Learning From Mistakes
I'm late this week because I was invited on an impromptu there-and-back excursion to Alabama, which was incredibly fun, but was also a reminder that I am not in my 20s anymore. By the time we returned home it was 2 a.m. on Sunday morning, I was shaky, and pretty sure I would be dead within the hour due to deep vein thrombosis in my left leg. I don't remember much about Sunday, other than I slept most of the day and derived my nourishment from Drumstick ice-cream treats. After all, if I was going to die I might as well eat what I wanted in my final hours.
Luckily, I am fully recovered this Monday morning, and ready to tell you about last week's failures.
It is interesting that we have entire networks devoted to making food, but very few of the presenters show you their mistakes. Julia Child based her entire television career off of kitchen errors. Why don't we see more of that?
But I digress ...
Keeping to the theme of flour/gluten free baking, I purchased some quinoa flour for my latest experiment. I scoured the web for guidance on how and why to use it, but didn't find anything that was particularly helpful. So I decided to throw some stuff together see what happens.
My first venture was a play on the banana, nut butter, and egg based recipes I've grown to love, but this time I would use quinoa flour in place of a recipe that used coconut flour. Since coconut flour is more absorbent than quinoa, I doubled the amount of quinoa. The result was a firm yet spongy muffin, and although I ate two of them, it wasn't enjoyable in the slightest. I gave one to my dog, and she enjoyed it so much I gave her the rest ... and it gave her a bad stomach which I had to deal with for the rest of the day.
Yikes. Lesson learned.
A few days later, I ventured out to the library and picked up books on muffins, paleo baking, and allergy free baking. Using the information I now had, and relying on what I know to be true in baking with wheat flour, I moved on to the second experiment. This time I would would use half quinoa flour, and half rice flour. The result was a spongy muffin that was completely inedible, and the whole thing ended up in the trash.
My dog spent the next few minutes trying to get them out of the trash, and in frustration I took the bag out and set it on the back deck for a few minutes. She wanted to go out, and when I let her out, she went for the bag. She has always liked eating disgusting things.
So for this week's muffin recipe, I have decided to revisit what I know works, and just tweak it. Baking is a heartbreaking hobby, so I needed a win after expending all that time and energy--not to mention precious ingredients--on producing what amounted to trash.
So I give you:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line (or grease) 10 cups of a 12 cup muffin pan. In a large bowl combine the bananas, eggs, peanut butter, agave, and vanilla, and beat with a hand mixer until well incorporated. Then add in the coconut flour, flax seed, baking soda, and salt. Mix again until all the dry ingredients are wet. Fill the muffin cups until almost full, and sprinkle on the chocolate chips. Bake for 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the pan and allow them to cool on a rack.
Full disclosure: I mixed my chips in, and because the batter was slack most of them went straight to the bottom, so it is better to just add them once the batter is in the cups. But there are not hard rules to this. Just make it however you like, and don't worry about it.
After all, you could always nibble the stuck on chips off the paper lining like a ravenous animal. Everyone does that ... right?
Until next time, go play with your food!
Luckily, I am fully recovered this Monday morning, and ready to tell you about last week's failures.
It is interesting that we have entire networks devoted to making food, but very few of the presenters show you their mistakes. Julia Child based her entire television career off of kitchen errors. Why don't we see more of that?
But I digress ...
Keeping to the theme of flour/gluten free baking, I purchased some quinoa flour for my latest experiment. I scoured the web for guidance on how and why to use it, but didn't find anything that was particularly helpful. So I decided to throw some stuff together see what happens.
My first venture was a play on the banana, nut butter, and egg based recipes I've grown to love, but this time I would use quinoa flour in place of a recipe that used coconut flour. Since coconut flour is more absorbent than quinoa, I doubled the amount of quinoa. The result was a firm yet spongy muffin, and although I ate two of them, it wasn't enjoyable in the slightest. I gave one to my dog, and she enjoyed it so much I gave her the rest ... and it gave her a bad stomach which I had to deal with for the rest of the day.
Yikes. Lesson learned.
A few days later, I ventured out to the library and picked up books on muffins, paleo baking, and allergy free baking. Using the information I now had, and relying on what I know to be true in baking with wheat flour, I moved on to the second experiment. This time I would would use half quinoa flour, and half rice flour. The result was a spongy muffin that was completely inedible, and the whole thing ended up in the trash.
My dog spent the next few minutes trying to get them out of the trash, and in frustration I took the bag out and set it on the back deck for a few minutes. She wanted to go out, and when I let her out, she went for the bag. She has always liked eating disgusting things.
So for this week's muffin recipe, I have decided to revisit what I know works, and just tweak it. Baking is a heartbreaking hobby, so I needed a win after expending all that time and energy--not to mention precious ingredients--on producing what amounted to trash.
So I give you:
Choc-chip BPB Muffins
2 large ripe bananas, mashed
2 large eggs
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup agave nectar (you could also use honey)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line (or grease) 10 cups of a 12 cup muffin pan. In a large bowl combine the bananas, eggs, peanut butter, agave, and vanilla, and beat with a hand mixer until well incorporated. Then add in the coconut flour, flax seed, baking soda, and salt. Mix again until all the dry ingredients are wet. Fill the muffin cups until almost full, and sprinkle on the chocolate chips. Bake for 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the pan and allow them to cool on a rack.
Full disclosure: I mixed my chips in, and because the batter was slack most of them went straight to the bottom, so it is better to just add them once the batter is in the cups. But there are not hard rules to this. Just make it however you like, and don't worry about it.
After all, you could always nibble the stuck on chips off the paper lining like a ravenous animal. Everyone does that ... right?
Until next time, go play with your food!
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