This and That

First off, a magic trick.  I can teach you how to take really healthy food and turn it into unhealthy, but totally delicious food.  Vegetables that even your kids will love.  Now that's magic!  Abracadabra!
  Here's the secret.

While you are in the kitchen, why not take those brown bananas off the counter and turn them into something awesome?  See, more magic.  I started with Flour's Famous Banana Bread recipe from foodnetwork.com, and made a few adjustments.  It might have been the best banana bread I've ever made!


Banana Bread

Ingredients

• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 cup all purpose, 2/3 cup whole wheat)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar (I used 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup maple syrup; next time I'd cut back on the sugar even more.)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup oil (1/4 cup oil, 1/4 applesauce)
• 3 1/2 bananas, very ripe, mashed (I pulled them out of the freezer a bit in advance and tossed them into the mixer whole so a few chunks were left in the bread.  Yum!)
• 2 tablespoons creme fraiche or sour cream (I went with the sour cream) 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped (I left these out)

Directions

Set oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of a loaf pan with parchment paper.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Beat sugar and eggs with a whisk until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. Drizzle in oil. Add mashed bananas, creme fraiche, and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients and nuts. Pour into a lined loaf pan and bake for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.  (I baked mine in 4 mini loaf pans for about 35 minutes each)

Mini loaf pans mean the bread will be done before 1:00 AM- bonus!

On another note, who can resist a monkey like this one? 

Happy Birthday, Lucy!  (Did you know she was a natural brunette?)

In Case of Mental Breakdown, Eat Cake.

I could tell you about the other night, when I was peeling carrots for a stir fry that I would make the next day, but all I could think about was turning them into carrot cake.  I could also tell you about how, late that night, I couldn't sleep because I kept thinking I should go rescue the carrots from the container of other veggies, lest they start to taste like an onion.  I could tell you about how I thought about carrot cake all day long, and stopped at the grocery store to buy all the ingredients on my way home.   Then there's the part where I got home, and the kids both screamed for 2 hours straight, no matter what I did.  I could also tell you that I even tried to bribe them with chocolate, but it didn't work.  I should tell you that at one point, after realizing that I wasn't going to cure their crabbiness, I said, "I'm leaving!" and walked from the living room to their bedroom to get away from the noise.  I should mention that Hadley ran in sobbing, "Don't leave us mommy, please!" and now I'm sure I've created abandonment issues.  The next thing you should know, is that carrot cake saved the night.  I decided to head to the kitchen, turn on the food processor, and grate about 60 baby carrots, with the intention of the noisy food processor drowning out the screaming and whining of the kids.  I might mention that it completely worked, and the noise distracted them to the point that they forgot they were crabby, and life became 30,000 times better. 

But I won't tell you about all that nonsense, because for the sake of this story, there are only three things you need to know about that night:

1.  The kids were monsters.

2.  I made carrot cake.

3.  The world was right again.  

In case you run into your own cranky-whiney-child-parenting-nightmare, I want you to be prepared.  To make the carrot cake, follow this recipe.  Be ready, it's not a wimpy spice cake with a few carrots mixed in.  A slice of this cake is like a meal in and of itself.  I've tried many carrot cake recipes, but this is my favorite.   I use pecans instead of walnuts, about 1/2 cup extra carrots, and bake in three layers for 25 minutes each.  Also, I subbed part whole wheat flour (1 cup) and half apple sauce for the oil.  For the frosting, I typically use a basic cream cheese frosting (you will need 1.5 batches if you are going to frost the sides), but whipped cream cheese frosting is a nice lighter (in texture) option.   The cake always tastes better the second day, but make sure you take it out of the fridge at least 20 minutes before serving.  

Enough with the details about the recipe, because there are really only three things you need to know about this cake:

1.  It's delicious.

2. It is a completely legitimate breakfast food.

3.  Two cakes are better than one. 

In case you don't like carrot cake (weirdo), here is one more way to cure the crabby kid blues:

Bonus points: What did this post have to do with naked mole rats?  If you don't know, then you need to be introduced to Mo Willems.  Our favorites are here and here.

