We seem to have a problem at our house.  I am asked to buy bananas by my tall-dark-handsome husband.  I buy them…most of them sit in the fruit bowl and become over ripe.  I am not a huge banana fan.  I will eat them when they are yellow with the faintest bit of green on the creases.  That is it and that window between a little green and too ripe closes wicked fast.  My kids will eat them when just ripe, no spots but they are random in their wanting one.  If I don’t have bananas in the house because no one has been eating them so why buy them they want one.  If I have them they don’t.  Really?  But such is my life.  

At this point, I don’t have a deep chest freezer (don’t get me started on that as the movers ruined it).  So making copious amounts of banana bread and freezing some is not an option.  Much like actual bananas my family will only eat so much banana bread.  Cake on the other hand they will eat…ALL THE TIME if I let them.  

I came across this recipe from Baking Bites and thought it might solve my banana problem.  The kiddos and I were invited to lunch and figured we would make it (great kids helping recipe) and bring some as a “hostess” gift.  All I have to say is yummy.  Okay anything with brown butter and brown sugar I’m a fan of even if it has banana in it.  I made the cake recipe as is (I know shocker).  For the frosting I cut back the powdered sugar by about half and substituted 1 TBSP dark brown for one light brown sugar. Everyone liked it.  Robert thought it could do without the frosting so it would be more like bread, to which I say really?  because you don’t eat much banana bread, but you ate the cake.  Seriously!

I loathe moving.  I have the packing, unpacking, organizing after the unpacking process.  I am currently stuck with about 10% of what I need to unpack in this house still in boxes.  There are plenty of things that will remain in boxes as this house is OH SO temporary.  Hopefully our house will sell in Ohio and I can do this whole process again.  But then it will be my home, not some house we are renting.  Hopefully this house in the future will have decent closets, kitchen and a bathroom with two sinks.  I have decided that the keys to a happy marriage are a walk-in closet for two and a master bath (connected to the master) with double sinks.  Guess what this house doesn’t have?

I know I’m cranky.  I am sorry.  I am grateful to have a place that we can rent at a reasonable (for this area) price until our house sells.  I think one of the reasons I’m in a miserable mood is that I love cooking in summer and I haven’t really done any cooking.  This whole moving process started at the beginning of summer and now it is practically Fall.  I didn’t get to eat my lovely tomatoes, basil etc. from my little garden.  I didn’t get my CSA box from Dorothy Lane Market and I had to pass up all the glorious sales on berries etc. at Meijer because I could only fit a small cooler with jam in the car.  WHAAAAA!

Yes, my kitchen is mostly unpacked, but no I haven’t gone much beyond scrambled eggs, tater tots, pasta with jarred (gasp) sauce and some variation of burrito/taco.  There is no microwave…this puts a damper on reheating leftovers so why cook.  Okay so I just got my grandparents microwave, but it isn’t out of the box to put on the rolling cart that also needs to be put together…talk to Robert about that.

Hopefully the cart will be together and microwave out by tomorrow as I would like to finish this soup before it goes bad.  I know soup in 80 degree weather may not be your thing.  But it is light, lovely and full of corny goodness.   Yes, I said “corny goodness.”

I adapted this soup from a recipe in Bon Appetit.  They are big fans of straining it so it is totally smooth and more like a corn-milk soup with a little bit of garnish.  I’ve done it that way and if I was doing some swanky shin-dig I might do it that way again.  But I just blend it to death and that is good enough for me.  I am also not a fan of a “little garnish”.  I double to tripled the amount of fresh corn garnish as it is so yummy this time of year.  

I’m an admitted Olympics junkie.  Growing up we rarely were allowed to watch TV with the exception being during the Olympics.  However, as I’ve been furiously packing and then attempting to unpack I’ve realized that I haven’t watched much of the last couple Olympics.  I was looking forward to the summer Olympics this year because nothing was going on…NOT.  Along comes a move.  The last winter Olympics I had Micah and the summer Olympics in China I had Maya.  

