Happy Halloween: My First Reader Giveaway!

Not really in the spirit of Halloween, but maybe in the spirit of Pomegranate season, I am giving away one jar of my POM Pomegranate Jelly and one jar of my homemade Muesli to one lucky commenter!

I recently won an online blog giveaway from Loop Yarn Shop, and I was so excited - so I hope I can pass on the joy of winning to someone else! I really enjoy pomegranates, I think since about the 7th grade when we learned this story from Ms. Colburn when we were studying Greek and Roman Mythology in English class: I have pasted it here from Wikipedia...

The myth of Persephone, the chthonic goddess of the Underworld, also prominently features the pomegranate. In one version of Greek mythology, Persephone was kidnapped by Hades and taken off to live in the underworld as his wife. Her mother, Demeter (goddess of the Harvest), went into mourning for her lost daughter and thus all green things ceased to grow. Zeus, the highest ranking of the Greek gods, could not leave the Earth to die, so he commanded Hades to return Persephone. It was the rule of the Fates that anyone who consumed food or drink in the Underworld was doomed to spend eternity there. Persephone had no food, but Hades tricked her into eating four pomegranate seeds while she was still his prisoner and so, because of this, she was condemned to spend four months in the Underworld every year. During these four months, when Persephone is sitting on the throne of the Underworld next to her husband Hades, her mother Demeter mourns and no longer gives fertility to the earth. This became an ancient Greek explanation for the seasons. Dante Gabriel Rossetti's painting Persephona depicts Persephone holding the fatal fruit. It should be noted that the number of seeds that Persephone ate varies, depending on which version of the story is told. The number of seeds she is said to have eaten ranges from three to seven, which accounts for just one barren season if it is just three or four seeds, or two barren seasons (half the year) if she ate six or seven seeds. There is no set number.

I recall that she ate 4 seeds, and that is why we have roughly 4 months of winter - but I suspect that the myth changes with each geographical zone according to the cold times...

At any rate, I have been enjoying my POM Jelly for breakfasts this week stirred into my homemade yogurt. I use this yogurt culture:

Photo from Amazon

which is widely available online and in health food stores. I think it has a very tart edge, but I tend to prefer things tart. I've also taken to adding 5 T. of dried milk to each quart of yogurt I make, and it becomes nicely thickened. The best thing about the dried culture is that it is pantry stable, and always there when I need it. I did splurge on a carton of Fage to use as culture, and it did have that amazing Fage taste. But that was before I was adding the dried milk, so I will need to try this again for the true Greek Yogurt experience.

Strangely, when I add a T. or so of the POM Jelly, the yogurt seems less tart. Little lumps of ruby jelly explode in my mouth, and make me one very happy breakfaster. Then, I decided later in the week to mix in my homemade muesli, or rather Pukkolla, since I snagged the proportions from Jamie Oliver's cookbook. This time, my version includes walnuts and hazelnuts. I love this soaked in milk overnight, but find that if I mix it in last minute to the yogurt/POM Jelly concoction, the yogurt tenderizes the oats nicely. Addiction has set in, or dare I say Obsession.

I will be selecting one comment via a random number generator on November 10th, so be sure to leave a comment before midnight on November 9th on this post.

Good Luck! Meanwhile, you can bet that most of my breakfasts between now and then will include the above. I hope my winner will be as excited as I am about this jelly, and enjoy many breakfasts on me!

October 2009 Daring Baker Challenge: French Macarons

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

I was excited to try these macaroons, since I am feverishly enamored of its coconut macaroon cousin. Why then, pray tell, did I put off doing this challenge until yesterday? It's a mystery to me. I like these challenges, since it gives me a since of a job to accomplish. Since I am unemployed, or rather, "employed in the home", I don't often have deadlines. When I worked, I was queen of multitasking, a trait that I think carries into my home-employness. Sometimes, I'm surprised at how many things I get going at one time, and think maybe I should stop and start juggling or spinning plates just for laughs. I think though, that I'm learning that the Daring Baker Challenges are a bit like my dreaded high school Geometry class: do the homework (and learn the theorems), and then you will know how to effectively accomplish the task at hand.

