of cinnamon and vanilla is up to you, and what you like. since there aren't any raw eggs in the batter feel free to test it, and season to your liking. when i use banana as egg replacer in recipes such as cookies and pancakes i will first mash them separately with just a tad of lemon juice to get them at the right consistency. since i was tossing everything in the blender i knew it would get mixed properly, if you don't have a blender or food processor i would use the lemon method. these came out with a strong banana flavor; if that is something you want to avoid use the lesser amount.
2. on a stove heat large non-stick pan with oil or oil spray. or if you are lucky enough to have a griddle get that baby going.
3. dip bread into batter coating both sides. i used french bread, but you can use whatever suits your fancy. anything from sliced white bread to a thick whole wheat loaf.
4. cook on each side until they are brown and start to crisp on each side. try to flip as least amount of times as possible.
5. top with powder sugar, butter, syrup, fruit, nuts, apple sauce or nothing at all!

you can always add in whatever other spices and flavors to the mix. some coconut or pumpkin pie spice would be really yummy!!! i had to cook these with a fan pointed directly at me, but it was so worth it. make them after the sun goes down as part of a breakfast for dinner evening. enjoy!