Category: recipe

I like bananas.  I buy them sometimes.  I never finish them all before they turn brown and mushy.  That’s when I toss them in the freezer.

This being recession times, I have been using up food that I already have.  Turns out I had about a dozen frozen bananas.  First I made banana bread.  It was delicious, but I wanted something different.

Banana cupcakes!  They were really tasty. You can find the recipe over at marthastewart.com.

For once I didn’t just toss away my Halloween pumpkins. My Mom and I lovingly picked two out and I got one from my CSA, so I felt they deserved better.  Mom was skeptical due to a failed pumpkin seed attempt of her own, but mine turned out great.  Here’s the loose recipe that I followed.

• pumpkin seeds, rinsed (I ended up with about two cups)
• teaspoon or so of oil, I used olive
• seasonings, I used Johnny’s

I mixed it all up and spread it on a cookie sheet.  They baked at 300 degrees for about 45 minutes.

This is the first recipe that I have made from my new cookbook, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman.

The bread was certainly easy-peasy and, after one slice, I would say it’s delicious as well. Looks like a smiley face will be going next to that recipe. There are plenty more to work my way through.

If you don’t have this book, the recipe is also on Bittman’s blog – Quick whole wheat and molasses bread.

For the recent Mexican based party, in honor of Katie’s 30th birthday, I made some yams (sweet potatoes?  what’s the difference?).  At any rate, the produce was labeled as yams and I made a big old batch (4 batches, actually) that turned out to be amazingly delicious.  My guess is the smoky spicy chipotle cut the sweet potatoes (yams?) enough so that they are unstoppable.

• 2 lbs. yams, peeled and cut into pieces
• 1 splash milk (1/4 cup?)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon chopped chipotle pepper with adobo sauce

Boil the yams until quite soft, very fork tender.  Mash up with the remaining ingredients.  The chipotle peppers come in a little can with adobo sauce.  I food processed a pepper with some of the sauce and used a spoonful, but they can also be chopped by hand.  Use more or less depending on your threshold for spice.

It’s the holidays. It’s cold outside. It’s time for nacho cheese sauce. This one is pretty easy and fantastically tasty. One thing that would have improved my experience would be a slow cooker. The cheese firms up a little once it’s away from heat. You can dip tortilla chips in, pour it over crusty bread or use it as a base for mac & cheese and nachos.

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 chopped onion
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1 pound shredded cheese

Heat up the butter and then caramelize the onions (I chopped the onion into pretty small pieces). Add the flour and cook a few minutes, stirring constantly. Pour in the milk (I actually used nonfat) and then add the cheese. I used a blend of mild and sharp cheddar with a little monterey jack, but the possibilities are endless. Keep stirring until the cheese is melted, about 15 minutes.

Allow me to introduce you to a secret breadmaking method. It turns out delicious loaves and is absolutely easy. No yeast. No rising. Certainly no kneading.

Beer Bread

• 3 cups flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 12oz bottle of beer, room temp
• 1-2 tablespoons melted butter

Preaheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Mix all the dry ingredients together.  Pour the beer in all at once and stir until everything’s moistened.  Drop this mixture into a loaf pan and brush with melted butter (or just pour the melted butter over it if you’re that lazy).  Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

I generally use a regular beer that’s on the light side, like a Sam Adams.  The beer you choose will change the flavor of the bread.

A long weekend.  Time on your hands?  Make up a batch of pizza dough.  One night it’s a pizza, one night it’s calzones.

• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 package yeast
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl.  Dissolve the honey in a small bowl with the 1/4 cup hot water.  Sprinkle yeast over the honey and water mixture.  Let it sit about 5 minutes.

Pour 3/4 cup room temperature water into the yeast mixture.  Add the olive oil, stir lightly and pour into the flour mixture.  Mix until combined and knead until smooth.  Cover and let rise in a greased bowl for about an hour, until doubled or so.

This makes two pizza’s worth of dough.  Spread onto pizza pan or cookie sheet, cover with toppings and bake at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes.  Dough will keep a few days in the fridge or longer in the freezer.