Last month, I did more homework. I watched Julia Child making puff pastry dough, and when it was time for me to do it, I just did it. After all, I watched her and a Frenchman just do it, what could be so hard? But these little buggers were different. They had the reputation of being tricky to master, and I didn't do much homework. Of the challenges so far, besides puff pastry, I am going to try this one again, since I KNOW I can do better. And so, dear reader, read on:

This recipe for French Macarons called for 5 egg whites. I had 4 frozen in my freezer from the September challenge that required 4 egg yolks. I do take to freezing multiples of yolks or whites, after Alton Brown told me that you can freeze them separately. I've made Jamie Oliver's sheet meringue out of frozen egg whites with perfect results, so I figured that they would be fine for this application as well, as long as they were at room temperature.

Now, I'm not so sure. The first thing I do when I wake up on Daring Baker Challenge Post Day is check on Audax Artifex. He does post on the forum for members earlier, but I think I'm intimidated by him...so I wait until the 27th. He left his egg whites out for 3 days, covered and at room temperature. I am doing this next time.

The only variation to the batter I made was to add about 1 t. of almond extract. It is my most favorite flavoring, and I couldn't resist amping it up. I did opt to grind my own almonds, which I used by weight. I ground them in the food pro with a cup of the confectioner's sugar, as the directions directed, and then I ground them some more. I don't know why they all didn't succumb to powdery fineness, so I sieved them. I had about this much left over... and saved it to use on ice cream.

I thought the batter looked nice, I didn't feel that I over-folded the dry ingredients into the egg whites, and I was originally happy with how they looked when I piped them out:

I think in retrospect, I did pipe them too close, and also that since I didn't re-grind the portion of almond that I sieved, I had a slightly less dense batter.

Still, to this point in our adventures, I thought everything was going pretty well. Until they started coming out of the oven. The premise of the macaron is that you bake them at 200 degrees for 5 minutes to set them. Then, crank the oven to 375 degrees and finish them until browned slightly, about 7-8 minutes. After the 8 minute mark, I slid them hopefully out of the oven...

...and was able to hold them up to the light. I tried both parchment and a silicone baking mat, and both had the same reaction. I started trying to peel them off the sheet after they cooled about 5 minutes. It wasn't going to happen. I had forgotten that I believe there is a reason that the punks of yesteryear used egg whites to shellac their mohawks into shape: they are the stickiest substance on earth.

I also had forgotten that in my Christmas cookie cache a few of years ago, I tried a Amaretti recipe from Martha Stewart that I think went entirly into the trash can, it was so miserably mangled.

I am insanely curious to know if aging my egg whites for several days will eliminate this sticking problem, or if it is just par for the course since sugar is involved.

After I slipped the parchments and silicone mat into the freezer for several minutes, this released them instantly. I still didn't have the "Macaron Look" that I was so hoping would appear. They tasted great, though, which I always will count as a triumph!

I decided to fill with chocolate buttercream, which isn't all that imaginative, but is my favorite thing in the world, especially with almond. My non-dessert eating Husband ate them all up, since I only filled 4 or 5. I unfortunately left the rest on the racks when I turned my kitchen into a sauna via my canning project last night. When I went to attend to the rest, they were hopelessly sticky. No matter, I peeled them off and popped them all into the freezer. I love cookies from the freezer anyway. And they must be good, since before I came up here to write this, he asked me for some more macarons! This is a triumph! I had to fill some, but did so gladly since I am gushing that I may be gradually cultivating a dessert eater.

Lately, I think if I have any leftover crumbs or sweet bits I freeze them in thoughts of making ice cream. I adore homemade ice cream, but don't adore that I'm the only one to eat it - thus challenging the proportions of my figure. I am daydreaming about these almond flavored bits, however, and think that if I chop up some of my alcohol soaked cherries, and add it to vanilla or maybe chocolate ice cream, I could be very happy. Maybe shave some dark chocolate over the whole works, since I'm dreaming away. I've had so many ice cream options in my mind lately, I may just have to go and freeze my canister, so it will be ready when my dessert options wane - not that that happens so often. I am backlogged on things to try, partly due to my obsessive food blog reading. I guess that the reading is probably healthier than the eating, but as long as I stick to my "everything in moderation" mantra, all will be well.

You can find the recipe for French Macarons at the Daring Kitchen site, and as always, click on a few members on the blogroll. I'll be trolling through to see what I can do to improve my macaron making skills. After all, if I have a keeper of a recipe for my sugar-challenged Husband, what better motivation?

Magic Monday, October 26th 2009 (or in which I make Magic Chile Soup and POM Jelly)

I was really only gone since last Wednesday, but it feels like in the meantime, a whole season has passed. By the time I returned, the tree in front of my house, (perennially the last to turn) was half golden, and many other trees had shed their leaves completely. On my journey around the state, I got to see snow in the Northwoods (one of my most favorite things) and varying stages of color throughout Central Wisconsin.

This time of year is always amazing to me, as things start to wind down, I almost automatically start to calculate the weeks until planting season will begin again. Somehow, every winter I become a Master Gardener in my mind, and have oh so lofty plans for spring. This winter will be no different, I suppose. I have plans to turn the shady garden into a shade perennial garden and then somehow build some raised beds for the sunny center of my back (south-facing) yard. We'll see, I guess. Half the fun is in the daydreaming.

When we returned Sunday afternoon, I figured since I'm a newly crowned "bean freak" I would have to make something beany on Monday, since there was no made food in the house due to my absence. I soaked some red beans (like how very technical I am for being said bean freak?) that my Mom gave me overnight. I started them at 8 am this morning per the Steve Sando book method: I sauteed some veg, added my beans and their soaking water, brought them to a boil and boiled 5 minutes, then reduced the heat to very low, and simmered for 5,6, then 7 hours. Still no soft beans. Beautiful beans, yes, but not edible.

Now, I have really been reading up about this beanery stuff, and it seems to me that the least preferred method is to pressure cook. But when I was up North, my Mom and Uncle pressure cooked a pot of pintos and I have to say that they were really the most delicious pintos I ever ate. I tasted them before they lovingly became frijoles refritos, and they were creamy and delicious. After they were mashed up, they were just short of divinity.

When I woke up this morning, it was overcast and rainy. A nice day for a bean pot on the stove...

The dried beans, then after cooking for about 7 hours...

I figured since I had just eaten some successful pressure cooked beans, I'd try pressure cooking my 7 hour cooked beans. I used my mysterious Magic Seal pot, that I have no idea where I acquired, and pressured them for 30 minutes. I released the seal, (after safely reducing the pressure by running the pot under cold water) and I had beautiful, creamy delicious beans! And with, my favorite new term, wonderful "pot liquor". By this time, there was really no way to turn them into dinner tonight, but they will be dinner tomorrow (and probably lunch too). I added a quart bag of frozen pork that I made with guajillo chile, some salt, Mexican oregano, cumin, powedered jalepeno and chile powder, and was pretty happy with myself.

Magic Seal. A Quality Saucepan.

Coincidentally, I took out a pint of leftover canned tomatoes that I had popped into the freezer before I left - and the jar happened to be Magic as well. Nice. My Husband likes more brothy soups, and tends to leave all the veg and bits (aka "the good stuff") behind, so I needed more liquid/nutrition anyway. I think I'll call this the Magic Chile Soup.

end part 1.

Intermission.

begin part 2.

I was feeling pretty bad about not making something with this POM pomegranate juice that I received from the nice people at POM... but I just have been so busy. That and I couldn't decide what to make. I Googled to get some ideas, and it seems like a lot of other food bloggers had similar ideas to mine. Now, I am not really a thorough Googler, since I don't really spend that much time on the computer. When I Google, I usually look at just the first 3 or 4 pages of the search. In this search, I didn't find anyone who had tried making jelly, so I figured I'd give it a go.

My first order of business last night was to start bread dough, and make a batch of yogurt. I think the POM Jelly is going to be great mixed into the plain yogurt. I actually love the bitterness of straight pomegranate juice, but I know it's not for everyone. In fact, in most posts I perused, people actually detest it plain. They were hiding it in all sorts of things. If I was going to hide it, I'd probably do it in a chocolate cake, but only since it would add to the antioxidant properties. Dark cocoa powder and pomegranate in one cake? Why, it would be practically saintly! If you are curious what you can do with POM juice, there are a lot of great recipes on the POM site.

