From The Kitchen: Banana Bread

The Man Can Bake

I'm writing this post for Monday, on Sunday. I've been at my desk working today trying to get a head start on the week. While I was working away, G took to the kitchen. He's been wanting to make use of the old bananas we've had in the freezer and bake some banana bread.

Mind you, this doesn't happen often, but perhaps it should. 

This is good banana bread!

Not easy doing a photo shoot of a fresh baked banana bread when what you really want to do is eat it.

But I wanted you guys to see how good it came out. Just perfect. 

Hello butter. Because every slice of hot out of the oven banana bread requires some pats of butter melting into it. It wouldn't be right otherwise.

OK, we held out long enough. Time to taste..............

As good as it looks. Delicious. Well done Babe! When are you baking again?


Gar's Classic Banana Bread

4 Bananas (over-ripe is best)
1/3 cup melted butter

1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1.5 cups of flour

Mash/mix bananas and butter in mixing bowl.  Add sugar, vanilla and baking soda. Mix well.  Add flour and mix until all is incorporated.  Pour mix into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350F for one hour.  Let rest 5 minutes.



Give it a try, we think you'll like as much as we do.

Hope you enjoyed your weekend. Ours was fairly quiet.  Friday we went out to eat with my parents and sister and had a good few laughs.  Saturday, we stayed close to home and watched the Bruins in the afternoon and old movies at night.  Sunday was another home day, my desk and G baking the bread. I did catch some of the ski jump competition this morning (they are crazy! talk about no fear) and hoping to catch something else.  I really enjoy watching all of the Olympians compete. They've worked so hard to get there. I did see some of the opening ceremonies and my favorite part were the lit up wireframes of athletes and the little girl with the red balloon flying high above the stadium. Do you watch the Olmpics? What's your favorite event?

Here's to a great week.

Ciao for now,

No-Turkey-Overload Prosciutto Roll Ups

Happy Thanksgiving

If you're like our family, and somehow I suspect this is true the nation over, there is more than enough turkey for every one at the table.

There is no need for turkey before the main event, so instead, an easy little appetizer with no turkey in sight..........prosciutto roll ups.  They're a take on an old family favorite, ham rolls up, and brings the 70s appetizer right up to 2013.

1/2 pound of thinly sliced prosciutto
capers (approx 1/3 of a 3.5 oz jar)
whipped cream cheese (approx. half of a 12.5 oz container)

Cut slices of prosciutto in half lengthways. Put generous dollop of whipped cream cheese at one end and roll. Dip one end into capers. Put a toothpick in it for easy eating.



It doesn't get easier than that.  Easy to remember and easy to put together. All around, a great recipe for the holidays.

Happy Thanksgiving!  Enjoy your holiday.

Ciao for now,

Seriously Good Dip

Cheesy Spinach Goodness

Our neighbor friends Tom and Joan had their annual Labor Day Weekend Cookout yesterday.  I made one of my go-to dips.  Everyone loved it last weekend, so I figured I was safe making another batch.

This stuff is good.

You will thank me.

I in turn, will thank my girlfriend Cathryn aka Petite Flower, for bringing this dip to our house and getting us hooked.

This dip is..........how shall we say it....................really, really, really good.  It's bowl lickin' good.

Yes, that good.

It is also incredibly easy.

Cheesy Petite Flower Spinach Dip

1 lb Land o' Lakes American Pepper Cheese. diced
4-5 cups fresh spinach, chopped (I use an entire clamshell package of fresh baby spinach, though original recipe called for a box of frozen). Or 5 BIG handfuls of fresh spinach.
one medium onion, diced
3 roma tomatoes, diced

Dice onion and tomato and put in mixing bowl. Cook in microwave ( you could do in oven or sautee pan if you're not keen on microwave) a couple of minutes until softened. Add chopped spinach. Heat again for 2 minutes. Drain any liquid so dip doesn't get watery.  Add a 1/3 of cheese. Heat again until melted, stir. Add another 1/3. Heat again until melted, stir. Add last 1/3 of cheese and heat until melted. Stir. Let cool a couple of minutes serve with chips.  This dip is best once it cools a couple of minutes allowing it to thicken up just a bit. You can also cook and heat in oven at 350 for about 20 minutes.

