If you did a search on the internet for banana bread you’d likely come up with hundreds, if not thousands, of possibilities. And mine isn’t anything that unusual. But it is different in one proportion (more bananas than any recipe I’ve ever read). I devised the recipe myself one year about 20 or so ago, when I had a huge bunch of bananas that were about to expire. I consulted several cookbooks for recipes, and finally decided to improvise. This was the result, and I’ve been making it this way ever since. This version is very light in texture – not dense like banana breads can be. If you happen to make it in a cake pan you can call it cake and serve it with a side of vanilla ice cream, or some whipped cream. You can substitute light sour cream. You can use a bit less sugar. You can add nuts (walnuts or pecans) if you’d like. You can also toss in some chocolate chips too. You can increase the ingredients just a little bit and make this in a bundt pan and also call it a cake (and serve it with a drizzle of heavy cream as I did with the leftovers pictured above). Or make it in a large bread pan plus a small one and just call it banana bread. And if you happened to be out of vanilla like we were the other night, substitute almond extract with no problem. Just be sure to use overly ripe bananas. And did you know that you can put whole bananas in the freezer and they’ll keep for a few weeks. Just defrost slightly (not fully) and cut them open. The resulting flesh will be very soft, but it will still taste just fine in this baked bread/cake. Just don’t wait months to use them as eventually they’ll degrade and the flesh will be almost liquid.
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Here’s a little quote for the day:

The smell of bread baking,
like the sound of light flowing water,
is indescribable in its evocation
of innocence and delight. . . . . M.F.K. Fisher

You’ll find very few yeast breads here on my blog. It’s not that I don’t like them, but I’ve just tended to cook other things, and there are so many good artisan breads out there now so we can find good breads in several markets close by. But back in my ancient history I used to bake all of my own bread. I know I wrote up a post about it once upon a time. I even used to sell bread to family and friends when I was a cooped-up young mom. At the time my ex and I had just one car and only twice a week did I get to have it, so the other days I was home trying to find things to do. Making my own bread was so much better to eat because the markets had nothing but the mega-bakery institutional kinds of breads. The kinds I didn’t like then, nor do I like now.

One year during the time I was baking every week I came across this recipe for Pumpkin Raisin Bread in a raised, yeast type. My old notes don’t tell me where I got the recipe, but I have changed it over the years, so it’s really my own anyway. I added more spices, more pumpkin, reduced the sugar and sometimes added walnuts too. This bread didn’t get baked all year around – just in the Fall months. It was very popular with my friends. And, I will tell you this bread is just fabulous with turkey sandwiches. I made it every year – for years and years – the day before Thanksgiving so we’d have some for sandwiches. It freezes well – whole, or you can slice it, freeze it in foil, then in plastic bags, and it will keep for several weeks. At Thanksgiving, though, it never lasts more than a day or so. Periodically I make it now, and it’s usually this time of year.

Pumpkin bread with apple butter – sublime!

Just realize this is NOT a sweet tea kind of bread. It’s a toast-kind of bread, or a sandwich-type of bread. It’s light and airy, not dense. And if you’d like to include more healthy flours, substitute about 1 cup or so of whole wheat flour for white bread flour. For some years I attempted to recreate this recipe in my bread machine, but have never been successful, except at mixing up one loaf at a time and using the machine for JUST the mixing process, not the rising and baking. This bread needs a different rising time than the machines offer. This time I mixed it up in my stand mixer, using the dough hook. Instead of combining and mixing things in separate bowls I just started with the water and yeast mixture in the mixer bowl and once it had bubbled enough so I knew the yeast was good, I just added the other ingredients to the bowl. That kept the dirty dishes down to a low level. Every house I’ve ever lived in I’ve had to find the right spot for raising dough. Yeast dough likes a quiet, warm place without drafts. This time the wide bowl sat on top of my espresso machine and within a couple of inches of the under-cabinet fluorescent lighting, which gave the bowl a nice warm place to do its thing.

