Tinkerblue

Black Banana Bread

There's been a lot of laughter at my expense lately about my inability to cook. Yes, I can bake. But not so much cook.

What's the difference? Baking is an exact science - I follow the directions. If it the recipe says 1/2 a cup, then I put 1/2 a cup. If It says bake at 350F for 30 mins then I bake for 30 mins at 350F.

Cooking is more a dash of this, a splash of that, chop enough for two, cook on medium until almost set. It never works out!

It's not that I can't cook. It's just that I don't do it very well. I did make chicken lasagna last week, and it seems to have been a hit.

But keeping with what I know, I also baked banana bread because there were some really really ripe bananas hanging out in the kitchen. I used a recipe from Barb's cookbook, Stir Well and Season to Taste. Black Banana Bread, which Barb got from The Beaver Club at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.

At the top of the recipe it says "There are NO typos in this recipe!". Even so I had to double check with Barb about baking for 2 1/2 hours. After an hour it was looking particularly dark and almost burnt. But, no, 2 1/2 hours is correct. It is called Black Banana Bread after all.

It is very delicious. Very moist. Very rich. Very good after a 4km run up a very big hill.

Cinnamon and Cardamon Buns

When I'm mulling something over, when I have a big decision to make, I bake. I find the process of baking, following the recipe, takes my mind off whatever I'm fixated on. By the time I'm done baking I've made a decision.

I had a bit of a baking binge last weekend. Maple pecan scones, lemon raspberry loaf and cinnamon & Cardamon buns.

I've made the buns before but it's been awhile. They are from a cookbook called Falling Cloudberries by Tessa Kiros. It's one of my favourite recipe books because of the stories and the photos.

The recipe for the buns is quite time consuming, the dough needs to rise etc etc. but it's easy enough.

My two complaints? The recipe calls for fresh cake yeast. Try finding that in Pitt Meadows. I substituted active dry yeast. I needed to make more of the cinnamon butter, there wasn't enough to cover all the buns.

The recipe makes 35. That's a lot of buns. They freeze okay, or you can give some away like I did. They are good nuked in the microwave and served with hot chocolate.

Lemon Raspberry Loaf - Starbucks Vs Me

The Starbucks loaf is more evenly shaped and the raspberry swirls are prettier.

Mine was also smaller because it lost about 1/2 an inch or so of the bottom that was stuck in the pan.

The Starbucks one is $2.45 a slice this year, my cost per slice was a lot cheaper.

Taste wise? I'm partial to mine. But that's because I put time and effort into it and I'm biased!

Lemon Raspberry Loaf

Around this time of year, Starbucks starts selling their Lemon Raspberry Loaf. It ain't cheap, so I decided I needed to make my own.

I found a recipe online at Meemo's Kitchen.

http://meemoskitchen.blogspot.ca/2009/09/starbucks-lemon-raspberry-loaf.html?m=1

I used the all butter version of the pound cake and the white chocolate and cream cheese icing. I also used a homemade raspberry jam (not made by me, by a friend).

Yep, it's good. I gave half of it away or I possibly could have eaten the whole loaf in one sitting.

Apart from zesting the lemon, this was a quick and easy recipe. Well apart from the bottom of the loaf that stuck to the pan. It lost about 1/2 an inch of height. I turned it upside down and iced the messy bottom instead, so know one will ever see it.

You could go with a lemony glaze rather than the white chocolate cream cheese icing if you wanted to cut into the sweetness. But not in my house.

I'm a big fan of lemon and raspberry, so this loaf will be a recipe I bake again.

Maple Pecan Scones

After the disastrous brownies last week, I needed to prove to myself that I can still bake. I can't cook. So I need to be able to bake.

I've had this recipe floating round the kitchen for awhile now, and I had all the ingredients on hand. I'm also trying to use up all the baking ingredients because once the house sells, I'm not storing food items.

The recipe I used was from The Pioneer Woman via The Food Network.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/maple-pecan-scones-recipe/index.html

These are good. The icing recipe calls for a pound of icing sugar. A pound. That's a lot of sugar. I used half of that and it was more than enough. I also didn't use the coffee, mainly cause there isn't any in the house. I don't drink it.

I am apparently not very good at cutting 8 equal wedges. But I'm not too fussed about it. Next time I'd probably cut the dough into more than 8 wedges, these are huge. Maybe 12 would be better.

