Cranberry Apple Pumpkin Bread

How do you feel about New Year's resolutions?  I'm a little obsessed with them at the moment.  I'm also a little obsessed with cranberries.  It's kind of a problem.

So how about those resolutions?  Big fan of 'em or resolution hater?  Do you prefer silly resolutions or serious ones?  I am one of those weirdos that is always working on goal lists so, of course, yearly resolutions are right up my alley.

I've always liked New Year's because it is a fresh start.  And, any holiday that motivates people (including myself!) to treat their bodies better and focus on their health?  That's a holiday to celebrate.

For 2010 I had the usual round of resolutions (work out more often, save money) along with a couple of more challenging ones: be more positive, give myself more credit, and live my life from a place of possibility rather than fear.  I really liked that last one so I'm keeping it for 2011.  It reminds me to try new things, push my own boundaries of what scares me, and always leads to great and unexpected experiences. 

What's on your list for 2011?  Would you be willing to share it with me?  Here is what I came up with:

• Live my life from a place of possibility rather than fear.
• Treat my body like the precious resource it is.
• Connect more with those I love.
• Take more quiet time for myself.
• Push my athletic boundaries.
• Have more fun.

Oh, and add cranberries to more recipes.  They're good.

This bread is an adaptation of my Not-Your-Average-Pumpkin-Bread recipe. As you may have guessed, this is also not-your-average cranberry apple pumpkin bread. Get ready.

What I love most about this bread is that I don't feel guilty when I'm eating it.  Since I usually end up eating a majority of what I bake (unless I promptly give it away), I try to use the healthiest and freshest ingredients possible. The only downfall about this bread is that it can be a little soft fresh from the oven, but I like it best after it's been sitting in the fridge overnight anyway.  See you in the New Year!

Adapted from Holistic Nutrition Bytes

1 1/2 cups flour of your choice (I used a combination of spelt and white whole wheat flour)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger
1/2 cup fresh cranberries
1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored, and diced
dash cloves
1 cups cooked and pureed pumpkin
1/4 cup unrefined virgin coconut oil
3 Tbsp flaxseed meal mixed with enough hot water to make 1/2 cup
2 Tbs water
1/2 cup agave
3 tbs applesauce
handful of chopped walnuts for topping (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease loaf pan. Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, and spices. Set aside.

Puree pumpkin, flaxseed meal mixture, coconut oil, water, agave nectar, fresh ginger, and applesauce in blender until smooth. Mix flour mixture with puree until just combined and pour into the pan.

Sprinkle a few walnuts on top, if desired.  Bake for 40-45 minutes, until an toothpick inserted in the bread comes out clean.

Not-Your-Average Pumpkin Bread

I've been on a mission for the past few days to find the perfect, healthy pumpkin bread.  I started thinking about pumpkin bread last week and couldn't get it out of my mind since then.  But, I was being picky about my bread.  Of course I wanted it to be vegan and preferably gluten-free.  And I didn't want any sugar - only agave.  And I didn't want any soy.  And I didn't want to use powdered egg replacer (I was hoping for flax meal, applesauce, or chia seeds).  And I wanted to use coconut milk or coconut oil instead of other oils.  And I was determined to use fresh pumpkin. Quite the list of requirements, eh?

I scoured every cookbook I could find and there was nothing even close to what I was looking for.  I searched google, blogs, recipe sites and still found nothing.  I was beyond determined so I decided I would just have to make my own recipe.  This is where the fun really started.

I've told you I'm not really a baker, right?  I'm great at other food because you can play with the ingredients a bit more.  Unfortunately with baking, you have to be very precise... which I am not.  But, there I was, determined to make up my own recipe. 

I baked my pumpkin and made fresh applesauce from scratch.  I threw together my quinoa flour, spices, and a few other things that seemed should go in the bread as well.  The end result of my attempt at pumpkin bread wasn't bad, but I knew it could be better.   I knew I had the ingredients right because the flavor was great, but it didn't rise right which meant my proportions were off.

That's when I stumbled upon this recipe by Mary Vance, a holistic nutritionist in San Francisco.  It met every requirement of mine and tasted fabulous.  Problem solved.

This version is lightly sweet, but if you like things sweeter, feel free to add more agave to the batch.  I also used fresh ginger because I like things a bit spicier, but you are welcome to use powdered ginger.  In most of the pumpkin bread recipes I found, it said that the pumpkin bread would be great for breakfast.  Not to sound snooty, but there is no way I would ever think of starting my day with that much sugar.  However, I actually had a piece of this batch for breakfast this morning and it was perfect for breakfast.  That's saying a lot.

