Brownies > Bread

I was trying to make bread, really I was.
I've been wanting to try this Paleo bread recipe for a while and today I was all set to do just that. Unfortunately, I only managed to properly seperate 3 eggs. I ended up dropping the yolk of the fourth egg into my whites and there went my plan.

Left with 4 eggs, I had to find something to do with them, so I went through my dessert board, figuring that I'd find something I could do with 4 eggs. Then I found these brownies sitting at the top of my Paleo dessert board.

I whipped everything together wondering how well this would really work.  I was craving some coffee so I threw a little into the mix before throwing it in the oven.

Ok, so I didn't wait 3 hours (or throw them in the fridge), I cut in after about 20 minutes because I just had to know.  In the picture above you can see that they are actually a rather cakey brownie and honestly were a little dry. I'm hoping that maybe after they sit a little while and cool off they will be a little better. I expected fudgier brownies since they were flourless.

Trying them again a few hours later and pieces in the middle seem to be somewhat fudgy but at the same time still really dry.  Hubby tried them and said they were good, but dry. He suggestd that the added coffee may have decreased the moisture.

Paleo Banana Bread

I blame the change in hormones following my surgery (or something), as today I seem to be in full on "nesting" mode and can't seem to focus on much else.  I started off the morning making Hot & Sour Soup (of course I was missing most of the veggies and tofu, and it was snowing outside, so it's not quite the same as the recipe I posted previously). I haven't tried the soup yet because someone got me a little distracted... with banana bread.

Paleo Banana Bread

My friend Cassy posted this recipe on Facebook and tagged me with it. I think the implication was "let's get the person who probably has the ingredients to make it and try it before I waste my time, etc".  I took the challenge and learned a lot in the process. As I was making it I texted her "This better be good because I'm using the last of my almond flour". Turned out I had exactly 2 cups left (might have been more if I'd had a sifter).

Of course, since I'm completely incapable of following recipes, my recipe was more like this:

3 eggs, separated (keep the yolks and whites separate!)
3 or 4 tbsp honey (up to you!)
4 tbsp (soft) coconut oil (you may need to warm it up if it's hard).
3 mashed bananas (3 small, or 2-3 big)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cups almond flour
1 cup pecans
2 large handfuls of chocolate chips

Directions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream the egg yolks and honey in a large bowl until light and fluffy. I use a hand-held mixer for this. It didn't take long.
3.  Add the coconut oil, vanilla, and mashed banana to the bowl, mixing well.
4. In a smaller separate bowl, mix the cinnamon, baking powder and almond flour and sift well.
5. Add that mixture of spices and powder to the bowl and stir well.
6.  In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Use hand mixer on high. Stiff peaks are vital. 
7.  Fold the egg whites into the banana mixture to pull it away from the sides before gradually folding the rest of the egg whites into the mixture.
8. Add nuts and chocolate chips (if desired)
   
9. Grease bread pan with coconut oil (or butter)
10.  Place in oven for 40-45 minutes, until top is golden brown.
11. While the bread is still warm coat the top with butter or substitute (I use coconut spread)
    

I did my best to actually follow the directions given. However.... 

1.  I use coconut oil in EVERYTHING 
2. I like a LOT of cinnamon
3. I don't own a sifter (I need to rectify that).
4. - I was running low on honey so I used a little less, figured the bananas would be sweet enough (and I was right). 
5. Everything is better with chocolate!

Why can't I get stiff peaks?

I had never whipped eggs to a hard peak in my life. I guess there is a first time for everything, and as usual this first time didn't go so well.The picture on the left is me NOT getting it right. I literally stood there with the mixer for probably 15 minutes. Paul came home from work early and I told him what I was doing. He looked at me and said "why don't you try putting it on high?". I did that... it didn't help. 

Tip: Make absolutely sure that you don't get any yolk in your egg whites or they will not get stiff!  That said, I ended up using 6 eggs for this recipe because I had to start over.

