Chocolate Banana Bread

Posted on December 7, 2010 by Cheryl Harris

It was a lazy Saturday afternoon, and as usual, I was procrastinating, so I asked my sweetie if he wanted a treat.  “Yes–something good, something chocolate”.  Smart guy.  We did the kitchen survey–a few over-ripe bananas, some eggs leftover from T-day, and some yogurt about to expire.  So the obvious answer was banana bread, and his chocolate preference led this to be my first ever–but definitely not last– chocolate banana bread.

Banana bread is really a gluten free wonder.  It’s easy to convert, reasonably healthy, and above all, tastes great!  This was one of DH’s favorite recipes, and I know this because I hid the leftovers to take to work, and he dug them out and found them. Most of my recipes are a hit (sooner or later) but this one was a huge winner right off the bat. So definitely make this gluten-dairy-sugar free treat.  It’s decadent enough to feel like quite a treat, but healthy enough that it passes my nutritionist-test.

And for my vegan/egg allergic friends, make my Nana Skillet Bread instead.  No, it’s not chocolate, but boy it is one of my all-time favorites.

2 ripe medium sized bananas, put in a baggie and well squished.
1/3 cup oil
2 eggs
1 cup coconut/palm sugar (or regular sugar is fine)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
splash of coffee extract
1/2 cup Greek yogurt, drained (non-dairy works, too)*

2/3 cup teff flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
2/3 cup arrowroot powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp stevia powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.
Squish the bananas in a plastic zip lock–it’s fun, kids love to do it too. When done, cut the baggie open and dump in to a bowl. Add in the rest of the wet ingredients and stir together well. Mix dry ingredients together, then combine wet and dry and mix until combined. Stir in walnuts if using.

Pour into a 9X5 lined with parchment. Or, if you’re not lazy, oil and dust a 9X5 with a mix of cocoa powder and a sprinkle of sugar. Add batter and bake about 60 min or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Serves 10.

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Mushrooms and a Love Story

Posted on December 5, 2010 by Cheryl Harris

Wendy is hosting this week’s Menu Swap with a theme of mushrooms. I’ve always loved mushrooms, perhaps a bit too much.

When I was in college, I had a painful split with someone I had dated for years, and suddenly I found myself falling for one of my closest friends (AKA DH). I, of course, felt strongly that a good friend made for a very poor rebound relationship, so I was quite closed to the idea and probably spent many too many hours getting advice from my best friend.

She was quite patient, perhaps excessively so, as I listed all of the reasons it would never work. “He’s too organized. And too detail oriented. And too quiet.” And (I wailed) “he doesn’t even like mushrooms!” And rather than doinking me on the head, she just said, “Well, then you’ll have twice the mushrooms. Yours and his, right?”

And so…12 years later…here we are. I’m allergic to mushrooms now, but hey, who’s keeping track?

And so here is my mushroom-less menu plan, and please see Wendy at Celiacs in the House for other gluten-free menu plans.

I’ve spent way too much of this week baking, and I finally posted a review of Jules Shepherd’s Free for All Cookbook. I also just made chocolate banana bread, which was a huge winner.

Monday:
Garlic and rosemary roasted chicken and cauliflower

Tues:
Sniffle stew (vegan garbanzo/kale super yummy curry, I hope to post it this week)

Weds:
Roasted thyme salmon and roasted peppers

Thursday:
Sweet and Spicy Moroccan Stew

Friday:
Leftovers.

Baked goods:
Chocolate banana bread
Christmas giveaway treats: pralines, meringues, chocolate covered pomegranate, ginger cookies

Posted in about, menu plan | 7 Comments

Free for All Cooking–150 Allergy Friendly Recipes

Posted on December 4, 2010 by Cheryl Harris

I was delighted to receive a copy of Jules Shepherd’s new cookbook, Free for All Cooking. If you’ve seen Jules’ books before, you know that many of the recipes use her special flour blend.  But as a bonus,  many of these recipes also incorporate whole fantastic whole grain flours as well, like buckwheat and oats, which I really appreciate.  And as you might suspect, most recipes contain substitutions for dairy, eggs, nuts, etc. to make them allergy friendly.

Of course, I wanted a sense of the range of recipes included, so I made the “Best Brownies Ever”, the Ginger Snap Cookies and the Butternnut squash soup.  I know, twist my arm.

The brownies were a HUGE hit.  Chewy on the outside, gooey in the middle, chocolately yummyness galore.  My husband is used to being head guinea pig, and he takes his role very seriously.  So when I asked the million dollar question (i.e. are they the best ever?) he got very thoughtful and needed to have another to insure an accurate answer.  The final conclusion was that they are very, very good—but probably not the best ever, and yet wouldn’t it be cool if I made them all the time.

