Chocolate Banana Nut Cookies

like usual we can never finish off the last banana in the bunch so it just sits on the counter, taking up space, growing more and more spotted and unappetizing in appearance. perfect - make cookies. these are fun - next time i will switch out the butter with coconut oil and put in additional chocolate chips just to amp them up a bit. but they are a simple little snack as they are.

CHOCOLATE BANANA NUT COOKIES

1/2c semi-sweet chocolate, chopped, melted and cooled for 10 minutes

1/2 sugar

1/4c butter

1 medium banana, mashed

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

1c + 2 tbs flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4c chopped walnuts or pecans

*preheat oven to 375F

*cream together the butter and sugar to light and fluffy

*beat in egg, then vanilla and melted chocolate

*in separate bowl sift together the dry ingredients

*stir in the dry ingredients into the egg mixture

*fold in the nuts

*drop heaping tsp of batter onto cookie sheet

*cook 8-10 minutes

Mulberry and Apricot Granola

i loath store bought granola. its loaded with sugar and fat - not to mention that its been sitting in a plastic bag on a shelf for somewhere around 6 - 10 months. since i was sick a few weeks ago i've somehow lost my pancake breakfast abilities. so i am once again stumbling around my breakfast routine try to figure out what the next craze will be. so far i'm looking at yogurt and granola, an oldie but goodie.

again, i am attempting to clear out the pantry so this is what i got. i love mulberries - super high in vitamin C and very low in sugar, but you can add what you wish. i made some for josh and used mini chocolate chips instead of fruit (yeah you have to coat with chocolate to get him to nosh on anything remotely healthy) and it was a definite hit.

MULBERRY APRICOT GRANOLA

2c oatmeal

1/2c sliced almonds

1/2c chopped almonds

1c unsweetened shredded coconut

1/2c wheat (or oat) bran

1/2c agave nectar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 tbs coconut oil (melted if needed)

1 c dried mulberries

1/2c chopped turkish apricots

*combine oatmeal, almond and coconut - toast in 350F oven for 10-12 minutes.

*remove from oven and transfer to mixing bowl and turn oven down to 300F

*stir in wheat bran

*while still warm add in agave, vanilla, salt and oil. stir to combine

*spread on a shallow edged baking pan

*cook 25-30 minutes

*let cool completely then crush up as needed.

*toss in apricots and mulberries

Pumpkin Apple Nut Loaf

so i'm back - kinda sorta.

got hitched, got swine flu (seriously), attended two after the fact receptions and have the apt packed up and ready to move on out. so like any home purchase - it takes longer than you think. i sadly packed away my kitchen so there hasn't been much baking lately. but i couldn't take another weekend void of fun treats so i trekked downstairs to duane read and got myself a few disposable baking pans in various shapes and sizes - then got to baking.

lesson here: disposable baking pan are worthless. yeah worthless. basically you have to increase cooking time by 50%, don't ask me why. seems to me the pans; basically made from thick foil would cook faster. just untrue. everything comes out all doughy and weird. like i said increase cook time by 50%.

fortunately, after "fixing" the cooking time for my pan's shortcomings, this loaf came out great! below is the correct cooking time if you are using real pans. i am trying to clean out the pantry and i have a ton of canned pumpkin from thanksgiving last year as well as mini packs of pecans my mom mailed me a while back that were getting rancid. throw it all in and happy autumn!

PUMPKIN APPLE NUT LOAF

Topping:

1 1/2 tsp flour

2 tbs brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp oil

Loaf:

1 1/2c flour

1/2 tsp (scant) salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp clove

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp ginger

1c canned pumpkin

1/4c + 2 tbs canola oil

1c sugar

2 eggs

2 egg whites

1 apple, peeled and finely chopped

1/2c chopped pecans or walnuts

* preheat oven to 350F, grease 2lb loaf pan

*mix together all topping ingredients and set aside

*sift together flour, salt, soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, allspice, and ginger

*in separate bowl whisk together the pumpkin, oil, eggs and sugar

*add wet to dry ingredients and stir just to combine

*fold in apples and nuts

*pour batter into prepared pan and sprinkle with topping

*cook for 50 mins - 1 hour until toothpick comes out clean

Tilapia for One

AHHHH! life is absolutely insane right now. between the regular job stresses, trying to buy our 1st place and oh yeah put together a wedding (plus deal with 2 additional "after parties") i haven't had much time to snap any pictures of fun foods, much less write about the whole event. BUT, today i made the most tasty dinner for myself and i was so over-whelmed with self pride (is that called ego?) i had to show it off. tilapia was on sale for like 5 cents a lb, so i got 2 pieces and called it a date (for two days later).

i grabed the first thing in the pantry (bulgar wheat) and the eldest of the herbs i "borrowed" last time i was at the farm (thyme). oh and did i mention the year old open bottle of capers i had in the frig - yeah grabbed that too. and got to work. YUM!