I had one for breakfast yesterday. Mmm. The rest I'm giving to friends. I cannot possibly eat all 8 scones. Well, I could. But I am not going to. I hope they like them.

Brownie Disaster

I'm on a use what's in my cupboards kick.

I'm not sure why I have a box of Splenda or a bag of gluten free potato flour. But I do. I think they are possibly left from when I was on a wheat and gluten free diet.

Anyway I found them yesterday, both are still within their use by date. I figured I try them out. I still have several wheat/gluten free recipes in my file, so I dug out a brownie recipe. It's a recipe I've made and eaten before.

Maybe my taste has changed. Or may be these were always awful but I didn't know any better.

Oh my God, they are horrid. They are very dense, very dry, very bad. Urgh. Never again. I threw the recipe out, then I threw the brownies in the rubbish too. Then I had a glass of wine to get rid of the after taste.

Blech, not one of my better efforts.

Nutella and Sea Salt Stuffed Sugar Cookie

It's not all doom and gloom round here. How can they be when I have these cookies?

Nutella? Sea salt? Sugar cookies? All pretty good. Combine them into one little package and seriously, they make everything right in my world. At least for today.

The recipe is from this site:
http://www.cookincanuck.com/2011/12/nutella-sea-salt-stuffed-sugar-cookie-recipe-oxo-baking-giveaway/

A little time consuming, but worth every hot buttery salty melted chocolate bite.

Trouble is there is only one of me, and 24 of these cookies.

I'll be making these again. Soon.

Shark Attack Cookies

Last week Barb sent me this link...
http://bakeat350.blogspot.ca/2011/08/cue-theme-from-jaws.html?m=1

She thought I might like to make them for Shaun. Great idea. Barb is in town this week babysitting Taylor (her granddaughter). So time to put that bright idea into action.

I baked the sugar cookies yesterday. This morning Barb arrived bright and early with the food colouring, the icing bags and piping tips. (all the stuff I don't own).

Three hours and a lot of mess later we were done. Seriously messy project. There was icing all over the mixer, on the stove top, down the front of the kitchen island, all over us.

Also time consuming. It took two of us, three hours to decorate 50 or so cookies. I outlined the sharks, Barb flooded them, she pipes in the teeth and I did the small rosette starfish. It would have taken one person all day.

It was a fun way to spend the morning. Thanks Barb.

Now all I have to do is pack them up and ship them to Shaun. I am expecting them to arrive all a crumb, so Shaun take note of the photos. It maybe the only chance you get to see them.

Homemade Two Bite Brownies

Commonsense says you shouldn't try a new recipe when your having guests over. What happens if the recipe doesn't work etc etc?

I found a recipe for two bite brownies in a magazine. The page I ripped out doesn't have the magazines name, so I can't tell you where it's from, just that it was on page 152. It makes 30+, so I most certainly am not trying it out for just me first. My guests will be my guinea pigs.

3 eggs
1 2/3 cups sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, melted
2/3 cup milk chocolate chips
2/3 cup dark chocolate chips
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 350F
Combine eggs, sugar and vanilla
Set aside
Sift together flour, cocoa powder and salt
Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients & 1/3 of the melted butter to the egg and sugar mixture
Repeat until all combined
Fold in chocolate chips
Transfer batter to a piping bag. Or in my case a ziplock bag with the corner cutoff**
Fill mini muffin pan to top**
Bake for 20 mins or until set
Cool on wire rack for 15 mins
Remove from pan and let cool for additional 30 mins
Dust with confectioners' sugar
Too with whipped cream
Eat

Hopefully they will get eaten.

**It doesn't look so good in the bag
**Yes, they look like mini dog turds

All Pumpkins All The Time - Pumpkin Pie

Much like when I first came to Canada, Shazza and Kath were confused by pumpkin pie.

We're used to pumpkin being a veggie, not a dessert. Sure we have pumpkin scones. But normally when we think pumpkin, we think pumpkin soup, or roast/baked pumpkin.

So I did the hostessy thing and baked them a pumpkin pie. Baked = one tin of pumpkin purée, an egg and a frozen ore baked pie shell out of the supermarket freezer, so nothing complicated or fancy.

They had seconds. So I take it that means they liked it.

Where's my second piece of pie? It's no longer in the fridge. Dave? Kath? Shazza?