The ginger snaps were also keepers.  The texture was a little unusual first out of the oven, but much better as they cooled.  I brought a batch to work, and everyone really enjoyed them.  They were also great several days after baking, which is a rarity in the gluten-free world.

I also made butternut squash soup to round them out.  The recipe was very similar to one I’ve used for years, but I enjoyed the addition of rosemary and chili, which made it unique.

Overall, a great book.  I’m planning to make the yeast free bread, too, which looks interesting.  I would have appreciated more info on the recipes in terms of which ones are good “make ahead” options to freeze, or ones that store well.

For more info on Jules and her other books, see her website.

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Sweet Potato-Menu Plan Monday

Posted on November 28, 2010 by Cheryl Harris

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and ate gobs of beautiful, yummy gluten-free foods and enjoyed savoring time with wonderful people! And, as my sister just reminded me, this week is Hanukkah, so warm fuzzies to all those celebrating as well.

We went up to Bainbridge, NY to visit my husband’s great-grandma and family.  It was a long trip, but lovely to see everyone again.  My main gripe is that I made myself brownies, and then promptly left them home.  Bummer.  Next time, brownies have special priority seating in the car.

This week’s ingredient is sweet potatoes, which are one of my favorite foods.  My tummy isn’t as big of a fan, so I don’t eat them very often.  I adore sweet potato fries and sweet potato pie (seen above).  And the Karina just posted a recipe for mulligatawny soup, featuring sweet potato, and I’m hoping to make that this week AND perfect my sweet potato pie…last time it was just too runny, and I will delight in fixing that.

Also, calling all hosts!  Yes, you.  Pick a week, pick a food, and we’re ready to roll.

Monday:
Rosemary salmon with roasted garlic cauliflower

Tues:
Nightshade stew with gobs of sauteed fennel

Weds:
Oven broiled Tandoori spiced chicken, just with coconut milk

Thursday:
Lentil Dal

Friday:
Leftovers!

Fun stuff:
Chocolate cakes (3 minis) with the my favorite chocolate ganache frosting ever
Sweet potato pie
Ginger snaps from Free for all. I will hopefully be posting a review super soon!
and as I look at this, I can’t help wondering if I’m being a wee bit over ambitious. We shall see.

And everyone else?

Heather of Celiac Family had a great Thanksgiving–do check her last post for adorable table decorations. This week, she’s got a bunch of her favorite sweet potato recipes together, and what caught my eye most was her Indian Chicken Quinoa, which looks fantastic.

Michelle of Gluten Free Smiles has VERY good news to share! She was just engaged. Unfortunately, she also had a bad car accident. So please send some warm fuzzies her way for a speedy recovery. Her menu is rather ambitious, considering, and it features sweet potato fries.

Scrumptious is looking forward to calmer days and has a SP heavy meal plan. She is so lucky and is heading to Spirit rock later in the month on a week long retreat! Sounds incredible. And her acorn squash soup sounds divine.

Nicola of G-free Mom has a great meal plan featuring green chicken curry. And it’s worth a look just for the Tennessee Valley beach picture which is so peaceful.

Kristen of Adventures in Mommyhood is juggling the gluten, dairy and soy free experience and is committing to menu planning to make life easier, and she has spousal support, which is always huge. Her menu includes La Bomba Cassarole which sounds like fun.

and a couple of late breaking menus:
Wendy of Celiacs in the House has beautiful pictures and a great menu (as usual!). She has sweet potato muffin tops, which look fantastic and I got totally side tracked by the picture of her pumpkin pie. Can you say to die for? (ok, I love pumpkin pie, I’m allergic, so this is as close as I get!

Did you know that sweet potatoes don’t grow well across the pond? I didn’t. Esther of Lilac Kitchen joins us with a menu plan including selections from Gluten free Girl and the Chef, which is a fantastic cookbook. She’ll post her review soon.

Renee of Beyond Rice Cakes and Tofu has just gotten back in from a cross country trip and recently been reviewing a few cookbooks, so expect new yumminess from her direction. She also has doggie picture, and if you like adorable Labs, check them out!

Posted in menu plan | 10 Comments

Menu Plan Monday: Thanksgiving!

Posted on November 22, 2010 by Cheryl Harris

Michelle of a Gluten Free Living: A Reason to Smile is our host of MPM, and our theme (not surprisingly!) is Thanksgiving.

I’m more than a bit overloaded and so I don’t have a menu plan together, but here are some of our T-day favorites:

Harvest Apple Crisp (Sugar free and vegan)

Fresh cranberry sauce

Pecan Pie (GF, SF) NOT corn free

Roasted Cauliflower (GF, CF, EF, SF, sugar free and vegan)

Hot Mulled Cider

Hope everyone has a great week and a wonderful holiday.

