Zucchini bread with currants {grain-free}

This is not your traditional zucchini bread, heavy on cinnamon and oil.  This zucchini bread is grain-free, slightly sweet from the currants, and a delicious treat.  It's light in your stomach and is wonderful toasted with a bit of butter.  It reminds me more of irish soda bread than zucchini bread actually.  The recipe comes from Hayley Mason and Bill Staley, two Pittsburghers who have written 3 great cookbooks:  Gather, The Art of Paleo Entertaining, Make it Paleo I, and Make it Paleo II.  They are wonderful photographers and have photographed other cookbooks as well.

Zucchini Bread with Currants {Grain-free}
from Gather by Hayley Mason and Bill Staley
makes 2 mini loaves

1 1/2 cups almond flour
1 T arrowroot flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup zucchini, shredded and squeezed of excess water
1/2 cup currants

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter two mini loaf pans.  In a medium mixing bowl, combine the almond flour, arrowroot flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the eggs, maple syrup, and melted butter and mix well.  Add the almond flour mixture and mix until smooth.  Stir in the zucchini and currants until evenly combined.

Pour batter into two mini loaf pans.  Bake for 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool before slicing.

Cinnamon Chocolate Swirl Banana Bread {Grain Free}

This banana bread is seriously good.  No grains, no sugar, no gluten - it's hard to believe.  You'll need coconut flour and almond butter, but the rest of the ingredients are common pantry items.

The cinnamon chocolate swirl is fantastic.  The bread is sweetened only by the bananas and a little honey in the swirl.  I think you should give this bread a try if you are needing a little treat without the guilt!

Cinnamon Chocolate Swirl Banana Bread {Grain free, Sugar free}
adapted from The Paleo Kitchen by Juli Bauer and George Bryant

Coconut oil, to grease pan
For the bread:
4 medium bananas, or one pound peeled
4 large eggs
1/4 cup unsalted grass-fed butter, such as Kerrygold, melted
1/2 cup almond butter
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
For the swirl:
2 tablespoons unsalted grass-fed butter
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon (I used one tablespoon)
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 tablespoon honey

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 9x5" loaf pan and line with parchment paper.

Combine the bananas, eggs, butter, and almond butter in a food processor and process until smooth.  Add the remaining bread ingredients and process until well mixed.

In a double boiler, melt the swirl ingredients until fully melted and smooth.  Pour the bread batter into the prepared pan, then pour the chocolate swirl on top.  Use a knife to swirl the chocolate into the bread batter.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle.  Allow to cool 15 minutes in the pan, then remove from the pan and allow to cool completely before cutting.

Slow-Cooker Chili and Amish Cornbread

In my last post, I mentioned how we were still waiting for that big snowfall. Well, we finally got some snow and the kids got their snow day! Of course, the kids think the snow day came because they went to bed with their jammies inside out and slept with a wooden spoon under their pillows. (Think about this the next time your wooden spoons go missing!)

I couldn't have planned it better. The snow day happened on Wednesday - the perfect mid-week break. We got just about 6 inches of snow - enough to get you out of school and plenty for sledding, but not enough to break your back trying to shovel it all. The snow started to fall and after an hour, we had about an inch already.

I just love this cute little bird - this is just where I would hang out too if the snow was coming down that quickly - a nibble of food whenever you get hungry and a roof to stay dry - or maybe he's just trying to peek through my kitchen window to see what's baking. I'm not sure he'd like the chili, but maybe the cornbread??

Slow-Cooked Chili

Serves 10

Note: This is your basic chili recipe, tried and true. The recipe came from my husband's Aunt Donna. (Thanks, Donna!) It freezes well too, so you could make this when your green peppers are plentiful in your garden and freeze it until the cold weather comes along.

2 pounds ground beef

1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, undrained
1 1/2 cups chopped onion

1 cup chopped green pepper

1 jalapeno pepper, minced (optional)

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 16-ounce cans kidney beans or beans of your choice, undrained, or one cup
         soaked and cooked dried beans

2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Brown the ground beef in a pan and discard the rendered fat. Transfer the browned meat to the slow cooker. Using a clean pair of kitchen shears, coarsely slice the tomatoes into smaller chunks right in the can and then add them to the slow cooker. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Cover and cook on low setting for 7 to 10 hours. Add a little water if the chili seems too thick, or cook uncovered toward the end of cooking time if the chili seems too thin. Keep in mind that it will thicken as it cools.

