Banana Bread & Hurricane Sandy

Today the DC area shut down for Hurricane Sandy. The TV stations are streaming continuous coverage of winds, waves, and water-bottle-less ailses at the grocery stores. Ironically, it was supposed to be "Pajama Day" at school today. Ms. Cassidy still wore her pajamas all day, just not in the classroom.

Have I told you that I have the best roommates? I have the best roommates. Look what we cooked up for lunch today. Moroccan stew, kale chips, and banana bread. Delish!

I eat so much better on hurricane days. Some of us already have cabin fever only after one day of Sandra Dee and are dancing around the apartment to the soundtrack of Grease. You heard it here first: "There are going to be a lot of babies born in 9 months." My favorite Sandy memes so far are:

and:

                           

Also, a good tip: have an apartment warming party two days before you are confined to the indoors for days on end. You will... stay warm... if the power goes out:

Our party had a costume option. I went as Jess from New Girl. I'm glad we got a little Halloween spirit in before the Frankenstorm.

                

 

The day off was a great opportunity to get some baking done, something that has become increasingly less frequent since becoming a teacher. I had bananas that I forgot to eat last week so banana bread seemed like a good choice.

Cozy spices of cinnamon and nutmeg along with a hint of vanilla satisfy your fall cravings. A cup of yogurt adds some tang (I used orange and ginger yogurt) and moisture to this otherwise hearty, yet cakey bread. I hope you enjoy and stay dry!

Banana Bread

yields one large loaf or multiple mini loaves

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup yogurt

3 bananas, mashed or pureed

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups flour

1 cup brown sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Prepare loaf pan(s) by greasing with butter and dusting with flour. In a large bowl, beat the butter until blended. Add the yogurt, bananas, eggs, and vanilla and beat until evenly combined. Add the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Pour batter into pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack for one hour before serving.

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Jalapeño Beer Cornbread

I have returned from Mexico! Some friends and I headed south of Tucson until we hit the Pacific to get SCUBA open water certified. It was a great trip, and much needed after this semester. We camped on Himalaya Bay. We pitched our tents mere yards from the ocean (In the morning, I'd open the flap to see pelicans flying across the water's surface). We dove and snorkeled in crystal clear water, and encountered amazing sea life: eels, slugs, sting rays, fish, coral, sea cucumbers, crabs, urchins, jellyfish... We watched amazing sunsets. We gathered 'round the campire at night. Suffice it to say, I did not want to come back to landlocked Arizona.

  

 

           

The water really was that blue... I've got a fever in this 100-something-degree weather, and the only prescription is more ocean. I also really, really, really want a fancy underwater camera case that I cannot afford in the foreseeable future. It's a whole other world beneath the surface. A photo could never capture the true wonder and tranquility of swimming at depth, but I wish I could share just a little piece of it with you.

 

           

I made this recipe for a going-away-dinner for our dear friend Emily, who is too smart and fancy to hang around Tucson anymore and is headed to Princeton. Emily can be sweet, corny, and spicy (red head - the girl has some sass) and loves beer, so this Jalapeño Beer Cornbread with a Honey Glaze seemed only fitting for my ex-neighbor. I also recently found these nifty cast iron pans at the thrift store for only a few dollars, so this was a good excuse to take them for a test drive.

This cornbread is buttery, sweet, spicy, moist, and beer-y (just roll with it). What more could you ask for in a cornbread? Whole corn kernels, diced jalapeños, and a beer-butter-honey glaze -- Yes, please. The cornbread can be made in the oven or on the grill. If you are afraid of the spice, simply omit the peppers, but in my humble and open-minded opinion that would just be foolish. I used a Hefeweizen, but feel free to use your favorite beer, because you might have to drink the rest of it while the cornbread is cooking. Darn. This recipe is sure to reappear in my kitchen this summer. I hope you find it as delicious and satisfying.

 

Jalapeño Beer Cornbread
adapted from Huffpost Living (Canada)

yields 1 10-inch round pan of cornbread

Ingredients:
Cornbread
3 ears grilled corn kernels, or 1 cup of canned corn
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup of your favorite beer
2 jalapeño peppers, seeded, membrane removed, and finely diced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons butter

Glaze
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter
1/4. cup honey
1/4 cup of your favorite beer

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425°F.

In a bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt. Set aside.

In a small bowl, stir together eggs, milk, beer, jalapeños, and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Add 1 cup of corn and enough extra beer (if necessary) to moisten batter.

Melt butter and coat entire inside of pan. Pour in batter.

Place pan in oven for 10-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove cornbread from oven and let cool in pan for 10 to 15 minutes. Unmold cornbread from pan. Brush all over with glaze. Serve.

Enjoy.


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Lemon, Rosemary, and Sea Salt Focaccia (Tiddly Pom)

Today it's sunny with a high of 72°F and a 20% chance (I'm a meteorologist now, look at that!) of a single cloud floating across the horizon. It's lovely. Yet... I can't help but feel a little empty inside. I miss winter.

