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Nut Trilogy 2: Banana-Nut Bread (Two Ways)
August 18, 2010 | 45 Comments
In my cashew “yogurt” post, I had a comment wondering if the stuff I concoct “makes any sense”. I understand that bewilderment and don’t have a problem, really, with those who express it. I feel the same way when I see someone eating a doughnut.
Heck, I feel that way going through my own recipe index, with a whole section on “Paneer, Cheese and Dairy”. You’d have to part with a lot of cash to get me to eat that monstrosity with white rice, sugar and pasteurised milk today. Or those scary cluris with potato curry.
Note to self: No one called my rice pudding (kheer) “weird” though eating it makes me feel drowsy and a bit queasy, ‘cos well, it’s what most people like. Good for them.
But I don’t. Not any more, at least. I stayed away from that stuff for more than a decade, then tried to become more “mainstream” (partly because J enjoys them from time to time) and decided that I don’t like them enough to make them on a regular basis. So yes, I’m weird and have been since age four when I asked my mom to please make bitter gourd every day ‘cos I loved it so much. People think I’m crazy for making cashew “yogurt”, I think they’re crazy for liking kheer. We’re even and all’s good with the world.
Another thing I don’t do any more is JADE (Justify, Argue, Defend, Explain). People who eat doughnuts don’t have to JADE. It’s assumed that they can make informed choices and like what they are doing. If a Hindu declines beef, a Jew declines pork or a Jain declines root veggies, it’s fine. No JADEing required. Similarly, I don’t feel the need to be a teeny bit apologetic for requesting brown rice in a restaurant that I know serves only white. If enough people ask, may be, they’ll include that option. I’m an optimist who hopes that people will make allowances for my kind of weirdness.
“First of all I would like to make one thing quite clear. … I never explain anything.” ~ Mary Poppins
I don’t explain why I don’t eat certain things or favour certain others. Once upon a time, I would say : “I know it’s crazy and I’m sorry for the trouble, but I prefer my pizza without cheese.” Now, it’s simply “I like my pizza without cheese”. Or “I don’t eat dairy”. Else, I simply proffer a shit-eating grin.
So back to yesterday’s comment. I responded with a factual observation (and the aforementioned grin):
your input is welcome. i understand your gut reaction ‘cos it’s the same way i feel about dairy.
That makes me “mean“, (according to another commenter), and disingenuous to boot, ‘cos dontcha know, I have recipes with dairy on my site. After all, didn’t I use ghee recently in my dosas?
Someone finds “cashew yogurt” weird? Fair enough. I’m “mean” ‘cos I said I found dairy as offensive as the original commenter found cashew yoghurt? Holy Ninja Turtle.
It’s true. I can no longer stand the smell and taste of milk or cream. And I like ghee. So shoot me already. 
There’s another dairy product I really like. I’ll post about it soon. (Psstt… I eat eggs too and recently had some salmon.) Do I need to spell out why I like certain things and not others? I’m not sure I do. I’ll probably hear from vegans soon about what a fickle-minded trainwreck I am.
I must confess, I’m enjoying this state of trainwrecked-ness. It’s rather Zen-like.
I’ve read enough about nutrition from those who know about the subject to comprehend that there’s no single “right” approach to healthy eating. Different strokes for different folks. And different strokes for the same folks at different times. I experiment a lot with food and am acutely aware of my body’s responses to it. You are free to use those recipes with dairy from my site or do as I do – ignore them.
Many people have commented on this weird “health nut” thing I’ve got going. I reciprocate the sentiment. I iz weird and so be you. I’ve had two aunties sitting at my dining table pointing to my plate and discussing my culinary preferences as though I was a relic in a museum. I sat there looking at the mountains of white rice on their plate thinking: “Where the hell did these freaks come from?”.
Each of us, in our own unique way, makes the world an infinitely more interesting freak show. We simply harbour the illusion that we are less freakish than the next person. Since I dig all kinds of freakoidal entities, I’ll post two recipes today.
The first – for those who are well just “freaks” – is J’s scrumptious moist banana-nut bread. When we have over-ripe bananas, we peel them and freeze them. When we have four or five frozen ones, we thaw them and make this bread.
The second version is for those who are my kind of “trainwreck freaks”. It’s my mutilated wheat-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, egg-free version of J’s original. Why would I tinker with a wonderful recipe? Because I can.
J’s version comes with a story (a true one).
A long time ago, when J was happy and free, I visited him in his bachelor pad. I dozed off after a while and woke up to a delicious aroma wafting through the kitchen. He had baked a banana-nut bread. Later that day, I asked him to marry me. Foolishly, he agreed.
