Gluten Free!?

I had the pleasure of meeting up with two of my favorite bloggers, Amanda and Andy, this past weekend!

Somehow I did not get a picture of Andy.  Next time Andy, next time!

Anyhow, knowing Whit and I were on our way down to my parents for the weekend, along with an engagement party I can’t wait to tell you about, we decided to meet up for lunch along the way.  Amanda did a Yelp search and found a vegan and gluten free pizza place called Tomato Joe’s that would service to both our dietary needs!

I ordered their Garden Combo, vegan, on a thin crust. 

This was such a great pizza!  There was a bit too much of the “cheese” on there, but the crust was the best part.  It was thin enough to my liking and had a nice amount of cornmeal to give the edges the crunch I like.  And even better that the crust was cooked well enough through in the middle underneath all the toppings!  You can bet I ate the entire 8” pizza!

We sat and chatted for a while about upcoming events like Foodbuzz Festival, other blogs, our blogs, friends and family.  It was nice to catch up since I hadn’t seen them in a while!  We also had the pleasure of admiring some interesting weather on our way to the pizza place with things like lightening, thunder, rain, hail and crazy winds!  It was an interesting afternoon.

But because I know that Amanda lovesssss bread, and now gluten free might have a hard time finding a good one, I did some experimenting before meeting up with them to bring her a treat.  I messed with a recipe by Sarah Kramer from her book La Dolce Vegan!, and it came out delicious!   Here is my adaption of the

Wolffie’s B’nanner Bar:

Ingredients:

• 2 T flaxseed meal + 3 T water (or an egg)
• 1/4C vegan margarine
• 1/4C honey
• 2 large VERY RIPE bananas
• 1 tsp pure vanilla
• 1 +1/4C chickpea flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2C chopped walnuts
• 1/2C dark chocolate

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350*F.  Lightly grease an 8x8 pan and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flax and water; let sit for a few minutes.  Meanwhile, melt the margarine and add in honey, vanilla and smashed bananas.  Slowly mix in the flaxseed-water mixture.
3. Very slowly and just until combined, add in the chickpea flour and baking soda.  Try your hardest to not overstir it!
4. Add in the walnuts and chocolate chips until combined.  Spread evening in the pan and bake for 25-28 minutes. 
5. Cool and cut into squares, makes 8 small or 6 medium pieces.

~~~

I’m sorry that I don’t have a picture of it!  I gave half of the bars to Amanda and Andy and the other half to my family but let me tell you, they are DELICIOUS!  The chickpea flour adds a very fluffy feeling to the bar and the banana is nice and strong, pairing well with the walnuts (if you have time I would toast them, it tastes even better!).