This dip does have a little bite. If you're can't handle hot, change up the cheese half Land o' Lakes White American and half Land o' Lakes American Pepper. Though the original wasn't too hot for the
'spicy wimps' in the neighborhood.

It is SO good.

Sometimes I reserve a little and put it in my omelette.  Reserving some aside is a good idea because there isn't often any left.


The weather held out for the cookout.

We got to meet these toes for the first time.

And I got to smell this head. Personally, I think someone fragrance person should launch 'newborn baby head' perfume, because honestly.............you just can't get enough of that smell.

I know I am not the only one who thinks that, but if in case, none of you have any idea of what I'm talking about..........just find a newborn baby head to smell. You may still think I'm crazy, but you may find yourself on the newborn baby head perfume bandwagon.

When Grammie wasn't holding her new granddaughter, she was hold this. Her new retirement wineglass.

I think they weighed the same.


Joanie also cut some of the flowers she grew from seed..........zinnias and aster......to brighten up the picnic tables. So sweet. I don't think I've ever had success growing flowers from seed.  These make me want to try again come next spring.

Lashing rain here on and off since yesterday evening. We moved the cookout in just as it started to downpour. We got 3.25 inches in an hour. 6 miles east, all my parents got was a sprinkle.  Still raining like that in Stratham. Quiet, and then all hell breaks loose into gullywashin'.

The laundry is getting serious rinsing on the line. Ugh. We couldn't run back across the street quick enough........it just rolled in too fast. And there hasn't been a long enough break of no rain to get it in.

Have a great Labor Day. Wish I could say I have it off, but there is too much work on my desk so I'm havin' at it. That's not necessarily a bad thing.  Especially since I'm working on a logo design today for a client. Just finished another up and will be sharing that with you at some point this week.

Have a great day and enjoy!

Ciao for now,

From The Mercantile Muse Kitchen

Rhubarb Cake

Have I told you my neighbors don't like rhubarb. More importantly, have I told you that we love rhubarb and that our next door neighbors, Lauren and Jay (who happen to not care for it) have a big bed of rhubarb and that we get to take as much as we like? In all fairness, they didn't plant the rhubarb. Our previous neighbor did.

Hello gorgeous.

It was high time I did something with their glorious harvest of rhubarb.

I was going to make my friend's mom's rhubarb bread recipe, but I'm out of brown sugar. So where do you think I went to find a new rhubarb recipe? Yup. Pinterest.

What I found was Oma's Rhubarb Cake on allrecipes.com. 

I baked it last night and it came out pretty darn good. Hot out of the oven we gave it 8 out of 10 stars- we only waited long enough to not burn ourselves while holding a piece. Be forewarned, the fruit inside is hot to eat even when you can hold it. Learned that the hardway.

This morning I thought it had gotten a little bit dry. I think my oven must bake on the high side, so next time I'd check the cake before 45 minutes. Also, I didn't have sour cream and used yogurt instead,which I'd probably do anyways. I like the tangier bite of non-fat yogurt.

The topping really made this cake. Decadent. Golden brown when baked and delicious.

Rhubarb Yogurt Cake ala Oma

1 1/4 cupswhite sugar

1 teaspoonbaking soda

1/2 teaspoonsalt

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup non fat yogurt (or sour cream)

3 cups diced rhubarb

topping:

1 cup white sugar

1/4 cupbutter, softened

1/4 cupall-purpose flour

cinnamon for dusting

 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and flour a 9 x 13 cake pan (note: I'd be more generous with the greasing than I was). 

 

In a large bowl combine dry ingredients (sugar, flour, baking soda, and salt) and mix.  Add wet ingredients (beaten eggs, yogurt- or sour cream if you prefer) and mix until smooth.  Fold in rhubarb a little at a time until it is incorporated into batter. Pour into cake pan and spread evenly.  Set aside.

