Bread – Page 3 – GUTSy Performance Nutrition

Neah’s Apple {loaf} Cake

December 21, 2013November 9, 2025by Rebecca3 Comments

I stepped out the door, determined to not let the weather hamper plans. The forecast was for two to three inches of fluffy, wintery, white. I decided by looking at the multiple inches outside that we were the “lucky ones.” As I trudged around town in those early hours, it became obvious our hilly neighborhood was not alone. I alternately ran in the street, where there were decidedly fewer cars than normal, or jumped to the side and pushed the accumulating inches. When I finally looped back to our apartment, decidedly more worked-out than I had intended, the flurry mass of winter wonder came down in full force.

We had record-breaking weather this December. Nine inches and something like five days below freezing all in one go left me feeling humbled. Since I live on that big ol’ hill and all the local accidents were at the bottom of it, I decided to spend those days hoofing it around town.

After an unexpected week of slowing down and spending time in manual transport, I am more at peace and connected to my community. I took time to enjoy the cheery Christmas trees peeking through the house windows. I could take in the season’s lights slowly and know exactly which intersections were the most icey. I now know there are a couple horses at the Horse Center that are bad neighbors. Robert Frost’s philosophy about fences doesn’t work with them.

I walked to the grocery store. On ice and then again in the melting mess (which was worse!) the second time. I almost lost it. Twice. I was thankful for a co-worker who through an unrelated phone call, made me forget my bad temper and live on. I smiled at the kids that made our driveway a very slick, very steep, and pretty awesome sledding hill. I almost joined them. I wish I had.

In that week when Christmas shopping plans were postponed and the thought of tree-decorating came to a halt, when running became an act for extreme-adventure-seekers only, and I circled only within a two mile radius from the home hill for seven days, I came to know what the holiday season should be.

Take time to slow down and reflect on the end of a year well-lived. Be grateful for all that we have. Accomplish good deeds towards others. Get out of the bubble. Expand the perception of what can be accomplished. This season is not about the hustle and bustle. It is not about finding the perfect gift. It is about cherishing each moment as it comes.

Neah’s Apple {loaf} Cake, makes one large 9×5 loaf or four mini-loaves
Recipe Updated: 11/2023

This is my version of my dear grandma Neah’s recipe. I remember making it multiple times with her growing up. Her name for it was Raw Apple Cake, which I always thought to be be misleading. There are a whole lot of raw apples in the batter, so I can see where it got its name. I have adapted the recipe to align with a gluten and dairy-free lifestyle, as well as cut down on the sugar. The apples shine through and I found extra sweetness was unnecessary. Feel free to experiment with different spices as well as add-ins, such as raisins, walnuts, or dates. We used to make several batches, each cake being slightly different.

1/2 cup /110 gr coconut oil or dairy-free butter
1 cup / 200 gr sugar
2 eggs
3 1/2 cups apples (about 4 large), shredded with skins on
2 cups (240 gr) gluten-free flour mix
2 tsp. baking soda
1/3 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 heaping tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/8 tsp. cloves

Whip together the oil and sugar until fluffy. Whisk in the eggs and thoroughly combine. Shred those apples (and not your fingers!) and stir em’ in.
In a separate bowl, stir together the remaining dry ingredients. Mix those into the apple bowl.
Spoon the batter into a large oiled and floured baking pan, or four mini-pans (I made mini-cakes for gifts). Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes for mini-cakes or 55-60 minutes for a large 9×5″ loaf cake.

Winter

Cheesy Italian Charcuterie Sandwich

January 14, 2012January 14, 2012by Rebecca3 Comments

There’s this little Italian shop in Corvallis that W and I love so much. Most people go there for the lovely Italian sandwiches. We mostly go there for the meats, cheese, and wine. The gentleman-owner seems to slice his cuts thinner and nicer than any other place in town. And he knows his stuff too. And the place just makes me want to step on over to Italy. Right now.

Now that I only get to Corvallis a couple times a month, it seems important somehow to try to stop by when I’m in town. Though we’ve tried a variety of meats, we tend to always go back for the same ones. A recent jaunt led us to this amazing creation. One that though completely unplanned until the instant those ingredients were smacked on the bread, will go down as one of the best.