So I’m currently ignoring the boxes all around me and watching the Olympics.  My kitchen still isn’t unpacked.  All I’ve served food-wise in the house has been cereal and take out pizza.  Yeah, I’m getting high marks in the “mommy” and food blogger categories…Go USA! 

For the small handful of people out there who follow this blog you will have noticed a lack of posting lately.  Normally I try and post a minimum of once a week (usually more).  Then about a month ago (around Memorial Day weekend) our house turned into an infirmary.  Robert was the first to go down with a wicked stomach flu.  He is rarely in bed when sick, but this time he was in bed for 4 days and then wiped out for another week.  I got a sinus and ear infection, but was still up and about.  Then just as Robert was feeling a little better Maya woke up with a wicked high fever and projectile vomit.  Into Children’s she and I went and it turns out she had pneumonia.  Then Micah got sick.  Through it all I was hoping that Robert had food poisoning (he had eaten elsewhere) and that because it was over a week that no one else would get the stomach flu.  Boy was I wrong.  Down I went for 3 days.  Needless to say through all this there wasn’t much in the cooking department going on.

Toward the end of my sickness 2 weeks ago, Robert received a call from the Southern New England Conference to pastor a two church district (Foxborough/Taunton).  It came out of no where and we initially with all we have going on in our church here in Ohio, weren’t all that thrilled with going out and interviewing.  However, after praying about it a lot, we felt that we should go and interview.  Long story, filled with MANY issues (that I may go into later when there is a little distance and they become funny), we have accepted the call to move to MA.  

We are so sad to be leaving our church family and so many friends here in Ohio after 9 years.  We will also be moving away from Robert’s family, though closer to mine.   Because we are not too sure of a time-line yet the packing has begun.  I’m desperately trying to use up frozen soups, stuffed shells and a ridiculous amount of homemade jams and curds that I have frozen.  I am doing the food for a baby shower, so I will be using some curds/jams for that, just have to figure out how exactly.  

All that being said our house will be filled with quite a few Trader Joe’s meals and repeat recipes as I try to use up supplies.  Any new recipe posts in the next couple weeks will be a result of my being behind on posting and having some that I can share from over a month ago.   

I made these this weekend for some friends’ brunch baby shower.  So glad there are a couple left over (made my orange ricotta muffins too) because I’m snarfing what is left!  I made them with VIA decaf…because well it was a baby shower. 

I feel like I’ve been in a recipe rut lately.  I have a list of recipes that I want to try about a literal mile long, but probably slightly over 50% are desserts.  While I know that my hubby and kiddos may not see this as a problem I obviously do have a problem with dessert at every or for ever meal.  The recipes on the list that aren’t desserts slowly been making their way into my cooking rotation.  The end of the school year is always so busy, that I go back to stand-by recipes far too frequently for my own tastes and my blogging needs.  My mom and sister often comment that I seem to “whip” up a meal so fast.  While I may have some tricks to make things go faster, I’m rarely making a brand new recipe in front of them.  Even if you are an experienced cook trying a new recipe can take additional time compared to a tried and true recipe.  

This recipe has been sitting around my pintrest board for at least a month.  Originally I had no idea what Furikake was and so I wasn’t sure if I would ever make it.  I mean I live in Ohio so a Japanese garnish might be difficult to find.  Imagine my surprise at finding it at Earth Fare when I ran in for some bulk unsweetened coconut and oats.  If you live in an even more ingredient challenged area than I do, you can always garnish with some toasted sesame seed sprinkled with salt and sugar and if you can find it some shredded nori.  Salt and sugar you are asking?  Yes, those ingredients are basically what makes up Furikake.  At first I thought it would be too weird, but really it adds a unique flavor if you can find it.  

I adapted with recipe from someone who adapted the recipe from the book Appetite for China.  Which I will now be looking for at the library.  I made this a warm/room temperature dish, but originally it was on the cool side.  Thinking that it would also make a great picnic dish.

Doesn’t that picture just look like summer on a plate?  This plate includes my newest baking obsession the whipped cream “pound” cake and strawberries from our garden.  

