Baking for your Mom can be a great way to show your love. This recipe for banana bread is grain-free and gluten-free, and can also be made with zucchini for those health-conscious Mom’s out there :)

This bread is based on the Zucchini Bread recipe in “The Plantpower Way” by Rich Roll & Julie Piatt. You can use a mix of 6 tablespoons ground flax seeds and 1/2 cup water in place of the eggs for a vegan version.

2 eggs
1 small apple
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup coconut oil
5 dates
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 - 4 frozen or fresh bananas, or medium zucchini
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 tablespoon baking powder
Flour mix: * 3 cups of premixed gluten-free flour can also be used
1 1/2 cup cassava flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup arrowroot
1/4 coconut flour
1 teaspoon Pamela’s gum-free baking binder *optional
Spices
1-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1-1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon Celtic sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Place eggs in food processor
Slice apple and blend with eggs and 1/4 cup water
Add dates, sugar, vanilla and bananas and blend
In a separate bowl, sift or mix together baking soda, baking powder, flours, spices and Pamela’s baking binder (if using)
Fold into the wet mixture (or just blend it in with the food processor)
Bake in the oven for 50-55 minutes in a baking pan (shorter time for muffins - start at 20 minutes and test for doneness)
Enjoy your homemade banana bread!

My Mom gave me this fantastic cookbook called “Lakeside Creative Cooks” made by the residents of her building (including her :).

What surprised me about the recipes in this book are how the directions are a few lines or less! Perfect for a person trying to simplify their cooking to keep up with this fast-paced world.

These seem like tried and true recipes that I bet have delighted many. This month the recipe I made was from Clara McGough -Texas Caviar.

When I first looked at the title, I laughed, because I thought it was a recipe for chili! So I put everything in a pot and cooked it. Which came out really delicious actually.

And then I read the three sentences at the bottom of the recipe. This is a dip served cold. Probably great for watching the game or visiting with friends and family.

Well, either way it turned out nicely :) Thank you Clara! And Mom!

1 (15 oz) can of black beans, drained
1 (15 oz) can black-eyed peas, drained
8 green onions, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 (28 oz) can of tomatoes
1 medium green pepper, diced
3 Jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
3/4 cup parsley
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup zesty Italian dressing

Mix all the ingredients together. Add a few drops of hot sauce. Serve with tortilla chips.

For my chili, I used a spicy jalapeno salsa instead of the green peppers and jalapeno. I also used 2 teaspoons of Green Goddess seasoning and a little chili powder in lieu of the parsley and Italian dressing..

Enjoy!