This recipe is modified from The Betty Crocker Cookbook, 1969 Banana-Nut Cake, pg.100.
1/2 cup Butter, melted
1 cup of packed Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
3 medium Bananas mashed
1/3 cup of Buttermilk/or
2/3 cup flour, Buckwheat flour for Gluten free
2/3 cup Oat flour
1/2 teaspoon each of Baking Powder, Baking Soda, and Salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
3/4 tsp. cloves
*3/4 cup of dried Cranberries
*3/4 cup of chopped Walnuts
Preheat oven to 350.
Melt the butter in the microwave (or use room temperature butter), mix in sugar. Add Eggs and beat till mix. Blitz Bananas in a food processor with the buttermilk, stir into the mixture. Stir together flour, baking powder, soda, and salt and spices before beating into wet ingredients. Mix in the nuts and cranberries. Secret tip: I use an ice cream scoop to measure out batter for muffin cups, it is 1/4 cup of batter.
Muffins bake for 25-30 minutes, an 8 x 8 cake or loaf pan will take at least 45-50. Use the toothpick test if you are unsure.
*Alternative recipe:
Leave out dried fruit and/or nuts. It will not make as many without the nuts and fruit.
Sunday, March 19, 2017
Saturday, March 18, 2017
Corned Beef
Made my first Corned Beef for St. Patrick's Day! It turned out pretty well.
3 lb Brisket
Brine:
1/2 gallon of water
1 cup of kosher salt
1/4 cup of brown sugar
3 Tablespoons Pickling Spice
Toast the spices briefly (do not inhale or a coughing fit will ensue). Smash the spices with a mortar and pestle. Bring the water, salt, sugar, and spices to a boil. Let it cool, then refrigerate till cold. Place the Brisket in a container that will hold it and the liquid, or else use a plastic zipper bag, just make sure to put it in a container in case it leaks. Pour in the liquid. Weigh down the brisket, not necessary in a bag. Flip every 12-24 hours, brine for at least 3 days, and up to 7.
Take the Brisket out of the brine, and rinse. In an appropriately sized cooking pot, place the Brisket, 1/2 gallon of water, 1 Tablespoon of Pickling spice. Bring to a simmer, and reduce heat to a slow simmer, cook for 3 hours. A crock pot would work well for this and I regret not using one.
I was able to add some potatoes to the pot in the last hour so they'd be ready at the same time, you can't do that in a crock pot.
On day two, we made Reuben Sandwiches! You can also then braise some cabbage in the cook water.
3 lb Brisket
Brine:
1/2 gallon of water
1 cup of kosher salt
1/4 cup of brown sugar
3 Tablespoons Pickling Spice
Toast the spices briefly (do not inhale or a coughing fit will ensue). Smash the spices with a mortar and pestle. Bring the water, salt, sugar, and spices to a boil. Let it cool, then refrigerate till cold. Place the Brisket in a container that will hold it and the liquid, or else use a plastic zipper bag, just make sure to put it in a container in case it leaks. Pour in the liquid. Weigh down the brisket, not necessary in a bag. Flip every 12-24 hours, brine for at least 3 days, and up to 7.
Take the Brisket out of the brine, and rinse. In an appropriately sized cooking pot, place the Brisket, 1/2 gallon of water, 1 Tablespoon of Pickling spice. Bring to a simmer, and reduce heat to a slow simmer, cook for 3 hours. A crock pot would work well for this and I regret not using one.
I was able to add some potatoes to the pot in the last hour so they'd be ready at the same time, you can't do that in a crock pot.
On day two, we made Reuben Sandwiches! You can also then braise some cabbage in the cook water.
Friday, March 17, 2017
Chicken Salad
*DO NOT USE A FOOD PROCESSOR TO CHOP THE CHICKEN
White meat from a whole roasted 5 lb chicken, cut and shredded
1/2 red onion, finely diced
5 ribs of celery, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 cups of red grapes, quartered or 1/4-1/2 a cup of Raisins steeped in boiling hot water and drained
1/2 cup of mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard*
1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt
Black pepper to taste
add enough yogurt or sour cream to desired creaminess
Mix all ingredients together. Let sit in the refrigerator for 4 hours before serving. Top with chopped roasted, salted almonds. I like to eat mine on sliced tart apples, leaf lettuce, or nut thins. I also like to top it with Sriracha.
Makes a good wrap with lots of lettuce, chopped almonds, Sriracha, and rice paper wrappers.
*As always, if you are gluten free, make sure your condiments are as well. Anything made with distilled white vinegar may have gluten if the vinegar was distilled from a gluten containing grain. When in doubt contact the company.
White meat from a whole roasted 5 lb chicken, cut and shredded
1/2 red onion, finely diced
5 ribs of celery, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 cups of red grapes, quartered or 1/4-1/2 a cup of Raisins steeped in boiling hot water and drained
1/2 cup of mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard*
1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt
Black pepper to taste
add enough yogurt or sour cream to desired creaminess
Mix all ingredients together. Let sit in the refrigerator for 4 hours before serving. Top with chopped roasted, salted almonds. I like to eat mine on sliced tart apples, leaf lettuce, or nut thins. I also like to top it with Sriracha.
Makes a good wrap with lots of lettuce, chopped almonds, Sriracha, and rice paper wrappers.