Posted in menu plan | 2 Comments

Menu Plan Monday Nov 15–Cranberries

Posted on November 15, 2010 by Cheryl Harris

Whew!  What a week.  Time for a nap. We taped the Celiac Video on Friday, and it went beautifully, now we start editing.  It was fun, but I am glad to have that off my plate!

Heather of Celiac Family was kind enough to host with cranberries, even though I was quite late getting back to her.  Thanks, Heather!

I LOVE cranberries, and they’re in the apple crisp I just posted.  I also have a fresh cranberry sauce that I adore and that we always have at Thanksgiving.  And my cats love cranberries, too!  no, they don’t eat them, but they do chase them.  Cranberries are actually my cat’s favorite toy.  I have no idea why.

I also posted my adoption of Ali and Tom’s Whole Life nutrition blog, and I made the Chocolate Macadamia Clusters and Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes.  Yum!

Calling all hosts/hostesses!  Just email me if you’ve joined us before and would like to host.

This week is going to have a quick/easy theme, since the last few weeks E and I have been overbusy and over tired.

Monday:

Nightshade stew with fennel

Tues:
Wild salmon on a bed of greens and an avocado
(for DH) Crockpot chicken with BBQ sauce and carrots

Weds:
Chicken in a coconut cream sauce with roasted cauliflower

Thursday:
Pesto’ed Canelli beans with Broccoli and chicken

Friday:
Leftovers!

Baked yum:
Sweet potato pie, which I will likely post this week
The best brownies ever, from Jules Shepherd’s new book (we shall see, that’s quite a claim!)

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Harvest Apple Crisp II

Posted on November 14, 2010 by Cheryl Harris

 

apple crisp 2013Apples are one of my favorite foods.  Maybe it’s because I grew up in New York?  Either way, I’ve been an apple snob since I was a little kid.  Store bought apples can’t compare to Farmer’s Markets. Mac Intosh were my favorite for pies and eating.  But here in VA, they’re not that good.  Fortunately we still have Goldrush, Jonamacs, Liberty and more, even though they’re from states a little further out.

My favorite way to enjoy apples is…to just eat them.  But a very close second is an apple crisp. I’ve got a lot of recipes posted like this one and this is my current favorite version–gluten-free, sugar free and vegan.  And super delicious.  The pairing of the sweetness of apples and the tartness of cranberries is fantastic.

And you can substitute white or brown sugar if you prefer. Yummy one way or another.

Topping:
1 1/2 cups almond flour
2/3 cup chopped hazelnuts
pinch salt
1/2 cup oil
2/3 cup coconut or palm sugar (or other sugar)
1/4 tsp stevia powder

4 apples, pears or a combination, peeled and thinly sliced
3/4 cup cranberries (or dried cherries)
¼ cup coconut or palm sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
a few grindings of nutmeg
1 tablespoons of cornstarch or arrowroot starch

Prepare topping by mixing all ingredients. This can be premade and refrigerated or frozen.

Peel and chop apples thinly, combine with cranberries. Toss remaining ingredients together, and then mix into apples. Pour into a 8X8 glass dish.

Bake, COVERED for 25 min or so or until the apples start getting droopy and soft. Uncover and bake until browning, maybe 10 min more.

I’m submitting this to a blogging carnival, hosted by:

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Adopt a Gluten Free Blogger–Ali and Tom of Whole Life Nutrition

Posted on November 10, 2010 by Cheryl Harris

I was delighted to re-discover Ali and Tom’s Whole Life nutrition blog recently. I’ve had a copy of their book at my office for a few years because I thought it was a great book, but since I’m allergic to brown rice, and fermented foods don’t agree with me, and only recently back to beans, but I didn’t have much experience until recently.

As you may know, it’s a very whole-food based blog, with lovely pictures, and a variety of wholesome options. What’s not to love? And their children are too cute for words. As of late, they’ve been posting more grain-free recipes, which is fantastic. And I love the new recipe index as well.

So, irony of all ironies, I go and pick a wonderfully healthy blog, and make their Chocolate Macadamia Clusters and Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes! Obviously they’re more nutrient dense than I’d find on another site, but still. I usually do an adoption and an adaptation, but I found two that I actually could make as written, so I decided to go with it. I’ve also made the Soothing Red Lentil Soup in the past, and can vouch for its excellent-ness (excellency? you get the general idea)

The cupcakes were delightful, rich, and delicious. They were served at our annual pumpkin carving party. And they’re quite unique. Most grain free recipes use egg, so these were quite a lucky find. I frosted with my favorite ganache to keep them completely sugar free.

