If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.
~St. Francis of Assisi
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April 27th, 2010 
Having lived in New York City for nearly 20 years, I am an avid reader of The New York Times. Even as a child, I was a fan. My father would special order it at a local store and go pick it up early Sunday Morning. Upon returning home with the massive paper which was twice the size of our local Sunday paper, we would sit on the living room floor with the morning sun streaming through the windows as we idled over the many sections for hours. Reading The Times online these days and loving anything about cooking, I’ve discovered the Dining & Wine section. Recently during the month of Passover and Easter, I came across the Olive Oil Matzo Recipe by Mark Bittman. I love the way The Times provides both an article about a recipe, the recipe itself and many times a video. (Here are the links for the article and video formats.)
I want to call this bread rather than matzo because it is so tasty and so unlike the plain matzo (also spelled matza, matzoh, matsah, or matze) that I’ve had in the past. Browning ever so nicely with big air pockets, it reminds me of an Indian-type bread but without the elasticity from yeast. Bittman refers to it in his article as “Sardinian flatbread known as carta musica — sheet music, because it is nearly impossibly thin”. In my home, we ate this with a Carrot & Tahini Soup. The flatbread works well with soup as it is easy to prepare and can be mixed together at the last moment before sitting down at the table, baked and served hot right alongside your soup.
Try it — you’ll like it! I know I’ll be making it again very soon!
February 21st, 2010 
I love banana bread for breakfast… and almost anytime of day. This recipe stands out from others as the addition of lime and coconut give it a delicious tropical and somehow exotic flavor — as far as banana breads go. It comes from The 30 Minute Vegan by Mark Reinfeld and Jennifer Murray. As you can probably guess, bananas are abundant and available from many local sources here in Hawaii. The taste difference between bananas that have ripened on the tree vs. those that have ripened on the way to a store or in a store is immense. They seem sweeter. Not in a ooey overly sweet way… but in a luscious oh so perfect ripe fruit way. What can I say… they are delicious and I make banana bread frequently. This however was the first time I tried petite loaves. Smaller than a mini loaves, the petite size is more of a single serving — slightly bigger than a large muffin. Check out the recipe below. I’ve also included the variations that Reinfeld and Murray cite in their book. Enjoy!
COCONUT-LIME BANANA BREAD
Makes one standard loaf, 3 mini loaves (approx 5 3/4″ x 3 1/4″ x 2 1/4″ high) or 6 petite loaves (approx 2 1/2 x 3 3/8 x 1 1/2 inches deep)
Ingredients:
2 Cups whole spelt flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups banana, sliced or mashed if preparing by hand
1/2 cup coconut, safflower, or sunflower oil
1 cup Sucanat
1 TBS vanilla extract or Jamaican Rum
1/3 cup soy yogurt
1 tsp raw apple cider vinegar
1 tsp lime zest
Glaze:
¼ cup agave nectar
1 TBS freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tsp lime zest
½ cup shredded coconut (optional)
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil the baking pans and dust with flour. Sift the spelt flour, baking soda, and salt through a fine-mesh strainer. Add the shredded coconut, whisk it all together and set aside.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, start to blend the banana on low speed, changing to medium speed as the banana mashes more. Add the oil, sucanat, vanilla, yogurt, vinegar and zest and keep blending for 2 minutes, or until the mixture is uniform and soupy with very few chunks of banana.
- Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture. If using a hand mixer, stir in flour by hand. Blend for 1 minute or until dough is blended but still chunky. Don not overmix! It doesn’t need to look like pancake batter; chunks are okay. Transfer to the prepared baking pan (1 standard loaf or 3 mini loaves).
- Bake for 60 minutes for standard loaf and 40 minutes for the mini loaves or until toothpick in the center comes out clean and edges have pulled away from the pan. Remove from the oven and let the pan sit for 10 to 15 minutes before removing the bread and transferring it to a wire rack.
- For the glaze, combine all the ingredients together and let it sit while the bread bakes. Pour it over the bread after it is transferred from the pan to the wire rack. Try to keep most of the coconut, if using on the top. It will stick more as the bread continues to cool.
Variations:
- Add 1/2 cup of your favorite nuts, such as walnuts, macadamia nuts, or roasted almonds.
- Experiment with different flavors and extracts, such as almond, orange and lemon.
- Try toasting the shredded coconut for the bread and/or the topping
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