…and it’s Gluten-Free

Three weeks ago, I had an incredible trip to Paris with my partner.  We ate delicious food, we saw incredible art, and we butchered our French all over town.  I was struck by how clean the water was.  It changed the quality of my skin and hair.  It was sunny and beautiful.  At the end of our trip, I got sick with Covid.  So sick that I wondered if I should go to the hospital.  The next day, on a Sunday, my partner was able to find a 24-hour pharmacy and bought medicine for me.  My condition improved almost instantly. 

As I was lying in bed with my fever reducing, I couldn’t help but think of the people of Gaza who are experiencing the worst atrocities known to man without the aid of medicine, food, or shelter.  I am back in the US now.  I am still sick and testing positive for Covid and I can’t help but feel incredibly sad and angry at the choices of our world leaders. 

Gil Scott-Heron said The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.  We cannot enact change by sitting on the sidelines.  We must find a way to be strong, courageous, hopeful, and most importantly, educated.  I want to see the end of this colonial empire and I am asking myself how I can contribute to that. 

It has always been my hope that my blog can help teach people how to cook with what they have around them.  That they will learn some skills and methods and perhaps a little history.  It is my hope that people can use this knowledge to nourish themselves and others.

This week’s recipe comes from my time in a silent meditation retreat last summer.  Since 2017, I have been practicing Vipassana Meditation.  Sometimes my practice is more consistent, other times it has been less consistent.  I have always attended retreats as a student, but this time, I had the unique opportunity to attend as a server. 

In this particular retreat, I meditated at least three times a day, and between those times I served as a kitchen crewmember.  At first, the idea of cooking for 50 people was daunting, but with an amazing team, we were able to create meals for everyone, even under particularly challenging constraints. 

On day 0, we rushed to understand the lay of the land in a commercial-grade kitchen.  On day 1 we successfully prepared all meals and felt a great sense of accomplishment.  That evening, we experienced a power outage that delayed our ability to cook with gas until the afternoon of day two.  We overcame this by the unexpected grace of one of our fellow kitchen crewmembers having a tabletop propane camping stove in the back of his truck.  I cooked a red lentil daal dish and a vegetable curry for 50 people on two small portable flames.  That evening, with the return of our gas, I somehow also had time to convert 18 overripe bananas into gluten-free, chocolate chip banana bread.  And on day three, we continued our work, mastering the flow of the kitchen.  This allowed me to make several additional treats- hummus and flavored popcorn.

Normally, meditation retreats like these are very focused on the self and working on one’s own practice with everything provided for them- lodging, bathrooms, showers, food, water, and quiet spaces.  This retreat was a unique experience because I was provided all of these things while simultaneously providing them for others.  It was an environment of mutual aid with the goal of helping others and one’s self get closer to enlightenment.  While I am quite far from that, I learned so much.  From the panic of waking up without gas, to the excitement of having a backup burner, to the sadness after burning off my eyebrows from the flame kickback- I observed my thoughts and feelings and released them in real time.

One feeling I couldn’t help but hold on to was how much honor and joy I felt to be one of the people who gets to nurture others.  At the end of the retreat, when the vow of silence was lifted, whispers spread to the kitchen asking for the recipe for the chocolate chip banana bread.

Below you will find the recipe I shared.  You could make this for 50 people as I did, or you can divide the recipe by 3 and make a smaller batch.  I’d love to hear about your experience in cooking for others- What part do you like?  What does nurturing mean to you?  What makes you feel cared for?

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Banana Bread for 50 People

50 Servings

Ingredients

18 ripe bananas

3 tablespoons vanilla extract

4 cups brown sugar

12 cups oats

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons nutmeg

4 cups chocolate chips

Method

·  Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit

·       Mash bananas and combine with vanilla and brown sugar

·       Blend oats to a fine flour consistency (this may need to be done in batches)

·       In a separate bowl, whisk together oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt,
cinnamon, and nutmeg

·       Combine wet and dry ingredients, add chocolate chips, mix thoroughly until a
uniform consistency is achieved

·       Pour mixture into 3 greased 10”x14” baking pans and cover with aluminum foil

·       Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes

·       Remove foil and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for an additional 30 minutes or
until the center is no longer liquid- test with a toothpick.