Almond Coconut Banana Bread

banana bread

As much as I love eating leftover dessert cake for breakfast, I sometimes want something a little simpler. When I first stopped eating gluten, banana bread was one of the little things I missed, so I started looking for a reliable gluten-free alternative.

The first time I tried to make a gluten-free banana bread was also the first time I baked with coconut flour. I had no idea how different coconut flour is from other flours. The result was dense, leaden and dried-out mini loaves of banana bread that tasted good but fell far from my ideal.

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A Delightful Meal

“Good food is the foundation of genuine happiness.”
Auguste Escoffier

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A Taste of Summer

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Earlier this summer, I got to spend a weekend at a cottage with three very funny women. There was lots of laughter, wine and good food, and it was a nice break from city living. One of the highlights, foodwise, was a strawberry-rhubarb pie made with homegrown rhubarb. We had it for breakfast our first full day there. What a great way to start the day.

srpie-sli

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A Solid Ending

I mentioned previously that June was butter tart month in Ontario. I made a valiant effort to eat butter tarts at the beginning of the month (five days straight!) but didn’t manage to have one every day. However, I did manage to celebrate the end of June with a bang.

Toronto had an event called the Great Canadian Butter Tart Bake-Off at the end of June. It featured six pastry chefs each baking and serving a different style of butter tart. Since we can’t enjoy regular butter tarts, my sister decided we would have a butter tart bake-off of our own.

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Another Work in Progress…

Here’s what I’m working on at the moment—cookies made with cashew butter. They still need some work, but for a first attempt, they are pretty good.

cashewcookies

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Down to Basics

“It seems to me that our three basic needs, for food and security and love, are so mixed and mingled and entwined that we cannot straightly think of one without the others.”
― M.F.K. Fisher

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Breakfast Cheesecake

I am currently developing a recipe for breakfast cheesecake. I know that you can eat any cheesecake for breakfast, but this one is a simple, no-fuss, no-crust cheesecake that’s baked in a bain-marie and scooped into a bowl like custard or pudding. A girl has to eat something for breakfast, right?

Breakfast Cheesecake

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Anyone for Pizza?

I love pizza. Since I’ve gone gluten-free, pizza is a rare treat—which is probably a good thing. I recently had lunch with a friend who is also gluten-free. We met at the Danforth location of Magic Oven, which has many gluten-free menu options. I was tempted by the salads, sandwiches and wings, but since I had been craving pepperoni pizza, I ordered the Super Magic pizza for one—tomato sauce, pepperoni, portobellos, roasted peppers and mozzarella. Our server brought me house-made chili oil to go with it. It was delicious, with a thin, crispy crust, and I can’t wait to go back so I can try other gluten-free items on the menu.

pepperoni pizza - magic oven

A Day of Decadence

lakeshore

We recently hosted our family to celebrate my eldest sister’s birthday. After lunch, a few of us headed down to the lake for a walk. When we came back, we had dessert. For the occasion, I had made this fabulous torte from Smitten Kitchen. It was easy to make and extremely delicious. We also had a giant butter tart, which helped me unknowingly kick off Ontario Butter Tart Month with the right spirit.

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The Best of the Best

“People who love to eat are always the best people.”
― Julia Child

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