My YEAST TECHNIQUE: I’ve mentioned it here before, but I have a technique for proofing (proving it’s viable) yeast. It’s not my own idea, but back in those olden days when I was baking all the time I read lots of bread cookbooks, and one explained all the chemistry of yeast. And this cook’s advice was to mix the yeast with warm water as usual, but to also add a tiny bit of ground ginger and sugar. Yeast is a growing thing, and it needs “food” to develop its skill, and the ginger and sugar help give it a jump start. My breads back then made a successful leap. I don’t think I ever had a yeast failure ever again.

So, this bread is fairly straight forward – you mix up a batter, add the other extraneous ingredients, mix, add the flour (not all of it unless you have to). One of the secrets to bread baking is to add only as much flour as the dough needs to keep the stickiness under control. If you remember that adage, you’ll not likely have any problems with yeast dough. I add the raisins and nuts after the first rise, but the recipe indicates it’s done during the first mixing. Your choice. And if you are doing this for turkey sandwiches, maybe you don’t want to add the nuts. They don’t serve much purpose for sandwiches. But they’re great if you’re making toasting bread.
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I’m not sure I ever thought I’d find a scone recipe that I liked as much as my own Buttermilk Scones with Golden Raisins. I’ve made them for years, and have been so happy with the recipe, I’ve never wanted to change. Then we stayed in Portland, Oregon for a couple of nights, at the Rose Cottage B&B just outside the city. The owner, Sally, served us just the lightest, most flavorful scones. The proportions of things are very similar to my tried-and-true recipe, but these have more flour in them – mine are more like very rich, flaky round biscuits. Sally’s were light, perfectly crumbly, huge and served in wedges. And, incidentally, if you’re ever up Portland way, I highly recommend Sally’s Rose Cottage as an ideal close-by location. She’s not in downtown, but it’s easy driving distance. She’ll serve you a breakfast that is enough to feed a small infantry, but it’s worth every single delicious-laden calorie.

Sally was kind enough to share the recipe for the scones with me. She said it was printed in the Portland Oregonian newspaper in 2004, and she raved about the chef, Anne Hughes, who created them. I believe she said the café that Hughes used to own is no longer in business. But Sally was happy she had THIS recipe from her café. Sally follows the recipe to the letter with the following exceptions: she mixes it by hand with a pastry blender AND she freezes the butter – she cuts the butter up in small chunks and puts that in the freezer so they’re all ready to go when she decides to make a batch (as a B&B owner, obviously she makes the scones quite frequently), then uses the pastry blender to cut it up a bit more (from a frozen state). She said you definitely don’t want to mix it so much that you can’t see the butter flakes. If the chunks are a bit larger (like little flat pieces the size of your little finger) they’ll be perfect for the flakiest results. These have a hint of lemon peel in them, and you briefly knead the dough just to pull it together, roll it out, sprinkle some of the zest on top, fold it over, then slice the pastry into wedges before baking on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Sally also adds fruit (like fresh Oregon blueberries) to the dough sometimes. I made my batch in the food processor (per the Oregonian recipe) and they seemed wonderful to me, but perhaps doing them by hand would produce even more flaky and flavorful scones. I also didn’t have frozen butter either, but I do like these enough that I might try those techniques next time I make them. I made them for my hubby’s Bible Study group the other day. They were gobbled up in short order.
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The blog called What Did You Eat was not one that I happened to follow. Apparently I’d never come across it. But Sher died suddenly, last month, from a heart attack. I read about her death on several other websites . . . from other bloggers who had an online/email friendship with her. Sher’s husband posted a last note, informing everyone about his wife’s death, and thanking people for the friendship shown to her. She was young – well, certainly not of an age when she should have died. Lots of bloggers around the world have done their own tribute to Sher by preparing some of her recipes. They did it on a specific day a few weeks ago. On one of those blogs I read about this coffeecake that she had posted – actually it was another blogger’s recipe, Butta Buns.

