Grandma's Banana Bread

This is the banana bread recipe my grandmother made my entire life.  There is no better way of using up over-ripe bananas in my opinion.  We so often have brown bananas since none of us like them once they start to brown.

Up to bat:  Thing #5!  She was excited to make this with me but once we started, she wouldn't let me help.  Our little baker.  She's getting pretty good at this stuff!

So here it is, the family Banana Bread recipe that came from who-knows-where and everyone loves!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 Cups Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Butter, softened
• 2 Eggs
• 1 1/2 Cps Mashed VERY ripe bananas (3-4 medium)
• 1/2 Cup Buttermilk
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
• 2 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 Teaspoon Salt

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 Degrees
• Grease bottom of pan(s) - use (2) 8x4-inch loaf pans or (1) 9x5-inch loaf pan
• In a large bowl, beat together butter & sugar.
• Add to bowl:  eggs, bananas, buttermilk and vanilla; beat with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. (also a great time to pick out any banana peels that children may have missed when peeling the bananas!  Yes, it happened.)
• Stir in flour, baking soda and salt just until moistened.
• Pour batter in to pan(s)
• Bake 8-inch loaves 1 hour, 9-inch loaf 1 1/4 hours or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
• Cool 10 minutes
• Loosen sides of loaves from pans, remove and place on a cooling rack for about an hour before slicing.

Since we have so many over-ripe bananas in the freezer.... we may experiment with other things to do with this bread!  Stay tuned!

Pumpkin Pie (with recipe)

Thing #4 desperately wanted to make pumpkin pies this weekend, so we indulged him!  This comes at the perfect time for the season anyway, so we thought we would share our recipe with you!

I got our recipe from our local Co-op and it's always a hit!

This recipe calls for pumpkin puree.  If you want to used canned, that is fine too, but if you want to use fresh pumpkin (as we usually do) - buy 1 or 2 baking pumpkins, cut in half, scoop out the center (save the seeds for roasting later!) and lay flat in a baking dish with a bit of water in the bottom and bake at 400 for 35-45 minutes or until a fork is easily inserted into the flesh of the pumpkin.  Scoop the pumpkin out of the skin and into a blender to make your puree.  You would be surprised the added flavor this adds to your pies!

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 Cups (or one 15oz can) pumpkin puree (can substitute butternut squash if you prefer)
• 3 Eggs
• 1 Cup Half & Half
• 1/3 Cup Milk
• 3 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 Cup Sugar
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons Ground Ginger
• 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
• 1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cloves
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 9-inch Homemade Pie Crust or pre-made frozen pie crust
• Whipped Cream for Topping

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Put all ingredients into blender and blend until smooth - if you don't have a blender, you can use a large bowl and beat with a mixer.
• Pour into pie shell and bake at 400 for 15 minutes
• Reduce heat to 350 and bake for 40-50 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Cool on a wire rack for 2-3 hours before slicing.

Children are always closely supervised
While cooking and baking in the
Brownifer kitchen.  Especially
when fire is involved.

We let our whipped topping sit on the counter and come to room temperature while the pie was cooling, then spooned it into a piping bag to make the whipped topping look pretty :-) 

The kids have fun making this, it's nice and simple and though I'm not a fan of pumpkin pie, I'm told it's amazing! 

We doubled the recipe for two pies and had some filling left over, so we poured it into ramekins and baked it with the pies in the oven.  When it cooled, we sprinkled it with sugar and torched the sugar like you would for a creme brulee.  We have organic sugar that isn't very fine, so it didn't torch so well.  It was sort of a fail, but it tasted good and they ate it, so .... is it really a fail?  :-)

We'll be making plenty more of these this season, they go FAST!

Homemade Spicy Laab (with recipe)

So, Laab (also known as Laap, Larp, Lahp, Lahb) is a family favorite around here!  It's a spicy minced meat salad that is usually eaten with/on greens.  Normally we use a Laab spice packet we buy at the Asian food store and eat it on Romaine leaves.  But last night, Brownie didn't find the packet in time and we proceeded to make our own while researching recipes online.  So this is our version!  It turned out great and I love that we can control the heat!  Laab is notoriously spicy; VERY spicy.

