Grain-free Zucchini Bread

Every once and a while I find a recipe that just tastes SO good! A recipe that you just can not stop eating. It happened especially with my original banana cake, nourishing protein bars, chocolate chunk bark, the best cornbread, gluten-free gingerbread men, and now it's happening again. I'll admit, while this phenomenon of finding an excellent recipe is preferable, it is a problem. Recipes that are just too good are a problem simply because it's extremely tempting to eat the final product in one sitting. Eating a whole batch of baked goods in one sitting (while it may be delicious) is not recommended for good digestion or my girl-ish figure. May this be your warning that this grain-free zucchini bread is quite good :)

Great texture!

Summer means zucchini, zucchini means zucchini bread, and zucchini bread means happy stomach. But only if you're baking with real fresh eggs, health fats and simple ingredients. This bread has all of that! For lack of a better word (augh here it comes) this bread is moist, sweet, and nutritious. Anyone else not like using the word "moist"? Bananas, eggs, and zucchini make the bread moist/soft/creamy; the banana, coconut sugar and maple syrup make the bread sweet (I am going to cut back next time); and the zucchini, eggs, and cinnamon make this bread super nutritious.

Grain-free Zucchini Bread
     Makes one standard loaf 

     4  real eggs

     38 g  coconut sugar (palm sugar)

     4.1 oz  maple syrup (I use grade B)  
     70 g  organic coconut oil - softened
      2 g  cinnamon

      4 g  vanilla

      2 g  sea salt

     88 g  organic coconut flour
     81 g  natural almond flour (unblanched - I use Honeyville)
     35 g  arrowroot flour
     4 g  baking powder
     50 g  organic coconut flakes
     176 g  ripe banana (2 medium)
     12.2 oz  organic farmer's market zucchini - shredded (weighed after draining)
     80 g  organic raisins
     chopped walnuts for topping

To make your zucchini bread:
  1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees convection.
  2.  In your food processor, grate zucchini. Turn zucchini into a tea towel and squeeze out the natural water of the zucchini. Let sit while preparing other ingredients, and squeeze hard once more before adding to bowl.
  3.  Place first three ingredients in a small bowl and whisk vigorously together by hand one minute.
  4.  To that bowl, add next four ingredients and whisk until combined. Small lumps are ok.
  5.  To the same bowl, add next six ingredients and mash together.
  6.   Finally, fold in zucchini and raisins. Pour batter into a greased (with old butter wrappers or coconut oil) standard loaf pan. Top with ground walnuts if desired.
  7.   Bake in oven until bread rises, cracks slightly on top, walnuts are browned, sides have pulled away from pan and a stick inserted in the middle comes out clean; about an hour.

These measurements are given in grams or ounces, and I do not know the cup or metric conversions. I have found that baking with a food scale, not only is easier, but takes much less time. After my experience baking and in food service, it's hard for me to use measuring utensils, as I am used to "scaling out" every ingredient.

Yummy walnut topping!

Also, as I mentioned earlier, this bread is very sweet. I included my original measurements in this recipe, but next time I know I will use less coconut sugar and maple syrup. I enjoy the sweetness, but it makes this bread just too good and a bit too sweet for my taste. Enjoy this grain-free version of zucchini bread :) I sure did!

Grain-free Ginger Cookies

During the past two summers, this summer and last, I've been working at a local bakery. It has been so exciting to learn the "tricks of the trade" and be in a culinary environment. The hours are early- I have to wake up at 4:45 to be there at 5:30. I enjoy the different pace. Some days are slower, some days are more stressful. There are days when I just pipe and cut out cookies, and days when I am on the mixer. Mornings always involve bread. The oven is huge and involves several huge rotating shelves. It's like an art.

