Too Many Bananas

I usually buy 5-6 bananas a week and sometimes we get through them and sometimes, as was the case this week, we don't. Unfortunately during the hot days of summer, bananas don't keep so well on the kitchen counter so I stuck 3 spotty looking specimens into the fridge to do something with when I felt inspired.

Inspiration came today in the form of some wonderful, moist and very flavorful banana cupcakes. This recipe is fairly easy to put together with most items easily found in a well stocked kitchen. It can be made into either a 2 layer cake, a 9 x 13 sheet cake, or as I did, 24 cupcakes. The addition of toasted coconut and the rum are optional flavor elements, but I think they both really added a special dimension to this delicious recipe.

Banana Cake

2 2/3 cup all purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup packed light brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 Tbsp. dark rum (optional)

1 1/2 cups very ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 cup whole milk

1 cup toasted shredded coconut (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Prepare pans with cupcake liners or grease and flour cake pans and set aside.Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together and set aside. In a large bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugars and beat at medium speed for a couple of minutes, then add the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition, followed by the vanilla and rum. Lower the speed and add the bananas. Still on low speed, add the flour mixture and liquid alternately, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Mix just until everything is well incorporated then stir in the coconut by hand with a rubber spatula. Divide the mixture evenly into the pans. For cupcakes, use a 1/4 cup measure to get 24 even sized cakes. Bake cakes for about 45 minutes or cupcakes for about 20 minutes until they are a deep golden brown. A thin knife inserted into their centers should come out clean. Transfer the cakes to a cooking rack and cool. Frost with a cream cheese icing. I cheated and used a prepared icing which was a fine addition to these moist little cakes.

Stuffed Prawns

After a week of being under the weather, I finally felt like getting back into the kitchen and trying my hand at cooking again. We deserved a decent dinner so I splurged on some large prawns and tried out a recipe I've had on hand for months - stuffed prawns.

The preparation of the prawns themselves is somewhat time consuming as they have to be shelled and deveined(one of my least favorite things to do.) Once this is accomplished however, the rest is fairly easy. I prepared all of the stuffing ingredients in advance, including making homemade breadcrumbs. This involved putting four slices of white bread into the food processors, giving it a few pulses then baking the crumbs at 375 degrees on a cookie sheet for approximately 8 minutes, until nice and golden brown.

The prawns were delicious and the side dishes of rice pilaf and spinach with a glass of nice dry, white wine made me glad I felt like eating again!Stuffed Prawns

1 lb. extra large prawns (14-16 per lb.)

fresh breadcrumbs (made from 4 slices of white bread)

1/3 cup clam juice

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

1/4 cup finely chopped chives

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 tsp lemon zest

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the prawns by shelling, deveining and cutting a 1 inch slit entirely through the prawn. Set aside. Prepare the stuffing by mixing all the rest of the ingredients together in a mixing bowl until it comes together in a moist mixture. You may need a little more clam juice to bind everything together.

Press approximately 1 Tbsp of stuffing into each prawn. Bake on a covered baking sheet at 275 deg. for 20-25 minutes. When finished baking set the broiler and place sheet under the broiler until stuffing turns golden brown.

Is It A Fruit Or A Vegetable?

The Husband mentioned one day how he use to love when his mom cooked up rhubarb and served it to his family over ice cream. Never in my life have I tasted rhubarb. Not over ice cream, in a pie, or as a jam. I've seen it in passing in grocery stores and it never occurred to me that it might be something I would ever use for cooking a dessert.

Here is some information I found on the Internet about this ingredient: "Rhubarb is a vegetable with a unique taste that makes it a favorite in many pies and desserts. It originated in Asia over 2,000 years ago. It was initially cultivated for its medicinal qualities, it was not until the 18th century that rhubarb was grown for culinary purposes in Britain and America. Rhubarb is often commonly mistaken to be a fruit but rhubarb is actually a close relative of garden sorrel, and is therefore a member of the vegetable family. Rhubarb is rich in vitamin C and dietary fiber. "Well, the day came recently after The Husband's comment, when I was at Easy Orchards farm market and there was a big pile of those bright red, celery-looking stalks just sitting there begging to be purchased. So I bought a pound, took them home and ran to the computer to search for a recipe.

