BANANA RAISIN OAT BREAD

This banana raisin oat bread tastes really good, but is it a cake or is it bread?  It tastes more like cake, but it's called bread. What's the deal here?  Well, actually, it's a quick bread. It is so named because it doesn't use yeast as a leavening agent.

Yeast requires hours and optimal temperatures to cause bread to rise. Baking powder, which contains baking soda (base pH) and cream of tartar (acid pH), acts quickly. The acid/base combination reacts when introduced to liquid, causing carbon dioxide to form. Consequently, the batter expands and increases in volume. When baked goods rise quickly, they are called quick breads. Cakes, muffins, and scones, are types of quick bread. 

Banana bread is a cake, and officially a quick bread, but it's referred to as banana bread because, I suppose, it's faster to say banana bread than banana quick bread. Fine. That solves the mystery for me. I thought I would share the information with you. I am not a know it all, but I like to do my research. I just hope I can remember all this a year from now.  But then I will always have this post to remind me. One thing I won't forget is how delicious this cake (quick bread) is. I've already had requests for the recipe. Here we go ladies, my post is finally ready. Get out those bundt pans!

Ingredients:

1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup of golden raisins
½ cup regular oats
½ cup unsalted butter, melted

½ cup sugar
2 large eggs
4 medium very ripe bananas, mashed
½ cup chopped walnuts

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

½ teaspoon cinnamon
powdered sugar and cinnamon for dusting on top

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325º F.  Grease a bundt pan and set it aside.

Into a bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder cinnamon and salt.  Stir well to combine. 
In the bowl of your mixer add the sugar and melted butter.  Beat until smooth.

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. 

Add the bananas and vanilla extract and mix.

With a wooden spoon gently fold in the raisins, oats, and walnuts.

Add the flour mixture in three batches folding gently after each addition. 

Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

When ready, a knife inserted into the centre of the quick bread should come out clean.

Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a rack to cool.  After about 20 minutes invert the pan onto a plate.  The banana bread should slide on the plate. 

Let cool another half hour.  Mix some powdered sugar with a little cinnamon and sift it on top of the banana bread to decorate.  Slice and enjoy a nice treat! 

  

GRILLED LEMONS

I do love lemons and anything lemony wins me over. So I'll introduce you to my new lemon obsession: grilled lemons! As the lemons are grilled they caramelise, and that gives them an added sweetness. Sweet and tart combined.  Irresistible flavour! Put them on the grill, let them caramelise, and use them in salads or with grilled foods such as meat, fish or vegetables. They are so, so, good. 

Here's how I make grilled lemons:

Ingredients: 

lemons, as many as you like

sugar

fresh thyme leaves

salt and pepper

olive oil

Directions:

• Cut the lemons in half and score the surface of each half with an x pattern. Slice off the pointy ends of the lemons so that they can be placed on a plate and not tip over. Gently pick off as many of the pits as you can.
• Place the lemon halves in a bowl and coat them with olive oil, salt and pepper, thyme leaves and a little sugar. Give them a good stir so that they are well covered with all the ingredients.
• Place them on a hot grill and let them cook until they caramelise. 

WHITE BEAN DIP WITH FETA CHEESE AND OLIVES

This is a great tasting dip, folks!  Its taste is amplified because it contains roasted a roasted shallot, some roasted garlic, plus the juice of a grilled lemon. 

Pulse a few beans in the food processor along with a host of flavorful Mediterranean ingredients and you get an extremely tasty, creamy and healthy dip! 

• Healthy because the dip is low in fat compared to most other dips out there. 
• Healthy because it's high in protein, calcium and fibre.  
• Tasty!!!  
• Spread the dip on toasted pita slices and you have an irresistible treat!  A really, really delicious and healthy treat!

This recipe is fast to make.  It took me about 20 minutes, and that included cleanup. Who doesn't love the dishwasher??? 

***Here is a tip about feta cheese and olives: 

As these are salty ingredients we Greeks always rinse some of the brine from them.

For the feta cheese: just place the cheese into a bowl and pour water over it. Change the water once or twice, drain, and you're done. The feta will be significantly less salty. If for dietary reasons you want to remove lots of salt from the feta cheese, you can let it soak in water. Experiment with how much time is appropriate for your taste and dietary needs. 