I used coconut oil to coat my bread pan and when I first pulled the bread out and tasted it I felt like it was missing something. That's where I decided to try a good coat of coconut spread (I don't do butter) on the top. It tastes just like butter so it gave it that same flavor and tasted quite good.  I took Paul a piece to try and when I tried to walk away after his first bite he grabbed the rest out of my hand, then came back for me.  Verdict: It was worth using the last of my almond flour and wasting 3 eggs to make.

PinTest: Super Moist Zuchini Bread

So, I'd been thinking for a while that I really needed to start actually trying some of these recipes I keep adding to my boards on Pinterest.  Julie over at PaleOMG FORCED me to start with her Moist Chocolate Zuchini Bread. Ok, she didn't really force me, it was more like she's never met me and has no idea who I am, but I love to follow her blog (and we have the same name, so I feel this kinship). PLUS, I've really just wanted zucchini bread for a while, and have had no idea how to make it, especially now that I'm not eating grains.  I guess you could say she inspired me to actually cook something, instead of just pinning it.

I remember the first time I ever had zucchini bread. I probably turned my nose up at it, the idea of zucchini in a bread.  I was visiting my Grandmother in Traverse City, MI and she'd taken me to the zoo. In the parking lot there was a Farmer's Market set up and someone was selling zucchini bread. They let me sample a bite and I was in love. I still remember it almost 30 years later. I've spent the last 30 years thinking about that zucchini bread and somehow have never since had another. It's like my first love of veggie breads, and I've never given another a chance to compare.

I've wanted to try making it, but I had no idea how. And, really, until recently I had little interest in making "healthy" foods. Of course, it got more complicated when recently I also stopped eating grains. So, that left me wanting to try my hand at this "healthy" food but unable to eat "bread". What to do!? Then Julie came along and swooped down like some sort of Fairy Godmother with her recipe.  I just had to try it.  Then, this afternoon I was at the Farmer's Market and I saw the zucchini and it was like a sign. Today was the day.

I couldn't remember anything about the recipe (of course), other than that it was MOIST and made with zucchini and coconut flour. I had no idea how much of anything or whether or not I had everything I'd need to make it. Of course, I probably didn't.  So, I bought a half dozen zucchini (just in case) and headed home.

Step 1 (she says) shred your zucchini. WTF? How do you shred zucchini? A few weeks ago I bought this really cool salad spinner at CostCo that also had a mandolin slicer/shredder attachment, so I was all psyched to try it out. I've used it a few times to spin my greens, but this was the first try at using the slicer/shredder feature... and wouldn't you know this would be the first place things would go wrong. The thing did not fit together right. Every time I'd try to shred the top would pop off the bowl and make a mess. So, I finally held it down and gave up on the food pusher thing and just used it like a cheese grater.

Step 2 (she says) get the water out of the zucchini. Another WTF?! Moment and I'm standing in the kitchen trying to spin the zucchini in my salad spinner. That helped a little, but I was still left doing the paper towel method she described.

Step 3 - combine the zucchini with all the other ingredients. This is where I should point out that a)I never read through an entire recipe before I start and b) I don't follow directions well.  So, I just started adding the things she said to add. My amounts were estimates (sometimes) and I found that I was out of two things... vanilla extract and baking soda. I used Almond Butter, because that's the only nut butter I had on hand.  I mixed it all up anyway. Instead of mini loaf pans (since I don't have those), I poured the batter into a muffin pan and popped it into the oven.

I will say that the batter taste test passed. The batter was good.  The muffins when they exited the oven looked very good.  But, the real test is in eating them. So, I did.  I think I needed the vanilla extract. They also needed nuts (imo). I gave hubby a bite before I told him that they contained zucchini (which he hates). His response "They need something. I don't hate them, but I don't love them." Then I told them they had zuchini, to which he responded "you must have cooked it all out."  We'll call this one a draw. We don't hate it, but we don't love it. It needs work (or at the very minimum all of the required ingredients).

Before I was finished writing this entry, hubby had grabbed a muffin of his own. I guess if the true test is "will he eat it?", these MOIST Chocolate Zucchini muffins passed the test.