Food Friday - Going Bananas!

from Tracey G.

Have you ever picked up an ingredient and then forgotten what you were going to use it for? I did. And that's precisely how I came to have my bag of King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour in my cupboard. I have no recollection as to what I bought it for - I know that I bought it for a specific reason and recipe, but what that was, I have no idea. I can only hope that it comes back to me!

So anyway, I have this bag of whole wheat flour and no idea what I bought it for, so that then makes it fair game right? I need to find some recipes to use it in, and who better to ask? King Arthur! Well, King Arthur Flour that is, lol. And since Kris and I decided on bananas this week, I found a recipe for Whole Wheat Banana Bread (click the link to get to the recipe!). I'd never really thought to use whole wheat flour for anything beyond bread, regular whole wheat bread or rolls. So, for me, it was decided - Whole Wheat Banana Bread it was to be!

It came together very easily, a one-bowl thing is always welcome! And I am also finding I do love using my kitchen scale and weighing out ingredients, there's just something fun to me about it, lol. I had everything on hand for it, which is another thing I look for in a recipe - especially one that I might want to make on the spur of the moment, so you can be sure, that now that I've discovered this recipe, I will be keeping whole wheat flour on hand! The other ingredients needed were of course, bananas, and eggs, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, vanilla, butter, honey and walnuts.

I didn't use nuts because Harry doesn't care for them in things - but I do, so next time I may either make 2 batches or divide the batter, add walnuts to half and then make mini-loaves out of it or muffins. The only thing different from the usual banana bread recipe using regular flour, is, you let the batter rest in the pan 10 minutes before baking as this allows time for the whole wheat to absorb moisture since it takes a bit longer than regular flour.

I did have a problem with one corner sticking and therefore ripping my loaf when I tried to get it out of the pan. I have no idea, why, I lightly greased the pan as called for, and the rest didn't stick at all - just that one corner. And I think my oven is having temperature issues or something because I think it came out a little dark - even after tenting the top with foil for the last 10 minutes as the recipe directed to do. My whole "outside" of the loaf was brown, over-browned I think, but still tasted good. Next time I will maybe try reducing the oven temperature or shorten the bake time. I think it's time to invest in an oven thermometer to see just what is going on in there! LOL

The bananas I had to use weren't exactly as ripe as I'd have liked for banana bread, so they didn't really make it too banana-y as I like it - Jeremy said it tasted more like Brown Bread than Banana Bread, but as I said I am guessing that it was the not-so-ripe bananas that are the reason for that. The bread was really good, nice crumb and moist - and tasted pretty darn good! Plus, I discovered it is even better the next day, I forgot that quick breads are always better after they've "cured".  It's one I would gladly make again, and love to try experimenting on! I'd like to cut the fat - using either applesauce or yogurt and add an extra banana or two for moistness, sweetness and flavor. Doing so I could probably cut back on the honey/brown sugar. There is one other variation I am just itching to try - substituting the honey altogether with the Boiled Cider (apple cider boiled down to a syrup) and see what kind of tasty results that produces! I also had an idea to use the recipe I found on the King Arthur site for a glaze using the Boiled Cider and drizzle the banana bread with that... 

So many ideas and thoughts! Makes me want to get working on another batch as soon as I'm done typing this!

Link to the recipe courtesy of King Arthur Flour: 

100% Whole Wheat Banana Bread

Here's also a link to their step-by-step post on their blog, Flourish:

100% Whole Wheat Banana Bread Flourish Post


from Kris B.

Have you ever heard the saying, “Life is what happens while you are busy making plans?”  I’ve heard it...and I experience it more regularly than I care to admit.

Despite being out of town last weekend and knowing that that would disrupt the rhythm of my life this week, I thought I was on top of things.   Whereas Tracey had whole wheat flour needing a purpose, I had frozen bananas.  We decided way back on this week's banana theme.  I knew what I wanted to make, King Arthur Flour's Banana Cream Cheese Roll.  I had my week scheduled so that everything that needed doing would get done. Though it cut things close, that plan called for baking, photographing and writing on Friday.  That may make me appear to be a procrastinator on the surface, but in my mind, everything was well scheduled.  It would work.  

Then life happened.