TASTEY THYME AND CAPERS TILAPIA

2 4-6oz fillets of Tilapia

kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

1 tbs fresh thyme leaves

2tbs olive oil

1 tbs caper (non-parrel)

1/2c bulgar wheat

1 cup water

1/4 tsp salt

*bring water to boil, add salt and bulgar. turn heat to low and simmer, covered 20 minutes to fluffy

*in a large skillet heat the oil over medium high heat

*sprinkle fillets with salt and pepper

*add fillets to hot skillet, sprinkle thyme evenly over fish

*cook about 2-3 minutes, gently flip over and cook another 2 minutes until flakes easily and opaque

*turn heat off and add capers to hot skillet

*plate the cooked bulgar and lay fillet on top, drizzle any access oils over top.

Rosemary Fig Almond Crackers

the newest indulgence in our apt is crackers. i think we are somewhere around a box of kashi a week. so that's my usual cue to get in the kitchen, be weird and make them homemade - and ultra nutritious. i found this recipe from elanaspantry and got to work. these guys are gluten free and pretty addictive. the only thing i -personally- would change is cut back a tad on the salt, but that's just me being sensitive otherwise they are delish. josh said they "tasted good" and our friend dom seemed to honestly be infatuated with them; sneaking back and forth to the kitchen to snag more.

ROSEMARY FIG ALMOND CRACKERS

1 1/2 c almond flour

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary

3-4 black mission figs, chopped

1 egg

1 tbs olive oil

*preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with parchment

*in a bowl whisk together the almond flour, salt, rosemary and figs

*stir in the egg and oil to well combined and forms a ball

*roll out the dough between two sheets of wax paper to 1/8" thick

*cut into 2" squares

*cook for 10-15 minutes until browned

*let cool completely

Matzoh Crunch

i had been eyeing this recipe from David Lebovitz for at least 6 months. being thoroughly not jewish - i'm a catholic from Louisiana - i had never even tried matzoh before. so i bought a huge box of it and its been sitting on the counter for this whole time. oddly enough josh either didn't notice it or is so use to my strange cooking endeavors that he didn't bother asking why i decided to start buying passover(ish) food. what's with that - weren't you curious? ha! i thought surely one day the wonder would get to him, but i guess his inquisitive energy has been depleted.

well anyways the new harry potter movie came out last night. josh was there in line waiting for the midnight showing and i couldn't send him empty handed. thus the matzoh was finally used!

this stuff is addictive - really the toasted almond slices are a must. i didn't added any extra salt like mr. lebovitz advises since i am sensitive to sodium.

Matzoh Crunch

4-6 sheets matzoh - unsalted

8oz buter, cubed

1c firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1c dark chocolate chips

1c sliced almonds, toasted

*preheat oven to 375F, line a 11 x 17 rectangular pan with foil

*line to bottom of the pan with the matzoh sheets, breaking them as needed

*in a sauce pan bring the butter and sugar to a boil and continue to boil for 3 minutes. make sure not to let it burn

*pour the hot carmel over the prepared matzoh spreading with a rubber spatula to evenly distribute

*but the pan in the oven and turn temp down to 350F, cook for 15 minutes

*remove from the oven and sprinkle the chocolate over the hot bubbly mix, let sit for 5 minutes then spread the chocolate evenly around.

*sprinkle the almonds onto the warm chocolate and press lightly to get them to stick.

*let cool completely and then break up into your desired sizes. yum!

Pies, birthdays and Saum

summer has finally begun! i think.

anyways like the summers before josh and i trek upstate to our freind dave's farm as much as our wallets and schedules will allow. the 4th was no exception - just add about a bigilloin other fun-loving (late) 20 somethings. ahh the fun! and confusion.

anyways, it was a friend's (most current) girlfriend's birthday - i can't remember her name. and she didn't like cake. interesting and a little disturbing, but ok. she did like pie however, especially peach pie. i'm no expert at peach pies - apple yes, peach not so much. so add to that a single oven, 6 (no exaggeration) other half drunk and over heated cooks, one guy who is allergic to everything but avocados and one - yes one - moderately sized oven and you have yourself a little bit of stressful fun. ahh a baker's dream. i mean really i love my share of 30lb pork ribs, some undefined bag of shrimp and 10lbs of beef floating around the same counter i am trying to roll out a delicate and very sensitive pie dough and everything, but sometime you just wish it was the early morning before anyone else has even begun to wake up and your all alone in the kitchen, silently working. lah dee dah! but at least i had my lovely friend saum who like me was panicked in the kitchen for 4hours - he was having a serious problem pealing boiled eggs - but he seemed to pull it all off just in time to sit and watch the pies cooling on the window sill (ready and willing to cut in). love ya saum! i like to complain but once it was all said and done the pies came out well - one apple and one peach. even the allergic guy had a piece of the pie.