He has made it several times since then. I happened to find some ancient pics where he replaced the walnuts with dark chocolate chips and made them into muffins. So here’s his recipe.
Jai’s BANANA-CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS
**For Banana-Nut bread, replace the chocolate chips with walnuts and bake in a loaf pan at 375F for about 45 to 50 minutes.
(Makes a dozen medium muffins.)
Preheat the oven to 375F in a regular oven or 350F in a convection setting.
Dry ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup finely ground oats
a pinch of salt
1 tsp baking soda
half tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp each ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and ginger
3 tbsps brown sugar or powdered jaggery
Mix them together and set aside.
Wet ingredients:
1 cup mashed bananas (preferably over-ripe)
3 tbsps raw honey
1/4 cup organic low-fat plain yogurt
1/4 cup melted ghee or butter
half cup organic eggs (about 2 large eggs)
half tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp rum or brandy (optional)
1 tbsp lemon juice
Blend the wet ingredients together.
Mix in the dry ingredients gently into the wet until just blended. Do not overmix. Add more liquid if the batter is too stiff.
Gently fold in
1 cup dark chocolate chips
**we prefer them with walnuts, or use a combo of the two.
Put the batter in a greased loaf pan or lined muffin pan. Bake 18 to 20 mins. (or until a toothpick comes out clean) for muffins or 45 to 50 mins for a loaf.
Bee’s WHEAT-FREE, SUGAR-FREE, DAIRY-FREE, EGG-FREE BANANA-NUT BREAD
I used Bob’s Red Mill Sweet Sorghum (jowar) flour which is lighter than the regular jowar flour from the Indian store. The latter should work too. To make it completely gluten-free, replace the oat flour with any gluten-free flour.
(Makes 1 loaf)
Preheat the oven to 375F in a regular oven or 350F in a convection setting. Grease a loaf pan and set aside.
Dry ingredients:
1 cup finely ground oats
half cup plus 2 tbsps sweet sorghum (jowar) flour
**or teff/buckwheat/amaranth flour
2 tbsps finely ground flax
1/4 cup fine almond powder
a pinch of salt
half tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp each ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and ginger
Mix everything together and set aside.
Wet ingredients:
1-1/4 cup mashed bananas (preferably over-ripe)
half cup (packed) chopped dates
half cup cashew “sour cream”
**or 1/4 cup each cashews and water
half cup almond or cashew “milk”
half tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp rum or brandy (optional)
1 tbsp lemon juice
Blend the wet ingredients together.
Mix in the dry ingredients gently into the wet until just blended. Do not overmix. Add more liquid if the batter is too stiff.
Gently fold in
1 cup lightly toasted walnuts
Put the batter in a greased loaf pan or lined muffin pan. Bake 45 to 50 mins mins. (or until a toothpick comes out clean).
Embrace your weirdness.
- b.
Filed Under: Almond, Banana, brown-sugar, Cashew, Chocolate, Dairy/Cheese, Date, Eggs, Flax seeds, gluten-free, honey, Jaggery, MUSINGS, NUTRITION, Oats, Sorghum/Jowar, sugar-free, vegan recipes, vegetarian recipes, Walnut, yogurt
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45 Comments
oh Bee! not sure if you just ranted [:D] or what, but it sounds like JADE to me! :’( anyway, coming to the bread, me gonna try it before this weekend! and coming to the cashew yoghurt, me too felt it was a over the board, but hey it’s your life, your kitchen, your blog! i reserve only the right to ask “puhleeeeeease dont ever stop blogging!!!!”
Hey bee
You my inspiration to eat healthy & I have learnt so many new ingredients & new ways to consume those from your blog which I didnt know ever!!!
With this post too the saga continues….the bread looks super moist & nutty
Cheers!
With all my weird diets, I’ve been getting a lot of those looks too. Well ,there was once a wise man who said –
….You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, the only way, it does not exist…. –Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, (1844-1900)
I love that bread, Bee! what can you sub for the banana? I can eat everything else in that recipe except the banana! Would pumpkin puree work?
pumpkin would be wonderful.
Thanks!
I am so going to make these muffins.
Forgot to mention.I love love the blue tea pot.
I am a recent regular to your blog, and I respect the effort that you guys (JB) are putting in to adopt a healthy way of life-especially since doing that tends to take us further away from the path of traditional cooking prevalent back in our own country. It takes conviction to break the pattern.
Very welcome. Keep it up !!
I agree with H. This article is JADE. We tend to “do” JADE only with people who matter to us and I see that your readers matter to you. It is a sign of a responsible person.I guess only a certain type of people refuse to JADE, maybe dictators or recluses.
