Banana Bread

Not much to say. This one was super easy and delicious. You must fold in the dry ingredients and don't overmix or it will be tough and won't rise. I used whole wheat flour and skipped the pecans but will definitely add them next time.
Enjoy!

Sweet Home Alabanana
Eat, Shrink & Be Merry

1 3/4c. flour - I used whole wheat
1/2c. oatbran
2t. baking powder
1t. baking soda
1t. cinnamon
1/2t. salt
2 eggs
1/2c. packed brown sugar
1 1/2c. mashed bananas - I used 3 large
3/4c. buttermilk
2T. vegetable oil
2t. vanilla
1/2c. chopped pecans
1/3c. mini choc. chips

Preheat oven to 350. Spray two 8x4" loaf pans with cooking spray and set aside.

In large bowl, combine flour, oatbran, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Mix well and set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat together eggs and brown sugar on medium speed of an electric mixer for two minutes. Add bananas, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Beat again until well blended.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix just until dry ingredients are moistened. Do not use an electric mixer for this step. Fold in nuts and chocolate chips. Do not overmix batter.

Divide batter evenly among the loaf pans. Bake for 30 to 35 min., or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

8 slices per loaf - 173 calories each

Do Not Open The Oven Door

Josh has been making shakes for breakfast at work. Maybe not a well rounded meal, but liquid breakfast is better than none at all. Trouble is we have issues with deciding how many bananas one person can consume in three shakes a week. Obviously eight is too many. Suffice it to say, I have so many bananas in my freezer that I am consumed with finding new recipes to use them in.
This muffin recipe was highly rated on Allrecipes and I can never turn away from a popular recipe. I didn't eat one but the guys devoured them and that is usually a good sign. I also used mini chocolate chips which I think are better in muffins, they don't overwhelm the same as the big ones.
As for this posts title, and you will notice in the picture, I opened the oven door one too many times and they sunk in the middle. It makes them look terrible but didn't hurt the flavor. I think my oven needs to be tested, the temperature is constantly off by five or ten minutes of bake time, hence the opening of the oven door.
Ciao!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Makes 12 muffins
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 bananas, mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup packed brown sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease 12 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.
In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter.
Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened.
Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

The Weekend

It was the baking weekend - finally!
Saturday morning we had that yummy french toast just as planned. If you have not been to Prairie Mill Bread in the Northland strip mall, go now. They have amazing bread that manages to taste as good as the day you bought it after two weeks in the freezer. But what I love the most is the Apple Crunch or Cinnamon Swirl. Plain old white bread for french toast just does not cut it anymore. Eggs, and milk is all I use in my batter and then the toast needs to be cut really thick and left on the griddle for a long time. Of course Licia insisted on adding whipped cream to this already calorie laden breakfast and I had to oblige because it is Saturday after all!

Then after all of this yumminess, I decided to get out the Kitchen Aid and finally try a few recipes that I have found on other foodie blogs. The first was a white chocolate blondie for my Sunday lunch party. The idea was to top it with vanilla icecream, whipped cream and chocolate sauce a la Moxies. The blondie was yummy but not so good that I would post the recipe and insist everyone try it. I still want something with a bit more thickness and substance to it. This, ended up with the right flavor, but the texture was off and left me wishing for Moxies. My guests didn't seem to mind though so I will chalk it up to a success.

I also made Torie's Chocolate Chip Cookies, a Martha Stewart staple recipe that I have used for years with great results. This time I left out the dark chocolate chips and raisins and added white chocolate chips along with toffee bits (got to use up those leftover Christmas ingredients somehow!). I just need to remember to underbake them because I hate hard oatmeal cookies.

The final creation and the yummiest of them all was the Banana Cake. Licia has a weakness for anything banana and I thought she would love this cake - plus it gave me a chance to use my new Bundt pan. The pan worked really well and left the golden brown crust on the outside and kept the cake moist with a good crumb. I have included the recipe and pic because it was just so good! It is always nice to have a beautiful Bundt cake as reward for all the hard work. You won't be disappointed with this one and it uses up a common item in my kitchen - brown bananas. This recipe is from Essence of Chocolate: Recipes for Baking and Cooking with Fine Chocolate by Robert Steinberg and John Scharffenberger.

So there you have it, I slaved in my insufferably hot galley kitchen all evening and ended up with quite a bit to show for it. Enjoy the recipe!

Ciao

Banana Bundt Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
3 large eggs
1-1/4 cups vegetable oil
1-3/4 cups sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans
3 oz. chocolate chips
3 ripe bananas pureed

Butter and flour a tube pan or a bundt pan.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Sift together the dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt and baking soda).
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the eggs, oil and sugar. With the paddle attachment, mix on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure that the sugar has been incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and mix for another 30 seconds.
With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients a bit at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl every now and then to ensure everything is incorporated.
Once the dry ingredients have been added, remove the bowl from the stand mixer and add the pecans, chocolate and bananas. Gently fold them in with a spatula or a wooden spoon. Don't over mix.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 minutes and then test the cake to see if it's done by poking a toothpick or cake tester into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean, it's done. If not, bake the cake for another 5 to 10 minutes.