The best banana bread - gluten free!

Seriously. This is the best banana bread I've ever made--regular or gluten free--and that includes the 150 years I'd been making it before The H developed a wheat allergy. Everything came together just right to yield a loaf that was toasty golden brown, rising high above the edges of the loaf pan, moist in the center, sweet but not overwhelmingly so, and without that weird roof-of-the-mouth tingle that some people get from banana bread.

My secret? I think it was the ancient black bananas I pulled out of the freezer the night before. These were the ugliest things I've probably ever seen in my kitchen. I tossed them into the freezer on a lazy day, which means they were still in their peels. They thawed overnight in a glass measuring cup in the fridge, and by the time I got to make the bread last night, they were completely soft and floppy. Seriously nasty looking. When I smooshed them out of their peels, the fruit was limp and spotty. I wasn't holding out much hope.

But, using the recipe on the back of the gluten free all-purpose flour we use (and stock in mass quantity), I forged ahead since everything else was already in the bowl.

Banana Bread

adapted from Special Diet Solutions by Carol Fenster, Ph.D.

serves 10

1/3 cup canola oil

2/3 cup brown sugar, packed

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 3/4 cup gluten free all purpose baking flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups ripe banana, mashed (I used three bananas and did not measure them)

1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1/2 cup raisins

1. Preheat oven to 350* and grease a 9x5 loaf pan (I greased mine with a bit of walnut oil).

2. Cream together oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl with electric mixer.

3. Add flour, xanthan gum, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon to egg mixture, alternating with bananas. Beat until smooth. Stir in nuts and raisins. Batter will be somewhat soft.

4. Spread into prepared loaf pan and bake for 1 hour in preheated oven.

Word to the wise: even though the recipe states that you should use an electric mixer, abandon that idea once the eggs, sugar, and oil are creamed together. The beaters got so gummed up from the downright rubbery batter that they wouldn't even turn anymore, and the sockets for the beaters were covered in brown goop that literally climbed up each beater as they tried to rotate. It was mildly alarming. Never fear--I grabbed a sturdy spatula and used good old fashioned elbow grease to incorporate the flour and bananas, and recommend you do the same.

When I've made this recipe in the past, I've always split it into two pans so we could freeze one for later, but this time I opted for a single loaf. I also substituted sucanat for the brown sugar to make it a little more clean, and would have used applesauce for the oil if I felt like digging through the fridge to find it--but canola oil is fine anyway, so it was not a big deal.

Even though these don't contain chocolate chips--which used to be a "must-have" for my banana bread--we didn't miss them. In fact, The H, who had two pieces last night, thought they were in there, even this morning when he and the little guy were having breakfast. Surprise! I hope you enjoy this as much as we have been.

Sunday, Sunday...

Lunch today was a gorgeous frittata with homemade chicken apple sausage patties made from ground chicken, apple, and onion from last month's co-op pickup. The eggs, potatoes, and arugula in the frittata were local as well; I guess that will count as my DDC meal; too bad I wasn't prepared with the camera!

After grocery shopping we had leftovers for dinner and I did some prep for a few meals, which included roasting and peeling three huge red bell peppers, de-flowering a gigantic head of cauliflower (I seriously almost needed two hands to lift it), and making a batch of guacamole since the jalapenos I had were getting wrinkly. Guess that's what happens when you stash fresh produce in the pantry and forget about it. What I didn't use for the guac I chopped and put into the wells of an ice cube tray to freeze for later use.

My meal plan for this week may look a little sparse; that's because The H is heading out of town for work mid-week, and I tend to either make things he doesn't like or scavenge the leftovers (hooray for a freezer stash!) for dinner.

The peppers I roasted are for lunches or a light dinner after a run one night. I've had these roasted red pepper sandwiches on my "to make" list for ages now. Instead of the ciabatta bread, I bought a seedy whole-grain loaf to use. Other meals are as follows:

- BBQ chicken breasts, roasted parmesan broccoli, brown rice (I'll make extra for other uses)

- Roasted red pepper sandwiches

- Branny's baked cauliflower and vanilla-bean roasted squash

- Jenn's turkey bolognese with rice pasta spaghetti, gluten-free breadsticks (made from Bob's Red Mill pizza crust mix), spinach salad

- And I'm hoping to bum a meal off my sister one night if/when she watches the little guy for me!

In my freezer stash I have chicken stew, beef stew, minestrone soup, sloppy joe filling, black bean burgers, tofu burrito filling, edamame, and countless frozen fruits (for smoothies) and veggies (for ad-hoc soups). If my household is going to die of starvation, it won't be this week.

Another blah day

This cold is kicking my butt. Started the day with sprouted grain toast, natural peanut butter, and my beloved coffee. Lunch was sushi with coworkers. Snack was almonds and dried cherries. Had some caramel popcorn after a Christmas shopping marathon; The H bought it from the boss's kids' boyscout troop (pack? den?). Dinner was rather last-minute, as I still haven't gotten in gear enough to make that kale soup I mentioned yesterday, but I managed to pull together some decent gluten-free blueberry pancakes (Bob's Red Mill mixed with applesauce, pumpkin, cinnamon, and low-fat milk) and scrambled farm-eggs/eggwhites with lean ham and chives. Had juice to drink for a change; yesterday I bought some organic blueberry-pomegranate juice to mix with sparkling water. When my throat hurts, I like the feeling of fizzy drinks but can live without the HFCS and caffeine in soda. I couldn't even muster up enough oomph to go for a run on the treadmill tonight (it's super-slick and beyond cold outside), but whined to The H that I just wanted ice cream instead. So Ben, Jerry, and I spent the evening watching Scrubs and toodling around on the computer. Here's to a better tomorrow!

Kitchen-sink pizza

Ever heard the phrase "Everything but the kitchen sink"? Well, that's what went onto my pizza tonight. And MAN was it ever good! I started with a Bob's Red Mill gluten-free crust mix (which is delicious on its own, by the way, and mentioned in Clean Eating Magazine as a good alternative to the real thing) and wanted to use up the pepperoni (nitrate-free) and goat cheese in my fridge. The idea just ballooned from there. Somewhere in the middle of the process, we invited a friend over and she brought even more goodies, plus the fixings for a salad. By the time the (heavy) pan went into the oven, this is what we had created:

1 pan cheese bread, made with extra crust mix, Greek vinaigrette, Parmesan and Cheddar

1 platter bresaola appetizer with arugula, lemon, and olive oil

Salad with Romaine, carrots, red cabbage, tomato, green onion, sweet onion

Pizza with marinara sauce, pepperoni, baby bella mushrooms, maitake mushrooms, two kinds of goat cheese, feta, sundried tomatoes, marinated artichoke hearts, Parmesan, and a smattering of shredded Cheddar.

What a delicious and filling way to clean out the fridge. :)