Everyone has the right to live the way he/she wants – as long as they are not causing harm to anyone else. By showcasing your innovations and ideas, you are helping people to think out of the box. Some ideas may be outlandish, but they make interesting reading anyway.
Bee, first off, I bow to u! U have the guts to try out so many different things.U have a very healthy lifestyle, u make healthy food choices, so what if some of them are not what the ‘aam junta’ is used to? It is ur choice, ur health, ur everything and we love u for it. U iz weird, we is loving that! Keep it up Bee.
Had the same thing been showed by Rachel Ray or Nigella Lawson or for that matter even our very own Sanjeev Kapoor/Tarla Dalal, they would have oohed and aahed over it.
However, I must add that your tone in this post is a little negative. It gives me the impression that only people who appreciate should post a comment. Maybe in a few decades, you could find yourself loving the payasam/kheer you so disdainfully disown.
Personally, I might really do some more research before attempting the yogurt mentioned in your earlier post, and maybe I shall dislike it even then. But I like to read about your experiments. This is a site open to sincere feedback, isn’t it ?( Or is it not? )
Snow,
We allow anonymous feedback. Some people take advantage of that and employ hit-and-run tactics. We don’t appreciate passive aggressive behavior. Bee’s point of view is not negative. it is just practical. This is our space, we maintain a journal, we decided to put it in the public space, if some readers find value in it – so be it. At some level, we’ve realized that some folks will never get our point of view. That’s ok. Vast majority of our readers don’t comment, and that’s fine too. Some like to comment regularly – taking time from their busy day. We appreciate that too.
Sincere feedback is always welcome because we care about what we put out here. Do some research and let us know what you find. We like feedback that enhances the discussion and adds value to the post.
Cheers,
Jai
i personally feel that only people who have
1. something positive to say
2. something CONSTRUCTIVE to say if it comes in the form of criticism
should comment. “x sucks” is not helpful or required. if someone says “y would be a better approach”, that is helpful.
think about it. would you go to someone’s house and say something negative or rude? if you have a negative response to something, won’t you keep your mouth shut and stay away if it bothers you so much?
if that host/hostess is a good friend of yours, may be you’d feel free to offer constructive criticism. this is strictly my personal view, but why is a blog different from a home?
if i go to someone’s site, if i have praise, i offer it. if not, i say ‘hi’ and leave. there are people who comment here regularly. they send e-mails with negative feedback, or post constructive criticism. it’s truly valuable and appreciated. then there are drive-by hit-and-run commenters who come out of the woodwork to criticise and flee (mostly anonymously). if someone has a history of two comments and chooses to snipe and flee, i don’t take their opinions too seriously.
if someone has something to say that actually enlightens us, even if it’s critical, they are most welcome.
and i don’t dislike payasam. eating it makes me feel like crap. so i choose not to. whether i eat it or not in the future, i will continue to regard it as junk food. it’s not kosher to be critical of “traditional foods” and that riles people up, but to me facts are more persuasive than emotions.
- b.
i think what makes your blog so special is that you post recipes we won’t find anywhere else! plus there are plenty of us “modified” (if you want to call it that) vegans out there in the world that make decisions about individual food items (e.g. maybe oysters are okay and cow’s milk is not). anyhow, we love your blog just the way it is–especially your honesty about who you are. thanks for sharing.
I love your blog…and the mutilated recipes
I get “how can you eat that” stares when I make perfectly normal looking pancakes for breakfast..so really, what’s normal?
The banana breads look great. I’m wondering – tasting both side by side what the difference in taste would be if any? Are the textures different? The prevalence of the banana flavor?
I’d use pecans rather than walnuts because we have wonderful pecan trees here and I like the taste so much better. I avoid the addition of chocolate to banana bread because it feels like gilding the lily to me. Which is, of course, precisely why so many other people like theirs WITH chocolate. Potato, potahto….
“Normal” is mostly whatever you’ve become accustomed to and mutually decide will from that point onward never need to be defended.
the lack of gluten makes the wheat-free one more crumbly and less cohesive. a little xanthan gum may do the trick. flavour-wise, they are both excellent. the second one has one more banana and dates. i personally prefer that taste to brown sugar/honey.
i prefer pecans too.
- b.
Hi Bee,
Loved the “Different strokes for the same folks at different times” …I have found that to be so true…I appreciate your efforts to listen to your body rather than cave in to mainstream habits …we can all learn from that
Will definitely make these banana nut goodies ..Thanks for sharing.