For the olives: they usually also need a good rinsing. Once the job is done, place them into a container and pour a combination of canola and olive oil over them. (Olive oil congeals in the refrigerator, so it must be mixed with another type of oil to keep it from solidifying). The oil should come almost but not quite halfway up the container. Cover, shake gently to coat all the olives and store in the refrigerator. This can be done with just about any type of olives except the sun-dried variety. Those don't get rinsed because they will absorb water and will no longer be sundried.

How to make white bean dip with feta cheese and olives:

Ingredients:

2 (15-ounce) cans white beans such as Great Northern  

5 cloves of garlic, roasted and mashed

1 shallot, roasted and chopped

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

black pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley 

3 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, save a few for garnish

the juice of one grilled lemon

1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives

8 ounces feta cheese

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

• Cut the lemon in half, brush each half with olive oil and grill. This can be done on the stovetop. 
• Drain and rinse the beans. Place them into the food processor and add the juice from the grilled lemon.   
• Add the roasted garlic, the roasted shallot, olive oil, feta cheese, rosemary, oregano, parsley and black pepper—no need to add salt because the feta cheese and olives contain enough of it.
• Blend in the food processor until all the ingredients are smooth and creamy.
• Add the olives and walnuts. Pulse a few times until they're coarsely chopped. Small pieces of each should be visible in the dip.
• Place into a bowl and refrigerate for 4 to 5 hours. The dip is better if it gets a chance to rest. And really, aren't we all better when we get a chance to rest? 

Take the dip out of the refrigerator and place it into a serving bowl. Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on top of the dip. Decorate with a few rosemary leaves, and serve with your favourite crackers.  

I hope you love this recipe as much as I do!

PAVLOVA WITH CHANTILLY CREAM AND BUTTER TOASTED ALMONDS

                I will go on record and say that this is a great recipe for pavlova. The best.  It has a meringue with a delicate, crunchy crust and a soft marshmallow-like centre. The cream topping is a flavourful Chantilly cream that goes great with the fruit, especially the strawberries. The almonds? Well, they are buttered and then toasted. That gives them an incredible flavour. The dessert melted in our mouths. Literally. It was sweet, creamy, fruity, smooth, soft, heavenly. And it's a great dessert for holiday time! 


Ingredients:

4 large egg whites at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons lemon juice at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons cornstarch

sliced fresh fruit of your choice for topping
some butter cut up in small pieces

whole blanched almonds for topping, notes on preparation bellow

Chantilly cream for topping, recipe below

Directions:

It's important to cook the pavlova at a low temperature for a long time. This and beating the egg whites extraordinarily well insures success.

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a pencil, draw an 8-inch diameter circle on the paper. Turn the paper over so that the pencil marking rests on the baking sheet side. The circle will still be visible.
• Add the granulated sugar into the bowl of a food processor.  Beat it until the granules become superfine and somewhat powder-like: this is superfine or caster sugar. If you can buy it ready-made, go ahead and get it, but this is an easy, convenient way to make your own. Caster sugar is best for meringues because its fine granules dissolve quickly.
• Preheat the oven to 225° F.
• Make sure that the bowl of your mixer is dry and very clean. Place the egg whites into it. They should be free of any presence of yolk.
• Begin beating on medium.  When the egg whites start to get frothy and form soft peaks, turn the speed up to high and add the sugar, one tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition. After all the sugar has been added, continue to beat until the egg whites are very stiff and shiny. If you think the meringue is done, beat it some more. I took a short, refreshing nap while the mixer was beating my egg whites. Recommended!  
• The meringue should be smooth, and the sugar should be fully dissolved so that the meringue doesn't feel gritty to the touch but is instead smooth and stiff; it should look shiny.
• At this point add the vanilla and beat to mix. 
• Remove the bowl from the mixer, add the lemon juice and fold well.  
• Sift the cornstarch over the meringue and fold that in as well. 
• Place the meringue on the prepared tray and smooth it into a round shape using the pencilled circle as a guide. An offset spatula will help with this job. 
• Form a small indentation in the middle for placing the cream into once the meringue finishes baking. 
• Place the meringue in the oven and bake it for one and a half to two hours, until the top of the meringue feels dry and somewhat hard.  
• Turn off the oven and let the pavlova shell stay in there until it has cooled. 
• Take out the shell. It will probably have one or two cracks, and that's fine.  The outside will feel firm, but looking through the cracks you will be able to see the marshmallow-like interior. 
• The shell can be stored on its parchment in a cool dry place until ready to use.  You can make the shell one day ahead of time.

