Simple Banana Bread

You know the holidays have come and gone when your pantry contains three bags of powdered sugar in various volumes and no chocolate chips. Chocolate chips are a staple in my kitchen, chocolate is like its own food group and one that has a high serving size recommendation. Growing up, my mom kept a jar of chocolate chips on the counter (and still does) because her grandmotherly neighbor in Hawaii also kept a jar of chocolate chips on the counter. And so, I have a jar containing my bags of chocolate chips in my pantry (I'm working up to the jar). Somehow, through all the baked goodies and snacking, I completely exhausted my stores of chocolate chips--because yes, there were several bags of varying types of chocolate. This made banana bread making a little boring and also a little more challenging.

There are bananas afoot!

Bananas are okay but banana bread is amazing. I think I subconsciously get tired of bananas just so I can let them go soft to force myself to make banana bread. Normally I make Joy the Baker's bourbon banana bread but I had no chocolate chips and was looking for a non-bourbon version. So I looked through some cookbooks and some websites and came across a very simple recipe for banana bread from Smitten Kitchen. I almost made them into muffins so I could more easily share with coworkers but alas, I ate all of the banana bread myself. Over the course of a week but nonetheless, all mine.

What I love about this recipe is it calls for melted butter so I don't have to try and pretend that my butter was room temperature by over-zapping it in the microwave. Melt away, my slippery friend, melt away. Also the spices used here (clove, nutmeg and cinnamon) are a favorite combination. I add these spice to just about anything fluffy and doughy like breads and pancakes for a subtle flavor enhancement. They're also very seasonally appropriate to me.

Ban and Ana

My dad has had this photograph of Ban and Ana for quite a long time and I always thought it was hilarious. Two bananas named Ban and Ana shedding their skins to spoon in bed? Hilarious. And I'm happy that it now hangs in my kitchen, I have many a Pinterest idea for what other food-related art could decorate the walls of my future dream kitchen. In this kitchen, there is also a bedazzled Kitchen Aid mixer and lots of storage space. This is my heaven.

As some of you  may know, I have a small obsession with all things British. Harry Potter, the Royals, Downton Abbey, they're all utterly fantastic to me! I justified the banana bread by making it with the express purpose of watching Downton again. I also justified buying new dessert plates by saying they were on sale and were all cities I'd visited before. I'm getting so fancy with my entertaining-ware, I have a ridiculous quantity of glasses right now.

Downton Abbey parody that I read in about 30 seconds

At any rate, when you run out of chocolate chips, quickly remedy the situation. And if that doesn't work, add some nutella. Nutella makes everything better, namely banana bread and life.

Om nom banana bread

Coconut Carrot Soup

The arctic freeze has left the building, leaving me with the desire to go see Frozen and never watch The Day After Tomorrow ever again (too real, too real). But if there's one  thing I've learned, winter isn't done for at least another two months. As such, the theme of warm foods will continue! Or at least for this post with Shutterbean's coconut carrot soup.

Fun fact: my pantry is huge, it's a walk-in closet with built in shelves and drawers. Absolutely fabulous for all the random things like food and vacuum cleaners that must live there with the microwave, coffee maker and miscellaneous cleaning supplies. My pantry was also attacked by pantry moths last year (and the year before that) and despite having just about everything in plastic boxes, little moths still managed to survive in places like cupcake wrappers (don't worry, those were thrown out). The other neat thing about my pantry is it has no heat. My house has radiator heat so no radiator, no warmth and according to my recent energy evaluation, no insulation. Which means it gets very cold in the pantry during an arctic freeze, hopefully cold enough to blast those little pantry moths away.

This grows in my landlady's garden. Yet to be identified but appears very resilient

The point is, lots of things freeze in sub-freezing temperatures such as olive oil and coconut milk. What, your olive oil didn't turn into a slushy mess? That's fortunate, clearly you are warm. At this point, broth and coconut milk are kept well-stocked in my pantry and I was intrigued to find the coconut milk partially frozen. The coconut milk separates into the liquid and cream parts and the cream part turned into a dense chalky mess. Fortunately, one of the many benefits to soup is everything gets thrown together so it didn't really matter that they were separated like that. If we were making fish curry, then I may have been concerned (but probably  not).

I made this soup last month (and apparently forgot to blog about it...) and thought it had a nice spice to it but I wanted more so for this round, I doubled the spicy sauce stuff. Boy does that pack a punch! I also used regular carrots instead of baby carrots. Usually I keep baby carrots around for hummus purposes but they really are a pain to chop for soups and stews because they're already so tiny. And then I started wondering what they do to carrots to make them baby and I decided the snowman nose carrots were a better choice moving forward.

