Julie’s Banana Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons baking spice 1 cup sugar 3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 2 large eggs, at room temperature 4 ripe bananas 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup chopped paper shell pecans 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375F. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and baking [...]]]>

Julie’s Banana Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking spice
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
4 ripe bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped paper shell pecans
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375F. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and baking spice in a bowl and set aside. Cream together the sugar and butter then add eggs, one at a time. Peel the bananas and with the mixer running, break them into the bowl and add the vanilla. Gradually add the dry ingredients and just as those begin to become fully incorporated fold in the nuts and chocolate chips. Transfer to a greased pan. A loaf pan will need about 1 hour 15 minutes to bake but a round or square pan will cook more quickly. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean.

I used to think I didn’t like miso, mainly because I don’t care for miso soup at Japanese restaurants. Then Jason made this fennel stuffed pork  recipe which calls for “light miso”. I had no idea there were many kinds of miso! At first I thought I probably just like the mild white miso but now [...]]]>

I used to think I didn’t like miso, mainly because I don’t care for miso soup at Japanese restaurants. Then Jason made this fennel stuffed pork  recipe which calls for “light miso”. I had no idea there were many kinds of miso! At first I thought I probably just like the mild white miso but now I wonder if maybe it’s the fish stock in the soup that I don’t care for. At any rate, miso is beginning to appear more often at my table and I’m learning ways to use it.

Soba with tofu and veg

6 ounces buckwheat soba noodles
sesame oil
1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
several shiitake, stemmed and torn into pieces
1 cup snow peas, cleaned and sliced
3 or 4 green onions
2 inch piece of fresh  ginger, peeled and grated
1 cup cucumber, sliced into half- moons
firm tofu, pressed and cubed*
1 t crushed red pepper

2 T rice wine vinegar

1 T soy sauce

2 T miso
2 T honey

Cook the soba according to the package directions. Drain, rinse with cold water and drain again. In a large bowl, toss soba with about a teaspoon of sesame oil to coat. Chop the green onions reserving the tops. Saute the rest of the onion with the shiitake for about 60 seconds in a teaspoon of oil. Turn off the heat and stir in rice wine vinegar, crushed red pepper, miso, soy sauce,  and honey. Transfer mushroom/onion mixture into the bowl with the soba, add remaining ingredients and toss well.

*Line a dish with a towel, place the tofu on it, cover with another towel and a heavy weight. Let stand about an hour to remove some of the moisture. This is a good way to prepare tofu for frying but I left mine fresh for this dish.

Well this is no witches brew but it was delicious. I wanted to try a fresh tomato sauce for pizza. I picked several assorted tomatoes and dunked them in boiling water 30 seconds followed by an ice bath and then peeled them. I chopped off the tops and squeezed out the seeds into a bowl. I [...]]]>

Well this is no witches brew but it was delicious. I wanted to try a fresh tomato sauce for pizza. I picked several assorted tomatoes and dunked them in boiling water 30 seconds followed by an ice bath and then peeled them. I chopped off the tops and squeezed out the seeds into a bowl. I roughly chopped the meat and added that to a pot in which I’d sauteed half a red onion and a couple cloves of minced garlic in a bit of olive oil. I strained the reserved seeds and added the juice to the pot discarding the seeds and then simmered my tomato sauce for about 30 minutes. I used a stick blender to puree my mixture and simmered on low until it reduced by about half. I seasoned my sauce with  1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (mine’s old, use less if yours is fresh), a teaspoon oregano (leaf), a pinch of thyme and about half a teaspoon of Penzey’s pizza seasoning as well as a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. I’m pretty sure we’ll be doing that again though I will probably double the pizza seasoning as the sauce was very sweet.

1/2 cup wildflower honey 1 1/2 cups sugar 4 ounces butter, at room temperature 1 cup heavy cream kosher salt

Combine honey and sugar in a large heavy bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil without stirring and cook over medium heat until sugar syrup reaches desired color. You can check the color by dripping on a white [...]]]>

1/2 cup wildflower honey
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 ounces butter, at room temperature
1 cup heavy cream
kosher salt

Combine honey and sugar in a large heavy bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil without stirring and cook over medium heat until sugar syrup reaches desired color. You can check the color by dripping on a white plate, it should darken at least a few shades. Stir in the butter a little at a time with a wooden spoon standing well back to avoid splatters. When all of the butter has been worked in, add the cream and stir to combine (this will also splutter and splatter). Increase heat to medium high and cook until the temperature reaches 260F on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and pour into a pan lined with a silpat. Allow to cool and then cut into squares.