I Think I Have An Addiction...

...A chocolate and peanut butter addiction.  The snicker's bar that I ate for lunch today wasn't enough.  Nope, I had to go and make a chocolate peanut butter cake.  Specifically, a three layer chocolate cake with peanut butter cream cheese frosting and chocolate peanut butter ganache.  In my defense, it was a gift for somebody, and I gave most of it away.

As far as layer cakes go, this one is pretty quick and easy, but the results are delicious and impressive.  If you decide to make this, I'd line up a few taste testers to help you eat it; it's very rich.

For the cake portion, I used Ina Garten's recipe for Beatty's Chocolate Cake, baked in three layers instead of two (in my oven, they take about 20 minutes).  A tip: I've made this recipe countless times, and I find that you don't need a mixer (a plus when baking during nap time).  I mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl, mix the wet ingredients in a large pyrex liquid measuring cup, then add wet to dry and mix well.  The batter will thin out enough to mix out any lumps after the addition of coffee.  

For the frosting and ganache, as well as assembly instructions, follow this recipe from Smitten Kitchen.

Enjoy!

Homemade Snickers Bars

Did you know you can make your own Snickers bars?  Of course, you could just buy them at the store, but these are totally worth making.  Originally, I felt a little letdown, but after sampling eight a couple of them, I've decided that they are pretty awesome.  That is also the general consensus from my co-workers, friends, patients and Tyler's co-workers (yep, this recipe makes a lot).  

I found the recipe here, and made it more or less as written.  Plan for at least a couple of hours to make these, as they require time to cool and set between each layer.  They are anything but healthy, organic or natural, but we can't be good all the time, can we?

Dutch Oven Bread

About two weeks ago I had to stop running for awhile, which led to the decision that I should stop baking for awhile.  When I bake, I eat.  A lot.

Fast forward two weeks and I am going through major baking withdrawal.  Like, I have clicked on this webpage about 30 times.  Mmm... doesn't that look good?  Each time, I go through my mental checklist: eggs- check, whipping cream- check, chocolate stout- no, but the co-op is open until 9:00...  Rewind and repeat, night after night.  Oh, then there's this lemon layer cake.  Also, my mom made me a carrot cake for my birthday.  It was good, but there's a major problem.  I didn't get to eat seconds, or thirds, or fourths.  Not even for breakfast (yes, carrot cake totally counts as proper breakfast food).  So, now I'm back in Boise and I need to make carrot cake, but I can't.  Oh, woe is me.

A few years ago, I heard that you can bake "artisan" bread in a dutch oven.  I was intrigued, but I never tried because: 1. Baking bread scares me, and 2. Why bake bread when you can bake a cake?  So, now's the time.  I said I'd stop baking, but what I think I meant was that I'd stop baking sweets.  So, I decided to become a bread baker.  Who cares that today was the hottest day of the year, I needed to bake, darn it!

So, dutch oven bread attempt number one was using this recipe from The Pioneer Woman.  I made it because it didn't require a several hour rest/rise time.  The bread was easy and the results were good.  The crust was almost flaky, I suppose due to the amount of butter in the bread.  My bread didn't look nearly as nice as the pictures posted with the recipe, but I was still proud of the results.

Well, it's another night and another loaf of bread.  The second recipe I used was a bit more traditional.  I found it here.   When you are done reading the recipe, take a minute to peruse her site, her home is beautiful and creative.  So, with the second recipe, I mixed the dough last night, then pulled it out of the fridge when I got home.  The baking method was similar, starting with a pre heated dutch oven, baking for 15 minutes with the lid on, then removing the lid for the remainder of baking.  This bread had a more traditional taste and texture, and was delicious while still warm.   I did think it was pretty similar to french bread made in the bread maker, but it may be because it was the first time I made it.  The recipe made enough dough for two loaves, so I'll bake the second half in a few days.   I'm expecting that to be even better.  