The Chocolate Macadamia Clusters were fantastic, too, and I’m sure there are endless possibilities for these babies with different nuts, seeds or even extracts. What a winner!

So I am sneaking in just under the wire to send this to Sea at Book of Yum for her monthly Adopt a Gluten-free blogger event. And I can say for sure that I will be making those cupcakes again…and again…

Posted in adopt a gf blogger | 5 Comments

Chocolate. A Gluten-free Menu Plan for Nov 8th

Posted on November 8, 2010 by Cheryl Harris

The picture may not be clear, but it’s a good indicator of a great day when you get a box and it say “chocolate” under “declare contents”.  This was a gift from Ricki of Diet Dessert and Dogs, and oh my, did it make my month.

Chocolate is the theme for this week, and I posted the best chocolate ganache ever…it’s heavenly silky, rich, truffle-esque and gluten and sugar free. Go on, check it out!

It’s part of my two part “Sweet treats” series. The first was a lucious sugar free vegan caramel dip, which is just fantastic, and I finally got a better shot.

So what a week it’s been (besides the food!).  An article I co-wrote on Celiac and Thyroid Disease is now published, I posted a gluten-free turkey list updated for 2010 and I have a very exciting project coming up this Friday–filming a video on Celiac Disease, with a small segment on gluten intolerance, too.  If you’re in the DC area and interested in coming, please do email me!

Okay, food.

Monday:
getting DH to take me out to dinner (I hope!) E, if you’re reading this, consider it a not so subtle hint.

Tues:
White beans with turkey, broccoli and pesto (super easy and yummy)

Weds:
Salmon salad

Thurs:
Southwestern Quinoa/black bean Salad

Friday:
filming…so I’ll be focused on that, and food will be an afterthought.

Fun treats:
Apple butter, made from local apples, which is cooking as we speak. Yay crockpot!
E’s cake (AKA chocolate hazelnut torte)
Apple Crisp
and whatever else inspires me….

Everyone else?

Heather of Celiac Family has a nice chocolate roundup, and do check out her chocolate covered macadamia nuts. She’s got pizza on the menu with her son’s request.

Wendy of Celiacs in the House has beautiful pictures, as usual, and a great review review of of the Hassleback/Green interview with a gorgeous list of yummy, naturally gluten free veggies that her family wolfs down on a weekly basis. She’s got minestrone on the menu, and I’d love to stop by!

GFree Mom has an inventory of what she made, and what she didn’t. Hmmm…wonder what mine would look like! She’s got a beautiful picture of fish soup, which looks incredible, and sounds perfect as things get chilly.
Dianne reminds us that chocolate doesn’t always mean sweets, sometimes it means mole! Stop by and visit her at Wheat Free Family, especially ’cause she’s joining us for the first time.

Posted in menu plan | 7 Comments

The BEST Chocolate Ganache–SF Vegan Sweet Treats Part 2

Posted on November 7, 2010 by Cheryl Harris

Holy chocolate!

My current new love happens to be this ungodly rich, creamy, smooth, luscious chocolate ganache frosting.  Which is, as usual, vegan and sugar free, but you’d absolutely never know.  I had half a can of coconut milk from a variety of recipes, including Ali and Tom’s Cupcakes for Adopt a Gluten free blogger, and before I could say “hmm, what should I do with this?” I had already grabbed a pan and started playing.

It’s got a super intense chocolate taste,  you can make it ahead and leave it in the fridge for a few days (at least in theory!) and it’s really quite the epitome of decadence.

And for a less decadent but still super chocolaty frosting, please see my Fudgy Chcolate frosting which is also sugar free and vegan, but made with white beans and is pipable.

2/3 cup coconut milk, mixed OR lite coconut milk (if using light, add in 1 teaspoon coconut flour for extra thickening power!)
4 oz unsweetened baking chocolate–I recommend Sharffen Berger
1 Tablespoon coconut oil
1 1/3 cup coconut or palm sugar
1/4-1/2 tsp stevia concentrate
1 tsp mesquite flour or carob flour
1/2 tsp vanilla powder or extract
pinch of salt

Heat the coconut milk until vigorously boiling. Remove from heat, add in the chocolate and cover. Allow to sit for 10 min until mostly melted. Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth. This may take 5 minutes or so. Allow to cool until desired consistency. It can be refrigerated and then reheated to frost cakes.

I am also thinking about using full coconut milk and the coconut flour for heavenly truffles…heaven.

This is part two of my Sweet Treats series–part one was a coconut/palm sugar “caramel” dip. And I also submitted this to Amy’s next round of Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays.

Amy is finishing up her VERY book, so let’s send Amy some virtual chocolate hugs!

Posted in dessert, recipe | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments