Serve It Warm With Butter

I've been making this quick bread for probably around five or six years. I picked up the recipe from a co-worker who's husband thought it was too chocolate-ly, so she brought the bread to the office and shared! A lover of all things chocolate, I break out this recipe whenever the bananas on my counter threaten to go bad. This time around, I just happened to have a pint of plump juicy blueberries on hand just begging for attention.

In Steel Magnolias Clairee Belcher asks Truvy Jones for her recipe for Cuppa, Cuppa, Cuppa. Clairee responds after hearing the ingredients with, 'sounds awfully rich'. Truvy says, 'it is, so I serve it over ice cream to cut the sweetness'. This chocolate banana blueberry bread, it's rich, so I serve it warm with butter, you know, to cut the richness!

The recipe calls for a cup of mini chocolate chips, which I don't keep on hand. I use Scharffen Berger bars in 62% Cacao Semisweet and 70% Cacao Bittersweet for my 'everyday' baking. For this bread, I chopped up just over a 1/2 cup of a 62% cacao bar.

I prefer making mini loaves, which make a perfect snack! I wrap the cute little loaves in plastic wrap. By the next morning the powdered sugar has soaked in and the bread is moist and the flavors of fruit and chocolate have become one with each other!

Next time you've got a few bananas on the counter turning brown, don't throw them out, instead, make luscious little loaves of chocolate banana blueberry bread. I promise, you won't be sorry.

Chocolate Banana Bread (With Blueberries)

2 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1/3 Cup Droste's Cocoa Powder
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 1/4 Cups Sugar
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
3 Large Eggs
1 Heaping Cup Mashed Ripe Bananas (About 3)
1 Cup Fresh Blueberries
1 Cup Mini-Chocolate Chips or Chopped Chocolate

Note: If you want to make this without the blueberries, use 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas.

Preheat oven to 325.

Generously grease and dust loaf pans with cocoa powder.

Stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In large bowl, at medium speed, beat sugar, oil, and eggs until well blended. Add bananas and beat until well blended.

At low speed, beat in flour mixture just until blended.

Stir in chocolate chips and blueberries.

Fill mini loaf pans 2/3 full and larger loaf pans 1/2 full. If you aren't using the Mini Petite Loaf Pan (or something similar), place the pans on a cookie sheet. Bake 25 to 30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.

Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm with butter!

To store, wrap in plastic wrap.

Note: The recipe makes enough batter for six mini loaf pans and three 6 x 3 x 2 foil pans OR thirteen mini loaf's using this Mini Petite Loaf Pan.

Chocolate That Really Cures PMS

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The really important question is -- Do they taste good?

[via Jamieson Laboratories - Health News]

Thyme To Eat Local

Tonight's dinner started out as a craving. I've been thinking about those cute little potatoes from the Farmer's Market and how good they would be roasted in a little butter. I was also thinking, I have pizza crust that needs baked. While potatoes on pizza sounds promising, I don't think my usual thin crust pizza can handle the weight. It's definitely an idea that's getting filed away. While making dinner, I remembered that I'd seen a sign at the Farmer's Market this weekend advertising an Eat Local Challenge. A trip over to there website revels that...

In honor of National Farmers’ Market Week (August 5 - 11), we are looking for members of the Bloomington-Normal community who will pledge to eat at least one meal composed of Illinois-grown food during the month of August.

Sounds easy, 1 day in a 31! I can handle that, even if the month is almost half over. I know there's bloggers out there that do this more often. So, as a challenge to myself, I'm going to try do it once a week, until the Farmer's Market closes in October.

The main ingredients in tonight's meal were all local. I say main ingredients because, well, while I enjoy eating good, local food, I haven't ventured into grinding my own grains. I also used a bit of fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, while the cheese wasn't made locally, I did by it from a local merchant here in town!

I started out by washing and cutting the cute little potatoes into bite size morsels. I can't remember the variety, but they have a taste that puts Yukon Gold's to shame and they are the size of new red potatoes. They went into a oval crook with about 2 tablespoons of organic salted butter, a few pumps of cracked peppercorns, a hearty amount of dried thyme, and a dash of dried basil. Since the stone was heating in the oven, these little beauties went into the toaster oven on 450. Don't forget to toss them every 10 minutes. They're ready when fork tender, about 25 minutes later.