Neither recipe took more than a few minutes of hands on time, and there's nothing like fresh, homemade bread, so I'm sure I'll make them again, as well as trying a few different recipes.  And if the leftovers somehow magically transform into chocolate bread pudding, it'll be solely to avoid wasting food.  How admirable is that?  

Chocolate, Peanut Butter Cookie Dough and Toasted Marshmallow Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes last week.  They were messy, time consuming (but not hard), and a little bit weird, but I liked them.  The chocolate cupcake was not my favorite part; it was a little gummy and didn't have a real strong chocolate flavor.  I think I'd substitute a different recipe for that part next time.  Also, I found that I needed more peanut butter (darn!) in the cookie dough to make it stick together.  

Find the recipe HERE.

A few other things:

I'd love to say that I read about Inner-City Arts in Philanthropy Weekly, or perhaps The Journal of Fine Art.  The truth is, I read on People.com that Prince William and Kate will be stopping there on their American tour.  Don't judge me.  The point is, this seems to be a wonderful program with a hugely positive impact on the lives of many young kids. 

Speaking of philanthropy, several of my friends went to college with a young woman named Renata.  She was recently diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer.  Here's the positive part: somebody set up a website to take donations for Renata and her two year old daughter.  The original goal was to raise $5,000, but that was surpassed in a just a couple of days.  People are good.  If you'd like to help, click here. 

This is cool.

Roy G. Biv

 Tres.  Drei.  Trois. Three years.

  It's already been 36 months?  It's only been 36 months?

 Birthdays are a little bittersweet for me; I have trouble letting my kids grow up.  However, come party time, it's all happiness and light.  Or in this case, bright, bright colors.  

And balloon garlands

Late night garage transformations

Fringey Streamers

Shaving Cream Paintings

Rainbow Cake

Stained glass jello

Painted sidewalks newsprint and pet rocks

Ribbon maze gift exchange.

Post-party watermelon feed

Dollar store aprons as party favors

Happy Birthday, Hadley!

Behind the scenes:

- This was a party for two.  Hadley's friend has the exact same birthday and they share many of the same friends.  Doing the party together made things so much more fun, as well as so much easier.

- I got the cake and frosting recipes from Whisk Kid.  Sure, it takes some time, but it's really not hard.  The wow factor is totally worth it.  Use gel food coloring for the most vibrant colors.

- I made a mocha fudge truffle cake for the parents.  Yum.  Still, some adults ate the rainbow cake.  It was actually quite good.

- We used white plastic tablecloths from the dollar store to hang on the garage walls.  They covered up our junk while keeping the room bright.  A blue tarp made a great area rug.  Chest freezer + tablecloth = Serving table.

- Fringey streamers are pretty.  You should make them.  You can buy crepe paper sheets at Zurcher's party store.  Or borrow my streamers; I can't bring myself to throw them away.

- Balloon garlands are also pretty.  This one made me happy.  I couldn't stand the thought of popping the balloons (do you think I have issues letting go of things?), so I dropped it off on a little girl's door step late that night.  Word is, she was pretty happy when she found it the next morning.  Hint: use an air compressor to blow up the balloons.

- The stained glass jello was a hit.  I didn't make it, so I can't speak to the difficulty, but I know that it tasted good and the kids loved it.  Oh, and it was pretty.  This seems to be a theme of the party.

- Shaving cream painting is a fun, messy project with beautiful results. We used tempera paint instead of food coloring.

-Instead of bringing gifts for the girls, we asked each guest to bring a $5 art/craft themed gift.  While the kids were creating their art, the dads attached each gift to the end of a different color of curling ribbon ($0.33 at Zurchers) and wove them into a maze in the yard.  The kids had fun searching and they each got to go home with a gift. 

Rainbow Connection

If you read that gel food coloring is much more vibrant than liquid food coloring, for the love of Martha, believe it. 

But, oh boy, aren't they beautiful?  