Makes 1 loaf. 

1 1/2 cups Flour of your choice (You can use quinoa, spelt, wheat, or any flour of your choice)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger
dash cloves
1 1/2 cups cooked & pureed pumpkin
1/4 cup unrefined virgin coconut oil
3 Tbsp flaxseed meal mixed with enough hot water to make 1/2 cup
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup agave
2 tbsp applesauce
handful of chopped walnuts for topping (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease loaf pan. Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, and spices. Set aside. Puree pumpkin, flaxseed meal mixture, coconut oil, water, agave nectar, fresh ginger, and applesauce in blender until smooth. Mix flour mixture with puree until just combined and pour into the pan.  Sprinkle a few walnuts on top, if desired. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until an toothpick inserted in the bread comes out clean.

Roasted Garlic and Fennel on Bread

I have mentioned that I am moving into a new apartment at the end of this month.  This apartment will be the 4th apartment that Ash and I have lived in together.  I don't know about other couples, but for us, surviving 4 moves together is a big deal.  We've both agreed that moving tends to bring out some of the worst parts about each of us -- the little cranky moods and sarcastic comments that one can only utter when they are lifting an extremely large and heavy couch. 

We made the decision that this moving process is going to be different.  So far, like most resolutions, we're still struggling with it, but I have hope.  My little contribution to our goal has been (what a surprise!) making food.  When one of us starts getting fatigued and cranky from packing, I know this is my cue to head to the kitchen and not come out until I have something yummy in hand.  Today, this was our little lifesaver.

Even if you are not a big fennel fan, when it's baked like this and then nestled between fresh tomatoes and roasted garlic, you can't go wrong.  This involves minimal prep, which is perfect if you happen to be cooking amongst large stacks of moving boxes.  Enjoy!

Ingredients: 
1 loaf of fresh bread (I love rosemary)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
four bulbs of garlic
2 fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
olive oil
salt and pepper
balsamic vinegar
dried basil and oregano

Roasted garlic:
Remove loose outer leaves. Cut off tops of bulbs so that each clove is open at the top. Drizzle a little olive oil over each bulb. Set the bulbs in the center of a garlic baking dish (if you have one) and cover the the lid.

Place in a cold oven and bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake an additional 45 minutes or until garlic is tender and husks are golden brown. Add more olive oil as necessary.

Baked fennel:
Select a heavy roasting pan or large gratin dish. Remove any fennel fronds. Cut the top stalks from the fennel and reserve for stock (or juice!). Slice the base into thin slices - it's best to have a very sharp knife for this.

Set in the roasting pan, seasoning lightly with salt and drizzling with olive oil. The fennel does not have to fit in a single layer.  Cover the pan tightly with foil. Bake alongside the garlic at 300 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove the foil for the last 15 minutes to let the flavors heighten.

Bread:
Cut into 1-inch slices. After you have pulled the garlic and fennel from the oven, place the bread slices directly on the racks for 5-8 minutes to heat. Leave it in for 5 minutes if you like softer bread, 8 minutes if you like it a bit harder.

Once you have warmed your bread and given the garlic a chance to cool, remove the garlic from its skin and spread a few cloves over each bread slice. Top with a layer of roasted fennel and a few fresh tomatoes. Sprinkle with dried basil, oregano, salt, and pepper to taste. Drizzle with more olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Two desserts in three days? I think I'm getting into some dangerous territory here. I hate going empty-handed to holidays and gatherings so this is what I made for Easter at Ash's parents' house. (Of course, I brought some Quinoa salad to balance out the sugar!)

It was a good excuse to spend the morning in the kitchen. Mashing bananas into flour. Cooking quinoa. Watching Law & Order: SVU. Yes, a good morning indeed.

What's your weekend morning routine? I'm usually up by 7, and either out the door to the gym or already on my computer working on a paper. That was my plan for today, but my kitchen was calling to me... she's been feeling a little neglected lately. After spending a few hours making a delicious mess, our relationship was restored and my spirits were lifted.

• 4 bananas
• 1/3 cup vegan margarine, melted
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and lightly grease bread pan.

In a medium bowl, mash bananas and add margarine, vanilla, sugars and mix.

Add flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and mix until combined.
Stir in chocolate chips.

Pour into bread pan. Bake for 45 minutes at 325 and then raise oven temperature to 350 for 20-25 more minutes depending on how hard you want the outside to be.