RECIPE: Mom's Banana Bread

Feeling homesick today. I woke up with a migraine, which makes me want to cry. (But it seems to be waning as the day goes on.) But I still want to cry. I miss my Gramma M. I miss my Gramma H. I miss my Mom and Dad. And my lil' bro.... 'nuf said.

(Where's the tissue...)

And the over-ripe bananas were telling me to make some bread, before it's too late.

My lil' bro comes into town in a few days and he likes this banana bread too! So maybe I can make him homesick too...

This is where I start... I sifted the dry ingredients. (Just like mom learned to do in her 7th grade Home Ec class.)



Move on to the bananas, mashed.







Next, cream together the wet ingredients.









And as Mom taught me, add in the dry ingredients in small batches. Otherwise all of the dry ingredients go flying all over the kitchen when you turn on the beaters. (I once tested fate... it wasn't pretty.)



Add another batch of the dry ingredients...



... until all is combined. Then you can pour it into a well-greased loaf pan, smooth out the top (so it cooks evenly) and slide it into the pre-heated oven.



About 45 - 50 minutes later... you have a beautifully golden crust on top. And the house starts to smell like Mom is here.



Allow it to cool completely on a rack for at least 30 minutes... but keep some butter and a knife close by. You'll want some of this very soon...




So here is Mom's Banana Bread recipe... thanks Mom. Good memories rush through my kitchen while this is baking.


Mom's Banana Bread
Recipe courtesy Janie Haraldsen, 7th grade Home Ec class

Ingredients
2 cups flour, sifted
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup sugar
1 egg
¼ cup shortening
2 ripe bananas, mashed

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F degrees.

Combine flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder; set aside. In a large mixing bowl cream together shortening, sugar and egg. Stir in mashed bananas. Add dry ingredients, ¾ cup at a time until batter is mixed well.

Add batter to a well greased loaf pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Remove to cooling rack. Allow to sit for about 10 minutes before removing loaf from pan to continue to cool.



OK - I'm serious. Where's the tissue?!







enjoy your time in the kitchen...

pancetta & parmesan and prosciutto & provolone...

Pining for italian yet again...

I decided to play with italian bacon (pancetta) and italian ham (prosciutto).





I decided on the Pioneer Woman's Pasta with Pancetta and Leeks and an easy chicken, prosciutto and provolone panini!


My hero-of-a-hubby asked for another panini! I'll take it that he liked it!



enjoy your time in the kitchen...

Bounty of tomatoes...

Today I decided I needed to roast up some of these tomatoes... we simply weren't going to be able to consume all of these before they burst open. It's not my Fresh Bounty ... but I'm still blessed by it! (Thank you, again, Neighbor Bob!)

So, here's what my kitchen activity looked like this afternoon...




First, let's get the introductions out of the way. I'm pleased to introduce you to Tiny the Tomato! She's my new friend. Isn't she adorable?!

I secretly wish I could keep her around forever.

Isn't that how it goes?!

Instead, let's roast her and some of her friends... (I blame my dark sense of humor on being raised in the '80s...)



With a paring knife, I cored each tomato...



Then I cut them into rather large slices...



And diced them into rather large dices...





I layered them, single layer, on a large cookie sheet...



I gently sprinkled some dried italian seasoning and kosher salt... followed by a gentle drizzle of olive oil. I sent them into their glorious future with a smashed clove of garlic.

(Garlic makes everything better, right?!)



And while I'm at it, let's do two batches...



With the oven set at 225F degrees...

About an hour later...



I removed the tomatoes from the cookie sheets and divided them into two freezer bags, 2 cups per bag. Before placing them in the freezer I let them cool down a bit... then found a nice cozy corner of the freezer to securely hold them.


Next week sometime I'll use 2 cups of the best-roasted-tomatoes-my-kitchen-has-ever-seen in a pot of homemade spaghetti sauce... good times!





So, in memorium... let's have one last look at Tiny the Tomato.






enjoy your time in the kitchen...

Fresh, fresh, fresh...

Today I found a gift at our front door ... we had once again been blessed with some fresh, fresh produce!




I am deeply convinced that Neighbor Bob is the most dedicated vegetable gardener in all of Old Escondido! And lucky us! Several times during the summer he blesses us with some of the fruits of his labor.




I am also deeply convinced these came right up out of the soil. They were still gritty with the brown of the earth...


Freshly rinsed and drained...




And prepared for the next stage of their lives...






After a quick boil... and a sprinkle of kosher salt. They were then sprinkled with a little lemon juice and served up with my killer meatball sandwiches!

Would you like the recipe for the meatballs? I'm glad you asked! Check out a previous blog entry: Baked Meatballs









enjoy your time in the kitchen...

Attempt #2 - Croque-Monsieur aka Croccante Signore

Check out Attempt #1: Croque-Monsieur <--- click on this link... The first attempt taught me to not over-brown the bread. It will crisp up even more under the broiler. And here is attempt #2. And I learned some more valuable lessons here.

Lesson #1... there IS such a thing as "too much of a good thing"!

I used a little too much prosciutto (which made it too salty). I used a little to much provolone (which it made it just a little to rich.)



And I used a little too much bechamel sauce (which made it too soggy).




These are supposed to be crispy sandwiches... so, I'd say attempt #2 flopped.


I couldn't even eat the whole sandwich.

But the lessons were well worth it... I have a really good feeling about attempt #3!!! Stay tuned...



And yes, I think I'll be calling this my "Croccante Signore"... since I'm bent on using italian ingredients.




enjoy your time in the kitchen...

pining for figs

Today, I wanted good figs...

I really wanted them to be the perfect figs.

They were "ok", just "alright"... but not what I was looking for exactly.

The inside of the figs are simply beautiful.



Bite right into them... and enjoy the mellow yet slight honey-like flavor.


If you don't know much about figs... read more here: About figs

Here's a challenge - next time you're at the market pick up a food item you're not sure about. Take it home, read up on it and do a taste test. Go ahead, be brave. Wait until you hear about my adventures in lychees.


Back to the figs: I remember once saying I didn't like figs. But in all reality I just didn't know enough to know what I was looking for. I didn't know at what stage of their ripening that they taste the best. It was just a matter of trying it and figuring it out. (Sidenote: Isn't that how life goes... we blindly judge something until we are open-minded enough to take the time to learn more about it and understand where it's coming from, the subject's strengths/weaknesses, how it's supposed to act, what it's capable of, etc.

Food imitating life... I love it!

enjoy your time in the kitchen...

my take on Croque-Monsieur... attempt #1

Croque-Monsieur... literally translated from French, the "Crispy Mister"

From what I understand it's the french take on a fancy grilled ham and cheese sandwich.

Make the sandwich, toast the buttered-bread in a pan, topped with bechamel sauce and placed under the broiler to crisp it up even more.





As you can see, my "Misters" got a little TOO crispy.




But dang!!!

This sandwich was fantastic!! I love the flakyness and crispness of the french bread. And that bechamel... out of this world!

I could get used to this!!!


I'm going to make another attempt at it tomorrow. But I promise not to burn them this time. I'll keep you posted w/ the outcome.



However, I stopped dead in my tracks when I realized this was starting to look more like an italian sandwiches with the provolone and the prosciutto! So it can't technically be a croque-monsieur. So translating "crispy mister" into italian finds me at the title of "Croccante Signore"... hmm, I like the sound of that!



enjoy your time in the kitchen...