Quinoa Pear Banana Bread

1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 medium bananas, mashed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon bourbon
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup quinoa flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla salt
1/2 cup buttermilk

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Grease one loaf pan or four mini loaf pans.
2. Cream shortening, sugar, bananas, eggs and bourbon.
3. Add flours, baking soda and salt. Slowly mix in buttermilk but do not overmix.
4. Pour batter into greased pans and bake for about 45 minutes, or until bread springs back to the touch.

If you’ve never baked with quinoa flour, here is a little information about this particular brand of flour from Gourmet Delights:

“With over 35 species of corn, 2000 varieties of potatoes, and 650 native species of fruit, Peru is an important center for genetic diversity. But many of the hardy plant species held in honored positions in Indian society for thousands of years were deliberately replaced by European species after the Spanish Conquest. Fortunately in the high Andes, the ancient influences still persist, and unique and highly nutritious grains such as amaranth, quinoa, and kañiwa are now available to the outside world. This is especially beneficial today as many people become more sensitized to the over-produced and engineered foods found in common western diets. They are naturally gluten-free and offer many other health benefits.

The producer of this quinoa flour, El Altiplano in Juliaca, Peru, was founded in 1994 with non-profit support as a way to organize and support the hard working farmers of his region. The company works with over 150 producers of quinoa and kañiwa, hearty heritage grains that have sustained the people of this rough terrain for centuries. The company has cultivated a strong bond with all of the farmers over the years, and the services they offer have grown and changed in relationship to the farmers’ needs. The company supplies the farmers with seeds and seed selection training, organic certification, the use of farming equipment, agricultural training, and low interest loans to purchase needed animals and resources.”