Never fear that this recipe calls for no salt or garlic....you won't be lacking flavor!  We had a beautiful organic head of cabbage, so we attempted to use it with our Laab, but....while the flavor was amazing, it just didn't work.  We were wishing we had our trusty Romaine leaves, so that's what we're going to list in the recipe.

If you're intimidated by Asian cooking, try this!  It's a simple process and it will impress anyone who tries it!  You'll be a hit!

Ingredients:

• 2 Lbs Ground Pork
• 1 Large Red Bell Pepper
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1/2 Cup Chopped Fresh Cilantro
• 1 Large Shallot - very thinly sliced
• 2 Green Onion - chopped
• 5 Tablespoons Lime Juice
• 6 Tablespoons Fish Sauce (we found a wonderful MSG-free one at a local Asian food store)
• 1 Tablespoon Cayenne (adjust if you want more or less spice)
• Whole Romaine Leaves, rinsed
• Chopped Green Onion (for garnish)
• Sweet Chili Sauce (for garnish - we found some at Market of Choice in the ethnic aisle)

Directions:

• Heat oil in a large skillet
• Brown pork in oil over medium heat until nearly cooked through
• Add shallot, green onion, bell pepper, cilantro, fish sauce and lime juice and cayenne to pan and mix with meat
• Simmer on Med/High uncovered until liquid is evaporated. (You'll still have a bid of oil in the bottom of the pan, that's fine)

NOTE:  Yes, Fish Sauce has a foul smell that will make you think of vile things.  Just go with it.  It will cook down and taste delicious!  Trust us.

Serve Laab scooped into Romaine leaves (like a taco) or over rice with chopped cabbage, top with chopped green onion and sweet chili sauce.

I'm not a fan of sweet chili sauce, but it's one of Brownie's favorites.  The regular cabbage was a total fail, but it was perfect chopped up with the Laab over rice!  SO good!  We made some bowls of this for our lunches today .... yes, it's delightful leftover too!

Enjoy!

Homemade Hamburger Buns #1 (with recipe)

Jen is experimenting with homemade burger buns!  So this is attempt #1, we're naming it such because we're not 100% in love quite yet.  Tweaking and research must be done!  But just because we're going for knock-out amazing doesn't mean that these weren't good!  They were.

This recipe is quick and simple and even if you're not used to working with yeast breads, it's a breeze.

The recipe makes 6 large buns or 12 smaller buns - however you like to eat your burgers!


Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water, plus 2 tablespoons warm water
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3-4 cups flour

Directions:

• In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water with a pinch of sugar (this is vital - yeast needs to come to life and it loves to feed on sugar!  I always proof my yeast this way)
• Let yeast stand for 10 minutes or until it's nice and foamy as you can see in the picture - that means it's awake!
• Add oil, remaining sugar, egg, salt and enough flour to form a soft dough (I used 3 cups flour)
• Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, about 3-5 minutes
• Divide dough into 6 pieces (or 12 if you're doing smaller buns), roll into a ball and flatten/shape each as you want your buns to be.  Ours were large - we like big buns and we cannot lie!
• Place each piece on a greased cookie sheet (or two if you need more room) - I spray my cookie sheets with coconut oil spray.
• Cover and let rest for 10 minutes
• Bake at 425 degrees for 8-12 minutes or until golden brown.
• Remove from pan and place on a wire rack to cool (this is important!  I didn't remove mine and as you can see below - the bottoms were over-done by the time we were ready to slice!  I blame the wine.)

Like I said, these were very good, even the over-done bottoms (my fault) didn't ruin them.  We'll be experimenting with recipes until we find one that we can honestly say is to die for.  But these are an excellent, quick and simple bun that even Thing #5 liked!  Our picky little Bite.

Try them with your next burger adventure and let us know how yours turned out!

Vegan Paella with Chickpeas (with recipe)

I wonder how many vegetarian dishes Brownie will let me cook before he fires up the Barbecue .... ?????  I feel like we're close.