My well-calculated plan even allowed me to sleep in a little on Friday morning.  I got up more rested than I have been in days and began gathering the ingredients for the week's recipe.  I knew that had everything that I needed. Grocery shopping had happened right on schedule, earlier in the week.  However, I failed to check the size of the jelly roll pan called for by the recipe.  Despite a cabinet full of baking pans, I did not have the requisite size, a 9 1/4 x 14 jelly roll pan.  Weber graciously volunteered to take me to get one.  Great!  Problem solved.  I could manage a fifteen minute delay in my schedule to run up to Target.  Three stores and an hour later, I got home…with no pan.  Apparently the required pan is not a standard size.  I came as close as I could with a 9 x 13 jelly roll pan.  I figured I could make that work by not using  all of the batter.

Back on track, I got the batter made and put in the oven.  After a few minutes, I realized that I had used all of the batter.  At that point, I just had to go with it and hope for the best.  When the cake was baked, I pulled it from the oven and, following the recipe instructions, I began the process of rolling it to cool.  I bet you know what happens next.  It didn’t roll, it cracked because it was too thick.  This was definitely “user error” and user error was not in my plan.  

I texted Tracey and told her about my failure with the Banana Cream Cheese Roll and assured her that I would go to my Plan B, Banana Chocolate Chip muffins.  My forethought had included having a Plan B, but I really didn't anticipate having to use it!  Tracey and I discussed the situation back and forth and then I had the idea that maybe I could salvage the project by cutting the cracked roll into three layers and making it a layered cake rather than a roll.  We have always been about keeping things real.  Sometimes real is pretty and everything works perfectly and sometimes real means nothing works right and you have to punt.  We decided that I would keep it real and finish my failed attempt at the Banana Cream Cheese Roll.

Fortunately the roll cracked such that I had three equal pieces.  That made going forward not look so bad.  I started making the syrup for the recipe.  While I’m waiting for the brown sugar and water mixture to thicken, a process that required close supervision and frequent stirring, Weber said, “There’s a black lab on our front porch.”  I asked if it was ours and he said, “No.”  Being a sucker for animals, I turned off the stove and went to see if I could catch the dog.  She was a young energetic pup perfectly happy to come to me.  Unfortunately the only collar she had on was one that works with an electric fence.  She had no identifying tags.  We put her safely in our backyard called our local animal shelter to see if anyone had reported a missing dog.  There had been no reports, so the officer came out with his chip reader hoping that the dog had been chipped and we could get her home that way.  Fortunately she did have a chip and we found that she lived five or six houses down from us.  Animal Control called and left a message for the owner.  The owner was out of town and the dog had somehow gotten away from the house sitter, who soon came to retrieve the dog  The situation was resolved, but now I was another forty-five minutes behind.  

I reheated the syrup and finished cooking it.  Made the cream.  And put the ‘Variation on a Banana Cream Cheese Roll” together.  I really wasn’t happy with the fact that the roll didn’t roll.  I set out to do the photos of my “failure,” a process for which I realized I had no interest or energy.  I could not get past the fact that it did not look like it was supposed to.  Because of that, no photo that I took was good.  Again I texted Tracey and said that the photos were ugly and boring.  I could not use them.  I sent one to her just to prove my case.  Her more objective observation was that it was OK.  “I think it looks great because it looks homey and yummy and like total comfort food.”  Homey comfort food…that’s what I enjoy making.   I don’t dress stylishly.  My home is not furnished and decorated elegantly.  I am about practical and real living.  Why should the aesthetics of what I cook be any different?  So, I went with it.

According to Weber, who cares not what food looks like as long as it tastes good, this recipe tastes great!  So, I share with all of you my "Variation on King Arthur Flour’s Banana Cream Cheese Roll."  I used vanilla instead of rum, and I also garnished the top with sifted powdered sugar and sliced banana to give it a somewhat "finished" look.  Really, it worked. Lol!

Here's also a link to their step-by-step post on their blog, Flourish:
http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2013/10/09/banana-cream-cheese-roll/

"Failure is the key to success: each mistake teaches us something." 

                                                                                                                - Morihei Ueshiba

Food Friday - Breakfast, Lunch or Dessert!

From: Tracey G.