What I came up with was a roasted rhubarb compote which was dutifully served over vanilla ice cream and I must say, it wasn't too bad. Personally, chocolate sauce or sliced up fresh peaches are more to my liking, but I'm glad I gave this curious vegetable a try.

Roasted Rhubarb Compote

1 lb. of rhubarb, cleaned and cut into two inch pieces

1 cup sugar (or more to taste as this ratio made a very tart compote)

zest of 1 orange or 1 lemonPreheat oven to 400 degrees. Place all of the ingredients together in a roasting pan and combine well so that all of the sugar and zest is fully incorporated with the rhubarb. Place in oven and roast for 15 minutes. Stir the mixture around and roast for 10 minutes more. Cool completely and serve over ice cream or yogurt.

Happy Hour

Here is a crisp and citrusy change of pace for you cocktail lovers out there; a Lemon Drop. It is simple to make and very easy to go down so be careful! It is good to have some simple syrup made and in the refrigerator when you go to make these. Simple syrup is just 1 part water to 1 part sugar, boiled for a minute or so until the sugar dissolves. It can then be stored in the fridge for a couple of weeks.

I have had these in restaurants with a sugar coated rim but instead, I bashed up some Lemonhead candies into a fine mess and dipped my lemon juice coated rim of the glass into them for a lemon sugar treat!

Lemon Drop Cocktail

2 oz. citrus vodka

1 oz. simple syrup

1/2 oz. fresh squeezed lemon juice

Sugar for the rim of the glass (optional)

Lemon rind twist (optional)

Put 8-10 ice cubes into a cocktail shaker. Add the vodka, syrup and lemon juice into the shaker and shake well for 50-60 shakes. Strain into prepared glass and enjoy.

Meringues

I posted about custard not long ago and discussed how I was looking for recipes to use all the fresh farm eggs I have on hand. Since custard uses more yolks than whites, I decided to make some little bite size meringue cookies with the leftover whites. These are so simple to make and best of all, low in cholesterol (to make up for the rich custard!!)

These can be simply spooned onto a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet or as I did, pipe them decoratively onto the sheet. I learned by watching Martha Stewart that the easiest way to fill a big pastry bag is to put it into a large glass and fill it up. This keeps the bag stable and there isn't filling all over the place. It's a great tip.Another good thing to do with meringue is to pipe it into the shape of a round hollowed out shell and when done, fill the shell with fresh berries and a dollop of whipped cream. This is an elegant, yet easy dessert too.

Meringue Cookies

4 egg whites at room temperature

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

pinch of kosher salt

1 cup superfine granulated sugar, divided

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 200 deg F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt on high speed until frothy. Add 2/3 cup of sugar and continue beating on high speed until the egg whites form very stiff peaks. Whisk in the vanilla. Carefully, by hand, fold the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar into the meringue. With a large star-shaped pastry tip, pipe approximately 2 inch cookies onto prepared cookie sheet.Bake for 2 hours or until the meringues are dry and crisp but not browned. Turn off the heat and allow the meringues to sit in the oven for 4 hours or overnight. Store in an airtight container.

Strawberry Season

It's strawberry season in Oregon! This is always a wonderful time of year for the lucky folks who live in the Willamette Valley. This fertile ground around us produces such perfect berries of all sorts, but nothing beats the sweet, juicy, plump strawberries that are available for such a short window of time. Today jam was in the making; the easy kind. I have attempted over the years to make the stand-over-the-stove, stir forever, sterilize the jars kind of jam and I have always found it a miserable experience. I'm not a patient person and carefully filling all those little jars drives me crazy. So today I opted for a simple jam that must be consumed within 10-12 days but that shouldn't be a problem!

From start to finish, this process took me 20 minutes and the end product is just lovely. The recipe called for a quart of strawberries that are chopped via a food processor first. I chose not to get out the food processor for this task and instead, just roughly chopped the berries by hand. The recipe also said to boil for 9-10 minutes. I let mine go a total of 15 minutes as I thought it was just too runny after 10 minutes. I can't wait to put a dollop or two on some toast for breakfast tomorrow.

Refrigerator Strawberry Jam

1 quart fresh strawberries, roughly chopped

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

Put all of the ingredients into a skillet on medium high heat. Stirring frequently, bring to a boil and cook for 10-15 minutes. Put into a bowl and let cool at room temperature then store in refrigerator for 10-12 days.