So we loved this recipe!  When Brownie saw it on the menu planner his first reaction was, "What the hell are you making?  Paella has shrimp!"  Well, it turned out really well and he liked it!  What was he saying then!?  "It's really good!"  HA!

"You know would make it even better?  Shrimp."

So there you have it.  It has amazing flavor and textures ... I think it's divine on its own.  The male perspective seems to crave the shrimp .... maybe we'll try a traditional recipe sometime if I can find shrimp that isn't radioactive in this day and age.  Wish me luck!

In the mean time, here is what we did!  This recipe is ingredient-heavy but it's nothing complicated, just a little time-consuming during prep.  You can do it if I can!  :-)  OH and yes, I used white basmati rice .... I told you before the ONLY thing I can eat brown rice with is our homemade Yumm! bowls.

Brownie got home just in time to plate this beautifully for me, he's amazing that way.  But trust me, it was just as delicious spooned into my bowl and sprinkled with parsley normal-like :-)  As you wish!

Ingredients:

1 cup short-grain brown rice (See Recipe Note - seriously!  Scroll to the bottom and read the note before you buy your ingredients)
Hefty pinch saffron (about 8 strands) - I found this reasonably priced at Trader Joe's
6 cups vegetable broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
3/4 cup crushed tomatoes, fresh or canned
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 tablespoon hot paprika - didn't have it, I used 1/2 tablespoon smoked paprika and a dash of cayenne pepper...maybe more than a dash.
1 cup green beans, trimmed and halved
3 artichoke hearts, sliced (fresh, frozen, or canned)
1 cup cooked chickpeas
1/4 cup peas, fresh or frozen - Brownie has a HUGE problem with peas - I used riced cauliflower instead
1/4 cup chopped parsley, for garnish (optional)
Salt and pepper

Directions:

Bring 3 cups of water and a hefty pinch of salt to a boil, add the rice, and cook for about about 20 minutes, or until the rice begins to soften. Drain and set aside. (Par-boiling the brown rice speeds up the overall cooking time.)

Combine saffron threads and 3 tablespoons of warm water in a small bowl and set aside. Bring the broth to a simmer, then reduce the heat and keep at a low simmer until needed.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large cast iron skillet, and sauté the onions until soft and fragrant. Add the garlic slices and peppers. Cook until soft, about 7 minutes. Mix in the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, hot paprika, saffron threads (along with the water), and season generously with salt and freshly cracked pepper. Let it cook for a few minutes.

Make sure to have your vegetable broth simmering nearby. Fold in the green beans, artichoke slices, and chickpeas. Then stir in the par-boiled, drained rice. Ladle the simmering broth over the rice. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the rice is tender and the liquid has evaporated. A few minutes before the rice is fully cooked, scatter the peas over top. Sprinkle with parsley just before serving.

Recipe Notes

• Paella with Traditional White Rice: If you'd prefer, use a traditional short-grain white rice for this dish, like Bomba or Valencia. If using white rice, there's no need to par-boil and you only need 3 cups of broth.
• Adding my own note - this recipe goes pretty quickly - chop and slice everything ahead of time to save yourself some stress!
• Also, my broth simmered for what felt like too long and I was worried I didn't have enough liquid so .... I added about 1/4 cup of red wine ... just because it was on the counter.
• I am also including a photo of my sliced garlic and my well-loved garlic press/slicer that makes this step incredibly easy.  Bed, Bath & Beyond has them here.

Original Recipe here:  thekitchn.com

Mushroom Bourguignon (with recipe)

This recipe is so delicious; you'll almost forget it's vegetarian!  The flavors work so well together and of
course, whatever wine you choose to cook with, a glass of that same wine will pair perfectly with your meal!

I know when you're weighing your mushrooms in the produce section that it will seem like a lot - but trust us:  it's right.

We've tweaked the recipe a bit and it turned out amazing.  Depending on the amount of mushrooms you end up with, you may need to add a little extra broth or wine.  Don't be afraid to play with it!

Make a list and head to the store to make this for dinner tonight!  You won't be sorry!

