Banana Chocolate Chip Cranberry Bread Recipe using Alternative Flour Mix

I ventured into new territory in recent weeks.  I have not been diagnosed with celiac or have jumped on the gluten-free bandwagon or anything but in my fleeting current OCD, guilty-health-conscious-neurotic season (if that makes any sense at all), I decide to try some alternative flours.  Here’s a new recipe I threw together after reading a bit on alternative flours.  Granted this uses a little of regular white flour, I literally just mixed this stuff together and it turned out pretty good.  Why don’t you try it and see?  Let me know what you think.  I bet it wouldn’t make much difference if you replace the white flour with another flour.  But then again, I’m no scientist or chemist and I certainly am not looking to give you the chemical breakdown as to what might happen if you do.  It might flatten the bread a bit.  It might make it more moist or fluffier if you use more rice flour.  I really don’t know at this point.  It just came out good the fist time.  It past my kids’ palette.  They didn’t notice anything different.  Neither did our bible study group.  Also, I’m an “eyeball it” type cook, so I estimate a lot.  A pinch here, a pinch there.  A scoop of this and that.  I tried to be aware of what my measurements were this time so I could duplicate and share it if it came out good.  I think that’s the full list.  I hope it’s right.  Hey, it’s a free recipe, right? It’s all trial and error for me.

4 medium to large ripe bananas

3 eggs

1/2 c. melted butter (or coconut oil)

2/3 c. sugar

1 heaping tsp each baking soda and baking powder

1/2 c. each white flour, wheat flour, rice flour and soy flour

1 c. chocolate chips

1.5 c. fresh cranberries (or maybe you can try 1 c. dried)

Mash the bananas. Mix in next 3 ingredients. Then the baking soda and powder. Then the flours all at once. Then the chocolate chips.  Lastly the cranberries. I guess if you are using dried cranberries, you can add them at the same time as the choco chips.  Mix and split pour into 2 loaf pans.  bake 350 for 50-60 minutes. check for browning at about 45 minutes. If it’s too brown already and the middle still looks raw, lightly cover with foil and continue to bake and check every 5 minutes until center is done.  Just like any other quick bread.  And done. hope it’s good!

If I were ahead of my game, I would have taken a picture of my bread before it was eaten to complement this post .  But alas, I fall short, again.  Maybe next time.

Easy Sushi

If you never had sushi before, and/or you’re a bit squeamish about raw fish but would like to ease into the life of sushi-eating; you can start with fish sticks!  Yes, fish sticks!

Many times I stock pile our groceries with coupon-shopping or really great deals, many times I try to make meals with what’s on hand.   We are sushi lovers, my children included, but are not ‘rolling’ (ha!) in the dough.

I made rolls recently with what I had on hand, crab meat (which is really processed like hotdogs, a mix of different (cheap) fish blended together) and toasted fish sticks.  Yes, fish sticks, like the ones in your grocer’s freezer section.

Prepare the sushi rice per recipe.  I just cook the rice in a rice maker (easy!).  I rinse my rice a few times to clean it out better before I cook it though.  After it cooks, it needs to cool at room temp but you also need to flip, separate, fold, to let out the steam.  This takes a little while.  There’s also the issue of the seasoning for the rice, which includes rice vinegar, sugar and salt.  I usually do this when the rice is hot, then the granules melt as I’m stirring the rice.  It’s kind of an easy (maybe more like lazy) way that I improvise with.  With all the ingredients prepared, I roll the sushi as usual.  I make a teriyaki sauce to go with the fish stick sushi.  Another limited-cooking meal.

While rice cools, thinly slice avocado; shred carrots.  Spread rice on paper, covering whole square.  Place fish sticks in a long line across the middle.  Add the veggies on top of fish sticks, all the way across.  Drizzle teriyaki sauce across the ‘filling’.  Roll like a log and enjoy!  Mmmm…

I don’t have a picture because I didn’t really think about it when I was making it, but the next time I do, I may update this post with a picture.   Until then, happy sushi ventures!  Let me know if you’ve tried it, and how it turned out.

To the glory of God!

What I Call, my ‘Happy Noodles’.

This was a dish I created (as far as I know) shortly after I got married.  My husband really like this sweet chili sauce that has been pretty much a staple condiment for me (Asian home).    I liken it to ketchup in an American home.  The sauce speaks for itself- sweet and a little spicy (to me anyway).

