Happy Mother's Day!

It's my first Mother's Day as a mom and I spent it with family including my little girl. I spent the weekend baking and cooking - by choice - as a treat away from my usual hurried schedule. I'm still indulging in these cupcakes which are just decadent enough. The frosting, which I discovered about here, worked out great. Best frosting ever...wasn't too sweet or sickly. I added sprinkles to some, chocolate crumbles to others and toasted coconut for me and my dad. For my gluten free mom & sis, I tried out three other new recipes which I'll post about later. Hope you all had a great mom's day and celebrated moms in some way!

Welcome baby brunch

Today we had a little get-together brunch to welcome our little girlie. We invited mostly family and a few friends who haven't met her yet. Our house is cozy (read: small) so I tried to have a buffet-style mix of offerings which accommodated as many palates as possible. I had veggie items, some meat (ham), and a few gluten-free foods. I finally got to break in a 3-part buffet warmer my mother gifted me for Christmas plus I put beans on the stove and a few cold salads (fruit, mixed greens & a pasta). I paired these items with coffee, tea and lemonade. For dessert, I offered mini lemon pies and a pumpkin rum raisin cake I made while pregnant and froze for just such an occasion. Finally, I put out some fresh flowers, a bright tablecloth and all-white serving dishes and plates which added to the Springtime and "new" feel. Thankfully we had a beautiful day to boot so we opened up the curtains and windows to let the sun shine in and fresh air fill the house.

Of course, I couldn't forget the main ingredient & star of the show: out little girl!

Fall into this cake

I've had a lack of posting lately...mostly due to a squirmy baby inside my tummy which has taken over my natural appetite and desire to stand in a hot kitchen. Expect posts to be sparse in the coming weeks and months. When I do have time (and energy), though, I promise to post what I've been up to with cooking and/or baking. This time, I have something just sinful to share: pumpkin rum raisin cake. It's a dense dessert that's full of flavour and spirit. Here's how it goes:

1 cup raisins

1/4 cup amber or dark rum, or apple juice (I used dark rum)

1/4 cup warm water

4 eggs

1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 cup canola oil

2 cups pumpkin purée

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Glaze
Raisin-soaking liquid

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups icing sugar

First, soak the raisins in the rum and warm water and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350C and grease a bunt pan. 

Beat the eggs, sugar and oil until frothy and then add the pumpkin purée and blend until smooth. Set aside.

 

 In another bowel, sift together flour, baking powder, spices and salt (ie. all the dry ingredients).

 Then mix the dry into the wet ingredients until just combined. Drain the raisins (save the liquid) and add those and the nuts. Mix to coat. This would also be delicious with chocolate chips!!

Spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the center of the oven for about 55 mins (until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out with a few crumbs). 

When baked, allow to cook for about 10 mins before inverting the pan and turning the cake out onto a cooking rack. Cool the cake completely. 

For the icing glaze, mix together 3 tbs (or slightly more, who's counting?) of the raisin/rum liquid with the icing sugar and vanilla. Drizzle a small amount over the cake and let cool and harden. Then drizzle some more and let that cool and harden. Repeat this a few more times until the glaze builds up on the cake. 

 

Serve and enjoy. It's a great fall treat and a little boozy so it feels special and very grown-up. The original recipe is from an unexpected place: Our Compliments. Happy fall everyone!

Half-homemade berry tarts

For a recent potluck I made these mini berry tarts. I hadn't cooked in forever and was rushing from work to prepare something before the party. And my stomach and heightened sense of smell wasn't letting me be very creative in what to make. So I used frozen pastry shells, jam I had in the house already, and fresh berries (in and on top of the jam mixture). Presto! Decent looking, bite-size desserts fit for sharing at a party. Sometimes a girl's gotta suck it up and just go with the flow. At least I didn't resort to just picking up ice this time. 

More food on the run

With offerings like this how can anyone say no? If anyone needs me, I'll be over here dieting hardcore until next week when I travel again!

 Jiggs dinner with salt beef, pease pudding, potato, carrot, cabbage, turnip and mustard pickles on the side.On the plate is also some raisin pudding as  pre-dessert dessert.

This is a partridge berry cake with a traditional caramel sauce smothering it. I also had amazing seafood chowder and a homemade roll...but literally ate it too quickly to even think of taking a photo. An I've had that chowder two days in a row!

