I somehow manage to find time to pursue most of these interests but not to the degree and depth I desire.I somehow manage to find time to pursue most of these interests but not to the degree and depth I desire. At first, this was incredibly sad and disappointing. Especially with the birth of my son, my free time and energy to pursue these interests is extremely limited. When I do have the time I am typically exhausted or just wanting to cuddle with my husband. When I do have the energy I am typically pouring it into my son. Then I realized I could break down each interest into small, obtainable sized goals.
Each week I try to learn a new recipe. Each day I try to incorporate a new food into our diet. Every month I try to read a new article, blog post or book about something I’m interested in outside of motherhood. Every day I go for a walk and once a week I play softball to fulfill that need for exercise. I’m learning this is my ideal life. A buffet of interests pursued in chunks small enough that I get satiated without leaving stuffed. It’s really perfect. Today’s recipe is a result of excess rhubarb in our community garden and my interest in learning new ways to cook with the fruit. It is currently in season and often grows as quickly as zucchini without much tending or primping.
While cooking I was consuming my new favorite beverage, Kombucha. Olympia makes a brand called “Magic” that totes itself as the “Champagne of Kombucha” and it certainly is. This incredible drink is touted as a health elixir to improve digestion, remove toxins from the body and give you extra energy. It does contain some alcohol content because it is made from fermented yeast. I would highly recommend anyone give it a try.
I was interested in using the rhubarb to make bread but didn’t want to do the typical strawberry-rhubarb combination. After glancing through a few of my favorite cooking blogs I stumbled on a recipe for cherry banana bread that could easily incorporate the rhubarb in place of the cherry. It also had no refined sugar or flour. Bonus. The real test would be the taste factor. Not to worry, it was delicious. Moist, sweet, light with some density and gobbled up by the members of the garden within minutes.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Take the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, sea salt, spices, chia seeds) and whisk in a large bowl. In a small cup, place 5 tbsp of coconut butter/oil in the microwave for just 10-15 seconds to warm. In a medium sized bowl, mash 3 bananas. Add coconut butter/oil, maple syrup and a majority of the rhubarb (reserve some as garnish) and mix very well, making sure to break up the clumps of coconut butter/oil.
Take the banana you set aside and chop into 1 inch chunks. Stir into the wet ingredients. Now add the wet to the dry ingredients and stir until the flour is incorporated. Pour the batter into a pre-greased loaf pan. Sprinkle with reserved rhubarb and shredded coconut. Bake for 60-70 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 15 minutes before serving.