To decorate:

Gently remove the parchment paper while sliding the shell onto a serving platter.  Place the Chantilly cream on top and gently spread it all over.  Top with the almonds and fruit, creating a decorative pattern.

TO PREPARE THE ALMONDS:

Spread whole blanched almonds on a baking sheet and top them with pieces of butter.  Stir them around with your hands so that the butter covers most of the surface of the almonds. Toast them in the oven until they begin to get golden.  Keep a close watch because once they start to get golden they are on their way to getting burned, so it's important that they are removed from the oven before that happens. Butter gives the almonds a wonderful and totally different flavour than plain toasted almonds. It also makes them appear shiny.

CHANTILLY CREAM:

Ingredients:

1 cup heavy whipping cream, really cold

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon Grand Marnier

2 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

• The best-whipped cream is made with very cold ingredients.
• Refrigerate the bowl and the whisk attachment of your mixer until they are cold. Bring them out and reassemble the mixer.
• Add the cream and Grand Mariner. 
• Add the vanilla. Vanilla is the bacon of the baking world. It makes just about any baked good taste that much better. This is an analogy, no substituting bacon for vanilla ... unless ... If you've tried it, let me know of your experience, okay?  
• Beat on medium until frothy.
• Add the sugar one tablespoon at a time and beat on medium-high until soft peaks form, about 3 to 4 minutes.  
• Do not overbeat; you will know when it is done because it will look nice and thick. If you continue beating, the mixture will start to get grainy, and you will start to develop butter. Or so I have been told, and I should really try it one of these days just in case it's true. 
• This cream is absolutely delicious and it will remain thick; chantilly cream doesn't tend to get watery like regular whipped cream because it contains sugar.

The recipe for the meringue is adapted from "The Joy of Baking.com" 

BORLOTTI BEANS IN A MEDITERRANEAN BEAN STEW (BARBOUNOPHASOULA)

Borlotti beans! Gentile's, my favourite grocer here in suburban Philadelphia, had them for sale. "Wow," I said to myself, "barbounophasoula!" I made a beeline for the display, got a  bag and filled it to the top. Since childhood, I've loved eating these beans! Cooked with olive oil and tomatoes, seasoned with parsley and bay leaf, they are so good, even children with finicky tastes will not refuse them. Or so I believe. The bean shells have a bright red colour, and I think it's the colourfulness of the crop that makes them attractive to children. That's how I learned to love them. I liked sitting in front of a table where the red borlotti beans had been scattered and helping to shell them.  

Cute!

Once the shells were opened, pearl-like beans spilled out, soft and fresh, their creamy flesh speckled with deep-pink markings. They were just beautiful!  

Of course, when cooked, the beans turned brown, but it seemed to me that the beautiful colours transformed themselves into tasty food notes that I just loved to gobble up. So I have always been excited about borlotti beans. The Greeks call them barbounophasoula, which I've noticed is quite a long word ... The word describes the appearance of the beans. "Barbouno" is taken from the word for red mullet, a fish that is very plentiful in Mediterranean waters and has the same red on white markings as the beans. "Phasoula" is the word for beans. Indeed, the common bean belongs to the genus Phaseolus vulgaris, and that is the genus that borlotti beans belong to. They are widely cultivated in the Mediterranean region. Italians love to cook them in "Pasta e Fagioli" and also include them in minestrone. We Greeks stew them with tomatoes in a sauce that turns luscious from the flavour of the bean liquor. I believe the best way to enjoy them is while they are fresh, so stock up when you can find them, shell them and freeze them for later use. Of course, they can be had dried, but the dried ones need to soak overnight before they're cooked. 