I'll admit it, I'd rather drink my breakfast in the form of coffee, rather than eat it in form of food. I've never been one to eat breakfast, it's always the last thing I want to do when I get up. And honestly, it still takes a backseat to my first cup of coffee, I can't jump out of bed and eat. And I've never been one for "traditional" breakfast foods AT breakfast, give me cold pizza over a bowl of cereal any day! But, if there is one thing I've always liked and that would be the warm cereal varieties. I love Cream of Wheat, that was my first love. Then when oatmeal went "instant" with yummy flavors (the fruit and cream varieties!) that one became acceptable as well.

Now that I'm trying to eat mindfully, breakfast at a some point is a must. And for me it needs to be super easy and quick or I'll skip it and drink more coffee. Lately I've been seriously enjoying the little instant oatmeal cups - they have such lovely varieties for a fairly reasonable cost, and they are so fast a simple to make. But then I remembered the recipe in my favorite-make-it-homemade-cookbook, The Homemade Pantry by Alana Chernila for homemade instant oatmeal! I was intrigued! I went to Pinterest (I've come to love that site!) to see if there were other recipes for it as well, and I found a few that also sounded pretty good and very very close in method/ingredients etc. So, I pulled from a couple recipes and adapted the one from my cookbook - and was super pleased with the results and how easily it came together. Was not time consuming whatsoever. Actually, chopping the almonds I toasted so they could be added to my portions if I so choose, took the longest I think! Now, you can of course mix all of your add-ins right into the base mix, but since Harry doesn't care for nuts in his oatmeal, I left the base as is and we can add in the extras at the time of making it. You're only limited to your imagination - I always have dried berry mix on hand, dried cranberries, raisins (even though I don't like them in anything other than Raisin Bran cereal, Harry and Jeremy do) and generally an assorted variety of frozen fruit in the freezer to choose from.

A lot of recipes use powdered milk in the mix, but I read somewhere that supposedly that can cause mold to grow over time, so I followed the suggestion of using powdered non-dairy coffee creamer. I chose to use Coffee Mate Fat Free French Vanilla. When I was actually adding it in though, I discovered that it might be a bit too overpowering, so I went half regular powdered non-dairy creamer (Coffee Mate brand) and half of the Fat Free French Vanilla. I think that worked out just right!

As usual, this recipe of course can be modified to your tastes. Leave out the cinnamon or add more if you want. You can use just the 1/2 cup of brown sugar as I did or more - one recipe gave a span of 1-2 cups for the amount. I discovered the 1/2 cup was just right - and wouldn't be too sweet if I wanted to add a little extra brown sugar or maple syrup on the finished product before I eat it.

There are also many possibilities for packaging - I have it in a screw-top canister, but it can also be portioned out into snack-sized bags for individual packets or even put into a canning jar with a lid for travel or even the hot coffee cups with lids you can buy in the grocery store. There are so many possibilities, I know I will likely get portioning some out into the snack-sized bags so that it's easy for Harry to fix himself a bowl when he wants.

I am having so much fun finding recipes to help me stay on track of mindful eating - and oatmeal is a super source of all kinds of goodness!

I chose to use Quick Oats - the 1 Minute variety, for speed's sake and easy preparation in the microwave. The original recipe from the book (and some I ran across out there) use the regular old-fashioned oats. You could prepare them with boiling water poured over and then cover the bowl. If using the regular old-fashioned, I believe it's a sit time of 5 minutes while covered. If you chose to prepare the quick oats this way, of course sit time would be less. You could microwave prepare the regular old-fashioned oats too, just again, adjusting the time accordingly.

And now, on to the recipe...

Homemade Instant Oatmeal

Makes 16 half cup servings

8 cups of quick-cooking oatmeal (the 1 minute variety is what I used)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup fat-free French Vanilla powdered coffee creamer

1/4 regular powdered coffee creamer

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp cinnamon

Add-ins of choice - dried cranberries, raisins, toasted nuts etc.

Preheat oven to 325°F. Spread oats on cookie sheets and bake for about 20 minutes. Cool slightly then, in a blender or food processor, blend 4 cups of the oats, brown sugar and salt until powdered. In a large bowl combined the rest of the oats, the blended oat-mixture and the coffee creamers. Stir well to combine. Store in a covered container for 4 weeks, in the fridge in a covered container 3 months or in the freezer for 6 months.