Eating on the run

Pies made with local berries, white homemade bread (with globs of butter), meat and potatoes...and gravy. Lots of french fries, snack foods and  sugary Pepsi. This are the ingredients for a poor diet and weight gain. But, this has been my diet for the past three days because I'm on the road in some remote places with great hospitality. The places where I'm eating are the kinds of places where they give you more than enough and then feel insulted if you don't have seconds or dessert. And every meeting and activity is just another excuse to eat or drink a cup of tea.

I'm loving it, don't get me wrong, because the food is rich and tasty. Last night, for example, we had the choice of caribou roulaud (in a rich juniper-laced gravy) or locally caught cod (battered and deep fried)...I chose the cod. Delish...but I'm not getting many fruits or veggies, or much exercise for that matter, so I'm looking forward to returning to my routine soon. This place is beautiful and the people are generous but I'm worried I soon won't be able to fit into the plane to take me back home! At least I'm getting lots of fresh air and healthy tea!

Mary's Harbour, Southeastern Labrador

Dessert for dinner

Pancake day is today and it's tradition to have pancakes for dinner around these parts. It's the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday and the last day before the 40-day lent period. Traditionally, this was the last day to have fat, eggs (meat) or anything bad for you before the long lent stretch. Hence, pancakes for dinner was a treat and a way to use up all that stuff around the house. I'm not giving up anything for lent but I am on a diet and will continue with it after this Shrove Tuesday treat (and extra trip to the gym).

Pancake day for me is about another tradition: the fortune-telling trinkets found inside the pancakes. Growing up, my mother would put coins in our pancakes and that was supposed to symbolize prosperity or the promise of wealth. It often just turned into a way to get some extra money and a competition over who got the most coins.I remember going to a friend's house one year for pancake day, though, and I ended up with her mother's wedding ring in my pancake! Here are some common pancake trinket:

-a penny, to symbolize poverty
-a nickel, to symbolize wealth; We often received quarters :)
-a string, to symbolize a fisherman (if a boy got the string, he would be a fisherman, if a girl did, she would marry one)
-a wedding ring, to symbolize that you would marry soon; I've also heard it means you won't die an "old maid"
-a button, to symbolize that you would never marry
-a nail, to symbolize that you would soon pass away
-a thimble, to symbolize that you would be a seamstress (a girl) or a tailor (a boy); I've heard that a thimble could also mean you will have a lovely house/household when you grow up.

And here is a great recipe for those who are not trying to use up all the butter, sugar and eggs in the house for this one meal (from SparkPeople):

100 Calorie cinnamon pancakes 
Whole Wheat Flour, 1.25 cup
Baking Soda, 1 tsp  
Splenda No Calorie Sweetener, 2 tbsp  
Skim Milk, 1 cup  
Eggbeaters, .5 cup  
Vanilla extract, 1 tbs
Cinnamon, 2 tbsp 

Mix flour, baking soda, and splenda in bowl. Mix milk, eggs, and vanilla in another bowl. Beat into dry mix roughly, so as to add more air to mix. Stir in cinnamon last. Serving size is 1/3 cup mix. Use a cooking spray on the skillet when cooking.

Serving size is one pancake. If you use less than 1/3 of a cup batter (like 1/4, or 1/6) you can have two for 100 calories. You can also add smooshed bananas to the batter, blueberries,peanut butter, use real eggs instead of egg beaters, or add a touch of brown sugar instead of the splenda. I also generally add a tsp of baking powder to pancakes to make them extra fluffy.
Number of Servings: 8

To cook before it's too late...

At a friend's birthday part the other night, I was asked what I would like to do before I die. One thing and one thing only. So there, with wine in one hand and a sharpie in another I made my choice quickly and soundly. Make crème brûlée from scratch. This is not a difficult dish and I do have the required cooking accessories (including a mini-blow torch). It's cream, sugar, vanilla and all things delicious and simple. So what is it about this dish that has illuded me? I have no idea. I had said a while ago that it was my cooking Mount Everest. Since then I've put it off and put it off.

So here I am, realizing it's something I want to do and have all the ability in the world to do. I just need an occasion, right. Because after all this talk, I can't just make this for a regular Tuesday night or something. So I resolve to make this dish for my housewarming party...whenever I do find a suitable and affordable house to buy. I'm in the process of house searching now and resolve that once I move in and have friends over, crème brûlée is the first thing I'm making!

Then I'll have to get another "thing to do before I die"...challenge accepted.

