Banuffins!

A pair of bananas have been sitting on my kitchen counter for a week now, each day growing more brown and looking less appetizing. I know their secret though - let them go absolutely mushy and they will cooperate with sugar and flour so much more nicely.

While waiting for my bananas to ripen I've been browsing recipes for banana bread. I am accustomed to the type my mother used to make - a dense, moist loaf studded with walnuts and browned perfectly on top. However, when I recreate the recipe I never seem to get it quite right, and I often find a little bite of bitterness in there, possibly from the baking soda. I'd also like something lighter and fluffier - something cuter to look at, perhaps?

I came across this recipe at British Cream Tea and thought I would give it a go. It uses self-rising flour instead of soda and rolled oats for a difference in texture. I made just a few changes - regular granulated sugar instead of caster sugar, I doubled the recipe since I had 2 bananas instead of one, added a good shake of cinnamon since I can't do without it, reduced the liquid (um, accidentally), and poured the batter into my new silicone baking cups rather than a loaf pan. I also got the opportunity to use my new food scale for measuring which had me absolutely giddy (I really shouldn't get so excited over new kitchen toys).



They turned out just as I wanted them to - fluffy and light, slightly sticky, but not too sweet, and absolutely devour-able.

Banuffins

250g self-rising flour
150g granulated sugar
80g rolled oats (plus more for sprinkling)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 large, overripe bananas
1/3 cup milk
5 teaspoons of vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease 2 small loaf pans, 1 medium loaf pan, or baking cups.

In a medium bowl mix flour, sugar, oats and cinnamon. In a separate bowl mash bananas with a fork, then add eggs, milk and oil. Add wet ingredients to dry, stirring only enough to combine. Don't over mix.

Spoon mixture into pan/tins, sprinkle rolled oats lightly across the top. Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.

Eat finished product immediately and hide the evidence. There's no reason why you should share.

xoxo

me

Healthy snackies

Last night Sissy and her Fancy came over (Fancy is seester engagement slang). The boys watched football while we paged through bridal magazines, and then later the two of us left for the mall and spent way too much time and waaay too much money. But hey, we don't get much time to spend together anymore, so we can easily justify all of that shopping!

Rewind to earlier that day. With guests coming over we needed some snacks, but I didn't want to spend a lot of time preparing them. The perfect chance to make one of the recipes on my to do list!



Crunchy roasted chickpeas are quite popular with the food bloggers right now, and there is a good reason why. They're quick, easy to prepare, can be tailored to anyone's tastes, and they're de-lish. They are similar to corn-nuts in texture, but without all of the oily/salty blechiness that makes them not feel like a healthy snack at all. The chickpeas use just a bit of oil and salt and are relatively guilt free. They can be seasoned with whatever spice mixture you like, but just be sure to dry them thoroughly before roasting them.

Crunchy Roasted Chickpeas

2 15oz cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp garam masala powder
1 Tbsp smoked paprika
1 Tbsp kosher salt

Optional serving idea -

1 cucumber, diced finely
1 serrano or jalapeno chili - seeded and finely chopped
1/4 cup red onion, diced finely

Drain chickpeas and rinse well. Blot with a paper tower to remove as much water as you can, then sprinkle with lime juice and leave in a colander for an hour or two if you have time. If not, just keep blotting with paper towels and try to get them as dry as possible.

Preheat oven to 400°F.

When chickpeas are dry mix together remaining ingredients in a medium bowl to form a paste and then toss chickpeas very well so that they are coated. Spread evenly across a roasting pan or baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and bake at 400°F for 45-55 minutes, stirring once halfway through. At 45 minutes begin checking on them every few minutes to be sure they aren't burning - the gap between being crunchy all the way through and being burnt is very small.

If desired, toss with optional ingredients and serve, or just eat them plain by the handful!