Amish Cornbread

Note:This cornbread is the best - moist and delicious - and super easy. The cornbread recipe came from my good friend at Joy Beadworks who came upon the recipe when buying cornmeal from an Amish grower at a farmer's market. Make the cornbread the day you are going to eat it, or it will become dry. (Nothing a few seconds in the microwave and a spoonful of honey can't fix though.)

1 cup coarsely ground corn meal
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 cup plus 2 tblsp. milk
4 tblsp. oil
1 egg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. (The original recipe stated 450, but that seemed a little high to me.) Spray an 8" square baking pan with Pam.

In a bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, oil and egg. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and pour in the milk mixture; stir until blended. Pour into pan, bake for 25 minutes, or just until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean and the top is lightly browned.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Here's another delicious way to use up those ripe bananas. My kids and I loved this recipe - a moist quick-bread with pure banana flavor with a little chocolate in every bite. Yum.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

adapted from Sarah's Cucina Bella

Makes one 9x5-inch Loaf

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 ripe bananas, mashed
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp table salt
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 inch by 5 inch loaf pan with cooking oil spray. Set aside. ( I always line the bottom of the loaf pan with parchment, and lightly spray the parchment as well.)

Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until the mixture looks light and fluffy. Add one egg at a time, beating well each time. Add the vanilla and bananas to the mixture and mix well on medium speed.

In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. With the mixer running on its lowest speed, add the flour mixture to the bowl little by little, until just combined.


Add the chocolate chips to the batter and mix until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread with a spatula to even it out.


Slide the pan into the preheated oven and cook for about 1 hour. The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool before slicing and serving.

Zucchini Gingerbread

Here's a welcome departure from your typical Zucchini Bread. It's tastes more like gingerbread with a nice depth of flavor from the molasses and spices. The addition of healthy oatmeal gives it more substance, and it blends right in so you can't tell it's there at all.



My favorite way to eat it is toasted with some butter or cream cheese. It would also make a nice addition to the Thanksgiving dessert table. So if you're tired of the same ole zucchini bread, try this one. You won't be disappointed!

Zucchini Gingerbread
Adapted from this recipe on dlynz.com

2 cups finely grated zucchini
1 tsp kosher salt
1 cup oatmeal
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 cup dark molasses
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon lemon zest (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.In a medium bowl, combine the zucchini, salt and oats and let the mixture sit for about 30 minutes. In a separate large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice and ginger. Add molasses, eggs, oil, vanilla, and lemon zest to the zucchini mixture and stir to combine. Add the wet ingredients to the dry mixture and stir to combine. Divide evenly between 2 greased 5 x 8 bread pans. Bake for about an hour or so until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans, then remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack.

Irish Soda Bread

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! I think I may be about 5% Irish and that's enough for me to celebrate the holiday, but maybe not enough to feel the need to make my own corned beef. More my speed is making Irish Soda Bread. I make it every year and love it toasted with butter. I also prefer it with a few caraway seeds and some currants. My favorite recipe is from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa at Home . I added a small amount of caraway seeds to her recipe and a little more orange zest than called for in the recipe to give it a litte more flavor. The texture of the bread was good and so delicious when toasted and buttered.

Irish Soda Bread
from Barefoot Contessa at Home by Ina Garten
Makes 1 loaf

4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for currants
4 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt (use less if using table salt)
4 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, but into 1/2 inch dice
1 3/4 cups cold buttermilk, shaken
1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten (or 1 large egg and 1 egg yolk)
1 tsp grated orange zest (or a little more)
1 cup dried currants
1 tsp caraway seeds (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, caraway seeds and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is mixed into the flour. With a fork, lightly beat the buttermilk, egg, and orange zest together in a measuring cup. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture. Combine the currants with 1 Tbsp of flour and mix into the dough. It will be very wet. Empty the dough onto a well-floured board and knead it a few times into a round loaf. Place the loaf on the prepared sheet pan and lightly cut an "X" into the top of the bread with a serrated knife. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. When you tap the loaf, it will have a hollow sound. Cool on a baking rack. Serve warm or at room temp.