Pound cakes are a great foil for fresh fruit in my opinion.  But often that whole “pound” part makes them seem a bit heavy to me.  This cake is a lighter tasting (probably not in calories) version that I very slightly adapted from Great Coffee Cakes, Sticky Buns, Muffins and More by Carole Walter.   I currently have this book from the library, but it is on my wish-list as well.  I’m not a huge cake fan unless it is of the “breakfast cake” variety.  Seriously, who are we kidding with the whole “coffee cake” thing?  We just wanted to come up with a way to eat cake for breakfast.  I’m ashamed to say I had some a couple days ago with my usual breakfast yogurt in place of toast because I talked myself into the notion that it was faster to to cut off a slice than toast the bread.  My friends/colleagues that I was rushing to meet were rather amused…

This cake doesn’t weigh you down and you can taste the sweetness of the cream, but it isn’t overly sweet.  It is wonderful with berries or without.  It is important that the cream is very cold before you whip it (I put mine in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes before whipping).  I also put the bowl and beaters in the fridge for a bit to really keep everything cool.  

Whipped Cream Pound Cake with Strawberries

• 1 cup heavy cream (really cold)
• 1 1/2 cups sifted all purpose flour (spoon and level)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 1/3 cup superfine sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp vanilla paste (or additional extract)
• Pam with flour for the Bundt pan 
• Strawberries, sliced

Place a rack in the lower third of the oven.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a Bundt pan with Pam with Flour spray and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together, flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whip attachment, beat the eggs on medium-high speed for 5 minutes.  Add sugar 1 TBSP at a time, taking about 4 minutes to add the whole amount.  Then add vanilla extract and paste and mix until blended.  Stop and whip the cream as directed below.

In another chilled bowl, whip the cream on medium-low speed until firm speaks form.  (don’t overmix or it will become grainy). Set aside.

Turn electric mixer to low and add the dry ingredients in to additions, mixing until just blended (scrape down bowl as needed).

Remove the bowl from the mixer.  Using an oversized rubber spatula, fold in the whipped cream, one third at a time. Be sure to thoroughly fold in the batter.  

Spoon batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a large spoon.  Bake for 50-60 minutes.  (if your pan is dark turn heat down to 325).  The cake is done when the top is golden brown and firm to the touch, and a wooden skewer inserted deeply in the center comes out clean.

Remove cake from oven and place on a cooking rack for 20 minutes.  Invert pan onto the rack and carefully lift it off.  Let cake cool completely.  Serve with strawberries.  

Store leftovers in either a covered cake pan, or covered with plastic wrap.  The cake can be frozen.

It’s gotten hot all of a sudden.  We are going out of town for a few days and so I thought I would break out the ice cream maker and use up some oranges so they wouldn’t go bad.  I love citrus, particularly oranges.  When I was pregnant with Maya everything made me sick, particularly orange juice.  But I couldn’t stop drinking it.  I would be sick and go right back for some more.  Weird!

I am in the possession of THE book on ice cream (in my humble opinion)he Perfect Scoopby David Lebovitz.  You seriously can’t go wrong by just opening the book blind and making whatever recipe you put your finger on.  I have yet to try one I didn’t like.  This book is so good, that it even has me thinking that I might like things I don’t like (i.e. goat cheese ice cream).  

One of my all time favorites is this Orange Popsicle Ice Cream.  This is a really easy (meaning not a custard base) ice cream to make.  The original recipe has a bit of Grand Marnier in it which I leave out sometimes substituting a drop or two of orange oil if my oranges aren’t too fragrant.   

Orange Popsicle Ice Cream adapted only wicked slightly

• scant 2/3 cup sugar
• Grated zest of 3 large (4 small) oranges
• 1 1/4 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1 cup sour cream (I’ve used light, but not low fat.  I am guessing you could also use Greek Yogurt)
• 1/2 cup half-and-half

In a blender, pulverize the sugar and orange zest until very fine.  Add orange juice, sour cream and half-and-half and blend until sugar is completely dissolved.  

