Gluten Free | kake2kale

One summer when I was a teenager obsessed with my macramé handbag and wearing bell bottoms, our family went on a road trip to the Eastern seaboard and stopped in Boston. Whilst there, we visited the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and as usual went into the gift shop afterwards. And there my Mom bought me the most beautiful cookbook I had ever seen, it was a cookbook that compiled recipes of dishes made for special functions at the museum and along with the recipes were pictures of the art from the museum. Appealing to my love of art and food I consider this cookbook one of my treasures. The recipe that I made the most often from it is a banana bread. It is the only banana bread recipe I’ve seen where the bananas are not mashed but sliced, which to me is less work. Mom and I have made this recipe many times, always to spectacular results.

These days I have been baking a lot with almond flour; I love it, but not the cost. So I decided to add coconut flour to the mix, because coconut flour, though not cheap, is still less than almond flour. By adding coconut flour I am not only bumping up the fiber and nutrition but I also get more of a dense, pound cake-like texture. This banana bread, which I’ve renamed to include coconut, can be eaten any time – as a quick breakfast that gives you lots of energy or an afternoon snack to stave off junk food cravings. My recipe is inspired by Elana’s Pantry.

Superfoods in it are:

Almonds: Good source of vitamin B’s, magnesium, vitamin E and zinc. It also contains some Omega 3’s. The B’s and magnesium both help with feeling calm and collected because they help the body produce serotonin, which is sometimes called the happy hormone. Serotonin affects many functions of the body like, sleep, appetite, aging, memory, just to name some benefits.

Coconut: Contains protein, vitamins A and E, lauric acid which is in mother’s milk and help to fight off infections. It’s fat is in the form of MCT’s which are medium chain-triglycerides which has been proven to be turned into an immediate source of fuel and not stored as fat. A bonus for all you fiber lovers like me, a tablespoon of coconut flour has 5 grams of fiber!

Bananas: Contains Vitamin C, fiber, a significant amount of potassium. High potassium intakes are also associated with a reduced risk of stroke, protection against loss of muscle mass, preservation of bone mineral density and reduction in the formation of kidney stones.

Dark Chocolate: High in vitamin B’s and magnesium, both of which supports the nervous system. It also has phenylethylamine, which stirs up happy feelings, and releases stress.

This recipe is gluten free, dairy free and does not have added sugar.

Banana Coconut Bread with Chocolate Chunks Serves 12

2 ½ cup almond flour
½ c. coconut flour
1 t. baking soda
½ t. sea salt
¼ c. melted coconut oil
3 large eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2-3)
¾ cup chocolate chunks, coarsely chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F, then line a 9-inch pan with parchment paper, set aside.
Into a large bowl, combine the flours, baking soda and salt.
In a medium bowl, mix the coconut oil, eggs and vanilla extract. Then mix this into the dry ingredients. Then fold the bananas and the chocolate into the batter and pour into lined pan.
Bake for 35-45 minutes until golden brown and when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out cleanly, it is done. I don’t usually wait for it to cool, because it is soooo darn good warm out of the oven!! Let cool, if you have patience.

Eat well, feel great! – {Kake}

Cauliflower, The Next Kale?

Kale is everywhere it seems, in salads, in smoothies, made into chips, hidden in cake (check our first post), in our name. But perhaps it is time for the ubiquitous kale to move over and make room for another worthy vegetable. Which one shall it be, carrots, beets, jicama, iceberg lettuce, onions? Nope! The consensus of foodies ahead of the curve indicate it’s cauliflower!

My earliest memories of cauliflower, was of Mom serving it boiled and then topped with oyster sauce. I always welcomed this dish, as it tasted so homey, it was my comfort food while other kids had macaroni and cheese. Well, we had mac and cheese too, but only after Mom went to boot camp once she got accepted into the military, but let’s save that story for another time.

My mother-in-law liked to serve cauliflower cooked in cream of mushroom soup, and so my husband, asks me to make it every once in a while now. But of course, I make my own sauce if time permits, or I rely upon any of the organic versions available. Cream of mushroom soup was the “go to” ingredient in helping immigrant families become westernized. I ‘m sure our grocery list didn’t look much different from other immigrant families who wanted to fit in: Wonder bread, Shake and Bake, the mysterious cottage cheese, peanut butter, Spam, just to name a few. But back to the cream of mushroom soup, it dressed up chicken, pork, serving it just as a soup. Oh, those were the days before we found out how much sodium was in those tasty soups.

Who by now hasn’t had roasted cauliflower, pureed cauliflower, or cauliflower soup? But, what about cauliflower as an entrée? This vegan and gluten free recipe for cauliflower steak with a cashew, red pepper, and shitake mushroom sauce, was inspired by a recipe I saw in Bon Appetit.

What is so great about cauliflower? It has a high amount of vitamin C, antioxidants, fiber, and it contains Indole-3-carbinol (I3C), as does all cruciferous veggies. I3C is important for detoxing xenoestrogens, the harmful type of estrogen, from our bodies. We don’t want these in our bodies because they act as hormone disrupters, and have toxic effects. Xenoestrogens are found in plastics, BPA, pesticides, dry cleaning solutions, air fresheners, perfumes, etc.

Cashews: Have lots of minerals, B vitamins, mono-saturated fat, which is good for your heart.

Red Pepper: Lots of vitamins A (good for eyes), C (good for skin), vitamin B6 and manganese (these two work in tandem to support the nervous system), and lycopene an antioxidant that can help prevent UV damage.

Shitake mushrooms: Not only are mushrooms rich in vitamins, minerals and polyphenols they also activate the immune system, have strong anti-tumor properties and prepare white blood cells to be ready to fight off disease.

Cauliflower Steaks with Red Pepper and Shitake Mushroom Sauce
Serves 2 as a main, or 4 as a side

1 medium head Cauliflower
2 T olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°. Slice off the bottom of the cauliflower removing the leaves, but still keeping the core in place. Then put the cauliflower on the cutting board, with the stem side down and from the center, cut 2 slices that measure ½ inch per slice. Toss the cauliflower bits left over after the slices have been cut, with 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Put onto a large rimmed baking sheet and put in the oven.
While bits are roasting, heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook cauliflower steaks until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side, adding 1 Tbsp. oil to pan between batches. Take out the cauliflower bits from the oven and make room on the sheet for the steaks, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast cauliflower until tender, about 20 minutes, and make the sauce during this time.

Sauce:

1 cup cashews, (soaked for 2 hours then drained)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
3 T. lemon juice
1 T. nutritional yeast
1/2 t. salt
2 cloves garlic (minced)
2 cups shitake mushrooms (sliced)
1 T. olive oil
1 T. sherry

Heat olive oil in pan over medium high heat, add garlic, sauté for 2 minutes, then add the mushrooms cook for about 5 minutes, then add the sherry. Sauté for another 1 minute to cook off the alcohol and remove from heat. Season with a little salt.
Put the first 5 ingredients in a food processor or a good blender and puree.
To plate, smear the sauce on the plate, place the steaks on top and scatter mushrooms on top. The sauce can be heated as well before serving. The bits can be served in a bowl alongside.

Bon Appetit! – {Kake}