This recipe is a great jumping off point for banana bread – add chocolate chips or blueberries, mix up the spices, just make it your own.  And enjoy!  The hard part is waiting an hour for it to bake…

Ingredients:

• 3 to 4 ripe bananas
• 1/4 c melted butter
• 1 c sugar (I used 1/2 brown sugar and 1/2 white)
• 1 1/2 c flour (this is a great place to sub in a 1/2 c. of spelt or other different flour)
• 1 t vanilla
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/4 t salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 t baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Prep a bread pan baking dish with butter or cooking spray.
2. Place bananas in a medium mixing bowl and smash with a fork or potato masher.  The more smooshy and smooth the better.
3. Add all remaining ingredients to the bowl and combine.
4. Transfer batter to the bread baking dish and into the oven.
5. Cook about 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.
6. Cool several minutes then remove from pan and allow to continue cooling.  Bread is delicious warm but try not to burn yourself!

Mixing the types of flour and adding a bit of molasses actually makes these so much healthier and more satisfying.  I foresee more frequent waffle weekends in our house now! 

Ingredients:

• 1 c. spelt flour
• 1 c. all-purpose flour (or use 2 c. all-purpose)
• 1/2 t. salt
• 2 T. sugar
• 1 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1/4 t. ground nutmeg (opt.)
• 1/2 – 1 t. ground cinnamon (opt.)
• 1 T. molasses
• 1 c. + yogurt or sour cream (up to 1 1/2 c. – modify milk as needed)
• 1/2 c. milk (I like almond milk (a nut milk) but feel free to use soy or cow milk
• 2 eggs, seperated
• 4 T. butter, melted and cooled

1. Preheat waffle iron & lightly brush with canola oil or spray with cooking spray.
2. In one bowl combine dry ingredients.
3. In another bowl, combine molasses, yogurt, milk, and egg yolks. Stir in cooled butter.
4. Beat egg whites until they have soft peaks.
5. Combine wet & dry ingredients, mixing lightly.  Gently fold in egg whites.
6. Spoon or ladle the batter onto the hot waffle iron.  You may need to gently spread to cover evenly.  Waffles will cook for 3-5 minutes.
7. Serve immediately!  I like them with maple syrup or raw honey, fresh fruit, and maybe a touch of whipped cream if you want to splurge! 

Bread is not typically a dish we think of on a whim one Saturday afternoon and are able to whip out by dinner time. Most breads need a sponge and time to rise. They actually might take days when you prep the sponge ahead of time and let the bread dough rise multiple times.

However this recipe is an exception! It comes together easily and quickly, smells delicious as you would desire when it cooks. You should try to give it a least one hour to rise, but that is minimal all things considered. Plus it has a lovely texture and makes perfect toast the next morning! Thank Mark Bittman for this ingenious speedy recipe.

Ingredients:

• 3 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c. rye or other whole wheat flour
• 2 t. salt
• 1 1/2 t. of yeast
• ~1 c. lukewarm water

1. In a food processor combine all dry ingredients. Pulse several times to combine.
2. Add the water in thru the feed tube as the processor is running. The goal is to have the dough for a nice ball that is not too wet, nor too dry. Add 1 t. water or flour as needed to accomplish this. The processing should take less than a minute, the dough will form quickly.
3. Remove the blade from the processor and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for at least an hour.
4. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Shape into one large loaf (shown above) or several smaller loaves. When the oven is hot you can bake directly on a pizza stone if you have one, or on a lightly oiled baking sheet.
5. Cut the top of the loaf a few time with a serrated knife before putting in the oven.
6. Bake until the loaf is a golden brown and reaches an internal temperature of 210 degrees. You can use any normal oven thermometer for this. It will take about 20-30 minutes of baking to get to this temp.