And, aren't you curious?  

What do you think is in the bowls?  

These yummy shortbread cookies were supposed to be very, very pale colors.  I used the tip of a toothpick to add food coloring to the frosting.  What's smaller than the tip of a toothpick?  Maybe next time I'll use a needle. 

This rainbow is courtesy of Mother Nature.  These are radishes from our CSA, ready to go into the oven and become radish chips.  Surprisingly delicious!

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies (Almost)

I know what you're thinking- you've heard that line before.  Every recipe claims to be "the best," and in my experience, they always fall short.  These were really good.  The best?  Hmm... I'd like to say I'll never try another cookie recipe again, but that would be silly.  New recipes = new reasons to gorge on cookies.  Taste testing, in the name of science, you know?  Anyway, if you like your cookies chewy and soft, try this recipe.

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

And remember, if you dunk them in milk, they become health food. 

Ice Cream In A Bag

It's getting warm outside, which means it's ice cream season.  It's always ice cream season.  Should you find your freezer bare, don't panic!  Gather up these ingredients and make your own!

Ice Cream in a Bag


Add these ingredients to a ziploc sandwich bag and seal tightly:
1/2 cup milk (or half and half- yum!)
1 TBSP sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
(alternatives: cocoa powder or chocolate syrup, strawberry syrup or preserves, instant espresso)

Add three cups of crushed ice and 1/3 cup of kosher or rock salt to a gallon sized bag.  Put the smaller bag inside the larger bag, seal and then SHAKE IT for 5 minutes, or until the ice cream is firm.  Carefully wipe the smaller bag before opening so you don't get salty ice cream.
Enjoy!

It never tastes as good as real ice cream, but it will do in a pinch.  As an adult, I always get excited when milk turns into ice cream right before my eyes; I can't wait to see the kids' reaction when we do this together tomorrow!

Chocolate Applesauce Bread

A few years ago, my grandma saw this recipe on a cooking segment during the morning news.  She told my mom about it, who then did some fancy googling and tracked it down.  I can't remember which station it was, and I can't find the original link.  So... I'll just attribute this to some lady from a MN news station, via my Grandma.  


I must have made this bread 50 times over the past few years.  I made it a few days ago, but I forgot to take pictures, and all that's left now are a few crumbs.  Sorry, I'm really failing y'all tonight. 


Ingredients:  Makes two large loaves
4 cups flour   ( I use 2 cups whole wheat, 2 cups all purpose)
4 tsp. baking soda
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp cornstarch
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. salt
3½ cups unsweetened applesauce
½ cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups raisins (optional)....that would be healthy, but I use two cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips instead...mmm...

Mix dry ingredients, add wet ingredients.  Pour into two loaf pans.  Bake at 325 degrees for one hour. 


This bread is moist and sweet, but not overly so, and somewhat healthy.  It is a great cake-like option for somebody with an egg allergy, or a vegan (if you choose the chocolate chips and sugar carefully).  I usually cut back on the sugar so it can serve as a semi decent snack option.  Last night, I dressed it up as dessert to serve to guests.  I cut small slices, warmed them slightly, then piled them high with strawberries and fresh whipped cream.  Delicious!  It freezes well, too.  Pre-slice it so you can easily grab a piece and microwave it for 20 seconds to defrost, or 40 seconds to get it nice and gooey.  


Enjoy! 

Let's play a game

Do you remember those close up photo quizzes on the back of Weekly Readers?  Do Weekly Readers still exist?  I can vividly remember sitting in my first grade classroom, reading a Weekly Reader article about the Bush vs. Dukakis election.  Oh, I loved those stinky little 4 page magazines (I think they must have been printed at the same place as book orders- same thin paper and strange smell).    Anyway, here's a photo quiz for you.  When you are done, pass your paper to the person in front of you to be graded.  

1.  

Any guesses?

How about a hint...

Paint!

2. 

Tyler says this one is creepy.

Same comment, different picture.

