Banana Bread + Tofu with Kimchi and Avocado

This is going to be a short  post (of polaroids) today.

Things have been rather repetitive over here.

I guess everything's...just calm. And I like that. 

Same faces, same routine, same dreams.

Being repetitive isn't necessary a bad thing, right?

Take this banana cake for example. It's a recipe I've been making over and over again and comes from Kate (check out her stylish blog too for other recipes.)

What's different about this bread is that it uses all whole wheat flour, and still tastes as good as my usual go-to recipe! Score. The texture is moist and soft and I love sweetening it with honey and the sprinkling of cinnamon on top. Oh, big chunks of bananas is a must in my bread. How about you?

Then there's this tofu with avocado and kimchi dish which has been making multiple appearances on my dinner table.

 

Call it an entree if you like. It's pretty much one of the fastest thing you can whip up as it requires no cooking. Just some chopping and slicing of ingredients that are almost always in my fridge.

I fell hard for kimchi (pickled vegetable, usually napa cabbage) at the tender age of 8 when I first stepped into the home of my Korean neighbour. And it's great to see it named one of the healthiest food in the world by Health magazine too. 

The best thing is if you normally find kimchi a bit too spicy for your liking, the tofu and avocado make it milder to the taste and the texture is a bit of everything in your mouth - crunchy, smooth and velvety soft. They make for a delicious trio.

I'm so addictived to this that sometimes it replaces my cheesy toast or cereals as the new midnight/TV snack.

Oh, and before I go (although it's something on my mind before I began this post)...

I just found out that Green Cilantro was mentioned in Saveur's 50 More Food Blogs You Should Be Reading recently. And all I want (and need) to say is THANK YOU - to those of you who made the effort to vote for this blog. I really appreciate it as I definitely didn't expect anyone to do so and can think of at least 7853 other blogs which should have been mentioned instead.

So thank you thank you thank you. You made this cold day a little bit warmer today and put a smile on this face here :)

Here's a doggy picture and I hope he makes you smile too. He's another four legged friend that I've the pleasure of bumping into these days. Turned out he's a bit of a softie and licker too. Who would've guessed.

Banana Bread
Adapted from AllRecipe

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup mashed bananas
• 1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, plus more to swirl on top
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup hot water

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

2. In a large bowl, beat oil and honey together.

3. Add eggs, and mix well.

4. Stir in bananas and vanilla, then stir in flour, salt and cinnamon.

5. Add baking soda to hot water, stir to mix, and then add to batter.

6. Spread batter into a greased 9×5 inch loaf pan.

7. Sprinkle with cinnamon, and swirl with a toothpick for a pretty marbled effect.

8. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes. Be sure to check that the bread is done baking by inserting a toothpick in the top. It should come out clean.

9. Cool on wire rack for 1/2 hour before slicing.

Tofu with kimchi and avocado
Adapted from Masa

Note: The quantity of the ingredients are rough estimates. It is entirely up to you how much of each of the main ingredients you want to add.

• 1/2 packet silken tofu
• 1/2 cup Korean kimchi
• 1 medium sized avocado
• Some chopped spring onion to sprinkle on top
• 1 tsp white sesame seeds
• ~1tbsp Japanese style soy sauce

1. Slice the tofu into even square/rectangular pieces. Slice the avocado into even wedges as well. 

2. Chop up the kimchi finely. Chop up the spring onion too.

3. Plate up - place alternate pieces of tofu and avocado on a long plate and place the chopped kimchi and spring onion evenly on top.

4. Squirt some soy sauce on the top and don't forge to sprinkle wth some sesame seeds too.