Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Banana Bread

This is no surprise: 

I ride my bike a lot. All. The. Time. Bike. Bike. Bike.

Even today, National Bike to Work and School Day, I will pedal to the farmer's market with a big goofy grin.

I really can't get enough of the my bikes. I have been recently a little obsssed with my road bike, spending a majority of my miles on pavement (gasp! This soon may change as we move to a place that has trees and not sage brush).

Hitting 50 mph going down hill is a pretty liberating in a white knucle sort of way.

High speed cornering with gravel keeps my sences sharp, I have been known to say a little prayer as I push through the turn. It works.
 
Keeping up with the dudes makes me want to ride harder, passing each one with great intention.

This is no surprise: 

I eat a lot. I need fuel to make these little legs go when I want to pass everyone on the climb.

Bananas are packed with hill crushing power.

I buy a lot of bananas and try and eat one a day. Sometimes I get forget to eat them, they turn sweet, then make ice cream with them instead. Ice cream is way better than a boring banana. This peanut butter banana bread is up there with banana ice cream, honestly.

This is no surprise:

I crave bread every moment of the day. Any kind of bread will do, even gluten-free. I like my carbs.

This is no surprise: 

I eat peanut butter with a spoon. Sometimes I need a reason to get the jar out of the cupboard, banana bread was the perfect excuse for a peanut butter bender. Peanut butter is manna.

Peanut butter banana bread, get on board.

 

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Banana Bread

 

Inspired by Joy the Baker 

Makes: one 9×5-inch loaf

Use crunchy or smooth peanut butter in this recipe, you know what you like.  I made this gluten-free using Bob's Red Mill all purpose gluten-free flour, you can and you will be totally pleased or subsitute 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup all-purpose flour.

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 large bananas)

1/3 cup plain fat free yogurt

1/3 cup all-natural peanut butter

3 tablespoons butter, melted

2 large eggs

3/4 cup agave syrup
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 Bob's Red Mill all purpose gluten-free flour

1/4 cup ground flaxseed meal

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.  Grease and flour a 9×5-inch loaf pan.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flours, flaxseed meal, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon.

In a medium bowl, whisk together  mashed bananas, yogurt, peanut butter and melted butter.  Whisk in vanilla,  eggs and agave syrup.  Blend mixture until no lumps remain.

Pour the wet mixture into the larger bowl with the dry ingredients.  Fold together with a spatula until no more flour bits remain.  

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and cake for 50 to 65 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Mine baked on the shorter end of the time spectrum.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 20 minutes before running a butter knife along the edges of the pan and inverting the bread onto a wire rack to cool completely.

This bread lasts, well wrapped at room temperature,for up to 4 days.  It is also great to store, well wrapped, in the freezer.

Banana Ice Cream

I don't like ice cream, you know that hard packed heavy ice cream.

I love soft serve and certain gelato flavors makes me bounce around on my toes with excitement.

Big scoops of ice cream just doesn't put wind my skirt.

I grew up in the Pacific Northwest where there might be five days a year in which in might actually get warm. Those days are treasured, everyone saves up their sick days for the beautiful August and September weather, the few days in which shorts are comfortable and it is okay if you leave your jacket by the door. There are a very special handful of warm days in Bellingham, Washington in a good year. The rest of the days, I always tossed a long sleeve shirt in my purse and wore shorts while being active, relying on my own body heat for warmth. Seriously. I remember watching the forth of July fire works in my big down puffy jacket.

Ice cream in the PNW is well kind of an after thought in my book 360 days a year. It may induce hypothermia.

Things change. We moved to the desert. I have a sunburn and awful tan lines before June. It is 80 degrees here in the arm pit of Washington. 80 in May, come visit, you can sit poolside with me and we can ice cream for breakfast and sip iced tea all day while soaking up all the vitamin D you can handle.

Ice cream for breakfast? Yes, I went from turning my nose to cold creaminess to whipping it up for breakfast. It is hot before 9 am and what better way to cool off than cold banana ice cream. But wait, there is no cream, there isn't even any soy, dairy, sugar, gluten or what ever else you might be trying to ween yourself off of for some reason. Just cold smooth banana and a splash of almond milk (or whatever milk you may fancy).

This my friends in breakfast in the desert, creamy and cold, utterly delicious.

This is me eating out of my wine glasses.

Desert and dessert look alike. Don't be fooled.


Banana Ice Cream 
adapted from Kitchn

4 bananas ripe, chopped and frozen

splash of milk (cow, almond, soy, rice, oat)

Optional:

Scoop of peanut butter

1 teaspoon coco powder

1 teaspoon flaxmeal

Coconut



Toss the bananas and milk into a food processor and blend until smooth, about 1 minute, if texture is grainy, add another splash of milk. Add any additional ingredients that will make your mouth happy.