quinoa banana bread, take 2

As I mentioned in my last post, on Sunday I decided to re-make a recipe for Quinoa Banana Bread that I got off a box of quinoa flakes. The first time I made it, the bread came out ok, but definitely needed some work. It was rather dense, a bit on the dry side and seemed to lack the traditional banana-ness with which this yummy baked good is associated. But! I saw the promise lol. So I decided to make it again, with my own tweaks. First up, I added another banana. 2 just hadn't cut it. Next, I added another tablespoon of honey (the only sweetener in the recipe). Finally, I added some of my not-quite-firm homemade yogurt. (My failed attempts at making yogurt have actually been pretty useful for several other things). I also added some nutmeg and vanilla extract for some extra flavor. Finally, I lowered the baking temperature (the original recipe is for muffins, so I had to decrease the oven temp and increase the cooking time, to compensate - although last time I think I left it in the oven too long). 

So, how did it come out???

IT WAS AWESOME!!! I really think all my changes were on point. Of course, as the baker it's sometimes hard to know whether you just like something b/c you made it lol...but Nix agreed that it was much improved and super yummy. The cool thing about this recipe is that is uses no flour and no sugar. The "flour" is replaced by quinoa flakes (basically flattened quinoa) and quinoa flour. You could buy quinoa flour separately, but I chose to grind the quinoa flakes in Nix's VitaMix blender to "make" my own quinoa flour. I also think adding my homemade yogurt was CLUTCH in this recipe. It was soooo moist! This recipe is definitely a keeper!

The other day I mentioned to Nix that we should start a video blog to chronicle our cooking adventures. I honestly doubt that will happen anytime soon, but it's a cool idea huh! Maybe this summer when we both have more free time on our hands. 

That's all for tonight....wait until you see what we made tonight! I'll post about that tomorrow ;-) Oh, we also tried something different with our pancakes but adding some grated carrots - sort of like carrot cake pancakes...We didn't get much carrot flavor, so we'll add more next time and let yall know how they taste. 

Today's *big chune* is some bachata flavor from a favorite group of mine - Aventura out of the Dominican Republic. This is the song that started my love for them...I first heard it in HS. 

   

:-D