Though something about the bread may have added to the intrigue. I was supposed to post about the December Daring Bakers Challenge last month. But a month of traveling and work and planning for other life changes led me to be a bit behind on the sourdough challenge. So when I finally did get around to it, I made a Rice, Flax, and Brazil Nut recipe that just didn’t have enough activity for me. (Wild yeasty sourdough activity, that is). And while I’d like to say it was the obscure ingredients, this time I think it might be that that particular cookbook just doesn’t work for me. I own a copy and have tried multiple recipes with and without various sourdough starters. I’ve never met with success. And so when I saw the challenge recipe source, I really did groan as I just knew I was doomed for failure. As such, the bread never did rise, really. But it sure tasted good. Not like the brick it looked like. But real flavor that was a real match for the lovely ingredients that topped it off. So while I won’t recommend you try this particular bread recipe, do have a go at the ingredients on top, with or without a sourdough bread.

Our Daring Bakers Host for December 2011 was Jessica of My Recipe Project and she showed us how fun it is to create sourdough bread in our own kitchens! She provided us with sourdough recipes from Bread Matters by Andrew Whitley as well as delicious recipes to use our Sourdough bread in, from Tonia George’s Things on Toast and Canteen’s Great British Food!

Cheesy Italian Charcuterie Sandwich

good quality bread

3-4 thin slices good quality salami

3-4 thin slices good quality pepperone

1-2 thin slices medium or sharp cheddar cheese

1-2 thin slices good quality mozzarella cheese

4-5 kalamata olives, sliced

1-2 brown muchrooms, sliced

Sliced yellow bell pepper

handful fresh spinach leaves

Turn oven to broil.
Toast bread until slightly dry.
Layer on meats, mushrooms, pepper, olives and cheeses. Pile spinach on top.
Place in the oven on broil for 2-3 minutes. You want the cheese to sizzle and pop and the spinach leaves to start to charcoal.
Take out of the oven and enjoy!

Autumn

Sweet Potato Spread meets Date Bread

November 19, 2011by Rebecca5 Comments

Sweet Potato Spread is a favorite fall treat. It’s nothing like you’re thinking, I’m sure. It reminds me of sweetly spiced pumpkin butter—gone rebel. With its peanutty tang, nutty sweet brown rice syrup, and rebellious little chunks of sweet potato deliberately left unsmoothed. Oh and that dash of salt. It just likes to place mischief. Try it spread on a hefty slab of moist date bread like I did here, or some simple morning toast. Or if you’re feeling really rebellious slather it thick on nice slices of homemade bread, layered with thin apple pieces, a bit of sharp cheese, and some greens. Now that’s a rebellious sweet potato butter sandwich.

As for that Date Bread, it’s a bit of a sweet delicious treat. Moist and comforting, homey and looking like fall should–this is one date bread that’s even a bit good for you! It is certainly a match for that delightfully rebellious little sweet potato spread.

Sweet Potato Spread

1 large orange sweet potato, peeled and chopped

2 Tbs. peanut butter

1-2 Tbs. brown rice syrup

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1/8 tsp. cinnamon

pinch sea salt

Boil or roast sweet potato until it’s soft and mashable. Mash it a bit until it’s slightly smooth but still chunky.

Stir in peanut butter, syrup, spices, and salt. Add more to taste. If you’d like it a bit more smooth, pour into a food processor and puree a bit until it reaches the desired consistency.

Date Bread, adapted from Whole Living

1 1/2 cups hot water

1 cup pitted dates, chopped

1 large egg

2 Tbs. vegetable oil

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole-wheat flour

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

3/4 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 35o degrees F. Coat a 9-by-5 inch loaf pan with oil. In a medium bowl, pour hot water over dates and let stand about 5 minutes, or until slightly softened. Whisk in egg, oil, and vanilla. In another bowl, stir together flours, baking soda, salt, and brown sugar. Fold wet mixture into dry until just combined. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula.

Bake about 65 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Let rest for 10 minutes, then turn out from pan onto cooling rack.

As you may have noticed, the blog is in a bit of a transition right now. Changing names, titles, addresses, etc. Stay tuned for more to come on finer details of changes being made!