30,000 Pounds of Bananas

Well, not quite 30,000 pounds.

Last week I decided to do a banana bread smack down.

In this corner, from Cook for Good, fighting in the whole white wheat flour, weighing in with four bananas. Made with brown sugar and containing less sugar and oil than most quick bread recipes... Ladies and gentlemen, More Banana Banana Bread.

And in this corner, from the recipe cards at Starbucks around the world, weighing in with three bananas. Made with more oil and sugar than his opponent. Ladies and gentlemen, Starbucks Banana Walnut Bread.

Now fight fans, "Let's get ready to rumble!"

Interestingly, the More Banana recipe and the Starbucks version contain the same amount of liquid. One has 1/2 cup of milk and a few tablespoons of oil and the other has 1/2 cup of oil and a few tablespoons of milk. Both recipes contain walnuts.

After careful review and thoughtful deliberation, the winner was the Starbucks version. This more traditional version was described by reviewers as having more banana flavor. It could be that the vanilla increased the intensity of the banana. In addition, it was more moist (hardly surprising since it had a bit of oil in it).

Coffeehouse Coffee Cake

About once a month I have a baking night where I make something nice for DH. I really enjoy baking so this is a treat for me too. I love the way it makes the house smell and licking the bowl isn't too tough to handle either!

This month's selection was coffee cake with a generous amount of crumb topping. We settled on Enlightened Starbucks Coffeecake. I followed the recipe as published with the exception of making the crumb topping in the food processor and making it in an 8x8 pan since I don't have an 9x9 pan.

I am happy to report that DH gave this recipe his seal of approval.

What's for dinner? White chili

Meal planning can be challenging. We eat dinner at home six or seven nights a week and we eat together about as often. Even two people can make up a family and we make an effort to have meals together. Finding recipes that we like that aren't too time consuming, calorically dense or sodium filled -- or leave us with a month of leftovers -- can take some effort!

Last night we tried a recipe for white chili for the first time. It was a hit! I used some homemade broth but I did use canned white kidney beans. The cumin and oregano were both from Penzey's. I make it a habit to use bulk spices from Penzey's, The Spice House or the bulk section at Whole Foods.

White Chili

1 teaspoon canola oil
1 small onion, chopped
4 ounces ground chicken or turkey breast
1 4-ounce can chopped green chills
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin seed
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon cider vinegar (or 2 teaspoons lime juice)

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the ground chicken/turkey and increase the heat to medium-high. Cook until browned, about 2 minutes. Stir in chills and spices. Cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 1 minutes. Stir in drained beans and broth, bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced, about 10 minutes. Add vinegar (or lime juice).

Source: Eating Well: Serves Two

Tonight, we just had omelets but I think that I should get bonus points for making the dough for tomorrow's pizza!

Peanut Butter Carrot Cakes for Dogs

(imported from FB)

5:55pm Sunday, Jun 17

This is the recipe that I used for Emma's birthday celebration.

Cake:
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup shredded carrots (about 1 ½)
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup honey
1 egg

Frosting:
4 oz reduced fat cream cheese
1 Tbs honey
1 Tbs peanut butter

Spray four jumbo muffin cups with nonstick spray.

Mix flour and baking soda. Add remaining ingredients. Pour into prepared muffin tin and bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes. Let cool.

For the frosting, place cream cheese and one tablespoon each of peanut butter and honey into a large bowl. Beat with a hand mixer until fully combined. Spread on cooled muffins. Chill muffins until serving.

Servings: 4
Yield: 4 cakes

Canine Cranberry Muffins recipe

(imported from FB)

9:39pm Tuesday, Jun 5

Muffins:
2 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 egg (beaten)
1/3 cup honey
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries

Frosting:
6 oz low fat whipped cream cheese and
2 Tbs honey

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease muffin tins or use silicon bakeware. Combine moist ingredients (excluding frosting mix) in a bowl. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients to moist ingredients. Fold cranberries into mix. Fill muffin tins with batter.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes for mini muffins or 25 minutes for regular size muffins. Let cool.

When muffins have cooled, make the frosting by combining the low fat cream cheese and honey, mixing to a smooth consistency. Lightly ice the muffins. Refrigerate.

Servings: 18
Yield: 18 muffins or 36 mini muffins

Cooking Tips
These stuck to the mini muffin cups like crazy. It made 24 mini muffins and 7 regular muffins. I did the regular muffins in silicone baking cups and baked them for 25 minutes. The bottoms were a tiny bit brown but they did come out of the cups just fine. Next time, do 18 muffins instead of 36 mini muffins.


Source: Outer Barks newsletter