 

In another bowl mix topping by adding sugar, flour and butter. Mix together with fork until crumbly. Sprinkle topping over entire cake. Dust cinnamon over top if you like.

 

Bake 40-45 minutes. Insert cake tester or toothpick in center to check for doneness. Let rest. Cut and serve. 

 

 

 

All and all, a lovely cake recipe to make use of our neighbors' rhubarb.

 

Do you have a favorite rhubarb recipe? There's still more to be harvested and I hate to see it go to waste. I might do a little searching for a jam recipe, but I'm open to suggestions.

 

 

Raining cats and dogs here. It really lashed overnight. The sump pump is now working overtime.  So glad I cut my peonies before it started to get heavy.

 

Today I'm working on some logo design adjustments, among other things.

 

How about you? What's on your plate today?

 

Ciao for now ,

 

 

 

Easy Strawberry Smoothie

 

Breakfast, Lunch, Snack? Strawberry Fields Forever

 

I love a smoothie. I also love a frozen drink and I'm not sure if one has to do with the other, but I'm just throwing that out there.

 

I'd been hankering a smoothie and when I went to the grocery store I knew I wanted to make my two stand-bys: Green Bliss Smoothie, which I posted last Summer, and Strawberry. 

 

Perhaps I should call it a Strawberry Banana Smoothie because I had bananas on hand and I threw one in. However, if you're not a banana person, just up the strawberry count. No worries.

 

Oh yeah. That's what I'm talking about.

 

 

So, this is easy. Really. There's no need to get uptight and be all worried because you didn't make it just so. If need be, you can adjust.

 

Strawberry Smoothie

 

6 large strawberries (9-10 if you're not going to use banana)

1 banana

1 cup of ice

1/4 cup of plain non fat yogurt

3 tbs of honey-more if you like it extra sweet

(you can also use a splash of OJ for added sweetness)

 

Wash strawberries.  Put everything in blender and........you guessed it, blend. If you are using the OJ, put that in first because if you pour it in over the ice, it makes the ice stick together and harder to blend.

 

This made enough for me to have 3 10 oz tumblers full.

 

 

You may have noticed a little bit of green in the smoothie. Well, one of my friends, and I can't remember who, threw the entire strawberry in- leaves and all- when we were making daiquiris, and I thought......why not? It doesn't make it bitter so what the heck. If you don't want a leafy smoothie, just cut the tops off before you throw them in the blender.

 

Now, get that blender out and have at it.

 

Enjoy.

 

Gray as all get out here today. They're even predicting snow. In fact, I just felt the temp drop so I believe it. Not exactly what we want to hear, but since I've had a week's break in building the fire, I guess we can handle it. It's an excuse to have 'one more fire' for the season. If we're lucky.

 

Carpe diem!

 

Ciao for now,

 

 

 

 

 

 



In The Kitchen: Taking Veggies Up A Notch

Veggie Cakes with Mustard Remoulade Sauce

If you're like me, you're always trying to find new ways to cook your vegetables and make them the mainstay of the meal.  I'm especially thinking this way as we welcome Spring and put our minds towards lighter fare after a Winter full of stews.  In addition to that, my thoughts are turning toward our garden planning, and ways we can prepare what we grow to keep things interesting.

I made these veggie cakes the other night and they got two thumbs up from both of us. It's pretty easy preparation and cooking and they are done in the oven, so they're pretty healthy too.  We had them on a bed of steamed kale but you could put them atop any greens you like.

Baked Veggie Cakes

1 med carrott
1 large leek
4 large button mushrooms
1/4 cup of bread crumbs
1/4 cup shredded cheddar (you could use low fat or non fat)
1/4 of a lemon - squeezed for juice
big handful of fresh dill
1 medium egg
3tbs of non fat yogurt
salt and pepper

Makes 6-8 cakes, depending on how big you make them.
 