The coffeecake sounded perfect for summer. And, the Bible Study guys were coming to our house and I needed a treat for them. This recipe was sitting, front and center, on my cookbook/recipe stand. My DH kindly offered to go buy fresh strawberries for me, and I whipped it up the night before. The coffeecake is delicately flavored. Even though it has cinnamon in it, it’s subdued and I couldn’t even tell it was there. The fellows enjoyed it very much. I halved the recipe, made it in a 9×9 pan and baked it for 30 minutes. Came out perfectly. My question always: would I make it again? Yes, I might. But I might not. Maybe during the height of strawberry season. I might add just a tiny bit more cinnamon, and I’d add some to the topping (or maybe a touch of nutmeg) as well. The recipe said it served 12. I got 9 portions from the 9×9 pan, so it likely could serve 18.
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It was time, again, for me to bake something for my DH(dear husband)’s Bible study group. I flipped through the options and came upon this one, which was very simple. That’s what I needed, as I was short on time. And I had one big Braeburn apple waiting to be utilized in something. I was supposed to use a Granny Smith, but I didn’t have one. Braeburn would have to do! There was only one problem. The recipe was mostly in metric (milliliters and grams). I managed, primarily because I have a kitchen scale that will convert the two. Good thing since I was rushing.

But for you, my friends, I’ve made it easy. I went to a website and did all the conversions for you, so you needn’t worry about having a special scale to compute the measurements.

As for the scone, it was very nice. A drier kind of scone, but since this is from a European blogger, she likely likes a drier type recipe. I tend to prefer a more tender crumb but that’s just my personal preference. Don’t misunderstand – it was delicious. I liked it. And I liked that I just plopped it onto a large baking tray (Silpat lined) and scored the top. Didn’t have to pat it out and cut rounds. The apple contained within the dough (which is mushed into it after it’s mixed up in the food processor – see, I told you it was easy) gave it a nice moistness. The fellows nearly ate the whole thing, but we had enough for breakfast instead of toast. I’d make this again just because it’s so very easy.

The recipe came from a blog I read regularly – Buerre et pain – and she got it from Morning Bakes, a breakfast baking cookbook by Linda Collister. I did have to make another adjustment – I didn’t have any whole wheat flour, so substituted additional all-purpose. I’ve altered the recipe for that, but you can substitute about ½ cup of the whole wheat if you’d like. And I’ve included just a tad more butter in the mixture than was called for in the original. Once the round is patted out, you sprinkle the top with some demerara sugar – I used turbinado. That gave each wedge a nice little crunch. I liked that part. I’ll make this again! You can also split a wedge and toast it, although the scone is very crumbly – even more so the second day.
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It’s been about 6-12 months ago that I first read about the No-Knead Bread. It’s made the rounds of bloggers around the world. Not too long after I read about it I tried it. And was positively amazed how good it was. And how easy it was. It’s just that it requires about 18-24 hours of time (very little of it with any work, though) to make. The dough develops a sourdough kind of flavor, and is baked in a heavy Le Crueset-type pan, with a lid. The pan creates its own hotter-than-heck oven, within the oven. Gives the bread a great crispy crust like the artisan loaves you may buy at your local bakery.

Some other blogger mentioned a book out there – Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. I ordered the book, have read parts of it, and decided I’d have to try this recipe last weekend. The prep and baking method is very similar to the no-knead bread, although maybe easier since this one requires only a two-hour rise to start the batter.

The bread is a cinch to make, i.e., don’t be intimidated by the long list of instructions . . . they’re just wordy and very thorough. You can do everything by hand if you choose, but I utilized my stand mixer (with dough hook) to perform the harder work for me. This dough does not require kneading at all. In fact the recipe indicates you do not knead it. The less you mix it, the more of those wonderfully big holey holes you’ll get in the loaf.