So so so sweet potato crisp

It's holiday pot luck season and I've found a new go-to dish to cart along to parties. It's a crowd pleaser, gluten free, vegetarian (though not vegan) and easy to whip together. It's part dessert and part side-dish so it's perfect for any type of get-together. And there's seasonal ingredients so it'll put you and the guests in the right mood for some holiday cheer.

What you'll need:
8 oz cream cheese
1 can sweet potato (or about 2 medium cooked sweet potatoes)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 apple (I used Granny Smith), cut into small cubes
2/3 cups cranberries
1/2 cup flour (I used rice flour to make this gluten free)
1/2 cup oats (old fashioned, not cooked)
1/3 cup butter/margarine (softened)
1/4 cup pecans (optional)

What to do:
1) Heat oven to 350 F

2) Beat cream cheese, potato, 1/4 cup brown sugar and the cinnamon in a blender or food processor until combined and smooth. Pout into a casserole dish (1 1/2 qt) and top with cranberries and apple pieces.


3) Mix together the flour, oats and remaining sugar with the butter. Use your fingers to mix it all up until the mixture is crumbly. Stir in nuts and sprinkle the crumbs over the dish.

4) Bake, covered, for 30-35 mins until heated through and golden brown.

I would suggest experimenting with this too because pears or pomegranate seeds sound awfully good too! And I didn't have pecans so I used peanuts and it worked out well.

If you're making this ahead of time for a party, you can bake it and cool it down before refrigerating. When you're at the party, put the dish in the oven again to re-heat and away you go!

Birthday happiness

My birthday party table with candy buffet, watermelon shark and huge themed birthday cake courtesy of my wonderful boyfriend. We ate and ate and ate ourselves into a birthday tropical paradise!

Whew it's been a while since I uploaded anything or did a blog entry. I haven't even told you how my birthday party went! It was a few weeks ago and the luau theme was smashing! The weather cooperated and, though extremely windy, it was a hot and lovely night.

My luau-themed food went over well too. I started with the idea to roast a pig but that didn't fly. Then I dumbed the idea down to pulled pork sandwiches. That would have been more work and messiness than it was worth though. So in the end I did a bunch of finger foods, some on sticks, that guests could pick up and eat while mingling with a drink in one hand. For that drink, I made huge batches of sangria. One batch was my regular birthday (or any special occasion) alcoholic sangria. The other was a non-alcoholic sangria punch for anyone who wanted something refreshing but didn't want the buzz. The recipe is from Kraft Foods and it's served me well for a few parties. Seriously, it tastes just like the real thing!

For the food I made:
- fruit kabobs (self-explanatory enough)
- pigs in a blanket (get it??)
- candy buffet with tropical-themed candy like Swedish fish, gummy sharks, sour fruit, etc.
- Hawaiian pizza on a stick (this was a kabob of ham, pineapple and cheese with pizza dipping sauce)






And finally the main event:

My watermelon shark! I saw a picture of this online and knew I had to make it as the centerpiece of my party. I got directions here and enlisted my sister to help carve the shape of the shark mouth and teeth. Using blueberries for eyes and more Swedish fish as the shark's food, the whole thing was a big hit!

Add in some twinkle lights on the patio, a few leis for guests to wear, some beach balls and you've got yourself a party. So there it is, a long-awaited update and a recount of my birthday luau party. With a little imagination, Internet researching and some food I was able to create a tropical paradise birthday party.

And I whopped it up a bit with some sparklers at midnight!

Sugar, (maple) sugar

In the spirit of Canada Day (and summer pot lucks) I present to you a different and creative offering: maple shortbread.

You 'll need:
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup maple suyrup (the real stuff, not pancake syrup!)
2 cups all-purpose flour

Line a 9x13 inch metal pan with parchment paper or foil (or a large springform pan like I used) and preheat the oven to 350F.

Cream together the sugar, butter and syrup until fluffy.

Add in the flour, 1/2 cups at a time by hand. Stir together until everything is just combined.
Press the soft dough into yiour prepared pan. Prick the top of the shortbread all over with a fork. Bake at 350 degress 25 minutes until golden. Let it cool on a wire rack.
You can leave the shortbread just like this, or you can gild the lilly a tad with a maple candy glaze (!) by combining in a saucepan on the stove on medium heat:
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tbs whipping cream
2 cups peanuts (optional).