Lots of baby carrots. Definitely easier with regular carrots

One of my favorite things about making soup is I don't have to chop the onion into oblivion. I really would like to chop onions better for stews because I just end up with chunks of onion or onion skins. However, with soup, they're all going to the same blended place so it doesn't matter! I also got a little carried away with the blending this time around so the soup came out a little frothy and light. Perhaps that was the frozen coconut milk talking, who knows!

The spice may have been a bit much so if you like spicy, I would recommend adding less than double the amount of spice but more than the recipe originally calls for. I added cilantro to my soup as a way to cool it down or at least provide my mouth a crisp break from the soup.

Now that's what I call spice

Get pumped because after soups comes stews and then chili season! The Super Bowl is almost here and that means Souper Bowl contests (yes, plural). Get pumped. And get pumped for all the guacamole and buffalo chicken dip you are going to consume. If you don't have a party together, find a bar. There is no reason to miss out on dips and chili!

The final product, in all its glory

Oh and I've gone on a spree of subscribing to food newsletters. This one provided soup recipes because I'm clearly unoriginal. Check them out!

Soup, Soup, Soup!

Baby, it's cold outside! And that's an understatement. If you live in the United States, chances are you just met the force of Hercules and the chilly temperatures that came with the first winter storm of 2014. Personally, I'm okay with snow and the fact that I got to work from home for two extra days, woooo!! But it's frigid and icy and I already learned the hard way that icy pavement is very slippery and very hard when you fall on it.

A very snuggly Kitty

Luckily, I have a home and heat and a space heater and blankets and a cat and fuzzy socks and lots of soup. So many things to keep me warm! I've become a little obsessed with soup since I received an immersion blender last year for Christmas. It made my favorite butternut squash soup go so much smoother--literally. And while butternut squash is right up there in the fall, I'm more of a grilled cheese and tomato soup kinda gal in the winter. Nothing warms my heart and soul faster than a big mug of tomato soup. Because using a spoon is right out, tomato soup is made to be slurped.

A couple weeks ago, I met the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld. I had been to the restaurant in New York City before but the actor was in town as part of the American Wellness program to encourage people to stay healthy in the winter months and seek doctor's help as needed. The program originated in New York City as a way for people to contact a doctor without getting an in-person visit. I certainly don't have time to get sick or to go to a doctor randomly so I think it's a great idea! Plus, they were handing out free soup and it was quite tasty.

No soup for you!

I was a little skeptical of this recipe I found because it was in metric units and I didn't feel like converting it so I guesstimated the number of tomatoes. I waited a little long to use these tomatoes so I ended up throwing some away but the rest were sliced and spread on a cookie sheet with onion pieces and garlic. This tray of goodness was roasted in the oven at 400 (an estimate) until they appeared roasted (I waited until the tomatoes looked soft and slightly blistered).

Nice ripe tomatoes

All of the vegetables are added to the pot with vegetable broth (you could also use chicken broth) and seasonings. I opted not to add mozzarella to the soup but to make it creamier, a good hunk of cheese will add a nice thickness to the soup. But if you do opt for cheese, save some to put on top!

It's tricky to me to judge when soup is cooked enough to be pureed. With things like carrot and squash soups, the vegetables need to be soft before being blended but tomatoes are already soft, especially after roasting, so it's more of a gut feeling when everything is done. You definitely want to allow enough time for the broth to heat and the flavors to meld together. I left the soup cooking for about a half hour and let it cool a bit before blending.

Roasted vegetables, so colorful!

The soup came out a little chunkier than store-bought soup but blending for a longer amount of time would thin it out. The next time I make it, I may add some spice to it, just for a little kick. Perhaps some seracha or chili powder. In the meantime, the next soup is going to be this unique coconut carrot soup from Shutterbean. I made it once before but haven't yet added my own spin to it.

This is actually carrot soup but it should still make you hungry

I would recommend eating this soup after frolicking in the winter beauty. A quick walk, some sledding, building a snow man, freezing bubbles. All great activities that would end with a welcome dose of hot soup!

Recipe

• 4-6 ripe tomatoes (use fewer tomatoes if they are larger but you want to fill a cookie sheet)
• 1 onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 2 teaspoons of thyme
• 1 bay leaf 
• 3 cups of vegetable broth (or chicken broth if desired)
• One ball of mozzarella (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 400 Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Cut up the tomatoes into eighths and spread on the parchment paper.
3. Chop the onion into sections and sprinkle amongst the tomatoes.
4. Lastly, slice the garlic cloves and sprinkle over tomatoes and onions.
5. Gently drizzle olive oil over vegetables and season with salt and pepper. Roast the vegetable platter for 30 minutes or until vegetables appear soft.
6. Combine the vegetables, broth and seasonings in a large pot. Allow mixture to stew for 30-40 minutes.
7. If you are adding the mozzarella, thinly slice pieces and add to the soup mixture.
8. Puree the soup using an immersion blender or in batches with a regular blender until smooth.
9. Garnish as desired and enjoy!