Homemade Salad Dressing

When we are in the mood for a "big salad" dinner, I always try to make it special with the freshest produce I can find, some wonderful freshly made french bread and best of all, homemade bleu cheese salad dressing. In a matter of minutes, this dressing can be mixed together and put in the fridge for a couple of hours so the flavors marry and voila, the tastiest bleu cheese dressing you've ever had.

Mind you, I have tasted a couple of bottled/jarred bleu cheese dressings that aren't bad, but they all tend to have such strong vinegar taste - probably for preservative sake. This recipe makes a rich dressing (a little goes a long way) with big chunks of cheese and the flavors of the garlic and a slight undertone of acid from the lemon. It lasts about a week in the refrigerator. Leftovers are also good as a dip for veggies such as celery and carrot sticks.

Bleu Cheese Dressing

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream

1 medium garlic clove, minced very fine

1/2 tsp. dry mustard

3-4 oz. crumbled bleu cheese

2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper

Combine all of the ingredients together until well combined. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours so flavors are well combined. Serve with green salad or as a dip for crudities.

A Vacation from the Kitchen

The Husband and I took a 3 day weekend and went to Crescent City, California for a reunion with friends, so no cooking for me. We also took some side trips while we were there to visit the magnificent, awe-inspiring Redwoods. Though I have been there several times, they never fail to thrill me. This trip into the forest was particularly beautiful as the fog had rolled in and the light was very interesting. I will share with you a couple of photos, though they cannot possibly do justice to the scenary.

Cheesemaking 101

Do you know that you can make your own cheese without turning on a stove or stirring or separating curds from the whey? Well, you can and it's as easy as buying a tub of Greek yogurt and having a little patience.Here is what I learned in the latest edition of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food Magazine. Take a tub of Greek yogurt, either whole milk or 2% which is what I used, and put it in a colander lined with a double layer of cheesecloth. Put the colander over a bowl and put a piece of plastic wrap over the top of the yogurt. Then set a plate a 1/2 inch or so smaller than the diameter of the colander on top of the yogurt and set a something heavy on top of that, such as some canned food product. Let this sit in the refrigerator for 48 hr. Once it has drained, you get the most lucious soft cheese which can be used in a variety of ways. It has a taste very similar to goat cheese, with that yogurt tang but it is so much creamier and smoother than goat cheese. I used mine as a substitute for mozzarella on top of crackers with basil and tomato, a sprinkle of olive oil, salt and pepper. You could also roll the balls in herbs or perhaps poppy or sesame seeds for an attractive addition to an appetizer plate.

Baked Caramel Egg Custard

I've been obsessed lately with recipes utilizing the wonderful eggs my co-worker has been bringing in by the DOZENS. His hens, eight of them, are laying an egg a day. Some he claims are laying two a day. They must be very happy chickens.

Today's recipe is an old fashioned baked caramel custard. It is sublime. Eggy, creamy, sweet with a light caramel sauce on the bottom and fairly easy to make. The secret to a very creamy custard is to cook it in a bain marie, or water bath. This just means to put the cooking vessel, in my case a casserole dish, in a larger pan and surround the casserole dish with water about half way up. This is then baked at a low temperature so as not to curdle the delicate mixture.

After it is thoroughly cooled, you just scoop out the custard into individual serving dishes and then spoon the wonderful, caramel syrup over the custard. Enjoy!

Baked Caramel Egg Custard
3 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3 cups very hot milk
1/2 cup sugar for caramel

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a heavy frying pan put 1/2 cup sugar over medium high and swirl sugar around until it turns liquid. Watch very carefully and swirl often or the caramel will burn and be bitter and unusable. Pour this caramel sauce into the bottom of a 3 quart casserole dish sprayed with vegetable spray and set aside. The caramel will harden but that's okay, after baking it turns liquid again. Heat the milk in a saucepan until very hot but not boiling. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar and salt together until combined. Slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly, until combined then add vanilla. Pour the custard mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Place the dish into a larger pan, put in oven then pour hot water around the casserole to fill up to half the sides of the dish. Cook for 50 minutes until custard is totally set but still somewhat jiggly. Take out of bain marie and set aside to cool for an hour then put in refrigerator for at least 4 hours before serving.