To prepare: Combine 1/2 cup of the oatmeal mixture and add-ins of choice if desired and 3/4 to 1 cup water and microwave 1-2 minutes or as long as necessary to desired doneness, stir and serve with  toppings of choice.

Nutritional Information for 1/2 cup of dry mix, prepared with water, with no additions (courtesy of plugging in my ingredients in the SparkPeople Recipes app):

Calories 194, Total Fat 3.4g (saturated fat .9g, polyunsaturated fat 1g, monounsaturated fat 1g) Cholesterol 0g, Sodium 151mg, Potassium 26mg, Total Carbohydrates 39.3g, Dietary Fiber 4.2g, Sugars 11.3g, Protein 5g. 

from Kris B.

Before you continue reading, there are a few things you must know.

• Breakfast is my favorite meal
• I love peanut butter.
• My idea of diet food probably differs from that of most.

Now we can continue..

One thing I know about myself is that if I am going to be successful with losing weight, it has to be done somewhat on my terms.  What that means is that I need to control my caloric intake by adjusting my portion size rather than depriving myself of certain foods.  All in all, I am a healthy eater in terms of the types of food that I like and enjoy eating; I just tend to eat more than I should for a serving.  That said, I also don’t want to be overly hungry.  That will lead me to failure as well.

The SparkPeople app is more bound by routine than I am.  Every day by 12:30 it is probing me as to why I have not logged my lunch.  Simple answer.  I have not had lunch yet.  If I have a designated lunchtime, it is not until 1:30 in the afternoon.  Several of those days, breakfast happens at 6:15 am.  That makes for a long haul to lunch.  Therefore, I need to eat a breakfast that will carry me through that seven hour stretch.  That means that my breakfast generally needs to be a high protein meal and is therefore a higher calorie meal.  Enter the Peanut Butter French Toast.

This recipe came into being from the fact that I could not decide what I wanted for breakfast.  Oatmeal?  An egg sandwich?  Toast with peanut butter?  Because I could not make up my mind, I had a little bit of everything.  Oat bread spread with peanut butter, topped with bananas, and dipped in a French toast egg batter and cooked on a griddle.  With a bit of sweetness from powdered sugar and a little light butter for cooking, this recipe totals 397 calories.  Based on my schedule and eating patterns, that works for me.

MY INGREDIENTS

1 egg  (78 calories)

1 TBS light almond milk  (3 calories)

1 1/2 tsp powdered sugar, divided  (15 calories)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 slices Orowheat Healthful steel cut oat and honey bread  (160 calories)

1 TBS Jif creamy peanut butter  (95 calories)

1/2 banana  (55 calories)

1 tsp Land o Lakes light butter  (17 calories)

In a bowl big enough to dip the bread, beat the egg.  Add the almond milk,  1 tsp powdered sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla.  Beat until thoroughly combined.

Divide the peanut butter and spread half on each slice of bread.  Then layer one side of the bread with banana cut into slices 1/2” thick.  Top with the other slice making a peanut butter and banana sandwich.  You could stop here and life would still be good!  lol.

Dip the sandwich into the egg mixture making sure to cover both sides.

Over medium high heat, melt the butter in an appropriately sized skillet for your sandwich.  Place sandwich in skillet until the bottom is  golden brown and slightly crispy.  Turn and repeat for the other side.

Remove from heat.  Slice in half and sprinkle the remaining 1/2 tsp of powdered sugar over the top.  Serve immediately.

Half a serving of this makes a nice dessert or snack as well!

There are many ways that the calorie count of this recipe could easily be reduced.  

• Use egg substitute instead of a real egg.
• Skip the powdered sugar.  (But why?  It adds much more than 15 calories of goodness to the taste)
• Use a light or low calorie bread.  There are some brands available that have only 40 calories per slice.)
• Use a whipped peanut butter.  
• Skip the butter.  You can spray your pan with a non-stick cookie spray and that will keep your French toast from sticking.  The butter, however, does help it to crisp and brown with the desired golden color.

Calories 398, Total Fat 17g (saturated fat 2.9g, polyunsaturated fat 1g, monounsaturated fat 1.9g) Cholesterol 192.6mg, Sodium 499.2mg, Potassium 215.7mg, Total Carbohydrates 50.3g, Dietary Fiber 10.1g, Sugars 14.9g, Protein 20.3g.