Pour the melted mixture over the prepared shortbread and smooth to cover. Put the whole thing back into the oven for 20 minutes more until the topping is caramalized and golden. Cut into wedgest (or squares/bars depending on the size pan you use). This should make about 40 decent-sized bars if you use a 9x13 inch pan. They're rich cookies with a hint of maple flavour. Just enough to

Holiday baking

I've posted on the Signal Blog about my holiday shortbread baking-fest. Happy holidays all!

The kitchen grinch mindset

What better season is there for cooking and baking then the holidays? The weather is cold, houses are warm and filled with friends and family, guests keep you on your hosting toes...except all that is a bunch of crap. Right? Well not really but it feels like it lately and I swore to myself this year to take a break and not over-exert myself into the food frenzies. Last year I did two brunches back to back weekends, made homemade treats as gifts for everyone I knew (tied with a bow), had at least three different cookie doughs in the freezer "just in case", made my own mulled cider, and did Christmas day breakfast for family before heading out the door for at least two other meals that day. Not this year. Not me. I just don't have the mindset or energy.

But a gathering of old friends who are home for some holidays made me realize I don't have to settle on doing absolutely nothing. There is a happy medium ground between all that baking and cooking activity and being a kitchen grinch. I came to the realization when I tasted this friend's sticky toffee pudding. Now, I'm not from the UK nor do I have an emotional attachment to the stuff. But it was deadly! And it reminded me of a couple cooking shows and specials I've seen over the years where this sticky toffee pudding is featured every time. It's like the Brit's version of fruit cake - only amazingly better. Plus I've always wanted to try making it from scratch. I've even done the caramel sauce before but never the cake.

So I'm going to try my hand at it finally, Rachel Allen's recipe to be exact because it just looked so good in her Bake! cooking school segment. And hopefully, just maybe, it'll get me back into the baking spirit. Then I'll try really hard, I promise, to not get out of control. No biscotti, no sugar cookies, no blueberry jam done up with my own to/from tags and ribbons, no Guinness chocolate cake that takes a whole day to make...just sticky toffee pudding.

One step at a time.

photo: photobucket

Awesome chocolatey brownies

Photo: Guilty Kitchen

What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon (and celebrate my dad's birthday) than make a batch of easy but choco-gooey brownies? I have a go-to Toblerone brownie recipe but wanted to try something new. Then I remembered a brownie recipe had come through the pipes on FoodBuzz recently. It's the Guilty Kitchen's recipe for The Perfect Brownie.

I followed it to the letter - except I also added chocolate chips - and the end result was indulged, decadent and, well, awesome. Prepare all the ingredients on your counter, and pre-heat the oven while you're mixing everything together. The recipe goes by in a snap. This wonderful treat is so easy and quick to make. It's a sweet brownie that's heavy on chocolate. Here is a the recipe and I highly recommend you try this out! Thanks fellow food buzzer!

3/4 cup all purpose flour, sifted
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp cocoa
6 oz dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids or more)
1/2 cup butter, cut into small pieces
1 tsp instant coffee
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
3 eggs, well beaten
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8x8 brownie pan. In a bowl, whisk together or sift the flour, salt and coca powder. In a double boiler (metal bowl resting on top of a saucepan of water), melt together the chocolate, butter and coffee. Add sugars and remove from heat.
Add in eggs and vanilla, but do not over beat. Sprinkle flour over chocolate mixture, folding gentle with a spatula. Again, to not over mix. Pour into baking pan, bake 30 minutes (rotating halfway) or until edges are completely cooked and center is slightly underdone. Let cool in the pan, cut into squares and enjoy!

I found 30 mins to be the perfect timing but all ovens vary. Just keep an eye on it towards the end of cooking time. Leaving the brownies underdone is, in my opinion, the best method because they'll be more ooey gooey. This recipe would also be good with some add-ins like marshmallow, nuts or or dried fruit (though all those things would take away space from the coveted chocolate) and the perfect pairing is a big glass of milk!

Monkey bread

Halloween is upon us and usually I go all out testing my creativity and dishing out all sorts of spooky-themed food. This year though, things are a little different and I won't be having my usual table of horror. But I will need a great dish for a pot luck so I'm making monkey bread. This one has been a favorite of my group of friends for a while and a couple of us make it regularly. It's so gooey and sinfully good it's also known as orgasm cake! Here's how to do it (the recipe that is):

2 cans (340 g each) refrigerated cinnamon roll biscuits

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, melted

125 g (1/2 of 250-g pkg.) brick cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup icing sugar

1 Tbsp. milk

Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a fluted or tube cake pan.