When I was home in Maryland over Christmas it flurried. Once. I hurriedly rushed outside to capture this mythical and magical white stuff (Tucson legend has it that this is called "snow") falling from the sky with my camera. I was only wearing a t-shirt, but I didn't care. This moment was special, and becoming increasingly rare in my new life. Being away from something, someone, someplace can make us see just how beautiful the seemingly ordinary can be, and how we shouldn't take it for granted.

 I also couldn't help but think of A.A. Milne's poem from The House at Pooh Corner:

(Tiddly Pom)

The more it goes

(Tiddly Pom)

The more it goes

(Tiddly Pom)

On snowing.

And nobody knows

(Tiddly Pom)

How cold my toes

(Tiddly Pom)

How cold my toes

(Tiddly Pom)

Are growing.

The more it snows

(Tiddly Pom)

The more it goes

(Tiddly Pom)

The more it goes

(Tiddly Pom)

On snowing.

And nobody knows

(Tiddly Pom)

How cold my toes

(Tiddly Pom)

How cold my toes 

(Tiddly Pom)

Are growing.

We're not so unlike these flakes of snow: no two exactly alike; each our own shape and size, each our own unique journey from above -- Each step sounds a Tiddly Pom, each heart beats a Tiddly Pom.

This rustic, lemony, salty focaccia is perfect for a winter's day, even a pretend one. Fresh rosemary and good olive oil counter the burst of tart, citrus flavor, pleasing all of the tastes. I have a huge rosemary bush in my front yard, so every time I see a recipe with rosemary my eyes light up.

 I made some focaccia with tomatoes, too, since my roommate can't eat lemons. So, feel free to use the bread recipe as your base and flavor to your preference. I made these in four mini cheesecake pans as they were the perfect individual serving size, but you could also use two 8-inch cake pans for a larger focaccia.

Lemon, Rosemary, and Sea Salt Focaccia
adapted from Canal House Cooking, Volume No. 3: Winter & Spring

yields two 8-inch rounds or multiple mini rounds

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for prepping pans and drizzling
1 3/4 cups break flour, plus more for kneading
2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
1 lemon
2 branches fresh rosemary, removed from stem and lightly chopped
freshly ground pepper

Directions:
For the dough, dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup warm water in a medium bowl. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup water and 1 tablespoons of the olive oil.

Pulse the flour and 1 teaspoon salt together in the bowl of a food processor. Add the yeast mixture and process until a rough ball of dough forms, 1 minute. Briefly knead dough on a floured surface until smooth. Shape dough into a ball. Put 1 tablespoon of the oil into a large bowl. Roll dough around in bowl until coated with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm spot until it has doubled in size, about 2 hours.

Pour a thin film of oil into each of four 8-inch round cake pans. Divide the dough and put one piece into each pan. Using your fingertips, spread dough out in each pan. The dough is elastic and will resist stretching. Let it relax for 5 minutes or so after you've stretched it as far as it will go. Eventually, it will cooperate and fill the pan.

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Cover the pans with damp dishcloths and let the dough rest until it has swollen in the pans a bit, 30-60 minutes.

Uncover the pans. Sprinkle the dough with the rosemary. Using your fingertips, poke dimples into the dough in each pan, then liberally drizzle with oil so it pools in the hollows. Arrange just the thinnest rounds of lemon on top, drizzle with more oil, and sprinkle with remaining sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Bake the focaccia until golden brown, 20-30 minutes. Drizzle with more oil when you pull the focaccia from the oven. Serve cut into wedges.

Enjoy.
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Cranberry Orange Walnut Loaf

Cranberry Orange Bread is a favorite in my family. My mom always makes many mini loaves to give away to friends. She wraps then in little cellophane bags with holly on them and ties them with raffia ribbon. It's pure Christmas cheer.

My mom calls it "bread," but it's really the consistency of cake (Cake that you're allowed to eat for breakfast, so we'll roll with this "bread" bit... I've called it a "loaf" here to be politically correct :) ) The orange and cranberry are a refreshing punch to this moist and delicious comfort food. This can be eaten it by itself, or spread with some butter and jam on top.

My mom gives away most of the loaves, but there's always a few left for us. I know what I'll be having for breakfast this week... :)

one year ago: Ciambelle (Lemon Wreath Cookies)


Cranberry Orange Walnut Loaf
from Martha Stewart

yields 1 large loaf or 3 mini loaves (mini loaf pictured above)

Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
zest of 1 orange
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cranberries, diced
1/2 cup roasted walnuts, chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a small bowl, stir heavy cream, orange juice, and vanilla. In another small bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl beat butter, orange zest, and sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time while continuing to beat. Alternate adding flour mixture and cream mixture until fully incorporated. Add cranberries and walnuts.

In a prepared loaf pan or cardboard loaf pan, fill with batter until 2/3 full. Bake about 30 minutes in the oven until gold brown or until a toothpick come out clean when put in the center of the loaf. Let cool completely on a rack. Loaves can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored on the counter for days or in the freezer for weeks.

Enjoy.
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