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Banana-Blueberry Bread

Wowza, a year....really?  I finally started getting back into blogging, pretty much on the regular. This poor blog was still left all alone, but I noticed that I was still getting pretty regular views from Pinterest.  Hey there pinners!  I figured I would start it back up and see what happens.

This past weekend I went to a craft show, got rained out, and left with a TON of free produce that the vendors didn't want to pack up.

What do you do with 6 bunches of organic bananas?  You make Banana Bread of course!  My boys inhaled a loaf of blueberry bread that I brought home from there as well, so I decided to throw some blueberries in there as well.

I made this recipe up and am rather proud of it.  It came out SO moist and, I think, beautiful.

 I don't think I could ask for a prettier loaf of bread.

 I love how you can see the bananas as well as the blueberries on the top.

 GORGEOUS!

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 ripe bananas, smashed (smash, but leave some lumps)
• 1/3 cup melted butter (I usually use unsalted, Eric bought salted.  I used that)
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• pinch of salt, about 1/4 teaspoon or so
• 1/2 cup blueberries, fresh and rinsed (If you use frozen berries, thawed it would work as well.  You just run the risk of purple-ish bread)
• 1 1/2 cups bread flour (I grabbed this instead of all-purpose out of the pantry, you could use all purpose if that is what you have)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 350F
2. Mix together mashed bananas and the melted butter.
3. Stir in the brown sugar, egg, and the vanilla.
4. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the banana mixture and mix in.
5. Stir in the rinsed blueberries.
6. CAREFULLY stir in the flour.  

(You don't want to over stir this.  If you do, you risk popping the blueberries as well as getting a hard loaf of bread.  You want to mix it JUST enough to include everything, but not so much to lose the chunks of blueberries and bananas.)
    
    7.  Butter and sugar a loaf pan.  Mine was 4x8.  It was a nonstick pan, but I didn't want 
         to risk anything. 
    8.  Pour batter into the pan.  The batter is THICK.  I had to use a rubber spatula to get
         it all in there.
    9.  Put the pan in the oven and set the timer for an hour.  Start checking around 50 
         minutes.  You want to cook it until you put a toothpick in the center and it comes
         out clean.
   10.  Once cooked, place the entire thing on a wire rack and let cook for 15 minutes.
   11.  After 15 minutes, remove from pan and try not to eat it all right then.

Enjoy!

Egg-cellent Egg Salad

I am in NO way, shape, or form an egg salad girl.  My husband likes it.  I never have made it. I take that back.  I did make it once.  It just tasted like nasty mush to me.  Now.  I like hard boiled eggs, A LOT.  I dig mayo.  But something about the combination together was just plain icky.  So I never made it again.

Then one day I was on Pinterest.  Oh Pinterest.  You shall be the death of me.  

While I was on there I found a recipe for Avocado, Spinach, Egg Salad.  I like avocado.  I like spinach.  But I don't like egg salad.

So I saved the recipe as one of the 9,000 bookmarks on my computer.  This was months ago.

Yesterday I got brave.  REAL brave and I am SUPER glad I did.  This stuff is YUMMY!  Maybe it is the exclusion of the mayo that does it, or the addition of the yummy avocado, or the nice onion roll I put it on.  Either way...I am making this bad boy again!

  

Ingredients:

• 7 large, hard boiled eggs
• 1/2 cup plain Greek Yogurt  (4oz)
• 2 avocados
• 1 stalk celery, chopped well
• 1 cup baby spinach, chopped into small pieces
• Red pepper flakes to taste, I like spice.  I had a heavy hand with this
• Some form of yummy bread.  I used an onion roll
• More baby spinach to put in the sandwich

Directions:

1. Hard boil your eggs, cool, and peel.
2. In a large bowl mash together the eggs and the yogurt.  Season with salt and pepper.  Set aside.
3. In a second bowl, mash the avocados well and season with a bit more salt and pepper.
4. Mix the avocado mixture into the egg mixture.
5. Chop your celery and spinach.  Add to the mixture.
6. Sprinkle on some of the red pepper flakes, if you want.
7. On your bread put down a bed of the baby spinach and flop some of the egg salad on top.  Flop of course is a very technical term and should be used with only the greatest of care.  

Enjoy!!!

Recipe from We Are Not Martha 

Cuban Black Beans and Brown Rice with Roasted Squash

This recipe is straight out of Kathy Freston's book "Quantum Wellness Cleanse"  It was so yummy, no substitutions necessary!  I also think this is how I will make ALL my brown rice from now on.

 Rice

Ingredients:

•  2 cups brown rice
• 4 cups filtered water
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:

1. Toast the dry uncooked rice in a large flat bottom pan for about 6-7 minutes, or until it pops.
2. Place rice and other ingredients in a pot and bring to a simmer and cook covered for 45 minutes, or until water is absorbed and rice is softened.  NOT mushy...softened.
3. Fluff with a fork and reserve.

Beans

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1/2 cup diced carrot
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomato
• 3 1/2 cups cooked, drained black beans
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add carrots, onion, pepper and cook for about 11 minutes, or until softened.
2. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute
3. Add dry spices and cook for another minute
4. Add the tomatoes and simmer for 3 minutes
5. Add remaining ingredients and heat through

Vegetables

Ingredients:

• 2 zucchini
• 2 yellow squash
• olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Slice the zucchini and squash into rounds about 1/2inch thick.  The main thing is try to keep them all the same thickness so they cook evenly.
2. Put them in a bowl and drizzle some olive oil on them.  Toss to cover all the pieces.
3. Arrange on a baking sheet and sprinkle with set salt and pepper.
4. Put in the oven and roast at 375F for about 12-14 minutes depending on the thickness.

