Decadent Banana Bread Recipe, Curry, and Some High-Priced Disappointments

Let's start with the bad news first, shall we? While recently at the grocery store, I came across these beautiful heirloom tomatoes. Pretty no? When I cut up the smaller one for a salad I found it to be very mealy and a bit too tart to really enjoy. As they were quite expensive (i'd never bought heirloom tomotoes before and was too curious to not), I tossed 'em in the salad anyway. but i didn't like it!

After lunchtime's disappointment I was glad I'd thought to defrost some curry that I'd made a while back. It's my simple go-to curry from Veg. Times (you can find the recipe here. i just subbed sweet potatoes this round for some tiny yukon golds as that's what i had and used green lentils instead of brown...well...because they're my favorite!).Whenever I thaw out a batch I can never leave it as it and threw in another can of chopped, no salt added tomatoes, half a can of chickpeas (I want to roast the other half for a snack, yum!), and about half of the largest bunch of organic kale I've purchased to date. The kale I just cleaned, chopped, and boiled for about fifteen minutes, then drained and stirred it into the curry before serving. I was hoping to try my hand at chipatis, but never got around to it. warming a whole wheat wrap in the oven and tearing it to scoop up the warming goodness of the curry was a decent substitute.

That warm oven? Was from baking some of the BEST banana bread I've ever had, in my opionion, and I owe it all to the folks over at Post Punk Kitchen. I took Isa's original recipe, heeded the advice of just about every person who reviewed it (cutting back on fat, adding choc. chips, topping it with nuts), and even gave it a lil dash of som'n som'n on my own. Here's the final product. Totally decadent and not nearly as bad for you as it tastes!
Decadent Banana Bread

1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. white sugar (Florida Crystals is my fave)
1 T margarine
1/4 c. applesauce, unsweetened
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 1/4 c. unbleached white flour
3/4 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 c. lite plain soy milk + 1 tsp. vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. salt
3 T. semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 T. unsweetened coconut
1/4 c. toasted walnut pieces

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease loaf pan (preferably pyrex).
Sift flour, baking soda, spices. Cream margarine, sugars, and applesauce. Add mashed banana, milk mixture, vanilla to wet ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips and coconut. Pour batter into loaf pan. Sprinkle top with walnuts.
Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and ten minutes, or until wooden skewer or knife comes out clean.

Enjoy!