Banana Bread

When Peter and I were honeymooning on Maui we brought along a book about the island. It talked about all kinds of off-the-beaten-path places we would never think to stop and see. It made our trip so much more exciting because we didn’t have to rely on our hotel to offer suggestions on sites and activities.
One of the places we went to was Wailukoa village. To get there we had to drive along a cliff on a one-lane unpaved road. It was sort of scary and there was moment where we thought maybe we had made a mistake. The payoff however, was the most amazing banana bread we have ever tasted. It was so good we bought 6 loaves and sent to them to our family and friends. I have tried to find a comparable recipe or even the original but I haven’t had any luck.
This banana bread recipe is pretty good and sort of healthy because I changed some of the ingredients. It is very moist and would probably make a great cake as well.
In many cases, taste is more important that health factor but for things like banana bread and muffins it’s fairly easy to achieve a great tasting product while making it pretty healthy.

Steiny’s Sort of Healthy Banana Bread
You will need:
1 cup Rice Flour
1/c cup Amaranth Flour
¾ tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. Baking Soda
½ tsp. Baking Powder
5 Tablespoons vegan butter (my favorite is Smart Balance light)
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup evaporated cane juice (or granulated sugar)
2 large eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract or 1 vanilla bean, beans scraped
(Trader Joe’s also sells Vanilla Bean paste sometimes which is great too)
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
½ cup coarsely chopped pecans (or walnuts)
1 loaf pan (8 ½ x 4 ½ inch) sprayed or greased

Heat your oven to 350*F
If you are using Vanilla Bean, scrape the bean and add it with the sugar.
If you are using Vanilla Extract you can measure it into the eggs
In a medium bowl whisk together the flours, salt, baking soda and baking powder
(This removes any lumps, and ensures proper distribution of the salt, baking soda and baking powder)
In a large bowl beat the honey and sugar until combined
Add the butter and beat until combined (about 2-3 minutes)
(Because of the honey this mixture will be quite loose throughout the mixing process)
Add the flour mixture and stir until combined
Add the eggs one-at-a-time (mixing each one until you can’t see it anymore)with the vanilla extract
Fold in the bananas and pecans until combined
Pour batter into loaf pan
Bake until a toothpick or knife comes out clean (about 1 ½ hours)
Let cool about 10-15 minutes and remove from the pan to cool completely.
Slice it and serve it warm after baking or toast it later.
It can be wrapped and frozen and sliced at a later date as well.