Vegan Brownies and PB & Banana Vegan Ice Cream

Well, hello there. I didn't expect to see you here. I'm glad you didn't give up on this little space of the blogoverse. Because I sure as hell almost did.


We had a lot going on over the summer, what with all the bakers markets, special orders, and the whole 'getting married' thing. I barely felt like I had a summer at all. Before I knew it, August 18th had blown in - I suddenly found myself locked in a small classroom with twenty-five tweens for eight hours a day. They weren't excited about the situation. And, to be frank, neither was I. Not only did struggle through the school day, but I found myself lesson planning, developing, and grading for hours every single night. The weekend just meant I could work even more.  No time for myself. No time for baking.

With the new school year crashing into me, I decided that maybe I should give up the blogging way of life. Forget about twitter, flickr, and foodbuzz. Forget about cookies and cupcakes. Then I could concentrate totally and completely on my rowdy little group of Grade 6s. I already give 110% to my teaching profession. Now I could give at least 43% more.

Little did I know that all work and no play makes me go a little crazy. I really should have seen that one coming. Only a month into the school year and I was already going a little mental. Then, briefly one afternoon, felt the urge to open up my google reader and take a little peek at what was going on in the baking world. What  I  saw got me jonesing for some real sifting and stirring and whisking and measuring. I suppose I could afford to forget about my classroom for an hour or two a week. Right?

For this recipe, I just wanted to get rid of those post-summer blues that seem to be going around lately. The rain has started, the leaves have started to fall, and Starbucks have started to put pumpkin spice into everything. Let's have a little ice cream and brownies and remember those slow summer days. Because I've got to get back to grading math tests pretty soon.
FYI: These are the best brownies, vegan or no, that I have had. Period. End of story. The ice cream is a total winner as well. You haven't lived until you've tasted these. So what are you waiting for?

The Best Vegan Brownies2 cups flour2 cups cane sugar3/4 cups cocoa powder1 teaspoon baking powder1 teaspoon salt1/2 cup water1/2 cup soy milk (or rice or almond milk, whatever tickles your fancy)1/4 vegetable oil1 teaspoon vanilla extract1/2 chopped walnuts
1) Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 9x13 baking pan. 
2) In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Whisk until everything is evenly distributed. Pour in the water, soy milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Mix well with a wooden spoon until everything is combined. 
3) Spread the batter into the pan, making sure its even, and sprinkle with the walnuts. Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes. Cool, then cut into squares for serving. 
Peanut Butter and Banana Vegan Ice Cream 3 overly ripe bananas2 cups soy milk3/4 cup brown sugar1 cup peanut butter1 Tablespoon vanilla extract1/4 cup cocoa powder (optional)
1) In a food processor, puree your peeled bananas and soy milk until smooth. Add the cocoa powder if you'd like to use it.
2) Transfer it to a medium-sized saucepan and add the brown sugar and peanut butter. Cook over low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. 
3) Leave out until its room temperature, then refrigerate it for an hour. Mix it with your hand mixer, cover with plastic wrap, and put it in the freezer. Take out ever 30 minutes to mix with your mixer (to break up any ice crystals), until the ice cream has just about set (3 hours total). Transfer to tub and leave in freezer until ready to serve.