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

Jamieson PMS Support is a collection of 15 premium soy crisp chocolate bars that are infused with natural botanicals to help relieve both the physical and emotional symptoms of pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS). It contains a blend of white willow bark, sodium caseinate, artichoke leaf and chasteberry -- natural source ingredients that work together to relieve menstrual pain, bloating and irritability.

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!

It's Love!!

... and it will be here, in MY kitchen on or before July 11. I can't wait to see what adventures we have together!

Pizza Dough?
Italian Meringue Buttercream?
Pastries?
Cakes?
Breads?

I simply can't wait!

I've wanted a Kitchen Aid Mixer since college. For me it's been this hefty goal, a pie in the sky (ha!), untouchable, unreachable, dream. After reading everyone else's blogs for the last year, I realized that maybe it wasn't such an unreachable goal. Maybe I too could own one! I started looking around on eBay, and to my surprise, found that people were selling BRAND NEW mixers starting at NO RESERVE. I waited until the color I wanted showed up. The rest, well, I imagine it's the start of a beautiful friendship.

Route 66 Rummage Sales

We spent the day shopping along 90 miles of rummage sales, otherwise known as the IL Route 66 Red Carpet Corridor. We left at 8:00 AM with a set amount of money and came home at 4:30 PM with $2.00. What a way to spend a Spring Day!

The first big kitchen score of the day is the pressure cooker I found in Lexington, IL. It's a Mirro-Matic 4 Quart pressure cooker. eBay is selling them for $10.00 - $15.00, this one was only a $1!! I mentioned to the lady selling the cooker that I'd never used one, but was looking forward to testing it out. To my astonishment, she went in the house and brought out her recipes for the cooker and gave them to me!! I'm looking forward to making the Country Style Potatoes!

Another good find were the Vintage Star Wars and Smurfs glasses from Burger King. I loved the Smurfs as a child and was tickled to find Baker Smurf and Smurfette. The 1977 Star Wars glasses were only $0.25.

I think that one of my favorite purchases was the umbrella for the patio, only $5.00!! I can't wait to test it out this month! The other glasses in this photo will be making another appearance here soon. I've got a drink I want to share now that I have pretty glasses to show it off!

Towards the end of the day, I talked this iron skillet down to $5.00. It doesn't even look used, but I can fix that! The small skillet was in a Free Box. It's a Hammercraft 6 1/4 Inch Skillet. I can't find a date yet, but I'm thinking it's at least 50 - 60 + years old. Anybody know?

I loved playing Lego's as a kid. I remember spending time in the toy room with my little brother building houses. These Lego's will be a great addition to the set and they were only $0.50! We also got a Bionicle Lego set.

A crossbow for $5.00. Next step.... arrows. He's looking forward to testing this out!

Rummage, garage, yard, parks, sidewalks.... sales everywhere! By the end of the day I was even getting better at haggling over price!!! Check out a few more of our good deals!!

Pizza - Quest For The Perfect Crust

For at least the last year, if not longer, I've been trying to perfect the perfect pizza crust. My inspiration, you ask? Lucca Grill, home to Central Illinois' 1st Pizza, they have been making them since 1936.

My quest started simple, I wanted to make a good pizza at home. Not only a good pizza, but one with the perfect, thin, flaky, crispy crust. After a couple attempts, I quickly ruled out the store bought, pre-made crusts. Next on my list was the store-bought mixes. I put in a valiant effort, mixing, and tweaking along the way. With no luck, I moved to the Internet, trying various recipes. I was getting closer, but the crust always turned out to thick, to bready (is that a word?).

Last fall I was at a book fair and stumbled upon an Italian cookbook. I didn't really need another cookbook, but who can resist pouring over pages and pages of delectable food. In my world, a cookbook is like a good novel, it should be read cover to cover. I didn't hesitate to purchase Williams-Sonoma Italian Favorites. Today, ot's selling for $18.21 on Amazon. The book fair I was at had it for $11.99, but I would pay full price, it's worth it's weight in pizza crust! The book has a section on Basic Recipes & Techniques, and the recipes in the book all build on these. It was page 319 that had my attention, a recipe for Milk Pizza Crust:

This soft, butter-enriched dough produces a then, crisp crust that compliments sweet toppings.

All of the recipes that used this crust were for dessert pizza, but I was determined to make this crust work for a traditional pizza. For my first attempt, I followed the recipe, a rarity for me, but I wanted to know what I was working with before I started to change things! While the crust turned out good, my best attempt to date, it was still to dense. The best part about this crust is that it doesn't require time to rise.

For my next attempt I split the dough in two. Finally, I had the thin, flaky crust I'd been dreaming of. Next up, can I get the crust to remind me of Lucca's? Their crust has a distinct cheesy flavor. After maybe a dozen attempts at different cheese combinations, with adjustments to the original ingredients to make up for the addition of cheese, I finally found the winning combination. Last weekend, I felt like my quest was over. Without further ado, here's what I've come up with!

Milk Pizza Crust
2 1/4 Cups Bread Flour
3/4 to 1 Cup Milk
5 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter (Room Temperature, Cut Into Cubes)
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Salt
Parmigiano-Reggiano (100 Strokes with Rasp Shredder)
Asiago (50 Strokes with Rasp Shredder)

Note: Next time I make the crust, I'll measure the cheese and update!

Combine Flour, Baking Powder, Salt, and Cheeses.
Add Butter, ensuring it's coated with flour mixture.
Add Milk, reserving about a 1/4 Cup, and stir with fork until a soft dough forms.
Finish mixing dough with hands, using the reserved milk if needed and shape into 2 balls!
Turn out 1 of the dough balls onto a lightly floured surface.
Roll out into a thin crust, flipping occasionally as you go.
The dough should be slightly thinner in the middle then the edge.
Move dough to a pizza paddle, dusted with corm meal.
Top dough and bake in a 500° F oven for approximately 5 minutes.

Note: If you aren't making a second pizza, the extra dough can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated. It will only last 1 day in the fridge, so you may want to cut the recipe in 1/2 if you don't need 2 pizza's! I haven't tried freezing the extra dough yet, but I'm going to try it next time.



Topping Your Pizza
At this point, you can top the pizza with your favorite ingredients and bake. I prefer pepperoni, but have been known to top pizza's with anything from chicken and garlic to ham and pineapple.
I always cook the pepperoni before I put it on my pizza. It cuts down and the greasy factor and you get crispy pepperoni to compliment the crust.

Once the crust is on the paddle, I brush with olive oil and Italian herbs. Next comes a thin layer of cheese. Pictured is provolone, but a thin layer of shredded parmigiano-reggiano works just a good. This adds flavor to the pizza and puts a layer between the crust and sauce, making for a crispier crust! Sauce (a thin layer for me, thank you!) goes next and then mozzarella cheese and more parmigiano-reggiano. Last, but certainly not least, the cooked pepperoni.

Finally, the pizza is ready for the oven. I heat my pizza stone at 500° F for 60 minutes, which is about how long it takes to to make the dough and put the pizza together! The oven should be super hot at this point. I can always tell here at home because the smoke detector goes off (it doesn't matter if the oven is clean or dirty, that little smoke detector is sensitive). About 5 minutes on the stone and the pizza is ready to eat, which is of course, the best part!

Wondering When Strawberries Will Be In Season?!

Here in Illinois, it's May and June. Yum, strawberries, pick your own or get them at the Farmer's Market!

To find out when your favorite fruits and veggies are in season, check out this fun chart.

Farmer's Market Starts May 19!!

OPENING DAY!

* * * MAY 19, 2007 * * *

WELCOME to the Farmers' Market's ELEVENTH YEAR in downtown Bloomington!

Opening day will feature:

- Music by The Old Men Boys -- a Farmers' Market favorite!

- Cooking demo (with free tastes) by our own Chef Narss Lapinid

- A great selection of juried arts and fine crafts by local artists and artisans

PLUS, thanks to the wonderful spring weather, a bountiful selection of spring veggies, greens, and other delights and delicacies!

Spicy Kicks

This little snack packs a big kick and is a sinch to whip up! It's a slightly modified version from December/January 2007 Taste Of Home.

Spicy Cashews:
1 large can cashews
1 egg white
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoon cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Blend
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/3 cup sugar

Whisk egg whites and water.
Add cashews and toss to coat.
Pour cashews in strainer and let drain for 2 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix all spices and sugar together in large bowl.
Pour cashews in spices and mix.
Spread flat on a greased baking pan.
Bake at 250 for 60 minutes, turning half way through.

While I general enjoy and little bit of sweet with my saltly, I think there's a little to much sugar in the mix. Next time I make these, I'll cut the sugar in half.

Chocolate ZigZag Cake and Books Go Together

This past January my friend Melissa decided to get a bunch of girls together and start a book club. Coincidentally, I'd had my eyes on several different cakes from a couple of cooking magazines that had just come in the mail. So, on a cold day in January a group of girls got together to discuss Katherine Min's Secondhand World and enjoy Chocolate ZigZag cake, Cheesy Horseradish Dip, candies, wines, and drinks!

Since I couldn't decide which cake, I picked two, and modfied each a teensy little bit, then combined! I figured why not, I have a knack for not following recipe directions anyway! Chocolate ZigZag Cake is a adaptation of Taste of Home's "Chocolate Ganache Cake" and with a frosting from Food & Family's "Black Forest Delight".

Chocolate ZigZag Cake
For The Cake:
3/4 cup butter, softened
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
1 cup buttermilk ***
3/4 cup sour cream
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup Droste cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Calypso Hot Pepper Sauce

*** Buttermilk:
1 tablespoon vinegar
heavy cream
milk

Add Vinegar to 1 cup measuring cup.
Add Heavy Cream to the 1/3 cup mark.
Add Milk to the 1 cup mark.
Whisk together and let sit on counter for at least 10 minutes prior to adding to cake.

For The Ganache Filling:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
4 squares (1 ounce each) semisweet chocolate

For The Frosting:
3/4 cup sour cream
2/3 cup powdered sugar
8 oz cool whip, thawed
1 teaspoon vanilla paste

For The Decoration:
1 oz Ghirardelli 60% Cacao chocolate

Putting It All Together:
The Cake -
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add egg and vanilla.
Beat for 2 minutes.
Combine buttermilk and sour cream.
Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.
Add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk mixture, beating well after each addition.
Butter 2 9-in. round cake pans.
Dust pans with cocoa.
Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool for 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

The Filling -
Melt chocolate with cream over low heat.
Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla.
Chill until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. (I left it in the fridge overnight!)
Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.
Chill until mixture achieves spreading consistency.

The Frosting -
Mix sour cream and powdered sugar.
Stir in whipped topping.

The Decorating -
Melt chocolate.

The Building -
Slice the rounded tops off of each cake. (Place toothpicks around edge of cake as markers so the cake ends up even with sliced!)
Place one cake layer on a serving plate.
Spread with ganache filling.
Place second layer of cake on top of filling.
Crumb coat the cake with frosting.

Let crumb coating dry for several hours.
Frost the cake!!

Pipe chocolate onto the cake.
If you don't have decorating bags or are looking for easy clean-up, spoon into plastic sandwich bag and snip off small corner.
Twist the bag and squeeze to drizzle!

To make the chocolate lace for the top of the cake, pipe chocolate onto wax paper.
Place in freezer till set (About 20 minutes.)
Peel wax paper from chocolate and add to cake!

Goes well with good friends and good books!

I enjoyed spending some relaxing time in the kitchen making this cake! My poor old hand mixer wasn't quite up to the job of mixing a batter this heavy, but it was worth the effort anyway! What an excellent cake which I'm sure I'll use in the future with various combinations of frosting and fillings. While the cake was moist, I think next time I'll use all of the ganache filling. I held back this time because I was worried about the layers slipping before the ganache had time to set. So for this first attempt, I only used half of the filling. I think 3 or 4 smaller layers may help to solve this issue as well as provide the frosting to cake balance I was looking for.

Are you wondering what I did with the leftover cake tops? Of course you are! Anyone who loves chocolate as much as I do wouldn't let them go to waste. I made a trifle by cubing the cake and layering it with the remaining ganache filling. I topped with the remaining frosting!

Why You Should Always Have Diet Coke In the House

The Blizzard of 2007 hit Central Illinois this Tuesday and Wednesday, resulting in 2 snow days for me! It's reminding me of being in grade school again, snowmobiling on the farm. Only this time I find myself secretly hoping for work to be cancelled for a few more days so I can keep sitting at home surfing the web. Of course today, I came across a big dilemma, and the reason for my post. No Diet Coke in the house. I drank the last one yesterday and didn't really give it much thought. I figured I'd be heading in to work today, so I could stop and buy more. As you can see from the snow drift in our driveway, I wasn't going anywhere. Later this afternoon I hear a lot of commotion out front, it's the neighbor in his John Deere, plowing us out. My first thought is to run outside screaming, "wait, I want to be snowed in!". My second thought is, "dig faster, I need my Diet Coke!!".

Of course we got dug out and made it safely to town. Now there's not 1, but 2 cases of Diet Coke sitting in the pantry, just in case we have another snow day.

If you were snowed in, what couldn't you live without?

Welcome

Welcome to my kitchen! Stay awhile and see what's cooking. The pizza, and my quest for the perfect crust, is just one of the many things I've been playing with lately. This picture is my first test using a buttery milk crust recipe.