 Ingredients:

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 pounds portobello, shiitake or crimini mushrooms, sliced
4 Medium/Large Leeks, trimmed and thickly sliced
1 large carrot, diced
1 medium onion, diced

1 yellow onion, diced

1 heaping teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 1teaspoon dried
sea salt & cracked pepper, to taste
2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup full-bodied red wine
2 cups vegetable broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 tablespoons flour (you can use arrowroot powder to keep it gluten-free if you prefer)
Mashed potatoes - made as you like them

Directions:

• Cut potatoes - get started on the stove for mashed potatoes
• Slice Mushrooms and leeks, add to soup pot with olive oil
• Chop onion and carrot, set aside
• Sear mushrooms and leeks until they begin to take on a little coloring, about 3 to 4 minutes. Carefully remove from pot and set aside.
• Reduce heat to medium, add one tablespoon of oil. Add the carrots, onions, thyme, salt and pepper, saute for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are lightly browned. Toss in the garlic and cook for another minute.
• Slowly add the wine to the pot and scrap any bits that are stuck to the bottom or sides. Turn heat to high and reduce wine by half.
• Stir in tomato paste and broth, mix. Add in mushrooms and leeks, including any juices that have collected, back to the pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, or until mushrooms are very tender. Let simmer, covered or cover askewed, stirring occasionally and enjoy the wonderful aroma.
• In a small bowl, mix together the remaining tablespoon oil, or water, with flour to make a paste, stir into the stew. Simmer for 10 minutes. If the sauce is too thin, boil it down to the right consistency. Season to taste.
• Serve spooned over mashed potatoes (or cooked grain/pasta of your choice), sprinkled with a pinch of fresh thyme.

We used Swallow Pinot Noir to make this - it's inexpensive and it was really good!  I suggest buying 2 bottles of whatever you choose - some to drink while cooking, some to cook with and more to enjoy your food with!  

The original recipe we tweaked a bit can be seen here:
http://www.simple-veganista.com/2012/11/mushroom-bourguignon_10.html

Creamy Butternut Squash Linguine

Jen was in the kitchen again last night!  This is a recipe I found online, this is the second time I've made it and we just love it.  Disclaimer:  I hate squash.  And I love this pasta!

This can be made vegetarian or vegan, totally up to you.  I made one plate vegan with no cheese and ate a little more with cheese .... I prefer vegetarian honestly :-)

So here ya go!

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil (or butter if you prefer)
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage
• 2 pound butternut or kabocha squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into small ½-inch pieces (about 3 cups) - I use 1/2 of a large butternut squash - freeze the other half to make another batch later!
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed or chopped
• ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes (up to ¼ teaspoon for spicier pasta sauce)
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 12 ounces whole grain linguine or fettucine
• Optional additional garnishes: shaved Parmesan or Pecorino and/or smoked salt

Directions:

1. Warm the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the sage and toss to coat. Let the sage get crispy before transferring it to a small bowl. Sprinkle it lightly with salt and set the bowl aside.
2. Add the squash, onion, garlic and red pepper flakes to the skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the broth. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the squash is soft and the liquid is reduced by half, about 15 to 20 minutes.
3. In the meantime, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente according to package directions, stirring occasionally. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water before draining. (I've never actually had to use the extra water - but you never know)
4. Once the squash mixture is done cooking, remove it from the heat and let it cool slightly. Transfer the contents of the pan to a blender, but keep the skillet handy. Purée the mixture until smooth (beware of hot steam escaping from the top of the blender), then season with salt and pepper until the flavors sing. I add a pinch of cumin during this stage - always makes the flavor pop!
5. In the reserved skillet, combine the pasta, squash purée and ¼ cup cooking liquid. Cook over medium heat, tossing and adding more pasta cooking water as needed, until the sauce coats the pasta, about 2 minutes. Season with more salt and pepper if necessary.
6. Serve the pasta in individual bowls topped with fried sage, more black pepper and shaved Parmesan/Pecorino and/or smoked salt, if desired.

Thing #2 is adventurous with food, he tried this and loved it!  It's probably a bit spicy for the younger littles, but we could always leave the pepper flakes out and see if they would eat it!?  Maybe they would believe it was cheese....hmmm......