Butterbeer and Bourbon

As we approach the end of 2013, it is a time for reflection and champagne drinking. I'll spare you the reflection piece and skip straight to the fun baking and boozing part of the post. Last year, a friend of mine hosted a Harry Potter Yule Ball. You might remember that golden snitches and chocolate frogs were had by many. Well, the truffles were delicious but also rather messy and I've always wanted to try butterbeer so butterbeer cupcakes made it onto the second annual Yule Ball menu.

Last year's treats

While I was moments away from joining a friend in Harry Potter World for the New Year, I have never actually had butterbeer. When I was a kid and the movies didn't exist yet, my brother and I would imagine that butterbeer tasted a bit like cream soda. Turns out we weren't the only ones who thought this as it's a key ingredient to these cupcakes.

Butter extract? Concentrated butter flavor? Sold.

This recipe comes in three parts: the cake, the filling and the icing. The most complicated part was getting the filling into the cupcake since it was more like a syrup than a filling. Generally, I like butterscotch but the smell was a little strong for me. It turned out great in the cupcakes though! I received a frosting gun, for lack of a better term, for Christmas so was able to make these a little prettier than my usual cupcakes. I'm pretty pumped to test it out in the future and make roses and pretty designs.

Accio cupcakes (yes, that just happened)

The second adventure in boozy baking was a bourbon chocolate cake. My roommate gave me a 365 day dessert cookbook, let the mayhem begin! This cake stood out to me as festive with its rich chocolate and festive bourbon. Now, this cake was being taken to a family gathering with kids and I learned from bourbon banana bread that not all of the alcohol bakes out. Maybe it won't get you buzzed but you can still taste it. Since there would be kids at this party, I poured some of the batter into a baking pan of Christmas shapes before adding bourbon to the mix.

Chocolate and bourbon, Lemon out

As for the rest of the batter, that was poured into a bundt pan and was a huge pain to get out once it had cooled. Despite spraying with non-stick, I made just a few dents in the pan trying to coax the cake out, only to have it split in half. Fortunately there is also a ganache that goes overtop. I will say that after making bark and chocolate frogs and ganache, I would highly recommend melting chocolate in a double boiler and not in the microwave. I have a 50-50 tract record with successfully melting it in the microwave and burning it to crumbly pieces. Just melt it on the stove, it's much easier to keep an eye on too.

Mmmm, we're gonna need a minute

Despite my warning of bourbon, the kids still tried the cake (and immediately spit it back out, much to the delight of their parents who wanted the boozy cake). So the lesson of today is, not all of the alcohol burns out.

On a fancy New Year note, I had a cupcake once that had champagne soaked raspberries in the center. I should really add that to the list for next year's New Years celebration, if only to bulk up before dancing til the wee hours of the morning.

This was the motto of 2013, still working on the 2014 one though

And on that note, eat and drink responsibly and enjoy the end of 2013! I for one will be saying a fond farewell through excessive dancing and motto brainstorming.


Butterbeer Cupcakes (makes 18)

For the cake:
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon butter flavoring
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup cream soda

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake pan with wrappers
2. Combine the dry ingredients through the salt in a bowl and set aside.
3. Cream the butter (at room temperature) until it is creamy and fluffy. Add the sugars and mix until combined. 
4. Add the eggs to the butter-sugar mixture, one at a time. Next add the vanilla and butter flavoring.
5. Alternate adding the buttermilk, cream soda and dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Mix until all ingredients are combined.
6. Pour the batter into the cupcake liners until they are 3/4 full.
7. Bake the cupcakes for about 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick placed in the center comes out clean.
8. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before adding the filling and icing. 

For the filling:
1 11-oz. package butterscotch chips
1 cup heavy cream

1.  In a double boiler (or microwave), melt the butterscotch chips and add the heavy cream until combined.
2. Using a squeeze bottle would be easiest here to add the filling to the center of the cupcake but you can also use a toothpick to create a space for the butterscotch and slowly add the filling.
3. Reserve 1/3 cup of the mixture for the icing and more if you would like to add a drizzle to the icing.

For the icing:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup butterscotch filling
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon butter flavoring
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 16-oz. package powdered sugar
Splash of milk (as needed)

1.  Cream the butter until it is creamy and fluffy. Add the remaining ingredients except the powdered sugar until combined.
2. Add the powder sugar one cup at a time until all ingredients are mixed together. If needed, add some milk to thin the icing.
3. Pipe the icing onto the cupcakes in whatever design or fashion you desire.
4. Drizzle remaining filling on top of cupcakes or leave plain. Or add sprinkles. Or sparkles.