This noodle dish is fairly simple.  I start boiling water, just as you would for spaghetti, except don’t add salt to the water.  After boiling, add the noodles.  You can use the same method for per serving as you would spaghetti.  As usual, I eyeball everything according to my liking.

While the water is boiling, if you have the luxury of extra helping hands, have someone stir the noodles a few times while they are boiling so they don’t stick together (this is what I do with pasta/spagh as well).  Boil noodles for about 5-10 minutes, which will depend on amount.  Drain and rinse in cold water and set aside for now.  You can add a little oil and mix into noodles if you aren’t ready to serve.

Now if you’re anything like me, I’m usually doing everything on my own.  I have 2 young children yet and 1 teenage special needs son, who could stir the noodles for me, but is usually keeping his sisters’ company (which I sometimes prefer).  Besides that, this meal requires functions they are yet capable to do- lots of knife action!  So I what I do is alternate between preparing the veggies with back and forth preparing the noodles as explained above.

This easy meal takes a little prep but the only cooking is the noodles!  There’s a lot of veggie prep, depending on how much you utilize.  I like as much as I can get.   Shred cabbage, carrots, lettuce, cabbage; dice cucumbers, cilantro, sugar snap peas or snow peas, tomatoes; bean sprouts, mint leaves and peanuts (optional).  Well, everything listed is optional, but makes it all the better, in my opinion.  The other thing we top it off with is either boiled eggs (diced or sliced), shredded chicken or pork, or shrimp (or all the above!) for some added protein.  Top it off with the sweet chili sauce, with some extra Sriracha sauce (Asian hot sauce).  Or, for the spicy-challenged palate, try teriyaki or mandarin sauce.  I add the latter for my little girls, but with a touch of spicy.  Gotta get them hooked!

So refreshing, healthy, easy and friendly to the family bank account, this is one of our family favorites.  Great anytime of year, but especially summer days.  If you try this, I’d love to hear how you did, or didn’t do, and the review!  I hope you enjoy! To the glory of God!

 

White Asian noodles  (before cooking)…

 

Noodles after cooking…

noodles after cooking …

 

The finished product with all the goods.

The sweet chili sauce.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Sriracha (hot) sauce.

I sometimes call this Asian ketchup.

 

 

Look’s like someone’s enjoying his ‘happy noodles’!!

This makes us… happy!  And our tummies!

My Sweet Corn Cake Mess

When I got married, my husband would tell me about this really great thing that came with the meals at the Mexican restaurants he ate at in California.  In pursuit of my husband’s joy of eating, I  researched the thing and found a recipe for it.  The Mexican name I found for it is ‘Tomalito”.   The ones from the restaurant are more runny.  When I look for recipes, I look at several different ones, then adjust according to my liking to make it my own, so the way I make it is thicker.  I’ve made it many times when we’ve had company over for dinner and have always had positive responses so I thought I’d share what I do.

I often cook by ‘eyeballing’, so I apologize that this recipe may not be perfected.  I just encourage you to experiment to your taste, using this as your guide.  This is my version, although even I don’t always follow the recipe to the tee.  I call it my Sweet Corn Cake Mess.

1 stick butter (1 cup)

1 c. cornmeal or masa

1 c. flour

3/4 c. sugar

1/2 water

1 can cream corn

1 tsp. baking powder & salt

1/2 c. milk or cream

The easiest method (I use now):

Mix all ingredients in a large, microwavable bowl (doesn’t have to be perfectly mixed).  Microwave for 5 minutes at a time.  At the end of each 5 minute interval, remove and mix and fold with a big fork.  Repeat this about 4-5 times, or until all ingredients are mixed well to the consistency of really thick and clumpy pudding.  All the flour and cornmeal should be blended well with no white flour residue.

More fancy method (I used to use):

Preheat your oven to 400.  Melt butter and sugar on medium/low heat in pan on the stove.  Turn off heat.  Mix in the rest of the ingredients.  Pour batter into a big enough pan that will fit on top of another pan of water.  The pan of water should be filled up about an inch or so just to surround the bottom of the baking dish of the tomalito batter.  The water is to create moisture in baking so the batter doesn’t get hard.  Bake for approximately 30-40 minutes, check and stirring every 10 minutes or so until the correct consistency is desired.

That’s it.  Pretty easy.  Enjoy!