I followed the Sure-Jell for reduced sugar package instructions for Grape Jelly, and used POM instead... so it was 5 1/2 c. of juice and 3 1/2 c. of sugar (plus the pectin). I'm figuring, if I use this to sweeten my plain yogurt, it will still be pretty healthy, not to mention a cheerful shade of pink. This particular pectin will allow you to use sucralose (Splenda) instead of sugar, but I would never recommend using that stuff unless you had an unfortunate dietary restriction to the natural stuff. Even then, I'd probably just do without, and drink the delicious POM plain!

Ready for breakfast tomorrow...

I had a little jelly jar leftover, and got 2 8 oz. jars and 3 12 oz. jars. It was the most marvelous ruby color in the light. I fear these dark, shorter days are going to do nothing for my photographing hobby, however.

After the jelly sets, and I eat it, I will photograph it in the light. I am also considering my first blog giveaway of a jar of POM Jelly... but I am going to do a little research on this kind of thing first. Keep checking back for updates!

So, on top of this day spent in the kitchen, it is the 26th. So that means Daring Baker Challenge day tomorrow! Did I leave this until the last minute? Did I find success in yet another challenge of my baking prowess? Tune in tomorrow, same time, same place...

(Wisconsin) Food Bloggers have the best recipes...

In my newness to food blogging, I think I neglected to search out food bloggers closer to home for too long. I remedied that last week when I googled Wisconsin food bloggers, and eventually found Peef and Lo at Burp! Where Food Happens. True to my form, I immediately found several recipes that I bookmarked for later uses, and some for beets that I couldn't wait to make. After my bean obsession weekend, I was happy for some veg food, and Sunday evening I decided to make the beet risotto from their site. (Note that you'll have to click a recipe link after reading the post! They are great cooks, and Computer Savvy!)

This photo was actually taken by me. Peef and Lo do have a similar one on their beet borscht post... I guess there are just so many ways to photograph a plethora of beets. I got these three varieties from Highcross Farm.

I couldn't wait to try this recipe. That Highcross Farm produce is so overwhelmingly lovely, I couldn't dream of tossing away the beet greens, and this recipe incorporates them all for what I'm imagining to be a super healthy, antioxidant red risotto. I opted for using toasted walnuts and blue cheese, but they list several nice parings for cheeses, we are in Wisconsin after all...

If you love beets, you will really love this dish! I love the combination that I used, and though I made it Sunday, it is still good today. I'm betting, I can get a couple more days out of the leftovers, and I'm glad I did have a taker for some of the bounty. Had I been in a beet loving household, I probably would have made this as a side alongside another dish, since it was so rich, but I'm not really sure what. It has such a specific beety taste, that it would require something on the milder side to complement it. It was fantastic on its own.

I love how easy it is to connect to other foodies now that I decided to de-hermitize myself and go online. While I wouldn't say I'm introverted, I do tend to stick to myself - and sometimes I feel a little bad about obsessing over food with my Husband, who tends to eat to get full (mostly on the non-picky side, and mostly on the non-veg side) and then prefers to obsess over sporting events. I'm glad that we are different, but I'm glad to share some of my excitement with others that appreciate it in the same way I do. I catch myself wondering if my little boy-o will take after me in the beet loving department, however. I would be so happy if he had a broad little palette in the near future... and I could have someone to eat beets and leftovers with.

We are heading into the great Northwoods tomorrow through the weekend to visit family. Cooking will most certainly ensue. I'm planning a couple of bring along suppers to share and a couple pounds of Alterra Coffee for my Uncle. It somehow always feels like I'm going home to enter the piney wilderness of my youth. It's funny that when I'm in the city, I love the benefits of grocery shopping and social activities...but give me two or three days back where I came from and I find myself aching never to return here. A paradox I think, but good to know that the wilds are still in me, somewhere. Even if most of the time, they are hidden from view.

The Christmas Lima: (or in Which I Confirm my Love of Rancho Gordo)

As promised, here is a photo-heavy documentation of my first encounter with Rancho Gordo beans.

And let me tell you, they are worth the hype. I am known to read cookbooks like novels, and in this particular book (Heirloom Beans), Steve Sando states that he often lovingly refers to people like me as "bean freaks". Last week while perusing his blog, he mentioned that there are people on flickr posting photos of shipments of beans! Yes, I had to look. My favorite was a shot of a girl with a pound of beans on her head; one of the comments read, "And, um, you have beans. On your head. Isn't there a pool for that or something?" Head over there and take a look, I'm not joking.

