Chick Pea Flour Banana Bread

Chick Pea Flour Banana Bread

I have to give credit for this recipe to a friend of mine who made it first.  Like me, she loves to be creative in the kitchen and admitted that she just threw this together without measuring and hoped that it would turn out.  From the photos she shared online and her promise that it was delicious I knew I had to try it myself.  Luckily she remembered enough to give me a ball park of what she used, and I went with it.  And she was right, it is delicious. A moist, delicious banana bread, surprisingly full of fiber and protein thanks to the use of chick pea flour.  I had heard of that type of flour before, but since I didn't know how it would work with baking, I had been afraid to try it.  I wish I had known sooner how perfect it is for recipes like this. It's basically similar to using pureed beans, which I've done before, with the addition of a little extra moisture, which in this recipe is the bananas and the yogurt. With only a 1/4 cup of both oil and sugar, this recipe is as healthy as they come, so the addition of a few dark chocolate chips is completely understandable. Plus adding chocolate chips to anything makes it an instant hit with my kids.  We actually just finished off the last of the third batch of these I've made this morning, so it's time for me to make some more, and to share the recipe with all of you.

Curried Onion Soup

Curried Onion Soup

If you live in the North like I do and have a backyard garden, this is the time of year when you have to watch helplessly as mother nature claims the last of whatever you might have been growing and you are forced to pull up the remnants of your once fruitful plants in anticipation of watching your land be covered in snow.  But if you tended your garden well and stored certain produce correctly, you may still have a few precious root vegetables lying around.  To be honest, I made this soup back in September when the last of my onion crop looked past its prime and  I figured I had better pick them before they began to rot.  But I know of a lot of local gardeners with fresh onions still being picked or brought out of storage.  Obviously, you can purchase all that you need for this soup at your local grocery store as well, but when I made this, I was lucky enough to have a lot of fresh produce still available right out my back door.

Everyone has heard of French Onion Soup, which is a hearty, and often buttery, beefy soup smothered in toast and cheese.  Onions are one of the most healthful foods on the planet and have been consumed and revered for their medicinal properties since ancient times, so in my opinion, the more you can include them in your diet, the better.  Even if you have to cover this soup with bread and cheese, at least you are getting the onions into you first.  What is so great about this recipe is that by adding the flavor of green curry and coconut oil, you transform a traditional soup into something exotic and surprising.  The addition of the chick peas adds some protein and the kale adds a boost of antioxidants and texture.  So as the weather turns and you are craving something to not only nourish your body, but warm your soul, give this soup recipe a try.

Coconut Curry Shrimp

Coconut Curry Shrimp

Not every meal has to be completely from scratch or complicated to be healthy, delicious and fun.  I had a jar of curry sauce that was going to expire in about a month and being a stickler for those "best by" dates and hating to waste anything I knew I had to use it up.  So last minute I raided my pantry and my freezer and came up with this meal.  I was not planning on putting it on my blog at first, but then figured, why not? It might not be that original, or that inventive, but sometimes simple and quick are just as good. Full of high protein shrimp and beans, fiber rich brown rice and super nutritious spinach and garlic it is a meal that is as good for as it is easy to throw together.  If you always keep items like this stocked in your pantry and freezer, a gourmet meal is never far away.

("Go Broncos!") Indian Style Nachos

** I am aware that the Broncos lost miserably, 

but this dish is a winner!!!**

("Go Broncos!") Indian Style Nachos

I am definitely not a big fan of football.  I never played the sport, did not grow up in a family that ever watched the sport and yet even I enjoy Super Bowl Sunday.  Being a lover of food and cooking, I suppose it is the freedom to snack and eat items you normally wouldn't, as well as the amazingly creative commercials and reason to party that this American tradition provides that actually gets me to watch at least a few minutes of football once a year.  I usually plan out what to make for the big day a couple of weeks ahead even though it is usually just my little family that I am feeding.  Nachos have always been a family favorite so when I saw a recipe in a magazine a few weeks ago for "Indian Nachos" I knew immediately what I was going to try.

Loaded up with roasted and curried chick peas and cauliflower, shredded monterey jack cheese, cilantro and lime, this is like no other nachos I have ever eaten.  My husband is not a fan of cauliflower, but I convinced him that this dish would be so full of other flavors that he would not know that he was actually eating something healthy.  Top it off with a side of mango chutney, avocado and lime yogurt sauce and chopped raw cashews, it is a gourmet version of traditional game day food.

So when I got a call the day before the big game from a friend of mine inviting me and my family to a Super Bowl party, I was really excited that I had this meal planned out and thankful that I had bought way more than my husband, kids and I would ever eat on our own. I told her what I was planning to bring and just like my husband, I could hear the hesitation in her voice as she said, "that sounds interesting."  Yes, it does and it is deliciously amazing too!!

Now since I live in Pennsylvania and the two football teams playing in this year's Super Bowl are from the other side of the country, I really had no clue who anyone, including my husband, would be routing for.  He is an Eagles fan, so based on some reasoning of his own, his favorite to win is Denver and of course my kids follow along with whatever he says.  I was planning to stay completely impartial, because as I said before, I am not a fan of the sport.  But a few days ago, an article started circulating around the Facebook pages of a lot of my old high school friends informing us that a fellow alumni was on the Denver Broncos. Having graduated in a class of less than 300 kids, and having spent the first 22 years of my life in the same small Connecticut town, even I thought that was cool.  The player graduated six years after I did so although I do not know him personally in any way, the article I read had quotes about him from teachers and administrators that I do know and that made it seem special.  So obviously, I too am routing for the Broncos!

Because I like to be coordinated, I looked up the team colors for the Broncos (dark blue and orange) so I could convince my kids to dress in those colors.  (I don't really own anything orange except for a large old track shirt so I won't be dressing in spirit).  But the dish I am making?  It is blue (organic blue corn chips) and orange (curried vegetables) and I did not even plan that.  Coincidence?  I think not.  Just funny and meant to be.  Hence the name of this post, and this dish, "Go Broncos!" Nachos.

** I left the party before half time and about 2/3 of this giant pan of nachos were already gone and everyone seemed to love them... even those who were skeptical at first.  They are truly amazing!!!