I'll agree, this one is creepy.  

Baby doll!

I would love to own a macro lens for my camera, but they are way too spendy.  I found a $10 extension tube on ebay, and figured it was worth a shot as a cheap stand in for a true macro lens.  I haven't played with it much yet, but for the price I can't complain.  Want to see one more example?  

3. 

Hmmm...what could that be?

Do you know?

There we go, it's a (half eaten) pumpkin muffin.  

Did you hear that there was a pumpkin shortage last fall?  Well, I did, and I bought a can or two of pumpkin puree every time I went to the grocery store.  Thus, I now have a stockpile in my cupboard.  I needed a last minute treat to bring to a new mom last night (she needs major calories to nurse twins!), so I used this pumpkin bread recipe, baked in muffin form to speed things up.  The recipe made 24 muffins and one mini loaf of bread.  I think it tasted much better in loaf form, perhaps because I over baked the muffins.  I checked them at 25 minutes (based on recipe recommendations to bake muffins for 40 minutes) and they were well done.  The mini loaf took about about 30 minutes.  Over done or not, the kids loved them.

Here's the recipe with my changes in parenthesis.  

Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread

via allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS:

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree 4 eggs 1 cup vegetable oil (1/2 cup oil, 1/2 C applesauce)  2/3 cup water 3 cups white sugar (1 1/2 cup white, 1 cup brown) 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (2 cups AP, 1 1/2 cups whole wheat)

2 teaspoons baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger (add 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice)

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans.
2.	In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, applesauce, water and sugars until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.
3.	Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (18-20 minutes for muffins, 30 minutes for mini loaves) Wait, you want to see one more out of focus picture?  Of course!  This one has a funny store behind it.    We were driving in the car and somehow got on the subject of Blake's chipped tooth.  We have no idea how it got chipped; in fact, I swear that it came in that way.  Tyler mentioned that he has a similarly chipped front tooth, and jokingly said, "maybe it's a genetic chip."  Hadley heard this and said, "I want to eat genetic chips at the hockey game!"  Last night, she saw a bag of tortilla chips and asked if they were "genetic chips."  Oh man, that kid makes me laugh!

Today is brought to you by the letter C.

The alternative title for this post was, "A curry, a cookie and a cracker walk into a kitchen..." However, that seemed like it had the potential to be the opening to a really offensive joke.  I decided that a Sesame Street reference might be more politically correct.  Okay?  Good?  Alright, on with the recipes!



Curry

Curry photos are not very appetizing, so here's a photo of Morocco (via National Geographic)

So you have a fridge full of vegetables and no dinner plans...what to do?  I stumbled upon this Moroccan curry recipe the other night, and I'm glad I did.  I basically followed the cooking method and spice combination, substituting the veggies that I had on hand (cauliflower, broccolini, red and green peppers, onions and potatoes).  The results were very good the first day and even better as leftovers.  I planned to serve it with brown rice, but alas the rice cooker didn't come through.  The rice was still crunchy, even after adding more water and cooking for an extra 20 minutes.  I made couscous as a quick fix, which was a good accompaniment and probably an authentic side dish for a Moroccan meal.  Determined to conquer the brown rice challenge, a google search brought me to the answer: baked brown rice.   How come nobody told me about this sooner? 

Cookies

Remember the homemade nutella that was taunting me from the fridge?  It desperately needed a purpose, so I found this recipe for nutella chocolate chip cookies.  Yum!  Hadley was my sous chef, and she gives the cookies two oven gloved thumbs up.

Graham Crackers

image via Martha Stewart

Homemade graham crackers are delicious.  That is, unless you double the salt.  Then they are salty.  If you are willing to carefully measure all ingredients, these are definitely worth the time to mix, roll, chill and bake.  I usually use this recipe from Smitten Kitchen, but decided to try Martha's version last time.  I think I like the flavor of the first recipe best, but the second recipe has a lighter texture that I enjoyed.  Try one and let me know what you think.