What's great about working at this bakery is that they want me to bake gluten free cookies and bring them in to sell. Cookies are their biggest market, so gluten free cookies I make. It has been so fun to develop my own recipes and work from home one day a week. To avoid cross contamination, I have to make the cookies at home. I deliver the cookies fresh every Friday morning. By the time I come back to work on Monday (I have weekends off), the cookies are usually gone. Typically I make two to three batches and kinds of cookies each week, package them up and drive them into town. Last summer, I created the best gluten free gingerbread man known to man recipe. It performs well every time. This cookie comes from my want to incorporate the strong ginger zing into another cookie that doesn't require rolling out. Just like my gluten-free gingerbread men, this cookie delivers.

These cakey cookies are sure to steal your ginger loving heart :) The ginger inside each cookie just bursts with flavor inside your house mouth! (I have no idea what caused me to originally write house!) Maybe it's the crazy weather we are having here. It's been raining. Rain, rain, rain! In July?? How odd! Give me some sunshine to match these happy ginger cookies please!

[photos coming next week] They're up!

These just beg to be dunked in some fresh raw guernsey milk!

Grain-free Ginger Cookies
  makes about 18 cookies
     100 g   organic palm oil shortening
     120 g   brown sugar (I'll be trying palm sugar next!)
     5 g  vanilla
     180 g  blanched almond flour
     30 g  organic coconut flour
     3  real eggs
     5 g  ground ginger
     3 g  cinnamon
     2 g  sea salt
     1/2 tsp  baking powder
     1/2 tsp  baking soda
  
To make your cookies:
  1 . Preheat oven to 350 degrees convection.
  2.  Cream shortening and sugar together. Add vanilla, then beat in eggs one at a time.
  3.  In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients.
  4.  Beat dry ingredients into wet ingredients.
  5.  Using a cookie scoop, scoop out onto sheet pans with Silpats and bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

These cookies have a great cakey texture and are not chewy. When I bring them to the bakery, I label them "cakey ginger cookies." They might even make a great base for whoopie pies! Perhaps that should be my next project?

Enjoy the rain :) make these cookies and add some spice to brighten your day!

Chocolate Peanut Butter "No Bake" Bars.

Making food for other people gives me joy. That's one reason why I love getting creative in the kitchen. Throwing ingredients together on a whim is just plain fun! Making food for other people as a surprise is EVEN better. The look on their faces says it all.

It was a rainy Friday afternoon, so what could I do? I had to make something. Recently I have recognized my extreme urge to be in the kitchen and baking something whenever it rains. I mentioned this breifly to my mother and she said that when my brother and I were children she always used to save her baking day for when it would rain, that way we wouldn't miss out on the good weather and there would also be something fun to do when it rained and we had to be inside. After I heard this, my feelings were finally explained! It all made perfect sense :) So now whenever it rains I know I will want to bake, and it happens every time. I better not ever live in a very very rainy place!

Look at the texture - you can see the coconut!!

When I placed these bars on the counter, everyone inhaled them and soon they were gone :) One lady said to me "Meagan, these are a winner!" That just warmed my heart! These bars are mostly made up of peanut butter, chocolate and coconut. Great combination? YES! They remind me of no bake cookies, but they are actually grain-free and don't have any oats in them.

Chocolate Peanut Butter "No Bake" Bars
    makes one 8x8 pan   

    1 cup organic coconut flakes
    1 cup chopped walnuts
    1/4 cup organic raw honey
    1/2 cup chocolate chips or any type of chocolate
    3/4 cup peanut butter
    4 oz butter (half stick)
    topping of choice (mine were Ghirardelli white chocolate chips)

To make your bars:
1.  In a small bowl, mix coconut flakes, honey and chopped walnuts together.
2.  In a double boiler melt chocolate chips, remove from heat, add butter and mix well. Lastly add peanut butter and mix well again.
3.  Pour the coconut flake mixture into the bowl with the melted chocolate and stir until combined.
4.  In an 8x8 pan, plop mixture into the middle and spread evenly with a spatula.
5.  Press white chocolate chips or topping of choice into the "dough."
6.  Freeze for about 10-20 minutes or until set, then store in the fridge. Cut into small squares and serve. Freeze any extras (doubt there will be any ;) or keep in fridge until gone. But it won't take long!!

YUM YUM YUM
Enjoy :D