The steps include:
(1) mixing up the dry stuff, the wet stuff and combining the two
(2) letting the dough rest for 2 hours
(3) refrigerating the dough to bake at a later time (up to 7 days later)
(4) shaping the loaves (takes about 3-4 minutes) and allowing them to rise
(5) baking in a 450 oven, on a pizza stone

I’ve only made one recipe so far, from this new book. But if this bread is any indication of the others, I’ll be making more of them in the future. Next time I am going to try using hard wheat flour too, and do my best to do less kneading. This version doesn’t have quite the sourdough flavor the no-knead (18-24 hour) bread does, but it’s certainly a worthy competitor.

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The stories that go along with recipes, those hand-me-down treasures from family members especially, lend a rich character to them. Their origin gives them special merit. Added credibility. A known quantity of deliciousness.

I don’t talk about my first marriage much (thank goodness, you really should be spared the details), but in the course of the years that she was alive, I got to know and love my former husband’s step-grandmother, Ethel. She was a dear little lady, and I have 3 or 4 recipes of hers acquired over the years. This is one (I also have one for avocado ice cream, and another for icebox almond cookies that I remember right off the top, neither of which I’ve posted yet) that must have been served to me one of the multitude of times I visited her home. She was a very good cook, and managed to prepare some amazing meals in her very small kitchen. She enjoyed entertaining, even though it was hard work for her as she aged. She lived to be in her 90’s, bless her. I hope she’s waving at me from heaven since I’m sharing her recipe for coffeecake.

For many years, even up until recently, I have made this on holiday mornings, like Christmas, or Easter, or the day after Thanksgiving. With a bowl of fresh fruit, and maybe some bacon or sausage, it makes a lovely breakfast or brunch.

Chocolate as an ingredient in coffeecake isn’t very common. At least I don’t think so. And this really isn’t chocolate-chocolate coffeecake. You might think the chocolate is in the entire coffeecake, and it’s not. It’s not overwhelming with chocolate, but is laced through in a kind of dry mix that is layered, then sprinkled on top. So, it’s a chocolate streusel-type coffeecake. It’s just a rich sour cream based cake. The only unusual ingredient there is cream of tartar. Not many recipes include it anymore. It used to be quite common, before double acting baking powder. So, that probably gives you an idea how old this recipe really is. Old.

So I did a bit of research about it cream of tartar. I’d forgotten what it is, exactly. Now I know:

Cream of tartar is a by-product of the wine industry. A crystalline acid forms on the inside of wine barrels. The barrels are scraped and the sediment is purified and ground to form cream of tartar. Cream of tartar is used to stabilize egg whites when making meringue or as an addition to certain frostings to produce a creamy product.

Why it’s in this recipe, I don’t know, but I’ve never wanted to bake the coffeecake without it merely to test it. There’s so much chemistry involved with baking that I don’t want to tamper with success. But be my guest, then let me know!

• Normally, when cream of tartar is used in a cookie, it is used together with baking soda. The two of them combined work like double-acting baking powder. When substituting for cream of tartar, you must also substitute for the baking soda. If your recipe calls for baking soda and cream of tarter, I would just use baking powder.
• One teaspoon baking powder is equivalent to 1/4 teaspoon baking soda plus 5/8 teaspoon cream of tartar. If there is additional baking soda that does not fit into the equation, simply add it to the batter.

Looks like you could substitute additional baking powder for the cream of tartar and baking soda called for, but since I had the cream of tartar, I stuck with the tried-and-true recipe when I made it this time.
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Added note (later): Since I baked this bread back in early 2008, I’ve made another Irish Soda Bread with Orange Zest that I think is better than this one. Even if you don’t like orange zest, just eliminate it from the recipe – but do go to that recipe first. I like the texture of the other bread better too.