Unroll the biscuits and cut them into small pieces. Place the pieces into a bowl and toss with the sugar and cinnamon. You can do this recipe with plain biscuits but you might as well go whole hog on this one!

Start layering the biscuit pieces into the cake pan and sprinkle with the leftover sugar mixture from the bottom of the bowl. Drizzle the whole thing with the butter (hello yumminess). Bake 30-45 mins until puffed up and golden brown. Let cool in pan 5 mins and then invert onto cake plate (one with sides is good to catch any oozy sugary goodness).

To make the dipping icing, mix the cream cheese, sugar and milt together. Put in a small bowl or glass and you can insert the dip right in to the hole in the middle of the cake. This dessert works well for parties because it's interactive and decadent. Caramel-y goodness!

And if you don't have a sweet tooth I just found this idea for a savory monkey bread from Serious Eats.

Happy Halloween!

photo: bakingbites.com

Toblerone cheesecake

Yes, you read that right. Toblerone cheesecake. There's Toblerone bar in the cake and also on top of it. Sweet indulgences! As if Thanksgiving turkey dinner wasn't enough, this is what I made for dessert. It was good but almost too rich if there's such a thing. Here's the recipe and some suggestions I'm going to take for the next time I make this.

• 1 1/4 cups Oreo cookie crumbs
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

• 2 (250 g) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1 cup sugar

• 2 (100 g) Toblerone chocolate bars, divided
• 1 1/2 cups thawed Cool Whip, divided (or other whipped topping)
• 
  

Mix the butter and cookie crumbs together and pat into a 9" springform pan. Put in the refrigerator to chill while you make the cake.

Mush together the cream cheese, sugar and peanut butter until smooth. As I mentioned, this was a very rich cake and I think next time I'm going to use less cream cheese and more peanut butter. I also used less sugar than the recipe called for (about 3/4 cup) and I think I could have gotten away with using even less. I also used the "low fat" versions of cream cheese and whipped topping. You could go with whatever version you want and some may say why not go whole hog full fat, but hey why not save where you can?

Then chop up one Toblerone bar and fold that into the cake mixture. Also fold in 1 cup of the whipped topping until it's just combined. Spoon the mixture onto the prepared cookie base and smooth until even. Place the cake into the fridge to cool about 3 hours.

For the topping/glaze, melt the other Toblerone bar (it helps if you chop it up first) in the microwave. Stir in 1/2 cup whipped topping and smear over the top of the chilled cake. There you have it!

Light cheesecake

For a recent get-together I decided to make cheesecake. There were two problems with that idea though: most recipes for cheesecake require multiple blocks of cream cheese and I'm trying to eat and cook lighter. So I found this recipe for a lighter cheesecake and spiked it with some vanilla extract and orange zest for extra flavour. It was a tangy cake that wasn't rich but tasty all the same.

First you make the base with graham cracker crumbs and/or shortcake biscuit crumbs and butter. This isn't terribly light but you can pick and choose the kinds of biscuit you use and the butter or margarine you mix it with. Use as much as you like because everyone has their own preference on consistency or thickness of cake bases. Whiz it in the food processor until it becomes a little crumbly and then pat and press it into the bottom of a 10" springform pan.

Alternatively you could not use a crumb base. Just grease the springform pan and pour the cheesecake batter directly into the pan to bake.

The cheesecake part is done like this:

4 cups Ricotta cheese
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon grated orange rind (zest)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
Cooking spray (for non-crust option)

Preheat oven to 350°.
Place first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed 2 minutes or until smooth. Add eggs, 1 at a time, and beat well after each addition. Pour the batter into the pan on top of the cooled crust or on its own. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until cheesecake center barely moves when pan is touched. Remove cheesecake from oven; run a knife around the outside edge of cheesecake. Cool slightly; remove outer ring from pan. I decorated this cheesecake with orange and starfruit slices to make it pretty.

Desert island lunch

I've been thinking about things I love to eat. Like if I had to eat just one thing for the rest of my life, what would it be? Or if I had to request my last supper? Odd thoughts but I think it really tells a lot about a person. For example, do you dream in recipes or complete menus? Or, like me, do you piece together random foodstuffs?

Things I love include late night pepperoni pizza, ice cream cake, meaty chili, sour cream and onion chips, clear cream soda, brie, chickpea curry, and well-made Caesar salad. But, as good as all those things are, none of them quite made the list.