Alot of the so-called “experimental” things you might have on the blog, I admit, I may not try. But I welcome them and read about them (even if I rarely comment) because everyone has food issues. Because of my sinuses etc I go through dairy-free periods, and get to a point where even the thought of having a splash of milk in my tea or coffee is ugh. Everyone has their own body to maintain however they want it. If you want to be your own kind of freak (your word
) and try out new ways of doing things and share them with us, then bravo! it’s not like you’re expecting all your readers to go out and get probiotic capsules right? right?
and as for those who don’t understand the conflicting posts and recipes – there ARE two bloggers here!
I’ve been reading your blog for some time, and although I missed the comment about cashew yoghurt, I’m pretty surprised that anyone reading Jugalbandi would react that way. I mean, you write a mostly vegan-oriented, health-oriented blog that so many people obviously appreciate (me too!). Unfortunately, I can’t be so open-minded about “different strokes…” … people who eat CAFO dairy and industrialized food are harming others, unfortunately; there’s no way around it. I hope the weirdness tipping point comes soon (in favor of mainstreaming actual healthy practices), and I think it will.
Wow, I got a whole post! Im flattered. You sure are justifying. Not sure where the “mean” reference is coming from, dont recall saying it and sounds more like 2 yr olds arguing.
Also, your implication that because I think cashew sour cream is too far on the weird scale automatically means I dont condemn white rice and dairy is presumptious and ignorant.
Like you, and many better informed individuals, I also ask for brown rice everywhere I eat. I eat pulses and whole grains and dont touch processed food. (for years I may add)
We arent talking about how informed you are over the rest of us, we are talking about how far the so called healthy eating is going – where using Phillips colon health tablets is part of your recipe. I hope more people see the “weird” in it – but Im ok to be alone in this too.
But, and hope this puts you at ease, this isnt the only extreme healthy eating routine, there are others, fad diets and such.
I think you missed the point in my original comment.
(and no Karela isnt weird! Its normal!!!)
i don’t have a problem with your comment or your reaction to cashew yogurt. really, i don’t. my problem is with the other commenter. go back and read that thread to know who i am talking about.
but i’ll repeat the question i posted to you in the other thread. since you concur that refined flours, sugar etc. are unhealthy, do you visit sites that post recipes with refined flours/grains and sugar and think aloud on why they use such ingredients?
or is your loud thinking confined to who you consider to be following “extreme healthy eating” routines? what about those following “extreme unhealthy eating” routines? do you comment on why they eat what they eat?
just some follow-up thoughts: are lactose intolerant people who buy soy yogurt (instead of making cashew yogurt at home) on “extreme healthy eating” routines? have you read labels on soy yogurt cartons? they contain much the same ingredients the probiotic capsule contains. do they cross the cuckoo line for you? are those with autoimmune disorders that you don’t know about viewed as following fad diets unless they advertise their condition? is karela normal to an american kid? my point is it’s all cultural and relative.
ok – to answer your question. No, I dont comment on those blogs as much. Not because they are on my normal list, but because I dont visit those blogs as much. The blogs I visit most are those centered around vegan, vegetarian and healthy eating. There are others that I like that use regular ingredients that are not on your acceptable list. I dont think the majority of the population eats like you do, and they dont all suffer from diseases and neither are they all dying because they eat the way they do. There are people in Japan who eat fish and rice and are known to live the longest in the world. Their diet probably wouldnt make your cut.
Human life span and health is dependent on a lot of genetic and physical factors beyond the rice and dairy that you list here. There are people who have lived well into their 90s, case in point my grandfather who lived to be 98 and he ate a vegetarian diet his whole life, lived an active life and farmed, and ate ghee and sugar loaded halwa for breakfast every single day till he died. Can you argue that all dairy is bad really? My eldest uncle is pushing 80, and he is in better health than I am. He looks more like a 60 yr old. He doesnt avoid dairy and white rice is a staple in his diet.
Although I commend your efforts to live a healthy life, I do think (which is what my original comment was that started all this!) that you are taking a lot of things too literally when it comes to food. Is it my problem – hell No!
I still think you are flustered over my comment because criticism is not easy to take. I understand and I do regret my post only because its caused you so much heartache. Nothing is worth that. I think we can both agree to disagree and leave it at that!
(seperately, I wanted to say that you commenting on my anonymity was weird. A is just as anonymous as J or B!! )
people who leave a valid e-mail address or web address are not ‘anonymous’. so, no, i wasn’t commenting on your anonymity. i did send you an e-mail, btw, telling you just that.
as for the japanese and your grandfather, i don’t lead their kind of lifestyle. so yes, certain foods that weren’t junk for them are for me.
I just saw your email.
Finally, I do like your comment about how we all make this world weird in our own ways. I sure contribute in more ways than one.
