Foodie

Growing up, my Mom made everything from scratch which meant she didn’t buy bread, cookies or prepared foods. This is just how it was. For the most part, I have followed her lead but I don’t always have time to bake my own bread. 

Jessie prefers making quick breads. They are simple and don’t take all day. When it comes to food, she isn’t always patient. During the summer we make zucchini bread and the rest of the year, she likes making banana bread and chocolate is her favorite:

Chocolate Banana Bread

1. preheat oven: 350 degrees
2. grease bread pan, line with waxed paper.
3. make sure all ingredients are room temperature.

• 3 large bananas mashed
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 1/2   cup flour
• 1  tsp. baking soda
• 1  tsp. salt
• 1/2      cup cocoa
• 1/2      chocolate chips
• 1/2      cup chopped walnuts.
• Avocado*

1. Mash bananas. Add sugar and eggs, mix until smooth.
2. Add butter and vanilla.
3. Combine all dry ingredients (tossing the chips and nuts in the flour helps prevent them from sinking) then add to the bananas.
4. Bake for 60-70 minutes
5. *When we were short one banana for the recipe, we substituted it with an avocado. The avocado hides in the background but does make the bread extra moist.
6. Of course, if you want traditional Banana Bread, just omit the chocolate and cocoa.

After seeing a recipe for a three-ingredient chocolate cake, I accepted the challenge.

1 ripe banana
1 egg
1 Tablespoon Cocoa

Blend and pour batter into a ramekin, 3/4 full and bake.

This recipe makes one large ramekin or two small, but the size of banana may play a part.

So far, so good. The original recipe suggested to microwave, however, I attempted this years ago and found it inedible. This time I baked it for the suggested time and temperature, but this was not long or hot enough.

The second test cake, I baked it at 375 degrees for 16-18 minutes.  Of course, this doesn’t have the same texture as a traditional cake.  It reminded me more of bread pudding but without the bread!  Regardless, this was simple and tasty enough to make again.  Also, it’s best served warm.

Next attempt, I may add a handful of chopped nuts or chocolate chips to the batter.

We did add a dollop of whipped cream, but ice cream would be good too.

Put this under the category of “emergency” desserts.

If you need to omit the egg, I liked the suggestions made by Joy the Baker.

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We’ve been held up in the house too long for one reason or another.

When I’m bored, it’s my motivation to try new recipes.

Dinner:   If I had the ingredients, I would have made Pastitsio but ended up making a version of this Greek Ziti instead. When I say version, it means I didn’t have all the ingredients, so I improvise, substituting with half a box of Cavatappi noodles, 24 ounce jar of marinara sauce and a third cup of milk and gluten free panko crumbs.  The nice thing about making this type of dish, is that you don’t have to be as precise as when baking.

Dessert:. An ice cream sandwich recipe caught my eye. I’ve never attempted them before. I didn’t realize that they take no time at all to make. This took less time than baking a batch of cookies.

For these, I almost kept to the recipe. I replaced the all-purpose flour with GF flour.  I cooked this directly on the Silpat but it would have been just as easy to use parchment paper.

I chose not to soften the ice cream, but cut slices with a knife.  For the sandwich, I used a pizza cutter and a ruler.  It would have been fun to cut them in bite sized pieces.

If I spent more time, I could have made them look prettier, but it didn’t matter, they were eaten too quickly.

The nice thing about posting recipes is at least I know where I can find them!

Ingredients for sandwich, preheat oven to 350, cook for 10 minutes, cool before assembly

• 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) white granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (65 grams) all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup (25 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups (2 pints) (950 ml) Ice Cream (Homemade or Store Bought), slightly softened – see what happens in step 6 if you let it get too melty!!
• 10 x 15 inch (25 x 38 cm) rimmed baking sheet

Don’t let puff pastry fool you into thinking these are difficult to make.  After seeing this recipe, I decided  to try my hand.  I used Golden Delicious apples because it is what was in my pantry. I substituted a cinnamon glaze for the apricot preserves which gives it more of an apple pie flavor and isn’t as sweet.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2 apples, cored and sliced thin
2 tsp. lemon juice

Place the apples in a microwave bowl, add enough water to cover,  cook for 3-5 minutes

1 sheet puffed pastry.

Even the pastry by rolling out. I dusted with tapioca flour, but regular flour can be used. The original recipe called for 6 strips, but I only was able to get 5.

Blend the following and brush on the pastry:

1 Tbs. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. butter, melted

Place the apples on the pasty and gently roll. Because I used a min-muffin tin, I cut the strips in half and put then popped the roses into a greased tin.

Cook for 40 minutes. Remove the roses from the pan as soon as they come out of the oven so they don’t stick.

Dust with powdered sugar. Eat them as soon as they are cool enough not to burn your mouth, but room temperature is good too. These apple roses are decadent, but not indulgent due to their size. Yum!

If you want something even more indulgent, have you tried crack bacon? It lives up to it’s name.