The recipe came from Gourmet, a reader’s recipe, Stephanie Foley of Massapequa, Long Island, from March, 2002. It’s a bit different than many Irish Soda Bread recipes, which is why I decided to try it, back then. With the exception of the butter brushed on the loaves prior to baking, the only fat in it comes from the buttermilk, which isn’t much. I’ve made it several times since then, always getting rave reviews for it. Truly it comes together in about 7 minutes, including time to gather the ingredients. Then it bakes about 35-40 minutes. Ideally you’ll want to let it rest a bit before cutting it, but sometimes I’ve not had that luxury. But you must let it rest about 5 minutes, otherwise it’s too hot to handle. It’s heaven-on-a-bun [pun intended] with some unsalted butter spread on it, accompanying a soup.

Ready for the oven: here are the dough loaves, cut with 1/2 inch deep furrows, spread with butter.

Cook’s Notes: my flour must be drier here in Southern California, than some, because I always have to add a drizzle more buttermilk to the bowl to give the dough enough liquid to pull it together. I added walnuts to this one, but that’s optional. I’m sure it’s not traditional. Some people don’t like caraway, so eliminate it. I didn’t melt the butter to spread on top of the loaves – I just used a spreader knife and brushed it with very soft butter instead. I’ve never tried substituting some whole wheat flour, but am sure you could. Would be better for us, obviously. This recipe says it serves up to 12 people. Maybe so, if you ate only one small slice. Not in our house. Each loaf probably serves 4, but that’s max unless you have very small eaters. And, I think this bread is best eaten when it’s warm and fresh. It gets dried out if frozen.
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This is another of the recipes that worked its way up to the top of the pile, as I was sorting and filing clippings the other day. And since I had some bananas that were way beyond eating out of hand, they seemed perfect for this recipe. I did find the recipe on myrecipes.com, (myrecipes is a compendium of the recipes offered in Southern Living, Cooking Light, Sunset, Coastal & Cottage Living) and it said that when it was published last year it was a repeat – this bread became a real favorite at Cooking Light and won for Best Quick Bread in their 2007 issue all about their best tried and true recipes. It originally appeared on the cover of the September 2003 issue and remains one of their best banana breads. With that kind of praise, how could I not try it?

I’m not always thrilled with Cooking Light’s recipes – better for me, I know, but sometimes there’s too light on flavor. But their baked goods, whether it be breads, or cakes particularly, they’ve worked on extensively, have usually been adapted so they’re pretty darned good. This one was no exception. And, since this is a better-for-you recipe, I’d be inclined to try it again.

Cook’s Notes: The batter went together easily, and the dark rum called for certainly added a depth of flavor that was barely discernible in the finished bread if I really thought about it. I used lemon instead of lime in the glaze. And you’ll note below, I used half sugar and half Splenda in the batter.
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As a card-carrying chocoholic, I will attest, these little numbers are too darned good. I ate a whole one plus a little piece of another just after baking. And it took all my will power to stay out of them. My advice: either don’t make them at all, or put the leftovers – immediately – into the freezer.

I was putting away recipe clippings the other day, and needed something to fix for DH’s Bible study group, and this recipe went into the “try immediately” stack. They came together easily, although I did dirty-up many a bowl getting them ready. I mixed up the dry ingredients the night before. I watched a demo on TV just the other day of a chef mixing in cold butter to flour. You do it by hand, just smashing the little pieces of butter and making those pieces smaller and smaller by sifting the mixture through your hands and pressing. It was fun, actually. Made a bit of a mess of my hands, but so what? Then you add the liquid ingredients (heavy cream and egg yolk), before kneading slightly into a big blob and pressing it out for cutting. I brushed the tops with heavy cream instead of milk, and I sprinkled the tops with just a tad of white sugar too. Were these good? Oh my yes. The recipe is from an issue of Bon Appetit in 2006, I believe, and is credited to The Balmoral Hotel near Edinburgh, Scotland, The Bollinger Bar at Palm Court.

Here are the scones before baking, brushed with cream and sprinkled with granulated sugar.
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