One by one, add vegetables and fresh dill to food processor (with shredding attachment on) and mince.  Take shredder off and add bread crumbs, cheese, fresh lemon juice, egg and yogurt, and salt and pepper and pulse until mixed well. Form patties and bake on greased (I use olive oil on an old pan that is well seasoned) cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 25 minutes, flipping the cakes over half way through cooking time.  While they are cooking, prepare sauce.

Mustard Remoulade

1/4 cup of low fat Hellman's
1/4 cup of Non-fat yogurt
fresh squeezed juice of 1/4 of a lemon
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (of course, this is to taste, add more or less depending on how hot you like it)
2 tbs of dijon or stone ground mustard
*If I'd had capers, I'd probably have added them as well.

Serve cakes over a bed of greens and top with sauce.

We loved them so much, I made them again a few nights later. Easy and delicious.

Enjoy!

I hope you all had a lovely Easter and Passover. Ours was great. The weather cooperated so we were able to spend a good bit of time outside. Delicious food, good company, fun egg hunt. A good day all in all.

Ciao for now,

Burgerlicious

 

Our New Favorite Burger

I do my best to try to make at least some of the recipes I pin on pinterest, including yesterday's 2 ingredient cookies.

When I saw the recipe for this burger, I knew it would be on the 'make as soon as you can' list.

Prep was easy.

I started with my guacamole for topping:

ripe avocado
garlic
lime (prevents the avocado from browning and excellent flavor)
salt and pepper

Mash together and set aside.

Now for the burger. Let me first say thank you to What's Gaby Cooking for a winner winner chicken dinner. I've never been a huge chicken burger fan, but this burger won me over and neither myself or G put up a fight. I am so glad I found her pin on pinterest.


via What's Gaby Cooking  

1 1/2 pounds ground chicken
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons chopped jalapeño (I went heavier because we love 'em)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika- I used Spanish Smoked Paprika and it's definitely the way to go!
1/3 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese- I probably upped the ante a bit on the cheddar to 1/2 cup (I mean, it is cheese after all)
kosher or sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Prepare your grill to medium heat while you mix the burgers.  Dice onion, cilantro, and garlic. In bowl, mix chicken and rest of ingredients together and form into 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch patties.  Grill over medium heat with lid up until cooked through, about 5-7 minutes per side.  We checked internal temp with thermometer to make sure they were done.  Serve on bulkie roll (don't ask me, it's a New England thing....it's just a nice hamburger or sandwich roll).  Top with Guacamole.  You could also top with sour cream, red onion or whatever else you like. We went with the guac, mayo and tomato.

Dee. Vine.

Neither of us could finish ours so my bonus is I get the leftovers for lunch.

Hello Heaven.

I highly suggest trying this one, if you're like us and love cilantro and cumin. It's a keeper.

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This morning we were greeted with the sun.

It was big and bright and it continues to warm up.  It actually feels a bit like Spring out.

I hope I didn't just jinx us by saying that.

Enjoy the day.  It's a great day to have.

Ciao for now,

2 Ingredient Cookies + 1

You Read That Right

I'm with you, when I found this recipe for 2 ingredient cookies on pinterest, I said 'that's for me'. I mean, who wouldn't love making a two ingredient cookie?

Thanks to The Burlap Bag for this easy as it sounds recipe.

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2 large bananas (preferably a little brown)
1 cup of quick oats

**if you want, throw in a handful of nuts, chocolate chips, raisins or what have you. We went with chocolate chips.

Mash bananas and oats together, add third ingredient if you desire. Spoon onto greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 15 minutes, according to the recipe from The Burlap Bag. Mine were done in 12.  Also, perhaps their bananas were bigger because it yielded 16, and all we got was 12. Bonus, the basic recipe is gluten free and can remain so depending on what else you feel like throwing in.  Let cool for 5 minutes and eat.  They are better right out of the oven, as they get a little too chewy the next day.

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I had some brown bananas freezer and figured, I might as well give it a go. (you know you can freeze your brown bananas, right? Just throw them in the freezer. After a little defrosting, they're good to go when you're making banana bread or these cookies).  Phew. I was exhausted after making these cookies. Not really. The recipe was as easy pie and made a nice little breakfast cookie, or whenever cookie.

