4 medium bananas (well-ripened, but not fermented–the bread is as good [...]]]> Despite being gluten free, this banana bread has a fine crumb and slices beautifully. It keeps well- but doesn’t last long. It makes a  simple breakfast alongside a bowl of plain yogurt with cinnamon and honey. But it’s decadent enough to call dessert.

4 medium bananas (well-ripened, but not fermented–the bread is as good as your bananas)

1/2 cup coconut, sunflower or olive oil

1/2 cup Sucanat, Rapadura or Coconut Sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup brown rice flour

1 cup sorghum flour

1/2 cup flax meal (I use a coffee mill to fresh grind the seed)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

dash of nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 Medjool dates

3 to 4 oz. dark chocolate–over 65%, broken into small pieces

Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly butter a loaf pan. Baking in stoneware makes for a lovely crust.

Mash the bananas and blend with the oil, vanilla and sugar. Sift together the dry ingredients and add to the wet, mixing until smooth. Stir in the

Pour batter into your prepared loaf pan and bake for 60 minutes or until firm in the center.

Let cool slightly, then loosen the edges and invert onto a flat surface. Turn the loaf flat side down and cool completely on a wire rack.

It’s incredibly easy to make, and if you’re only reheating leftovers, the [...]]]> When the frig is full of leftovers which I don’t want to go to waste, but I want something fresh and vibrant to pair with them I turn to salads like this one. You’ll want to have seconds and thirds, it’s so good.

It’s incredibly easy to make, and if you’re only reheating leftovers, the textural and aesthetic experience is worth the little bit of extra fuss to make the cuts as I describe them. But if you’re short on time, patience, or knife skills, just coarsely grate everything.

I encourage you to use organic, local or farmer’s market  fruits and vegetables.

1 large  carrot

1 medium  beet

1/2 an apple–something with nuance like a Pink Lady or Honey Crisp

a handful of currants

pinch of salt

1 lemon

honey, agave or maple syrup

toasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds

Scrub the carrot, peel the beet. Grate the carrot on the largest holes of your grater. Place in a large mixing bowl. Cut the rough top off the beet and place the flat end on your cutting board. Make paper thin slices of the beet. Then lay stacks of the thin cuts on your cutting board and cut across them in equally thin cuts, creating fine matchsticks. Add to the carrots. Cut the half of apple into four sections and then cut across each quarter, creating thin triangles of apple. Add to vegetables. Toss in the currants and a pinch of salt. (I like to use Celtic Sea Salt) Juice the lemon and strain. Pour over the vegetables. Drizzle a little sweetener to taste over the vegetables and toss. Serve with toasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds to sprinkle on top. This salad keeps well and complements most any lunch or dinner.

Be sure to start your crepe batter in the morning, or the [...]]]> This has to be the most lovely use of  two highly underused and underrated ingredients: buckwheat flour and sunchokes. Their flavors are perfectly complimentary: earthy with sweet. This recipe is simply divine. Paired with a salad, early Spring dinner never tasted so good.

Be sure to start your crepe batter in the morning, or the previous evening. Soaking the buckwheat with an acid like vinegar or whey breaks down the phytic acid present in the grain. Predigesting the phytic acid improves your body’s ability to digest the grain and utilize the nutrients. Your crepes will improve in consistency as well–and the usual dry, coarseness of whole grain is transformed into a crepe with subtle flavor and the eggy, toothy bite of a gluten-filled white flour crepe.

This recipe was inspired by Vegetables and Vegetarian Cooking by Roz Denny and Christine Ingram.

For the crepes:

1.5 cups fresh ground buckwheat

1.5 cups water

1 Tbs. whey or apple cider vinegar

2 eggs

pinch of salt

For the filling:

1 pound Sunchokes (also known as Jerusalem Artichokes)

1 large shallot, or two small

salt and freshly ground pepper

2 Tbs. fresh snipped chives

1/4 cup butter

2 Tbs. sorghum flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

pinch of salt

fresh nutmeg, grated

2 Tbs. half and half

3 oz. cheddar cheese

2 eggs separated

Make the crepe batter by blending the flour, water and whey or vinegar. Let sit 7 hours in a warm place, or overnight. Then add the eggs and salt and blend well. The batter should run from your whisk or immersion blender like heavy cream. If it’s too thick add more water.

