Nutty

Boy did I wake up on the right side of the bed this morning! It was the side with the pecans, bananas and cinnamon. And I ate gooey, good banana bread for breakfast. The 6 brown bananas in my fruit bowl forced my hand.

Actually, the story started about 2 weeks ago. My child okey doked me (again) at the farmers market. She proclaimed that we needed bananas, a bunch with 6, in fact. Then she diligently counted until she found the right bunch, placed it in the cart and promised to eat them all. She'd need one for a snack each day, you see. That's why there had to be 6, because on the 7th day we'd be back at the market.


It was a great plan and I believed she would eat them. I should add here that I do not eat a bananas in their natural form, too slimy! She would have to eat them. No problem, right? The kid loves bananas.

Wrong!

This week she didn't like them. At all. Not even a little bit. When you're 5, I suppose that happens. She didn't eat a single one. And when I'd offer them up for a snack, she'd just look down her nose at them.

"Uh, Mommy, I really don't want any bananas and they're looking kinda brown," she said.

Imagine that.

Anyway, I made good use of them. This bread was the perfect consistency, very moist and full of flavor.
 


Ingredients
3 ripe bananas
1 melted stick of butter
1 egg
1 cup of sugar
1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon of cinnamon
1 cup of chopped pecans

1. Mash bananas with a fork and add melted butter and egg. Pour in sugar, vanilla, baking soda, cinnamon, pecans and mix well with a spoon or spatula (no beater required).
2. Add flour and combine all ingredients.
3. Pour into a buttered loaf pan and bake for about 45 minutes on 350 degrees until a toothpick comes out clean.

The Mommy Cookie

Snow day!

Snow day.

Snow day?

It's all kinds of hot chocolate and snowman fun on the first day. The second day is a relief too, no work, more time to rest. But by the third day it's a little ridiculous. You're trapped inside!

To ease the monotony, I decided to collect a few of my favorite things (cinnamon, pecans and coconut) and put them into a cookie. A "Mommy" cookie. My 5-year-old doesn't like nuts so anything with nuts in it she declares a "mommy" thing. And promptly loses interest. And that is how you get a preschooler to retreat from a treat. It gives me uninterrupted pleasure.

And mommy knows just what to do with her things. I'll show you.

Step one: Get your milk ready.

Step Two: Admire your handy work. 

 Step Three: Appreciate the flavors.

REPEAT

Ingredients
1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 large egg

1 1/4 cup of all purpose flour
1/2 cup pecans


1. In a large bowl beat your softened butter for 30 seconds, then combine sugar, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon.
2. Add egg and beat until combined.
3. Slowly mix in the flour until everything is well combined. Toss in the pecans and mix.
4. Spoon onto a baking sheet. Cook for 10-12 minutes on 350 degrees.

Simple Pear Tarts

Let's suppose you're invited to a Thanksgiving dinner and expected to bring a dish. I'd recommend a dessert but nothing store bought! Since we show the Publix bakery our thanks all year long by giving them our money, I think it's only fitting that this time of year we show our loved ones some respect by making them something from scratch. These pear tarts are really tasty and simple to make. You only need 4 ingredients, canned pear halves, puff pastry, sugar, cinnamon.

Pear Pastries

I'm driven by the ingredients I find in the farmers' market. I don't go in there with any expectations, but I usually come out with a seed of creativity blooming in my head.

Forelle pears set me off over the weekend. I had never seen anything so enticing and adorable as these tiny pears. To me they looked like a perfect pairing for the puff pastry I had in the freezer. I could see myself slicing and simmering them in a pan with homemade caramel. Then somehow stuffing them into a flaky crust. They turned out to be light, crusty and cute. I think they look like little flowers.

Ingredients
Forelle Pears
Sugar
Butter
Heavy Cream
Puff Pastry

1. Slice about 4 Forelle pears
2. In a pan let granulated sugar begin to carmelize, as it bubbles add some butter then wisk in cream
3. Add pear slices to the light caramel in the pan and let them simmer until they soften
4. Push squares of puff pastry down into the spaces of a muffin pan.
5. Spoon slices into the pastry and bake for about 20-25 minutes.
6. Remove pastries and coat with caramel and powered sugar (optional)

My first Creme Brulee

Since the first time I tasted creme brulee I've wondered what was in it. (as I do most food items) And have been intrigued and slightly intimidated by it.

