Irene's Banana Bread

Saturday- we prepared for Hurricane Irene.Part of me was all like "THIS IS MY FIRST HURRICANE!!"Part of me was like "ahhhh these is my first hurricane."As I started to write this post, I was anticipating the lights flickering off, our marathon of "50 best documentaries to see before you die" to end, and the rain to really pick up. I have to say, this little Yooper girl knows how to handle midwest thunderstorms and even a "Snonami"

 But a hurricane? No clue. We stayed up until 2:30am in anticipation. What we got wasn't a hurricane. It was a 500 mile wide thunderstorm and a Sunday morning free of church and responsibilities.And then Sunday morning, we went out and explored...while it was still raining with 50 mph wind gusts...but if you have ever walked between the Hancock Building and Watertower Place on a cold, windy, Chicago day...you have felt worst wind gusts then Irene produced...trust me!So what did I do instead of hide from Irene? I cooked (and cleaned a lot)!I made a giant pot of my potato leek chowder.I made banana bread.I made donuts.I made chocolate sauce to dip the donuts in.If you are Gluten Free, well then this is your lucky day! I'm going to share with you this absolutely delicious banana bread recipe from Babycakes NYC. And there is also a surprise...I dare you to make the chocolate dipping sauce and drizzle it over the banana bread to make it THE most decedent, home-style treat.

Erin's Favorite Banana Bread Recipe from Babycakes NYC

12 Servings | Weight Watchers Points + 5 points per slice.

1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free Flour (gotta be Bob's, no sub)1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder3/4 teaspoons xanthan gum1/2 teaspoon salt1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/3 cup oil (I used canola)2/3 cup agave nectar1/2 cup rice milk2 tablespoons of good quality vanilla1 1/4 cups mashed bananas

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.2.Brush your loaf pan with oil and set aside.3. In a medium bowl, measure in flour, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt, cinnamon and whisk.4. Add oil, agave nectar, rice milk and vanilla and then mix again.5. Fold in bananas until nicely distributed.6. Pour batter into loaf pan (only halfway!) and set in the oven.7. After 20 minutes, check on the loaf and continue baking until it passes the toothpick test. (Mine got very brown staying in the oven so long because the center took the longest to bake).8. Remove from oven and cool for 30 minutes.*If you have extra batter, you can make them into muffins. I put mine in doughnut tins...but they turned out too moist to be a traditional doughnut texture, but it was still fun.

Sugar Sweetened Chocolate Drizzle Saucefrom Babycakes NYC

Makes enough to cover banana bread loaf. Weight Waters + Points: Add 1 point to each slice of bread.

4 tablespoons of your favorite chocolate chips (I use vegan chocolate chips because they are dairy free)1/2 tablespoon of oil (I used canola)pinch of salt

1. In a double boiler or the microwave, melt chocolate chips 85-90% of the way (you will see some unmelted pieces). Remove from heat and stir until smooth.2. Add oil & salt; stir until combined.3. Drizzle or dip. Let set for 3-4 hours to harden, or dig in immediately for dribbly chocolate.