I use a well seasoned, 10 inch cast iron skillet to make crepes. I take a ladle-full–about 1/3 cup–of batter and pour it into the middle of the pan–which I’ve lightly brushed with butter. Using the back of the ladle, I gently swirl the batter from the center to the outsides of the pan, rotating in ever  larger circles until the crepe has been spread thin. This has to be done in the first few seconds of cooking or the crepe will set. Cook about 1 to 2 minutes on medium heat, flip and cook 10 to 30 seconds on the second side.

Stack the crepes under a clean dish cloth as you make the rest. Once cool, left over crepes can be place in a large ziploc and refrigerated to be warmed for snacks and meals later in the week.

To make the filling, scrub and slice the sunchokes. Finely chop the shallot. Melt the butter in a saucepan and cook the shallots and sunchokes, covered, over low heat for about 12 minutes, until very soft. Mash with the back of a wooden spoon. Season well with salt and pepper.

Stir the flour and baking powder together, then stir into the  vegetables and cook for 1 minute. Take the pan off the heat and beat in the cream, grated cheese, chives and nutmeg to taste. Cool slightly, then add the egg yolks.

Whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks (while you can do this by hand, I recommend an immersion blender or KitchenAid Mixer for the job). Gently fold them into the sunchoke mixture.

Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch ovenproof dish and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Fold each pancake in four, hold the top open and spo0n the mixture into the center. Arrange the crepes in the prepared dish with the filling uppermost. Bake for about 15 minutes, until risen and golden brown.

Enjoy immediately with a salad of Spring greens, crumbled feta, sliced pears and avocado dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup dark brown sugar (I usually use Sucanat)

1 egg

2 teaspoons [...]]]> My daughter Eden and I gifted her friend Emma a cookie baking lesson at our house for her 9th birthday. Emma doesn’t eat wheat and so we’ll be adapting a favorite cookie recipe from my childhood today.

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup dark brown sugar (I usually use Sucanat)

1 egg

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups flour (I make a blend of whatever flours I have on hand. Different flours produce different consistencies. Experiment, keep records, and determine which blend is your favorite. I generally blend together two of the following flours:  sourghum, brown rice, teff, tapioca, millet or oat.

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

optional additions: 1/2 cup grated coconut, 1/2 cup to 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans, walnuts or sunflower seeds.

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter two baking sheets; set aside.

2. Cream the butter and brown sugar in an electric mixer at medium speed until light, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla; continue to beat until the mixture is smooth. Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Lower the mixer speed and add the dry ingredients, mixing just until blended. Stir in the chocolate, and coconut and nuts if desired.

3. Drop the dough by level tablespoons onto baking sheets, spacing them two inches apart (these cookies spread as they bake).  Bake 8 minutes. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets to firm up; then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Store airtight, with wax paper between the layers. These cookies keep well for several days and make good lunchbox treats.

There are still three spots open in my next Cooking with Children class on March 10 from 1 to 5. Cost is $50. Sign your 10 to 13 year-old up today!

Suffice it say, the children made chocolate mousse (learning the wonders of [...]]]> I had so much fun cooking with six children today at my first home cooking class for kids. Unfortunately, although I am a Goddess in the Kitchen, I am only “Techno Amish” as determined by technoNative and I failed to take any pictures.

Suffice it say, the children made chocolate mousse (learning the wonders of whipped egg whites), Creme Anglaise (learning the thickening powers of egg yolks), Gratin of Eggs (they all know how to make a white sauce now),  and potstickers (which was a creative way to use all the very finely chopped vegetables they created practicing their new knife skills.)

We ended the four hour session feasting on our culinary creations and making a list of all the things they want to make next time. (I have enough ideas for at least four more four hour workshops).

Look for the next one in March!

I pan fried cubes of Cool Bean’s Tempeh by  local Brian Moe in palm oil until golden brown all over. I poured a couple tablespoons of filtered water onto the sizzling [...]]]> I’ll be teaching at this year’s Organic Growers School. My theme is Gourmet Cooking in a flash. Today’s lunch would certainly fit the theme:

I pan fried cubes of Cool Bean’s Tempeh by  local Brian Moe in palm oil until golden brown all over. I poured a couple tablespoons of filtered water onto the sizzling cubes and covered them to steam the tempeh for the final few minutes of cooking.

While the tempeh steamed I mixed 2 tablespoons of tahini, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, a small knob of finely grated ginger, a dash of Bragg’s and a little water to make a smooth sauce. I turned the tempeh into a bowl and tossed with the sauce.

In another pan I sauteed red onion, sliced mushrooms and a small toss of minced chili peppers–preserved from the summer in the freezer.  I tossed this with a cup or so of leftover cooked millet.

Delicious. Simple. Nourishing. Fast.