Bourbon Chocolate Cake
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup bourbon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a bundt pan and set aside.
2. In a saucepan, melt the butter and the 4 ounces of chocolate. Stir over low heat and add the cocoa powder until smooth. Set aside and let cool.
3. Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until lightened. Stir in the sour cream, bourbon, two teaspoons of vanilla and the chocolate mixture.
5. Lastly, stir in the dry ingredients until combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
6. Bake the cake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer placed in the center of the cake comes out clean.
7. Allow the cake to cool for about 15 minutes before unmolding the cake and allowing to cool completely. Cooling racks could be used here but I don't have one so skip that part.

Glaze
 4 oz. of bittersweet chocolate
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 Tablespoon light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1. While the cake cools, warm the cream in a sauce pan.
2. Add the 4 ounces of chocolate and corn syrup to the cream. Whisk until the chocolate is melted and smooth.
3. Let the glaze cool to room temperature before adding the vanilla extract.
4. Pour the glaze over the cake. Place on a festive platter and serve (to adults).

Coconut Almond Caramel Popcorn

Dear Readers,

It's been a long December. Historically one of my favorite months, this year it was a rough one somewhat lacking in Christmas magic. The holiday season is my absolute favorite with the music and the lights and trees and shiny ribbons and gift wrapping. Absolutely love everything about it, despite the crazy shopping and gifts part of it. I find it all amazing so I look forward to it all year long and capitalize on the season as soon as Thanksgiving is over. This year, however, was the first year I can remember feeling like a grown-up and like the Christmas magic was lost. Between work stress and personal drama, Christmas got away from me (cue Carrie Underwood singing Where Are You Christmas? on repeat).

I do love Christmas trees

Trust me, I still did the tree thing (a real tree because how else would I get the proper scent?!) and wrapped presents and decorated. I even hosted an ugly sweater party and wore a fabulously hideous creation from 1993. But for the most part, I was checked out this past month. However, there was plenty of therapeutic baking going on which brings me to the relevant part of this post. Homemade gifts. So when the going gets tough, bust out some butter. I was extremely well stocked on the butter front and ventured to create homemade goodies for my friends.

Showcasing the fabulous sweater. It has bells too.

The largest of these endeavors was coconut almond caramel popcorn from none other than Shutterbean. Caramel popcorn to me always comes in those giant tins sold by the Boy Scouts at random. This was so simple, I may have to do this more frequently for myself. Which means you too can create caramel popcorn at random, it's not strictly a holiday food like Christmas cookies.

Popcorn is made the old fashioned way with raw kernels in a pot rather than the microwave. I would also like to note that now I have a large supply of popcorn kernels for future consumption. While popping the kernels, shredded coconut is toasted. According to Shutterbean, the coconut will brown slightly however my coconut was either too generic or too old to look that fancy. It still tasted like coconut though so we're all set there.

All that remains is the caramel sauce

The popped popcorn and plain almonds are layered in a 9x13 pan with coconut on top. Next comes the caramel sauce, my favorite part of the recipe. I wish I had a before-baking soda picture because the mixture expanded in a magical fashion. So you melt all the delicious things like butter, sugar and corn syrup together and poof goes the mix with the final addition of baking soda. This is poured over the popcorn mixture to make a sticky mess of amazingness. The whole lot is baked in the oven for another half hour. Once all the work is done, spread the mixture over wax paper to cool before packaging and mailing to friends. Make sure you take a few bites just to be sure it's kosher.

Nice and fluffy

I was also going to venture to make caramels I read about in Bon Appetit magazine but Shutterbean beat me to it and I don't have a candy thermometer so a minor set back there. The remaining almonds were spiced and toasted under the supervision of Joy the Baker (vicariously, she unfortunately was not actually in my kitchen).

Toasted almonds from JTB

The last homemade gift was simple bark. This is almost a cop out, it's so easy but I was rummaging through my miscellaneous baking supplies and using things up as I went. Melt chocolate (white chocolate or milk chocolate or dark chocolate, any kind with sugar really) in a double boiler and spread thinly over wax paper. Spread the chocolate to whatever thickness you would like your bark to be. While the chocolate is still soft, sprinkle with dried fruit or candy. For the dark chocolate, I added dried raspberries on top but for the white chocolate, I crushed candy canes to make a peppermint bark. Once the chocolate has dried/hardened, break apart and package into cute baggies. I was worried the chocolate would later melt so I kept them in the freezer but I believe this was an unnecessary precaution.

Easy bark

At any rate, for the first time ever, I'm happy that December is over. I can't believe it but I actually took my Christmas decorations down already and happily so. As Meet the Robinsons says, keep moving forward. Time to move on to a new year and new adventures. Lucky 2014, here we come!

Last but not least, a Christmas montage