Brown Butter Caramelized Banana Bread

I am a zombie.  Yesterday morning, Carson and I woke up, flew to LA, attended the Emmy's, and then flew home on a red-eye last night.  Essentially, we spent 12 hours in Los Angeles and another 12 hours on a plane in a 24-hour timespan.  I am a zombie.  BUT, it was allll worth it because The Voice won an Emmy!!!!  I was so proud of Carson and everyone that works so hard on the show, and it was very exciting to be there in person to cheer them on.  Tonight starts a new season, so tune in!!

Moving on to this ridiculously delicious banana bread that I made on Saturday morning in guilty preparation for leaving my children.  I think it worked, because they barely missed us and made us pretty cute "welcome home" signs.  Go, banana bread, go!  I tried out a couple of new techniques after seeing this recipe.  First, I caramelized the bananas by roasting them in the oven with a little honey and cinnamon.  Then, I browned the butter and let it cool slightly before adding it to the batter.    

By doing these two things, the banana bread tasted sinful.  Almost as if I had added rum or peanut butter.  It has a caramely, slightly nutty flavor, and it's perfectly moist and plain old delicious.  No need to bake this out of guilt, just bake this!  And watch The Voice tonight!  Ok, I'll take a nap now...

Brown Butter Caramelized Banana Bread

(Makes 1 loaf)

Printable Recipe

4 ripe bananas

Honey

Cinnamon

1 1/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

6 T unsalted butter

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup sour cream

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Peel bananas, and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Drizzle with honey and sprinkle with cinnamon.  Place in oven, and cook for 20 minutes, until bananas begin to caramelize.  Remove, and set aside to let cool.  Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees.

While bananas are roasting, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, until it begins to brown and let off a nutty aroma.  Remove from heat, and set aside to let cool.

In a small bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg). In a larger bowl, add the bananas and mash.  Stir in the butter, vanilla, sour cream, brown sugar and eggs, and combine until just smooth.  Add the dry ingredients, and stir to combine.  Pour batter into a greased bread pan, and bake for one hour.  

Read More

Fresh Corn & Egg Scramble

One of my go-to "I have no idea what to cook tonight" meals is breakfast for dinner.  It's different for the kids, it's easy, and you can get rid of all your leftovers.  Just scramble eggs, and throw everything in it!  I had never really thought about putting corn in my eggs until I had breakfast at Martha's 22nd Street Grill in Hermosa Beach, California.  They make a white corn scramble that's to die for.  During the summer, I almost always have leftover corn in the fridge, and I love slicing off the kernels into salads, pastas and now... scrambles!  This was delicious, probably due to the cream and Boursin cheese I added (no judging) but also because of the delicious, fresh, summer corn.

Fresh Corn & Egg Scramble

(Serves 4)

Printable Recipe

2 T unsalted butter

6 large eggs

1/4 cup milk or cream

4 ears of cooked corn, kernels sliced off

1/4 cup Garlic & Herb Boursin cheese (or garden veggie flavored cream cheese), crumbled

1 T chopped fresh cilantro (or parsley)

Salt and pepper 

In a large skillet, heat butter over medium heat.  While heating, whisk the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl.  Add to skillet, and cook until fluffy using a rubber spatula to stir eggs.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  

Read More

Baby Brezza: Tropical Smoothie

You know those "first kid, second kid" commercials?  I think that perhaps I write them in my sleep and submit them to the diaper companies.  There is nothing more true than how much your parenting mentality changes from one kid to the next.  Our first kid had only age appropriate toys that I sterilized once every few weeks in a bucket of soapy water.  Our third kid plays with (and sucks on) my car keys.  It's just the way it goes!  Similarly, I made ALL of Jack's baby food.  All of it.  Down to pureed ground lamb, turkey and chicken that I called "meat paste" - oh man, did it look revolting.  Second and third baby?  Well, I definitely made a few things... but those baby food pouches are just SO convenient (enter major mom guilt!).  

However, I always say to new moms: it is SO simple to make homemade baby food.  Chop, steam, blend... it's truly that easy.  You can even make large batches of food at once and freeze individual portions.  Products like the Baby Brezza make the process foolproof.  At the touch of a button, you can steam and blend your food at desired intervals, or you can steam only, blend only, etc.  The other day, I made a smoothie for London with strawberries, mango, banana and yogurt, and with the leftovers I made frozen push-pops for the big kids.  6 thumbs up from them!  I do math!  

Tropical Baby Food Smoothie

(Makes 4 small glasses, or 4 frozen push-pops)

Printable Recipe

1/2 cup fresh or frozen strawberries, roughly chopped

1/2 cup fresh or frozen mango, roughly chopped

1/2 banana, sliced

1/2 cup whole milk yogurt

Place first 3 ingredients into the Baby Brezza.  Choose the 'Steam and Blend Only' feature for 15 minutes.  Once the fruit has been blended, add the yogurt, and choose the 'Blend Only' feature until your desired consistency is reached.  Pour into glasses and place in fridge to cool.  I poured some into push-pop molds and froze for the big kids. 

