Zucchini Bread; gluten free; Meatless Monday

When my dear blogger friend Sarika called for a collective on breads, I didn't think I could participate! Firstly, I avoid breads, secondly, the only "bread" bread that I have baked is the gluten-free sandwich bread. Thirdly, even if I were to think of making one for my family, I don't have a stand mixer, which means I will have to knead using my hands. This would result in pain in my hands! You guys must have noticed already that I don't make anything that requires lot of kneading, stirring, so on and so forth!  Well, you guys get the idea..

Sarika then told me that any kind of bread would do! That perked my ears! I am all for cake-like breads that could be had for breakfast and the kids could enjoy. I make banana-nut bread, cranberry-pecan bread all the time! I have been meaning to try zucchini bread for a while now and even had this recipe saved from one of the posts at Angie's Fiesta Friday! Finally, I decided to try my hand at it . I decided to make a gluten-free version. I had brought this gluten-free flour mix from Costco a while ago and it has been sitting there. I worry that it will go bad. So, I decided to use it. The zucchini bread came out moist and delicious! It is very easy to make. I have modified the original recipe, which you can find here.

Servings: makes one loaf

Prep time: 20- 30 minsCook time: 50-60 minsTotal time: 80-90 mins

Ingredients:

Gluten free  flour mix : 2 cups, I used Namaste Foods Gluten Free Perfect flour blend. ( you can use wheat/ all purpose flour, if you don't want it gluten free)
Baking soda: 1 tsp
Salt:1/4 tsp
Ground cinnamon: ½ tsp
Ground nutmeg: ¼ tsp
Vanilla extract:1 tsp
Butter:1/2 cup
Brown sugar:  1 cup
Eggs: 2
Zucchini : 1 large, grated , around 4 cups
Walnuts:½ cup,chopped(optional)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and keep aside.

In a bowl, beat together the butter, sugar until creamy. 

Add the eggs, beating until smooth.

Now add baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg  and vanilla essence.

Squeeze the grated zucchini to get rid of as much water as possible. Add this to the bowl.

Add the flour and nuts ( optional) mixing gently. Do not overmix.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan .

Place it in the middle rack of the oven.

Bake the bread for 45-50 minutes at 350 deg F.  Lay a piece of foil gently across the top and bake until a cake tester (like a toothpick) inserted into the center comes out clean, 5 mins at a time. I needed additional 15 mins.

Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes before turning it out of the pan onto a rack to cool completely.

Slice as desired.

Serve warm with butter ( optional).

To store: keep the slices in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

May be warmed slightly before serving.

Enjoy!

I am sharing this delicious breakfast with my friends at Throwback Thursday #51, Fiesta Friday #133 and Saucy Saturday#57! 

Cooking made easy:

You can use a combination of zucchini and overripe mashed bananas or zucchini and apple sauce.
To make it vegetarian substitute one egg each with 1 tbsp Flaxmeal mixed in 3 tbsp water.

Tip for healthy living:

Breakfast is the most vital meal of the day. Do not skip breakfast. Try to eat something that you like, even if it is a small quantity.

Food for thought:

There is a kind of beauty in imperfection. Conrad Hall

Please do share your thoughts. Your opinion matters!

Cranberry Pecan Bread with fresh cranberries; Meatless Monday

Remember that bag of cranberries I have been cooking with lately?? Well that bag of fresh cranberries is not done yet! So, I decided to try and make some cranberry pecan bread!

Breads are not only easy to make, it tastes great and most importantly, my kids, colleagues everyone likes it! It is also much healthier compared to cakes. So less work and much healthier. You can eat it as a dessert or as a snack with a cup of tea or coffee.It came out absolutely delicious! Do try it if you get a chance!

Servings: makes one 9 x 5 loaf

Ingredients:

Flour: 2 cups
Butter: 2 tbsp
Sugar: 1 cup
Egg: 1, well beaten ( Mix 1 tbsp flaxmeal with 3 tbsp water for vegetarians).
Baking powder: 1 1/2 tsp
Baking soda: 1/2 tsp
Yogurt: 1 cup
Orange zest: 1 tbsp
Salt: 1/4 tsp
Fresh cranberries, chopped: 1 1/2 cups
Chopped pecans: 1/2 cup

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 deg F.

Grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan and keep aside.

Cream butter and sugar, until creamy.

Add the beaten eggs, yogurt, vanilla essence, orange zest,salt, baking powder and baking soda and mix well. Do not over mix.

Now mix in the flour little at a time and mix until well blended.

Add in the chopped cranberries

and pecans and mix gently.

Pour the batter into the greased loaf pan . Place it on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 45 minutes .

At the end of 45 minutes if it is still wet in the center, cover a piece of foil on top of the bread and bake for 10 more minutes.

Take it out of the oven and let it cool in the loaf pan for 10-15 minutes before taking it out of the pan.