Chickpeas are best eaten the day of cooking, but can be kept in an airtight container for a few days. Keep in mind, if you store them they will lose much of their crunch.

xoxo

me

Lull

It's the first week of the new year, and unsurprisingly the restaurant is dead. I'm sure pretty much everyone in the industry is feeling the exact same lull in business right now. Every year, the same thing. People are strapped for cash after the holidays and with New Year's resolutions still fresh in their minds even the ones who do come into our store tend to eat lighter and less expensively. For people who are still in the mood to eat out though, this is a great time. No crowds, cash hungry waiters falling all over you, and specials designed to draw customers in such as extended happy hours and prix fixe dinners.

In this quiet time in my job I get to come in little later, leave a little earlier, and be a little less stressed out. Of course, my sales are laughable by last months standards, but that's what happens when you work in a seasonal industry. I enjoy the extra time to spend in the kitchen, but now that I'm on a tighter budget I need to get a little more creative with my ingredients. Thankfully I was able to stock up my pantry last week and since my CSA is still delivering plenty of seasonal food (granted, some of it sourced from organic farms down south a little farther) I might possibly be able to squeak through the grocery store without picking up anything other than the toddler necessities.



In my opinion the best types of dishes to make in such situations are curries, stews, casseroles - homey, and comforting, if a little less refined. The preparation can be as simple and lazy as you make it. The perfect choice for a busy work week, or a lazy day spent on the couch.

This particular dish was invented to use up a few things in my fridge. Just follow the same basic steps and add whatever you want to it - change the ingredients entirely, but it will still be as easy.



Cook alliums (onion, garlic, shallot, leeks) and meat/veg protein in a little oil until they begin to color slightly. Add vegetables that need to be cooked through (make sure they are all chopped to the same sized dice), and add salt, pepper, and a little hint of spices of your choice, stir for a few minutes. Add flavorful liquid (pre-made soup, or stock, or even coconut milk). Bring to a low boil, cover, reduce to a simmer and give it 15-20 minutes, or whenever your most dense veggies are soft. Then add the ingredients that need only a minute of cooking - greens or herbs. Give it a couple of minutes on low heat for your fresh ingredients to soften, then serve with rice, bread, quinoa, crackers, whatever. And voila! A steaming hot bowl of yum.



For my dish I used a little yellow onion and garlic with a 5 grain tempeh. Then I added peeled potatoes, turnips, baby yellow carrots, and an apple. For the flavoring I used kosher salt, black pepper, a dash of cayenne, and about a teaspoon of curry powder. My liquid choice was a premade butternut squash soup - about 2 cups of it. It took 20 minutes for my veggies to cook and then I topped it off with some shredded swiss chard. The curried squash soup base goes really well with jasmine rice.

xoxo

Me

Right start for a fresh start

Happy New Year!!

2010. Wow.

My brain can't even handle that number, but hey, another new year is another new year. A fresh page to start on. Another 4 seasons to weather... and another 4 seasons of food to eat! My favorite part of course. Now I get to start looking forward to radishes and baby lettuces and pea vines and all the little crispy, crunchy things and sprout-y green stuff of spring.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. It's only New Year's day, and still quite winter-y out, and while it is time to think about all the great things that lay ahead in 2010 I should be working out how I'm going to get myself there. I'm always a fan of New Years resolutions. Sticking to my limits makes me feel good, although I can only remember one year in particular where I kept my resolution the whole 12 months. This year I feel like there are so many things I need to change and work on that it's hard to settle on any specific resolutions.



One thing that I really should resolve to do, but I know I'd never stick to is to eat breakfast every day. I've never ever been a breakfast person - in fact, oftentimes it makes me feel sick to even smell food in the morning. I typically don't have my first meal until 1 PM. But with a loss of energy during these colder, darker months, and a need to cram more vitamins into my diet, breakfast is starting to sound better. So day 1 of the new year, I made a delicious, healthy, energy packed breakfast with the hopes that it would inspire me to be a little better to myself all through the year.



No need for a recipe, its too simple for that. Just oats simmered with dried cranberries, cardamom and a cinnamon stick. Pour a little milk on when it's done and top it with dates, oranges or grapefruit, and some crushed pistachios. Or use whatever fruit and nut combo you have on hand.

xoxo

Me