Chill in the refrigerator for at least a couple hours or overnight.  Shake or stir before pouring into your ice cream maker.   

I’ve become more determined lately to REALLY learn how to cook Indian food.  The couple recipes that I’ve eaten and prepared all my life are no longer enough.  As we are more or less (usually more…hee-hee) broke, flying to Singapore to spend time really learning from my aunties is out of the question.  It seems the only times we see each other are big events like weddings where cooking lessons aren’t really part of the schedule.  

As a result I’ve been watching other people’s aunties on YouTube and getting lots of books from the library.  I then test things out on my little family and if we like it I will try it on my Daddy.  

My Mum was here last week and I made this dish (first time cooking with paneer) because she really likes paneer.  I am blessed to have an Indian/Pakistani food store near the church where I can buy paneer rather than make it from scratch.  However, if you are not so lucky, all the Indian chefs on Food Network and Cooking Channel say it is wicked easy to make.  

I recently checked outEntice with Spiceby Shubhra Ramineni from the library.  I first tried her Vegetables with Coconut Curry which we didn’t love, but it was decent.  However, her matar paneer was very good (and yes, I tweaked it some). In the future I will cut the paneer into very small cubes as Robert doesn’t like it very big.

Matar Paneer adapted fromEntice with Spice 

• 3 TBSP vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 tsp finely grated ginger
• 1/2 small onion, chopped very fine in a food processor
• 1 large fully ripe tomato, cut into 8 pieces
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cayenne (optional)
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 8 oz. paneer, cubed and pan-fried*
• 1 1/4 cup water

Pour the oil into a medium sauce pan set over medium heat.  When hot, add ginger and onion and sauté stirring frequently until golden brown (about 5 minutes).

Reduce heat to medium-low.  Add the tomato and cover the saucepan.  Cook until the tomato becomes completely soft and mashed and is combined with the onion to form a coarse paste, stirring every minute or so and lightly mashing the tomato, about 5 minutes.  

Add turmeric, garam masala, salt, and cayenne. Stir to combine.  Cook uncovered for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the water and stir to combine.  Bring to a rolling boil over medium heat and add paneer.  Simmer uncovered for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the peas and cook another minute or two until peas are heated through, but still vibrant green.  

Serve with basmati rice, naan, and any other sides (I served with Indian Spiced Potato Pancakes and Cumin Spiced Green Beans) 

*For pan-fried paneer: heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add cubes of paneer being careful not to crowd the pan.  Fry until side is golden brown and then turn to another side, continuing until all sides are golden brown.   

May tends to be a bit busier than normal around our house.  Robert’s birthday is in May, there is Mother’s Day, Graduations, some early weddings and this year a bunch of baby/bridal showers in which I’m involved.  

I will not be with my Mum on Mother’s Day (I know, sniff), but she was here this past weekend.  My mother-in-law was also here during the week so it was more like a Mother’s week rather than a day.  

Technically, I am also a mother, but my husband still hasn’t got the idea that if both his mother and I are around together on Mother’s Day that you take us out to brunch/lunch/supper etc.  Usually I end up cooking something special for all of us…I will not digress onto this topic. However, this year as we have a Family Ministry event at Bounce U on Mother’s Day we will probably not have his mother at our house either.  So, I will be cooking for myself ;)

If you find yourself in my position of cooking for yourself and family let me make some suggestions that you may find tasty.  Many are easy/make ahead (so technically other than putting it in the oven you aren’t “cooking” for yourself on Mother’s Day).  

Breakfast/Brunch Ideas

• Coconut Crusted French Toast 
• Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal Breakfast “Cake” 
• Orange Ricotta Pancakes
• Oatmeal Pancakes
• Almond Pancakes
• Bake Apple-Butter Steel Cut Oats

Baked Goods

• Brown-Butter Cardamom Tea Cookies 
• Blood Orange Tart with Almond Crust
• Maple-Oatmeal Cookies
• Mayan Mocha Cookies
• Chocolate-Glazed Hazelnut Mousse Cake
• Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake

Enjoy!