Spelt Banana Bread

We're always on the look-out for healthy snacks, including wheat and sugar free options whenever possible.  We are having fun going through Molly Katzen's kids cookbooks with our almost-5 year old, who loves helping in the kitchen.  The recipes are simple, healthful and vegetarian - three things that are surprisingly hard to find in a kids cookbook!  The books include step-by-step pictures so kids can follow the recipe even if they are not fully reading yet.  We see how kitchen projects can build confidence for children - reading, measuring, numbers, cooperation as well as independence, learning to following something from start to finish to get delicious results - not to mention creativity, as each recipe gets adapted based on what we decide want to add or change.  Needless to say, we love working together in the kitchen as a family and try to do a little of that every day. 

Here is a new favourite recipe for a banana bread that is sugar-free.  It's great for breakfast or mid-day snacks, and has lots of stages for kids to help (mashing bananas, beating eggs, mixing dry, mixing wet, etc):

Spelt Banana Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups whole spelt flour (or other flour you wish to use)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnut
1/2 cup chocolate chips, optional (this makes the bread a little sweeter)

4 bananas, mashed
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk or milk substitute (or even yogurt)
1/2 cup applesauce, pearsauce, applebutter, plumbutter (whatever you have)
1 tsp pure vanilla

Method:
1) Preheat oven to 350F.  Oil large loaf pan.
2) Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.  Mix wet ingredients in another bowl.  Combine wet with dry.
3) Stir just to combine, do not over-mix at this stage.
4) Bake aprox. 55 minutes until knife inserted comes out clean.  Let cool before cutting.

Solar cooking/drying workshop

Yesterday we hosted a short workshop on solar cooking/drying.  Our guest facilitator had spent time ahead of the workshop building various models that were home-scale size, made of inexpensive materials and simple construction.  The idea was to give participants an idea of the range of possibilities, inspire creative thinking and experimentation (and tinkering), and make solar cooking feel like something easily accessible to a wide range of people.  There are so many books out there about solar cooking, and it really seems like a topic with few difinitive answers - there are so many variables, such as climate, sun exposure, time of year, humidity, what you are cooking/drying, etc.  He had made a solar dryer, using wire cooling racks (used for baking) as his screens, with wooden frames built around the screens to fit snugly.  The bottom was painted black, the top had plexiglass sheeting to trap heat.  This dryer box could be used for drying herbs, fruits, vegetables.  As well, there were several examples of simple solar ovens to demonstrate cooking and baking (for vegetables, soups, breads, etc) - including a foil-lined box cooker and a solar collector dish.  By the time we got to this stage in the workshop we were running short on time, so all we had time to cook was an egg - but this was done in an astounding matter of seconds using a cast iron frying pan held directly over the solar dish (note - while wearing sunglasses and long protective gloves!)  The solar collector dish was tilted toward the sun, reflecting several hundred watts off it's mirrored surface!  The idea was that a roasting pot or other cooker could be rigged up on a frame over this solar dish. You would have to keep this solar dish covered with a tarp when not in use, as it would easily be a potential fire hazard!  Needless to say, this was an interesting introductory workshop that peaked more questions...

New favourite cookbook

I just got a new cookbook - it was mentioned on the Soule Mama blog, and has cover artwork by one of my favourite artists Nikki McClure. Nikki does simple yet complex papercut artwork with exacto knife, along the themes of family, activism, ecology, homesteading, gardens, nature, food sustainability, etc. We've had her calendars on our kitchen walls for years. How could I not get a cookbook that uses her art?

This cookbook is called "Feeding the Whole Family: Cooking with Whole Foods (Recipes for Babies, Young Children and Their Parents)", by Cynthia Lair. It focusses on cooking with whole foods, the importance of gathering for meals, simple wholesome recipes that use fresh, local seasonal foods. Although this book is not necessarily covering new ideas, the recipes look nourishing, interesting and beautiful, yet straight-forward enough that they don't need too much time to prepare (great for families with young children). There are also sections specifically on foods for babies, raising healthy young eaters, food allergies, and how to involve your children in the kitchen. I'm looking forward to using this book more as our daughter grows.

First campfire of the season

A few days ago, when the weather was so lovely that we had spent all day outside and couldn't bring ourselves to head back into the house, we decided to have our first campfire of the season (and baby Maya's first campfire ever). Throughout the summer-fall we spend many many evenings outdoors, cooking over the fire and eating on our back patio. It's an easy way to relax, tend to the fire while harvesting or weeding in the garden until dusk, pick produce off the vine which goes directly into the cooking pot, and eat a great hot meal without having to heat up our house. We often bake in the cob oven as well, and when all the bread is done, transfer our leftover embers into the campfire pit where we can watch the fire while sipping homemade wine or hot cups of cider. Here's to warmer weather and more evenings outdoors!