All in all we give it two thumbs up.


How was your weekend? Ours just wasn't long enough. Isn't that always the problem?

My sister and our friend Kel Roy stopped over for some impromptu you tubing Friday night. We did a little belated St. Patrick's Day celebrating complete with hats, jigs and cosmos.

I had to post this picture because I think my sister Di looks like my sister Gloria in this one. Weird how that happens.

 We tried to do the Lyndy too, but weren't very successful.

The dog? He just watched from his corner of the couch.

Saturday I went to do groceries, worked a little at my desk and then Saturday night we were off to a Welcome Home party for our friends' Ralph and Cathryn's son Matthew, who recently completed a tour in Afghanistan. So great to have a happy occasion to celebrate. Seems like yesterday that Matthew was a mudgy faced baby, and now he's in the Army. Time does indeed fly. We had a ton of fun (read: we took a cab...yay for the cab man who was so nice---thanks Bob!) and had lots of laughs.

Yesterday we stopped over to my parents for a visit and then came home, did dishes and laundry and generally chilled out for the rest of the day.  The duck breasts I mentioned in yesterday's post were quite divine. I lied though. I didn't roast them, I just sauteed them. Delicious either way.

A good weekend all in all. Just wish there was one more day.

Sunset Meadows

We've had some pretty sunsets the last few days.

This one was like a big fireball, but it went so quick I didn't get a shot off until it was nearly down.

Yesterday's was lovely and absolutely blinding while I took the pictures.

Did you have a busy weekend? Did you get lots done? I was hoping to get a little more done, but that's the way the ball bounces.

 

Hey, quick question for fellow bloggers.......is anyone else having trouble inserting pictures into posts? For several weeks, when I insert pictures, it's had to be able to get the cursor past the pictures so I can finish the post, or there is a bunch of extra space after picture that should be there. It is happening in both firefox and explorer. Maybe it's a blogger bug? I don't know but it sure is annoying. Just wondered if I was the only one.

 

Make it a great Monday.

 

Ciao for now,

 

 

Queso Queso Chorizo

 

So Good You Have to Say It Twice

Are you a cheese lover like me? Do you feel like your day isn't complete if it is bereft of cheese? Do like flavor to shift your taste buds into overdrive?

If you answered yes to all of the above, Queso Queso Chorizo is for you.

I know you'll be surprised when I tell you a found a recipe on Pinterest that had me drooling. And me being me, I had to put my own twist on it. Yes, I admit it, I have a hard time following a recipe to the T, that's why I have some 'baking' issues, since it requires preciseness.

This recipe however, can be tweaked to your heart's desire.

 

Queso Queso Chorizo

 

1 cup chorizo, diced 

2 cups of shredded cheddar

3 heaping tablespoons of low fat cream cheese

half a beer/6 oz. (something with a little bite....I used Amstel because it's what I had on hand)

1/8 cup diced jalepenos/fresh, jarred or canned- use more if you want it hotter

two diced roma tomatoes

handful of chopped fresh cilantro

 

Sauteed diced chorizo over low to medium heat until lightly browned, moving it around in pan to brown on all sides.  To the sautee pan, add 2 cups of cheddar cheese, cream cheese, jalepenos and half a beer. Cook and stir until cheese melts and melds together, adding more beer as you go to a nice creamy consistency.  Add tomatoes to the mix and stir until incoporated. Add cilantro a few minutes before you're ready to serve, and stir to incorporate. 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Serve with corn chips or your favorite cracker.

 

Easy and delicious.

 

 

Enjoy!

 

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Stop by our facebook page today to enter our giveaway for this print! A winner will be chosen next Wednesday.

 

 

 

We were supposed to get snow today, but it's rain. Blech. Ugly, gray day. I'd have prefered snow. 

 

Today I'm working on design and design revisions. Loving this project and the direction it's taken. Lucan could care less about all of that, he's busy sleeping behind me. You know how well he does that. He's an expert studio dog.

 

Ciao for now,