While the potatoes where cooking I rolled out the pizza dough. It's a variation of the pizza crust I've still been trying to perfect. I'm now making the pizza's individual sized, so everyone gets crust pieces! Pizza though, is a shiny object, so let's get back to the dough. Once the dough is rolled out paper thin, I brushed it with about a tablespoon of that organic butter I mentioned earlier and poked it with a fork, because I don't yet have one of these cool gadgets. After I grated a thin layer of Parmigiano-Reggiano on top, I slide it onto a stone in a 500 degree oven. About 3 minutes later I pulled it out and topped it with a dash of olive oil, dried thyme, basil, and grated brick cheese from Ropp Jersey Cheese. It's is another shiny object, but one I haven't gotten the chance to talk about yet. So, while the potatoes are roasting a bit longer, let me tell you about them. I found them at the Farmer's Market this year, a little stand just off the corner. It was love at first bite. It's the best cheese I've ever eaten, made right here in Central Illinois! Amazing cheddars -- Tomato Basil Garlic, Pizza, Dill, Bacon, Garlic!! They have both yellow and white, though I prefer the white. They also have amazing cheese curds! I was thrilled last week when Ken Ropp, along with his family, made a surprise appearance at my Italian Cooking class (offered at Vrooman Mansion - I hear a website is coming soon). What a treat, he brought fresh made ricotta cheese! I don't think I'll ever want to eat another ricotta. I look forward to trying a new cheese every time I visit the market!

It's about time to toss the potatoes one last time, put steak to cast iron, and slide the pizza back into the oven! The steak was a Flat Iron Steak from Heartland Meats. I cooked it for about 5 - 7 minutes is a searing hot cast iron skillet with about 1 - 2 teaspoons of organic coconut oil. The steak was seasoned with dried thyme and Lawry's, and cooked to a tender, juicy, medium rare. I pulled the pizza from the oven just before the steak was done. After plating the steak I heaped the potatoes on the side, making sure to pour the extra butter and seasoning on top of the steak. The breadstick-like slices of the pizza fit nicely on the side and are a fun break from a traditional 'steak and potatoes' texas toast style garlic bread. The combination of sweet, strong brick and robust Parmigiano-Reggiano against herbs and a crunchy crust pairs superbly with the tender potatoes and juicy meat. The whole plate gets topped with crushed peppercorn and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Since I had a bottle of wine already open, I couldn't resist having a glass with dinner. In fact, I'm having a second glass as I write this! It's a lovely blush wine made right here in Illinois. Pink Catawba is from Peasant Hollow Winery in Whittington, Illinois. It's a semi-sweet wine made from the pink catawba grape.

Tonight's dinner hit the spot, was ready in less then an hour, and was made as locally as it gets (for me)! I can't think of a better combination to end a hot summer day away from work. Now, don't be lazy, if you're from these parts, won't you join me in the Eat Local Challenge? Come on, who's up for it? Leave a comment and let me know what local treats you've been eating!

I just can't leave without mentioning the Vic Firth Salt and Pepper Mills in the picture at the top. I've been pheaning over these for years, and finally found them on sale! I love them, and I love the fact that they can be used one handed, so you can stir with the other!! They are filled with salt sea from Common Ground and Black Peppercorns from World Market.

Roller Coasters & Shopping, Oh My?!

My first impression of this is, 'Wow, what a cool way to shop!". Alas, the novelty wears off before the video is even over. What if you only need to run into the store for some Diet Coke, which you should always have on hand. Or what it it takes you longer to decide what brand or size of dried noodles to buy then the coaster allows? Does this ride have a brake? These decisions are important, I can't be made to decide in a split second while moving! I would end up riding the coaster round the store 8 times for 6 items because even when I bring an organized list I forgot to actually pick up the item and put it in my cart.

I think I'll stick to tradition and use my feet to get around the grocery store. My trips these days tend to keep me mostly out of the aisles and around the edges of the store anyway.

[video via Boing Boing]

The Central Illinois Life

How refreshing to see another blog in Central Illinois that talks about food! It's even more refreshing that this blog is from a friend of mine! If you're looking for something to do off of the beaten path or wanting to find a interesting place to eat with friends or family, head over to Central Illinois Life and see where Henny Penny has been hanging out!

That's cooking...

"You have to understand what a recipe wants to achieve in order to fit your ingredients and your tastes. That's cooking." - From 'An Obsession with Food

What a great post from Derrick over at An Obsession with Food. Go there. Go now and check it out!!

'Good' Wine Increases Food Consumption by 12%

Check out this PsyBlog post of the effects of 'good' wine and eating!

Mutato

Check out the Mutato Project! What a fun thing to do at the Farmer's Market!! Maybe I'll take the camera this week!