I found this recipe online, so I want to share the link here to give credit where credit is due!

http://cookieandkate.com/2014/creamy-vegan-butternut-squash-linguine-with-fried-sage/

Homemade Yumm! Bowls

Our blog is full of beautiful food that Brownie comes up with, but I'm going to start sharing some of the things that happen in between those gorgeous dishes!  Unfortunately, we don't eat like that every day :-)

If you've never been to Cafe Yumm!  You should definitely go!  So delicious.  Where we live, there isn't one close enough to run to and the one that is - well I'm not a fan of fighting college campus parking to get to it.

Which brings me to one of our favorite go-to dinners (and lunches if we make a big enough batch): putting together our own Yumm! bowls at home.  It's fast and easy and they're so flavorful! And yes, healthy!  Here are our basic ingredients:

-Cooked Brown Rice
-Chopped Kale
-Black Beans
-Fresh grated Parmesan (or whatever cheese floats your boat - just please don't buy bagged cheese ...     just please!)
-Canned Jalepenos (optional)
-Fresh chopped onion
-Fresh chopped tomato
-Salsa
-Yumm! Sauce
-Sour Cream

You can add anything, really.  We add avocado when we have it; you could literally add anything to this and it would be delicious!  Check out Cafe Yumm's website for ideas!

The process?  Not much of one, but here ya go:

1.)  Cook Brown Rice (Hey, I'm not a fan of brown rice either - start with white rice and work your way there.  I promise that all the flavor in these bowls won't have you wishing you'd chosen white rice!  In fact, this is the ONLY thing we use brown rice for!  It's a start.)

2.)  Put rice, kale, beans, onion and grated cheese into your bowl and microwave for 1 minute

3.)  Top bowl with your own amounts of everything else you want to use here - you can omit the sour cream and cheese if you want to stay vegan, of course.  We just love the added creaminess :-)



4.)  Stir everything together into a big mushy bowl and eat - the flavors will just blow you away!  In our opinion - the stirring and mixing is the key to enjoying these bowls properly :-)

Enjoy!!!!







**Where do I buy Yumm! Sauce?  We find it at our local Co-op and at Market of Choice grocery stores.  Cafe Yumm's website has links to where you can buy it near you and they take phone orders directly as well, I believe.  Also, at any Cafe Yumm! restaurant, you can purchase it.  I'm thinkin' we need to make a trip for an original Yumm! bowl and grab the big bottle! hahaha  These small jars just don't feed our craving.  It's literally good on, in and with anything! Veggie dip, chip dip, sandwich spread .... I'd Yumm! sauce the world if I could! :-)

Brownifer Pizza Sauce

So ... everyone knows by know my obsession with making our own ingredients to avoid MSG and unnecessary food additives.  Pizza sauce is one of these things.  Thing #3 requested homemade pizzas for his birthday this weekend, so of course, sauce had to be made. We made enough sauce for 4 pizzas with some leftover, and the batches worked out so well that I'm contemplating doing it again and canning some for future pizza-making adventures! :-)

I realize the photos aren't glamorous - I was working in a hurry for family and all I had was my Blackberry camera - so I apologize!  I will update the photos from our next batch with an actual camera! :-)  Recipe below will make 1 batch of sauce - enough for approx. 1 pizza


Ingredients:

• 5-6 fresh Roma Tomatoes
• 1 Handful Fresh Basil
• 1/4 Large Onion
•  4-5 Large Cloves Raw Garlic
• 2 Tablespoons Dried Oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

• Chop tomatoes into quarters, add all ingredients to blender until full
• Blend into sauce (as seen below on left) - pour into sauce pan
• Simmer on Medium heat (or higher if you're in a hurry and have time to watch it closely) until sauce is thick (as seen below on right) and ready to spread on your pizza dough.

You can see between these two pictures how far down our sauce cooked - it takes some time.  We started our 4 batches of sauce the night before and it simmered all night (I won't even tell you how late I was up - smaller batches cook down faster, I promise!).  Watch it CAREFULLY and stir often.  The sauce will settle and scorch quickly if it isn't stirred frequently enough.

I have always received compliments on my pizza sauce and this batch was no different.  There is just nothing that compares to homemade!!!!