 After this time, take it out of the loaf pan and let it cool down completely on a cooling rack before slicing it; around 1 hour.

Eat it as a snack with some hot tea or as a healthy dessert!

I am bringing this to Angie's anniversary party for all those friends who are staying back late enjoying the festivities! I am sure Nancy and Selma , the gracious co-hosts will appreciate the extra food considering the crowd!

Enjoy!

Cooking made easy:

There are two way to grease baking pans and trays. One, is applying butter/oil to the pan/ tray and then sprinkling some flour on top. Overturn the pan over the sink to get rid of the excess flour. The second way to do it is to liberally spray a non-stick spray on the pan/tray!

Tip for healthy living:

Pecans are healthy and make for a great snack. They are extremely nutrient-dense and are rich in mono saturated fatty acids like oleic acid and an excellent source of phenolic antioxidants. They are also rich in minerals like manganese, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc and selenium. They are a great source of B-complex vitamins.

Food for thought:

To be prepared is half the victory. Miguel de Cervantes

Gluten Free Sandwich Bread

I have been avoiding food with gluten for a year and a half now. Successfully, most of the time. Being that I am a South Indian, my diet has always been rice-dominant. This has helped me with the gluten-free diet. I don't miss the rotis and the parathas( flatbreads) and the regular bread even.. That's because I never ate it on a regular basis anyways! I ate bread mostly on weekends, when my husband makes his special American omelette  with lots of fresh veggies and herbs. I love that breakfast. Now he brings gluten free bread from the store for my occasional use; usually Udi's or Ezekiel brands. Both are pretty good and the loaf lasts me for a while!

I always thought of baking bread as a tedious process and since I didn't have the necessity, I never made an attempt. I would always drool over the wonderful bread pictures posted by the amazing members of this 40,000 strong group called Chef at Large( CAL).Recently, they had an event titled #yeastmadness. I saw that even novices were participating. I too wanted to make something. I figured this is the right reason to do my research on gluten-free breads. Making gluten free bread is tricky and most of them taste like cardboard anyways! I was looking for something that is soft and as close to the regular flour sandwich bread.You know what they say.. "Seek and you shall find". I came across this wonderful recipe on this website called alittleinsanity.com. I decided to give the recipe a try with modifications of my own. I must say that the bread came out really well.You can tell though that it is not the regular flour, but still good;soft and with a nice texture. Here's how I made it:

Source: alittleinsanity.com

Servings: makes  1 regular 9x5 loaf

Ingredients:

Yeast Mix:
Milk: 1 1/2 cup
Honey: 4 tbsp
Dry active yeast: 2 1/4 tsp ( 1 packet) I used Fleischmann's Active Dry yeast.

Dry Mix:Brown rice flour: 1/4 cup
White rice flour: 1/4 cup
Sweet rice flour: 1/4 cup
Tapioca starch: 1/4 cup
Xanthan gum: 2  3/4 tsp
Baking powder: 4 tsp
Salt: 1 tsp

Wet Mix:Apple Cider Vinegar: 2tsp
Olive oil: 1/4 cup
Eggs: 2 large

Method:

Mix honey and yeast in lukewarm milk and set aside 10 minutes for proofing.

Grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan and keep aside.

Add all the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Keep aside.

Add all the wet ingredients to another bowl and beat for a few seconds on high with a hand mixer.Now add the yeast mix and beat for a few more seconds.

Now slowly add in the dry mix little at a time and beat for 3-4 minutes. Your dough will be wet and sticky. 

Transfer the dough to the greased 9x5 loaf pan. Cover with a cling wrap and keep it aside for 20-30 minutes or until the dough doubles in size. Do not let the dough rise above the loaf pan as while baking it will spill over.

Preheat the oven to 375 degree Fahrenheit. Bake for 30-40 minutes. Mine was done in 30 minutes.

You can check for doneness by inserting a wooden skewer into the middle. If it comes clean, then the bread is done.

If the crust seems to be darkening too fast, halfway through the baking, loosely cover the bread with a foil and continue baking.

When done, take the pan out of the oven and let it cool in the pan for 5- 10 minutes. Now overturn the loaf pan on a wire rack and let the loaf cool down. Slice the bread only when it has cooled down completely.

Enjoy with a slice of cheese or butter.

Store the remaining bread in an airtight container in the freezer.

Cooking made easy:

Cooking is a breeze if you make sure if you have everything ready in front of you when you start. Make good use of the time when you are waiting in between steps of cooking a dish. Do some clean-up and dish washing so that you don't have too much cleaning up to do at the end of the cooking process.

Tip for healthy living:

One of the best ways to eat healthy is by avoiding processed ready-to-eat meals and food which may contain preservatives to increase it's shelf life.These preservative may affect our body in ways unknown to us.

Food for thought:

When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves. William Arthur Ward.