So here it is - my top five desert island list of food:
1) Avocado (in guacamole or just scooped right out of the skin)
2) Fresh homemade bread (white, and with butter please)
3) Soda water. Seriously, fizzy water is my love.
4) Family food favorite toss up - either dad's pea soup (with dumplings) or mom's mac and cheese. I'm not fussy.
5) Vanilla ice cream with Magic Shell chocolate sauce (the kind that hardens when it hits the cold ice cream.)

So if I'm ever sent to the gallows you'll know what to serve me the night before. And if anyone knows a good recipe for that hardening chocolate sauce or how it could be used in an ice cream cake, bring it on!

Mmm muffins

Though convenience food is tempting there is something terribly satisfying about making food yourself from scratch. The conflict of craving is always better resolved when the filling comes from your own work. Boxes and take outs are never as good, or good for you, as a homemade treat.

So when I wanted a muffin the other night I thought to my favorite muffin recipe and wondered what I had in the house to make it. I used Amy Rosen's base recipe for Smooshed Banana-Chocolate Muffins. But since I didn't have much chocolate (I know, a sad day) I subbed in some walnuts and toffee chips. I got my muffin and some more that did us for the rest of the week!

Here's the recipe, and I suggest experimenting with your own filling substitutions:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 tsb baking powder
pinch salt
1 very ripe banana, mashed
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 tbs milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F
In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar baking powder and salt. Add mashed banana, egg, butter, milk and vanilla. Stir until just blended. Toss in chocolate chips and give another quick stir.

Spray muffin tin or line with paper liners. Divide batter between cups (about 3/4 ways up) and bang the tin on the counter to release any air bubbles. Bake for 20-25 minutes until tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into centre of the centre muffin comes out clean.

To quote Rosen's Cook This: Recipe's for the Goodtime Girl, "muffins are the perfect snack for people on the go."

These are super quick to make, really take substitutions well, and you can control what goes into them (instead of those monster fat muffins you get at the store). Want more fiber? Add whole wheat flour or some ground flax. Want more vitamins? Add berries! Less fat? Substitute applesauce for some of the butter. Easy peasy.

I've used this recipe before and doubled it, and added more chocolate, to make cupcakes for a friend's birthday. And they really do wonders at the office!

Banana bread yumminess

Last night's dinner took a long time to cook (chicken in the oven for about 20 minutes) so I started thumbing through my recipe drawer and found an old Chatelaine recipe mini-book that came with a magazine a while ago. In it was a recipe for the "word's best banana bread" and I thought...wait, I have bananas! So in the time it took me to wait for my chicken to cook I whipped up a nice loaf of banana bread. It was perhaps the easiest recipe and tastiest banana bread I've had.



Here's the recipe to try:

3 very ripe large bananas, mushed with a fork (should be no more than 1 1/2 cups)
1 3/4 all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp each baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla


Substitution note 1: the recipe calls for coconut but I didn't have any so I added about 1/4 cup grated carrot. It worked to keep the loaf moist and, as an extra bonus, add some fiber and carrot-goodness.

Substitution note 2: This recipe is pretty close to being dairy-free (vegan) so if you want to go all the way you can substitute the 2 eggs for

• 1 heaping tbs baking powder, 1 tbs oil
  plus 1 tbs warm water
• 1 heaping tbs baking powder, 1 tbs apple cider vinegar plus 1 tbs warm water

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Lightly oil/spray 9x5in. loaf pan.
In a large bowl, sift together with a whisk flour, coconut (or carrot), sugar, baking powder and soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. In a small bowl, whisk eggs. Whisk in oil and vanilla. Pour egg mixture into center of dry mixture. Using a wooden spoon, stir until batter is just moist. Stir in bananas and be careful to not overmix. Scrape batter into prepared loaf pan. Smooth top.
Bake in center of oven until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out clean, about 50-60 minutes.

Cool loaf in pan 10 minutes. Run a knife around inside of pan to loosen loaf. Turn out loaf onto cooling rack to cool completely.

Between my boyfriend, friends and co-workers, this loaf is already eaten and long gone in just a few hours. If you can manage to keep some, it will apparently last up to 3 days at room temperature, a week in the fridge or you can freeze it for up to 2 months.

I'll make this one again for sure...and maybe add some raisins or walnuts. Based on the success and ease of this banana bread recipe, I am excited to try other recipes from this mini-recipe book from Chatelaine. I'll blog about them when I do!