All obsessiveness aside, I received a pretty high accolade from my non-foodie Husband when he said that this was one of my top meals (actually, he added here, "EXCEPT for the BEANS", which I did see him eat some of, and he did go on to say the broth was excellent. I smugly noted that the broth would not taste like it did if not for the beans, so I'm counting it as a win.)

Since the recipe, as far as my short Google search is concerned, is not posted on the Internet and the recipe is actually gifted from Farm Restaurant at Carneros Inn in Napa, I don't feel entirely confident in recording it here. Instead, I'll urge you to purchase the book, either directly from Rancho Gordo or at Amazon. If the following photos look good to you, the book will most certainly be a welcome addition to your kitchen.

Now, on with the dinner!

Carneros Inn's Christmas Lima with Pork Chops, Cabbage and Asian Pear Relish

Yesterday morning, I actually got up when it was still dark, too excited to go and soak my beans that I couldn't go back to sleep. Bean Freak? Yes, I think so. I washed them thoroughly, and soaked them for about 6 hours. Meanwhile, I went to the last South Shore Farmer's Market of the season. While my beans were not local, most of the other ingredients were: Just look at this cipollini onion!

I've never seen one larger than about a shallot, let alone the size of my hand! I love this farm, Highcross Farms from nearby Cambellsport, WI. I have to say that consistently they have the nicest and most reasonably price organic produce I've ever seen. I'm hoping to see them at the Winter Farm Market, and may even get a CSA share from them next year, and be done fretting about my sunless gardening efforts. I stocked up on the sweetest yellow carrots (which I roasted whole last week, and my Husband ate them and liked them!) as well. There was a carrot in the ragout.

I cannot remember the varietal of cabbage I got, I loved it though. The recipe called for Savoy, and this is related to the Chinese cabbage I think. I may braise the rest, since GOP did that the other day - and I was jealous, even though she though it made her house smell like a tenement building...

The easiest ever pear relish: chop one Bosc or Asian pear into 1/8 inch dice, add 1/2 t. lemon juice and some salt and pepper and chopped chives. I actually forgot to put in on top of our meals until after a couple of bites, and I was glad I remembered. It added a nice sweet dimension, and intensified the chestnuttiness of the Lima's.

It reminded me of one of my favorite appetizers this summer, when I was at Sasa's for dinner. She cut slices of ripe pear, and served them with Pecorino cheese. There happened to be a bag of Kettle Salt and Black Pepper chips on the table, and we ate them topped with the pears and cheese. Delicious!

When I threw the pork chops on the grill, I added the cabbage so it could wilt. I love the color of the bean broth, a deep chestnut red-brown.

A side note about the bread: Today is day 4 of this loaf, and it is still amazingly good. I really think that King Arthur mix I used on a whim is going to become a staple. It has got the nicest, deep grainy flavor, without being overly chewy. That is a good thing for a 3 year old, of whom I worry about choking hazards with. I was running errands the day I left it to rise, and it got enormous. Though it looks like it may weigh 5 lbs, it really was as light as a feather.

Very excited now, as the cabbage wilted and I added a bit more salt and pepper. Also, couldn't be more pleased with my gas grill which makes such an easy task of outdoor cookery. The last time I tried to use my charcoal grill, I was trying to light the silly thing for 90 minutes. That is not an exaggeration. I ended up cooking the food inside.

The finished dinner. Both of our plates were suspiciously clean after mopping up all of the juices with the bread. Jeff just had about 10 beans left in his bowl. I figure the nutrition was gleaned out of them, however.

And today for lunch I had the meat free version as promised to myself (though technically, there was a little bacon in the bean pot...) I scooped on a healthy amount of the pear relish, and I think it may have even improved overnight. I often think this is the case with beans, and they are really at their best at days 3-5 of their refrigerated residence. In fact, next time, I may even make the ragout one day prior, and just grill the meat the day of. Or, just eat it as a soup.

May you all be as inspired to eat beans, be they Rancho Gordo or not! I know that this is the tip of the proverbial iceberg for me concerning dear RG...with a whole new book full of inspiration. I forgot to mention that the book is published by Chronicle Books, one of my favorite publishers. They have the nicest photography and layouts, and those two things work well with cookbooks. Recent Chronicle cookbook favorites include The New Whole Grains Cookbook and Cupcakes!

