Carob Carrot Coffee Cake [V] [GF]

There's a scene in Boris Godunov in which Boris, near the end of his reign and rope, passes through a crowd of peasants who implore him, in one of the opera's most visceral, haunting moments, for bread.  While I can't claim that this quickbread is capable of inspiring such reactions, some of those I've personally witnessed in response to its aroma alone, let alone its flavor, come pretty close.

Well, perhaps that's a bit of an exaggeration, but at any rate, the recipe below yields a thick, hearty, brown loaf, a couple of slices of which would be capable of sustaining one through numerous hours of agrarian labor.  It packs a decent amount of protein (in tree nut form), and it also packs cinnamon and carob, which really seem to complement each other quite well... but enough empty praise and nutritional information!  Here's the recipe: 

• 2 cups rice flour
• 2 apple bananas
• 1 cup soy milk
• 2 Tbsp. almond meal
• ¼ cup carrots, finely grated
• ½ Tbsp. baking soda
• ¼ tsp. cinnamon
• ½ tsp salt 
• 1 Tbsp. carob powder
• 1 Tbsp. raw turbinado sugar
• ¼ cup chopped walnuts
• ½ cup raisins

Preheat an oven to 350°.  Puree the apple bananas and soy milk in a blender.  Combine the rest of the ingredients in a mixing bowl, pour in the puree, and mix the batter together thoroughly with a spoon.  Take a large piece of aluminum foil and line the interior of a small baking pan with it, so that it conforms to the contours of the pan.  Grease the aluminum foil with vegetable oil.  Pour the mixture into the foil-coated pan and bake at 350° for 45 min. to an hour.  Remove from the oven and allow the quickbread to cool for 15 min. or so, then peel off the aluminum foil, slice, and serve.