Borlotti beans are sometimes referred to as Roman beans, and they are related to cranberry beans but don't confuse them with pinto beans, which have a somewhat similar appearance but quite a different taste. Here is my recipe for borlotti beans cooked Greek style:

Ingredients:

About 2 pounds fresh, shelled borlotti beans
1 large red onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 bunch Italian parsley, chopped
1 can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes (it would be marvellous to use fresh tomatoes)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 celery ribs, diced
1 small pepper: use a hot pepper if you like, or use a sweet Italian frying pepper.
1 bay leaf
dash of oregano
salt and black pepper to taste
olive oil
2 cups vegetable broth
water

Directions:

• In a large pot heat the olive oil and sauté the onions and garlic. 
• Add the beans, mix, then add the celery and pepper and stir for a few minutes. 
• Add the tomatoes, the tomato paste, the parsley, the oregano, the bay leaf, the black pepper, and the vegetable broth. Mix well. 
• Add enough water so that the beans are covered by liquid. The amount of liquid should reach about 1/2 inch over the beans. How's that for scientific measurement?
• Bring to a boil, lower the heat to simmer and cover. Let cook for 45 minutes to an hour.  Check occasionally to make sure that not all of the liquid has evaporated. About 30 minutes into cooking, season with salt and drizzle some olive oil (3 or 4 tablespoons), over the beans.  
• When ready, the beans should be soft and most of the liquid should have cooked off. The stew is a stew and should not be soupy. You should have a  nice, slightly thickened sauce. 
• Remove the bay leaf, place the borlotti beans into a serving bowl, and bring them to the table.  They are ready to eat. I hope you enjoy them! 

Any leftovers? They'll make a great lunch! Mix them with fresh tomato and parsley and enjoy them on a slice of bread.

LOVE and a PINEAPPLE- ORANGE- COCONUT SMOOTHIE

In her novel “Love,” Toni Morrison explores the different facets of love, its proximity to hate, and its destructive effects on the psyche when it is missing from one’s life, especially the life of a child. She examines the different varieties of love: self-love, romantic love, parental love, platonic love, and love that is sadomasochistic or perverted; if it's sadomasochistic or perverted it's not actual love is it? But it can mistakenly be referred to as such.  

The novel, written with exceptional artistry both in style and content is a book one needs to read at least twice in order to fully understand its meaning.  

"Love" is set in the fictional town of Silk, located somewhere on the Southern East Coast. According to the plot, the town was once famous for Cosey’s Hotel and Resort, “the best and best-known vacation spot for coloured folk” on the Southern East Coast. The resort was built during the depression by the larger than life Bill Cosey, and it thrived because it offered prosperous black clients a place to vacation in style without fear of discrimination. Following integration, the resort began to lose business. Bill Cosey died, and eventually, the resort closed. 

What remains of the Coseys is the large house that Bill Cosey had built for his family. This family includes his daughter-in-law May, who dies deranged, his granddaughter Christine who was sent away and stayed away until she returned penniless, and his second wife Heed, whom Cossey married when she was eleven years old.  Looking over everyone is the spirit of L, the former cook of the Coseys, who provides the novel's commentary. L is the philosopher and moral centre of the novel. 

The action takes place in the 1990’s, but the characters reminisce of time spent in the presence of Bill Cosey, and we see how he influenced their lives and how he continues to be an influence even some 20 years after his death. We also see how close the distance between love and hate can be. Christine and Heed, who had been loving childhood friends, had a wedge driven between them by the adults around them when Bill Cosey decided to take Heed as his wife. Their relationship turns to one of hate, and it is not until a newcomer, a girl named Junior Viviane enters their lives, that events occur which melt their hate instantly, and they realize how strong the love each has for the other still is. This knowledge comes late, after their lives have been wasted from lack of nurturing and love.   

In contrast, Romen, a teenage character in the novel, has in his life the guidance and love of an intact family. The guidance he receives moulds his character in such a way that he acts heroically when a difficult opportunity presents itself.  

The character of Vida is Romen's grandmother. She likes pineapple and in her honour, I decided to make a pineapple smoothie. In this way, I am contributing to Novel Food, the literary/culinary event hosted by Simona from Briciole.  Read something, cook something inspired by the work, and then write a post about it. That’s Novel Food! HOW I MAKE A PINEAPPLE "LOVE" SMOOTHIE: Ingredients: 2 cups fresh pineapple cut into chunks 2 oranges, peeled, broken up into segments, seeds removed 1 banana, peeled, cut into chunks ½ cup Greek yoghurt 1 cup coconut milk 2 teaspoons shredded coconut Directions: Add all the ingredients except the shredded coconut into a blender.  Blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and sprinkle the top with shredded coconut. IT'S REFRESHING!!!  And it's smooth as silk, which reminds me of Silk, the fictional town in which the novel "Love" is set.