I am so fortunate that this whole beany obsession hit just now when we are really in a cold Autumnal mood. What better way to take me through the winter than slow cooking. I love to press my hands to the top of the red Le Creuset as I pass by to warm up. Winter is the best time of year for us Kitchen Types!

Restaurant Review: Honeypie

Image from Honeypie...

I finally got to eat at Honeypie in Bay View Friday evening after much anticipation. Really, I am not a food snob, I just usually prefer to spend my USD's on ingredients and do the cooking myself. However, if and when I do want to eat out, I will patronize Honeypie.

I actually wasn't even hungry, I was meeting friends. I did end up ordering the pork fries, fitting for a place with a "pig in a bib" on their logo... (Incidentally, my little boy-o loves saying "pig in a bib" and then laughing hysterically ever since we first saw the sign.) Pork fries are going to be my new guilty pleasure since they are delicious fries topped with BBQ pork, a cheese sauce and I'm guessing jalapenos pickled with coriander seed. Oh, yes, and then topped with bacon. I'm fairly certain this plate could have fed me for 3 days:

I mistakenly thought that the portion would be a bit more on the modest side since it was actually an appetizer, now I'm betting my bacon consumption for the week is nearing its max. The restaurant is actually just down the street from me, and is a sister to the Comet Cafe on the East Side. It's the type of place that feels homey, serves genuine food from responsible sources, and beckons you to eat meat though they do have vegan options for many things. In fact, Sasa went before I did and reported that the whole place smelled of meat. It must have been a day they were smoking something... since I thought it just smelled like a home kitchen.

We arrived early, were already acquainted with the waitress, (who besides that did an excellent and efficient job, complete with awesome recommends) and stayed until the place really started to jump for the Friday night fish fry crowd. I tasted some of the perch that Kim had, no pics since they were dim and blurry, and it was tremendous. It instantly transported me to my 8 year old fishing self and I could even see my Mom pan frying in the round portable skillet she used to have. Sasa had a sandwich, but I don't remember which one, and it looked great too. All of the portions were ample, and next time I go, I'm bringing my appetite.

My Rancho Gordo beans are nearly done, and what is for dinner tonight? Puerco. I think this really is the Porcine Weekend for me. I am planning to lay off the carnivorous side for quite a few days after, since I scored some really nice veg at the South Shore Market this morning. Today was the swansong of the season for us farm market attendees, though I am happy to see that there will be a Winter Farmer's Market (Indoors!) at State Fair Park on Saturdays starting November 7th and running through April 24th, 2010.

Rancho Expectations

Yesterday, I got my first order of Rancho Gordo beans: and yes, I was actually looking out the window and saying "YES! The beans are HERE!!" when the UPS man came to the door. I was that excited.

It's no secret that I love beans. I grew up on pintos, mostly, but a bean of some kind was usually around in various soups and sides. For his birthday two years ago, I gave my little brother a brown t-shirt that says "Powered by Frijoles", and I have to say, I should have gotten myself one too, since I'm jealous when I see him in it.

GOP ordered the same gift box that I ordered, and got hers just slightly before mine. I'm guessing a friendly competition will ensue to see what we come up with. She is lovingly saving some beans for planting in the spring...but since I'm somewhat disheartened by the lack of sunlight (and thus growth) on my backyard plot, I don't know if I will be that virtuous.

Since I've been fortunately employed in the home for the past several years, I love experimenting with different methods of doing familiar things, and already the Heirloom Beans book has given me some good new things to try.

Indeed!

I think there are a lot of interesting places in the world, culinarily speaking, and if I were able to travel more, I think I would still have this opinion: We in the Americas have some pretty diverse and amazing foods! My Gram took that idea a bit farther when I remember her often saying "There's a little bit of all the world in Wisconsin." Maybe that is a little more true for the gardeners like her (that could even occasionally cultivate melons up in the high zone 4 region), since the heart of most places is directly related to the foods consumed there.

While I may feel a slight pang of guilt from the ordering the local foods of California instead of Wisconsin, I am still overwhelmingly happy to support Rancho Gordo on the quest to propagate more people into the bean eating population. And not to over look the completely amazing packaging!

