Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread
January 29, 2012
My search for the perfect banana bread ended years ago. There are plenty of recipes out there, but none that fit my tall list of criteria. So many have a dead bland banana flavor, others are too dry, or full of overpowering seasoning. This recipe, which is my standby banana bread, is to my taste, the best. It has just the right amount of sweetness (not a lot), a crispy , crunchy, buttery crust, a moist bananay interior, and a delightful tang from the baking soda. Chunks of dark chocolate melt into the bread making it just a little more special.
This is why, though I attempted to give another recipe a try last weekend, I simply could not find another one worth baking. Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread, developed from years of tinkering, is the one for me. We ate this bread for dessert after a disappointing football game, the rest served as a happy surprise in my son’s school lunch.
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Curried Mango Rice with Cashews
January 22, 2012
The first time I ate this rice was at a park potluck picnic. A number of families gathered with our very small children trying to eek out some semblance of a dinner party while our children ran wild over, under, and around the play structure. It truly is the perfect potluck dish- full of interesting flavors and textures, stays well at room temperature, and is quite easy to whip up in advance. Since that night, this dish has become my secret weapon. It starred at not one, but three baby showers that I threw over the last few years, pairing beautifully with an Asian chicken salad. It has also been a hit at multiple potlucks.
Curried Mango Rice with Cashews could not be easier to make. Cook up some brown rice and let it cool. Mix together a dressing with curry paste and lime juice. Then toss it all together with diced mango, toasted cashews, and crunchy pepitas (pumpkin seeds). Since the dressing is not cooked, it is important to use curry paste, instead of dry curry. The paste has been cooked a bit in oil in advance. Regarding the mango, this time of year it is easy to find fresh mangos in the market, but to save time or make this out of season, look for mango chunks in the freezer section. We buy them at Trader Joe’s to make in this rice and add to smoothies or oatmeal.
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Breakfast Pizza
January 15, 2012
Pizza for breakfast is nothing new, but generally it conjures up images of bleary-eyed rifling through the refrigerator for something to eat after a late night. Since we make pizza nearly every Friday night, it is not uncommon for someone in our family to nibble on a slice while waiting for the “real” breakfast to be served. “Real” breakfast at our house is more commonly pancakes, waffles, eggs of some incarnation, or perhaps a muffin or scone. (We eat our fair share of cereal as well).
Friday nights are usually pizza night at our house. However last week, our Friday night plans changed at the last minute and all I could think of was how we could make pizza for breakfast instead! The dough was already in the refrigerator, we have frozen pesto in the from last summers’ garden basil explosion, and a lug of bacon I could not pass up at the store the other day. Pizza for breakfast was inevitable.
Breakfast Pizza earns its sincere place at the breakfast table because it boasts both eggs and bacon, quintessential breakfast foods. On the tossed dough round, pesto creates a base of flavor and color. The cheese is somewhat lightly scattered, to allow the egg to take center stage. Cook the bacon until crispy before chopping it and tossing it on the pie. The eggs are not cooked in advance, simply crack them on top. I used four which seemed to fit nicely on both the pizza and our plates (there are four of us). For those of you who do not equate broccoli with breakfast (like half of my family) feel free to leave it off. I like any chance to toss veggies into every meal and our garden is overflowing with broccoli right now. Like any pizza there are a million variations. Pesto could easily be replaced with roasted garlic sauce, tomato-based pizza sauce, or simply a brush of olive oil. Change out sausage for the bacon or leave them off altogether for a vegetarian meal. Not into broccoli? Try asparagus in the spring or tomatoes in the summer. Nothing even says you have to eat this for breakfast, it would be a great lunch or dinner as well.
This post is featured on Yeastspotting.
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Curried Cauliflower Pickles
January 10, 2012
Wandering through the produce market, it is easy to become entranced. I most recently succumbed to cauliflower. The big snowy globes of pure veggie power were calling my name. They may just be the most versatile winter vegetable, ready to adapt to any flavor profile or dish in which they are called to serve. I filled my basket with four huge heads and began dreaming of the possibilities. Two heads went straight into a double-batch of pickles.
Curried Cauliflower Pickles are a crunchy, intensely flavored Indian condiment. Serve them on the side of any Indian-inspired dish or nibble on them as an appetizer. They are not too bad straight from the jar either. Awaken the flavors by toasting the spices in a dry pan before adding them to the jars. The cauliflower, ginger, and garlic all pack into the jars while raw. After pouring the boiled brine into the jar, submerge the jars in a water bath for 10 minutes to seal the jars. In this time the cauliflower cooks to a perfect tenderness. While the pickles are ready to eat in a week, they will continue to become more flavorful with time. Shake the jars periodically to distribute the spices that have settled to the bottom.
T, my good friend and canning comrade, turned me on to this recipe from Alton Brown. The original recipe did not give directions for how to can the pickles, so I cross-referenced with my other canning materials to determine the processing time. I altered the spices a bit to suit my taste. The curry is fairly mild. Increase the amount of spice if you want more intensity. Adding some chile flakes or hot peppers would be a nice touch as well.
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Orange and Beet Winter Salad
January 5, 2012
This has been a cleansing week. No work for me and no school for the kids means that we had a lot (too much?) time around the house. Complications outside our control kept us from adventuring in the way we might otherwise. The upside is that the floors are swept, the drawers organized, and the piles of recipes are neatly filed away. This house is clean. Most importantly, the last of the holiday cookies and sweets have happily made their way (on way or another) into a better place, out of my reach. I mean, who really wants to be looking at a cookie on January 5th? Not me.
Though I am not swearing on to a year of clean eating, or anything as drastically healthy as that, I do find that the foods I crave are those which lack the butter, bacon, and sugar indulgences of the holidays. This recipe I share with you today is probably the complete opposite of the holiday foods which filled my gut (and yours?) the last couple of months. Fresh, mostly raw, brightly colored, acidic. This salad is exactly what I want to eat right now (which works out well since our Satsuma tree is going gangbusters and someone has to eat all that fruit!)
Orange and Beet Winter Salad pairs bright juicy orange with paper thin slices of roasted beet, creamy avocado, and crunchy toasted sunflower seeds. The greens are an accent instead of the foundation of this dish. Eat this now and enjoy it, I know I am.
My Pantry Shelf 