*As always, if you are gluten free, make sure your condiments are as well. Anything made with distilled white vinegar may have gluten if the vinegar was distilled from a gluten containing grain. When in doubt contact the company.
Sunday, March 12, 2017
Kale Soup
2 Tablespoons of Olive oil, Chicken fat, or Butter
1 large yellow or white onion, diced
1 large sweet potato or 3 large Carrots, peeled and diced
1 bunch of kale, washed, cleaned, stems stripped, and chopped
1 quart of Chicken broth
1 can (15 oz.) or 1 1/2 cups cooked Cannellini or Great Northern Beans, drained
Salt to taste
4 pieces of fish, poached, and drained
2 Tablespoons green Curry paste, (optional)
Saute the vegetables in the fat, one-at-a-time in order listed for a few minutes each, then add the chicken broth, beans. Simmer till vegetables are cooked.
In a separate pan, poach the fish.
In our house some of us like fish and some don't, and some of us like curry and some don't, so I let people put their own bowls together.
1 large yellow or white onion, diced
1 large sweet potato or 3 large Carrots, peeled and diced
1 bunch of kale, washed, cleaned, stems stripped, and chopped
1 quart of Chicken broth
1 can (15 oz.) or 1 1/2 cups cooked Cannellini or Great Northern Beans, drained
Salt to taste
4 pieces of fish, poached, and drained
2 Tablespoons green Curry paste, (optional)
Saute the vegetables in the fat, one-at-a-time in order listed for a few minutes each, then add the chicken broth, beans. Simmer till vegetables are cooked.
In a separate pan, poach the fish.
In our house some of us like fish and some don't, and some of us like curry and some don't, so I let people put their own bowls together.
Cajun Spice Mix
Cajun Spice Mix:
4 teaspoons of sea salt
3 teaspoons of paprika
4 teaspoons of garlic powder, not garlic salt
1 teaspoon of black peppercorns, or 1/2 teaspoon ground
2 teaspoons of ground white pepper
1 teaspoon of ground cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons of dried thyme
1 teaspoon of dried basil
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
Combine all ingredients in a grinder and grind to a fine powder. There may be more than you will use in the recipe.
4 teaspoons of sea salt
3 teaspoons of paprika
4 teaspoons of garlic powder, not garlic salt
1 teaspoon of black peppercorns, or 1/2 teaspoon ground
2 teaspoons of ground white pepper
1 teaspoon of ground cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons of dried thyme
1 teaspoon of dried basil
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
Combine all ingredients in a grinder and grind to a fine powder. There may be more than you will use in the recipe.
Saturday, February 18, 2017
Snozzcumber Cake and Frobscottle
BFG birthday party, can't you guess?!
All the recipes I found were way too complicated, so I had to wing it. Here's what I did:
I ended up using my vanilla pound cake recipe, which is great on it's own, but a little heavy with the rest of the components. A simple vanilla cake would have been good, the Betty Crocker cookbook has a good one I'm sure.
I baked it in a cookie sheet, trimmed the edges into small "plain" pieces. Then I cut the whole thing down the middle and slathered it with Lime Curd (made just like my Lemon curd, but with Lime, a drop of green food coloring, and I used all the zest for extra flavor). I stacked the two halves, sprinkled with green sugar, piped Reddi Whip in stripes, and sprinkled mini chocolate chips elsewhere.
Thankfully we did just have a meat cleaver lying around for theatrical cutting. The parents that had some all thought the cake was good, but the kids either weren't hungry, or didn't like the look or taste of it. No one asked for a piece of plain cake so I'm going to assume they weren't hungry.
Now, for the Frobscottle, my little one and I decided Ice Cream Floats would be good. So one 1/2 gallon of Vanilla Breyers, and some good sodas like Virgil's Root Beer and Izze Sparkling Juice, these were very popular.
All the recipes I found were way too complicated, so I had to wing it. Here's what I did:
I ended up using my vanilla pound cake recipe, which is great on it's own, but a little heavy with the rest of the components. A simple vanilla cake would have been good, the Betty Crocker cookbook has a good one I'm sure.
I baked it in a cookie sheet, trimmed the edges into small "plain" pieces. Then I cut the whole thing down the middle and slathered it with Lime Curd (made just like my Lemon curd, but with Lime, a drop of green food coloring, and I used all the zest for extra flavor). I stacked the two halves, sprinkled with green sugar, piped Reddi Whip in stripes, and sprinkled mini chocolate chips elsewhere.
Thankfully we did just have a meat cleaver lying around for theatrical cutting. The parents that had some all thought the cake was good, but the kids either weren't hungry, or didn't like the look or taste of it. No one asked for a piece of plain cake so I'm going to assume they weren't hungry.
Now, for the Frobscottle, my little one and I decided Ice Cream Floats would be good. So one 1/2 gallon of Vanilla Breyers, and some good sodas like Virgil's Root Beer and Izze Sparkling Juice, these were very popular.
Easy Lemon Curd
1/2 cup of Butter
1 cup of Sugar
3 Tablespoons of Lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon of Lemon Zest
1 Egg, well beaten
1/4 cup of water
Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan, over medium heat, stir constantly until bubbling. Remove from heat and let cool before serving.
1 cup of Sugar
3 Tablespoons of Lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon of Lemon Zest
1 Egg, well beaten
1/4 cup of water
Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan, over medium heat, stir constantly until bubbling. Remove from heat and let cool before serving.
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