Jai & Bee, it appears you have been greatly affected by my comment and the openess to feedback is easier said than done. I dont have anything to say in terms of do this not that – ie constructive.I’d ask you to not use Phillips Colon health tablets in your recipe – but that wont stop you from it. So I wont.
Think at this point, its best to gracefully exit this discussion and Im sorry you feel this offended. I have been known to be vocal and it comes with its price.
not really affected by your comment. you obviously haven’t revisited that cashew yogurt comment thread. please check out the other comments there.
no I havent visited that thread. I will if I get a chance, but there is too much back and forth and I dont think there is much value in it anymore!
The more I read comments, the funnier this gets, not an anonymous hit and flee case here. But nice try getting sympathies.(and I really want to stop commenting but Im compelled to1!)
My name is Archana. For privacy sake, I wont post my last name , but you have my email id and feel free to email me to find out more about me!
You really have no need to be this defensive. It was one recipe that I had a problem with!!! Cmon already, get over it.
not referring to you, archana. please go and read that other thread. i’m referring to the other commenter.
“another commenter” does not refer to you. “getting sympathies”?? what exactly does that achieve?
Great post! And I had just made banana nut bread this week myself. Most recipes I have found seem to shy away from spicing the bread, so glad to know I’m not a total “weirdo” for adding extra zing to mine
Hubs would love J’s bread, but I can’t wait to try B’s!
oh, why is this 3rd nut recipe not coming up even after i refresh a 1000 times and driving me nuts?
ah, you haven’t clicked “Publish” yet!! :O
3rd nut recipe:
buy a packet of nuts.
eat them raw.
waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! :’(
To each his own, I say
Anyway,we love banana bread and am loving your recipes.
Haven’t been here in a while, hope both of you are doing good.
Take care, and keep doing what you do best and believe in,
-Sunita
I made these muffins yesterday.they turned out awesome.I replaced mashed banana with unsweetned apple sauce.Replaced butter with almond butter.Turned out very moist.
I like your blog for just what it offers… a little bit of uniqueness. I definitely like the “out-of-the-box” recipes. Keep it up. Love your pictures and whatever glimpses of your garden that we have had.
Jai and Bee,
You have a great blog! I try some of your recipes and they have come out great esp recently the tomato mushroom biryani!
But most of them I read but don’t attempt because I love my dairy, fat, white rice (my gut monkey thrives on this!) and do not want to go buy some ingredients (like the probiotic capsules) which for ME are not cost effective. Sometime I find that your posts come with an attitude…. bordering on arrogance. I respect your culinary knowledge and I guess that may give you the right to be just that but this is what I think annoys a small percentage of your readers. What? You say you do not need a psychological analysis? Well, too bad its out there now!
My uncalled for two cents….all said an done your blog is listed on my page as a favorite hangout!
There are very few people in the world who are truly humble. I don’t count myself as one of them. That said, there is a difference between characterized “arrogant” and having strong “opinions” which are formed through research, analysis, and in general living life. Arrogance is usually associated with overt exaggeration of facts and presumptuousness on the part of the person. We at jugalbandi cannot be accused of that.
I have met a lot of people who pretend to be humble but its all a facade. We dont believe in those kinds of facades and that unnerves people. But we cannot help it.
Thanks for your input.
-Jai
hey, no one said you were arrogant. it’s me who supposedly is. just me. you’re all butterflies and pixie dust.
- bee
read the comment – it is addressed to “Jai and Bee”
-Jai
You are correct. You are not arrogant but strongly opinionated. Wrong choice of words in the first place! I apologize for that. I am strongly opinionated too (my husband says!) – that’s not a negative character but just ruffles people’s feathers. I guess I was in previous post trying to analyze what’s happening! Ummm don’t let any of these comments change your style
Bee, it’s only arrogance if you’re wrong. As some wise person said merit itself is offensive.
Bee I must say this though I did not comment on the yogurt post. When I read it, I was like this lady has evolved tastes and is so ingenious. The fact that you eat everything is the best way to go. My father has been a yoga therapist and practitioner all his life and he says the same thing. Unless food is eaten in excess no food is bad. Gosh and it take a lot of effort to make food that one prefers and is not available as a standard.
BTW I loved the proposal story too, see you are different there too, most people will say, for a lady to propose to a guy.
Now I don’t mean to start a new storm here LOL.
Cheers
Ha!!The way I view it, these comments are an ego massage.Had I posted a similar recipe, I can guarantee you 2 or 3 of my friends( who I know personally) would have commented and it would have stopped right there.. LOL.Sigh!! All this says is that you guys are celebrities in the blog world. Cool!! Revel !!