Those Christmas Lima's in the upper left are my first project, I'm planning them for dinner tomorrow with pork and savoy cabbage, an amazing looking recipe from the book. Sometimes, I think an obsession with an otherwise overlookable thing is just what I need. The Rancho Gordo descriptions of beans online do not fully compare with the natural pattern and beauty of the real thing. A true miracle to find the flat, purple and cream beans actually in my hand.

My next order of business will be to order a clay pot cooking vessel. For some reason, it is infinitely easier to depart with my money for this kind of thing, than for say, clothes or plastic trash bags. I have the same t-shirts and jeans for the past 5 years, and while that sometimes is frustrating, I just have to buy BEANS! and now CLAY POTS! Please check out the Rancho Gordo blog for some great links to clay pots from a couple of recent posts - I'll probably end up ordering from one of his recommends. For now, I'll have to be satisfied with my my Le Crueset 5 1/2 quart round oven... which I do love, and use almost daily.

I'm sure an obsessive and pictorial tale will follow my first dining experience with Rancho Gordo, so stay tuned. I know I'm not going to be disappointed.

Quickbread (part one.)

Yesterday, I searched for a better Banana Bread recipe. This happens a lot, since I have all the intentions of eating bananas, then before I know it - they are spotty and black and begging for a new life in quick breads. Last week though, I made them into Nikki's Healthy Cookies, from food blogger 101 cookbooks. I have them frozen for moments of cookie needs... and they are users of 3 bananas, and no refined sugar. See? I really am trying to be better.

So, after much searching, I finally found this recipe for Whole Wheat Banana Bread: and I came across it in a strange manner. Every recipe I perused up to this point had lots of butter. I love butter, but I was searching for healthier options. All recipes also seemed to have way too much sugar as well, which I don't normally have a problem with, but you know, I'm trying to be Better.

It helps too that my Mom is looking for baking recipes that are using less or no refined sugars. I have a task, and I am up to it! I found a forum of people discussing healthier banana bread options at seriouseats.com. A commenter included a link for the following recipe. I did alter it slightly, so I am posting my version below. My little picky boy-o loved it, and I loved it. Better yet, absolutely no guilt is involved.

Healthy Whole Wheat Banana Bread
1 loaf

1/3 c. oil (part can be converted to applesauce,according to a poster at serious eats, but I used canola oil)
1/2 c. brown rice syrup
1 t. vanilla extract
2 eggs
3 mashed bananas
1 3/4 c. whole wheat flour (King Arthur, of course)
1/2 t. kosher salt
1 t. baking soda dissolved in 1/4 c. hot water
1/2 c. chopped walnuts.

Preheat oven to 325.

Beat oil and honey together in a large bowl. Add eggs and mix well, then stir in bananas and vanilla. Stir in flour and salt, then add baking soda to hot water and stir into batter. Fold in chopped nuts.

Spread batter into "prepared" pan (I opt always for cooking spray with flour. Normally, I am against such things, but it really does make life so much easier.)

Bake for 55-65 minutes, until tester comes out clean. Try to wait at least a half hour before cutting into it.

I think in the next occasion of overripe bananas, I will tweak this recipe using my two favorite additions from the Alton Brown banana bread recipe. To date, his is by far my favorite. (All about Alton has the recipe by weight: Bread of Life has it listed by measure.) He uses oat flour in his, which is a miracle, I think, for adding softness. But the true marvel is that he also adds almonds and almond extract which is seriously my favorite flavor ever. If you are looking to impress, and not eat healthy in the privacy of your own home...make Alton's banana bread.

I think the whole wheat version is really delicious however, and the brown rice syrup is the key I think. If you were to use honey, as the original recipe wished, I think it would be too sweet. I love honey, but if I was going through the trouble to make a healthier recipe, I figured why not try the brown rice syrup? It is made (according to the Lundberg Farms label) by simply boiling down brown rice. It is great, and really does taste a little like sweet, nutty brown rice.

I originally bought it for making Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Peanut Granola, which is very tasty and perhaps my third batch after watching that episode is happily residing in my freezer.

I hope you have luck with this healthy version of banana bread. I am actually going against all my personal thoughts on cake and bread storage and storing this, wrapped in foil, in the refrigerator. It is just so moist, that I can't see getting my normal 6-7 days out of it! I'm also planning to toast some, since I think that the almost pudding like interior will stand up to it.