 

Now...put some rice on a plate and put some bean mixture on top.  Then pile the veggies high.  The roasted veggies were my favorite part.  :)

 

Enjoy!

 

Recipe from Kathy Freston's Quantum Wellness Cleanse

Blueberry Coconut Breakfast Bar

So these bars are my adaptation from the Quantum Wellness Cleanse.  The original called for dried cherries...which I did not have.  I actually had some.  I bought some EXCLUSIVELY for this recipe.  AND I bought dried blueberries to add as well.  RIGHT as I was getting ready to add them, as in I already measured them and put them in a bowl, I noticed they were sweetened.  DANG IT.  Oh well.

It was too yummy looking and smelling.  I had to snag a piece.

 Ingredents:

• 1/2 cup vegan butter
• 1/2 cup agave nectar
• 2 1/4 cups steel-cut oats (uncooked)
• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup pitted prunes, chopped
• 1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
• 1/2 cup blueberries, fresh
• 1 banana, smashed well against the side of a bowl
• Egg replacer equivalent to 2 eggs (Try Ener-G brand), prepare according to the directions on the box

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F
2. Put the butter and agave in a small pan over medium heat and stir until melted
3. Mix oats, coconut, baking powder, and sesame seeds in a large bowl.
4. To the oat mixture, add the prunes, apricots, and blueberries.  Mix well.
5. GENTLY fold in the egg replacer.
6. Add the agave/butter mixture and banana to the oat mixture. Mix well.
7. Pour into a square baking pan.  Mine was 8x8
8. Bake for about 25 minutes.  Let cool and cut into 9 bars.

The "bars" were very soft.  The recipe said to remove them from the pan and then cut into bars.  This was not possible for me.  I cut them, but kept them in the pan and keep the pan in the fridge.  Messy to eat, but yummy.  I am thinking the fresh blueberries added more moisture and that is why they are soft.  Oh well.  Still yummy!

Enjoy!

Tofu Scramble

Yummy breakfast today!  Tofu Scramble from the Quantum Wellness Cleanse book.  I made half of the recipe in the book.  Didn't want to make too much and have leftovers.  This amount was perfect for me and my husband.  I had mine with a side of fresh pineapple and raspberries.  The hubby had a banana.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 sweet onion cut into chunks
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger (I used minced, the recipe called for powdered)
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/3 green onion
• 1/2 cup sliced baby bella mushrooms (I HATE mushrooms, I can handle these)
• 1/2 pound FIRM tofu, drained well and cut into bite size pieces
• Tamari to taste (Soy sauce, but gluten free)
• Ground pepper to taste
• Fresh chives to taste, which I just realized I forgot to add

Directions:

1. Heat oil in pan over medium heat.  Saute onions for about 5 minutes until softened.
2. Add garlic, nutritional yeast, and spices.  Stir and cook for a minute.
3. Add pepper and mushrooms.  Stir fry until cooked, not mushy.  Still crispy, but tender.
4. Add tofu.  Stir fry for 3-4 more minutes.  Sprinkle with tamari and pepper and chives.

The original recipe makes 4 servings.  This is 2 servings.  Also the original calls for 4 chopped tomatoes.  If you want to add some, chop 2 and add to the pan when you add the tofu.  If there is anything I hate more than mushrooms, it is fresh tomatoes.  blech.

My fruit side dish, just because it was pretty.

White, well....TAN Velvet Soup.

I found an AMAZING recipe for white velvet soup.  A soup made from all white items essentially.  Check out the original recipe for all sorts of fabulous information on white foods.  I do not feel like totally copying them, since you know, plagiarism is bad an all. 
White Velvet Soup from Green Kitchen Stories  Also worth checking out since their WHITE Velvet Soup is white and not tan.

Why is mine tan you ask?  I shall tell you.  I used my roasted vegetable stock, which is DARK.  Therefore Tan Velvet Soup.  Oops on the color, but YIPPEE for the taste.

Let's get this started.
 

I tried to take a pretty picture, I did.  but I like natural lighting and well...it was NOT cooperating.

 Ingredients:

• 1 head of cauliflower
• 2 medium onions
• 1 head of garlic
• 3 cups cooked lima beans (For the beans I soaked the whole bag over night and then cooked the all and froze my leftover beans)
• 2 cups of water
• 2 cups of roasted vegetable stock, or regular if you don't want to be a rebel
• Juice from one lemon
• Sea salt to taste
• olive oil, for drizzling
• paprika, for the end

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F
2.  Cut up cauliflower into bite-sized chunks. Peel and slice onions into chunks.  Peel garlic cloves.
3. Place all veggies and garlic on a baking sheets and mix together.  Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt.
4. Bake for ABOUT 30-40 minutes until it is caramelized and begin to brown.  For some unknown reason, when I bake things normally, it gets done ahead of time.  When I roast, it takes longer.  I was on the 40-50 minute  time frame.
5. Now...you have options.  The original recipe says to put everything in a blender at the point.  My blender is not that large.  If yours is, go for it.  I used a hand held blender and did it in the pot itself.  Worked like a charm and less mess.
6. If after blending it looses some heat, warm it back up on the stove.
7. Drizzles with olive oil and sprinkle with paprika.

Enjoy!