Then, I just got over it and made up my mind to buy the tools, get a recipe and go for it.

I did it! One night in the middle of the week, I went to Bed Bath and Beyond and bought a creme brulee set. Then I headed home to Google some recipes and cross reference my cook book.

I had cream, eggs, sugar and the equipment. I was ready to go. Almost.
I had to first fill the torch with butane gas. This had me worried a bit. Instructions said I could DIE if I inhaled the gas. But I couldn't avoid smelling it as it came out. I started to feel like my larynx was disintegrating. And I couldn't even tell if I was doing it right. It was a little troubling.
I'd come this far, no death inducing torch was gonna stop me! I went outside (in 30 degree weather) and held it as far away from my face as possible and pumped the gas into the torch. Creme Brulee was going down that night.

Ingredients
Milk
Heavy Cream
Egg Yolks
Sugar
Vanilla (extract or beans)

1. Heat some milk (slowly)
2. Beat some egg yolks and heavy cream together
3. Add Sugar and Vanilla
4. Gradually pour mix into heated milk
5. After the mix is heated through, pour it into ramekins
6. Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until liquid takes on Custard appearance/consistency
7. Remove from oven and let cool
8. Spread sugar over cooled custard
9. Scorch sugar with torch and let cool

Coconut Macaroons

Yesterday my friend celebrated her 20-12th birthday. I thought about getting her a $20 gift card from TJ Maxx, because she likes shopping at a variety of places and always finds the hidden treasures there. 

Then, I  considered buying her a CD for $9.99. Or some accessories for about $15. But I know she loves to eat my coconut macaroons and watching her savor those is priceless.

The recipe is rather simple so I decided to embellish the treats a bit with a couple of her favorite flavors- chocolate and lemon. 

Ingredients

2 Egg Whites

2/3 Cup Sugar

3 oz. Flaked Coconut

1. Beat egg whites into a fluffly foam. 

2. Slowly add sugar to the mix

3. Add coconut flakes and blend

4. Using a teaspoon measure out scoops and place onto a baking sheet for about 12-15 minutes in a 325 degree oven.

5. If you choose to embellish add toppings while macaroons are still warm and let them cool on wax paper.

Triumph Tart

My husband bought raspberries and blueberries from the market on Sunday. We don't usually eat berries, but he was apparently inspired by a dessert I served at a recent spaghetti dinner. 

I topped slices of angel food cake with the berries and some whipped cream - a simple no-bake dessert.

But those berries in the fridge will spoil if we don't eat them soon. It's been a week. I asked Husband about his intentions for the berries. His reply indicated he expected me to whip something up with them. "Didn't you make something good with them last time?" he asks.

Sure I did. But last time I bought additional ingredients. This time Husband did the shopping and all we have is berries. What will I do with just berries? I think a tart would be nice, but I've never made one of those before, they require crusts, but I'm up to the challenge. Hmm... there is flour, but without butter I can't make a crust. Can I?

I crack open the laptop and Google "crust no butter" What I find encourages me to give it a try. I throw together some flour, vegetable oil, milk, brown sugar and salt. I eye balled this so I can't tell you how much of each I used. But when I could see it was the correct consistency, I dumped the dough onto my cutting board, kneaded it a bit then flattened it in preparation for the berries. I placed them in the center and folded the edges of the dough up around the sides. I baked them for about 20 to 25 minutes and we ate them for dessert. Not bad for my first attempt at homemade crust.

Ingredients

Raspberries

Blueberries

Peaches

Brown Sugar

Powdered Sugar

Flour

Vegetable Oil

Milk

Salt

1. Combine flour, salt and brown sugar in a bowl

2. Add oil and milk to moisten dry ingredients

3. Use fork to toss ingredients together

4. Knead flour then roll flat

5. Peel and cut peaches and combine with brown sugar in a bowl with blueberries and raspberries

6. Pile fruit onto center of dough

7. Fold dough up around the edges of fruit

8. Bake at 350 for about 20 to 25 minutes

9. Sprinkle with powdered sugar