Found my "Cool Cones" at Michael's, but can also be purchased here.

Read More

Spring Veggie Breakfast Pizza

In honor of Earth Day, I present to you this Breakfast Pizza, full of green foods that come from the Earth!  Only mine came from the grocery store because gardening and I are not a thing.  In fact, my son keeps asking me if we can build a glorious garden with carrots and an apple tree and I keep smiling and nodding while crying inside because he's going to discover my black thumb and hate me.  

But anyway, this green egg dish screams spring with vegetables like asparagus, zucchini, broccoli rabe and leeks.  I made it with half full eggs and half egg whites, a dash of 1% milk and a small sprinkling of Parmesan cheese to keep it nice and light.  Who even am I??  Don't worry, later on today I plan on RECYCLING* my old bananas into a peanut butter, coconut, chocolate, oatmeal, crispy cereal bite.  THAT's who I am.  *I love the Earth!         

Spring Veggie Breakfast Pizza

(Serves 4)

Printable Recipe

8 eggs (you can do some egg whites, all egg whites, whatever you prefer)

1/4 cup low-fat milk

2 T parmesan cheese

2 T olive oil

1 zucchini, chopped

1 leek, chopped (just white and pale green parts)

1 bunch broccoli rabe, chopped

1 bunch asparagus, chopped

1 T chopped fresh basil

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and cheese.  Set aside.  In a large, oven-safe skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add cleaned, chopped veggies and basil, and sauté for 6-8 minutes, tossing a few times with tongs and seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.  Add egg mixture and let sit over heat until edges begin to brown.  Place skillet in oven, and bake for 15-20 minutes, until cooked and top begins to golden.  

p.s. This dish is great for any meal of the day!

Read More

The Crispy Egg

There are many different ways to cook an egg, and I thought I'd tried all of them.  Scrambled, hard-boiled, soft-boiled, baked, poached, souffléd, deviled or simply fried.  But that is not all of the ways, oh nooo.  Have you heard of The Crispy Egg?  I sure will capitalize every beginning letter because The Crispy Egg demands respect like that.  Essentially, The Crispy Egg is simply a fried egg... but it is also so much more.  IT'S SO CRISPY!  (Said like the little girl in Despicable Me says, "IT'S SO FLUFFY!")  You can almost pick up the entire thing and eat it like a piece of pizza.  Or, you could probably put it on a pizza!  That would be delicious.  Or a salad, or simply a piece of toast.

Read this tutorial for more information, it's as simple as can be.  

Read More

Avocado Egg Salad

I don't know why this idea hasn't occurred to me before.  I love the combination of eggs and avocado!  If I'm going to have a fried egg sandwich or an omelet I almost always slather the green stuff on top.  So to add diced avocado to egg salad seems totally obvious and I'm smacking my own head for figuring it out just now.  (Ok, I'm not really abusing myself, but there was that drunken period of time in college when I thought it was hilarious to slap my own face.  Not sure why I admitted that.)

This is an easy and fun twist on regular old egg salad.  Call it "green eggs" and serve it with ham!  Or serve it on lightly buttered toast with lox and a squeeze of lemon, like I did.  However you eat it, don't hit yourself, because that's weird.  

Avocado Egg Salad

(Serves 2)

Printable Recipe

4 eggs

1 avocado

2-3 T mayo

1 tsp dijon mustard (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Place eggs in a saucepan and cover completely with water.  Bring to a boil on the stove, then cover, turn off heat and set timer for 15 minutes.  Once time is up, remove from stove and rinse eggs with cool water.  Peel.  Dice eggs and avocado and place in bowl.  Add mayo and mustard, and stir.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Read More

Winter Granola (by Inspired Spoons)

Can you believe I have a sister who's still in college?  That makes me so young!!  (I won't mention our large gap in age.)  Her name is Georgia, and she's actually going to graduate soon (I'm still young) from Syracuse as a Nutrition major, and I am certain she will leave her stamp on the food world!  Just check out her beautiful and nutritious culinary creations on her blog, Inspired Spoons, or her Instagram account.  You might be thinking, wait... YOU have a sister that makes wholesome, plant-based foods?  YOU, that girl who fries cookie dough, loves short ribs and would eat cheese in her sleep if that were possible?  Well yes, I do, and I'm telling you that Georgia's blog does just what it says it will do... it INSPIRES you, to try new things and eat better.  

For instance, I've never really been into granola.  It's not something I dislike, per say, but it's also not something I seek out.  Until I tried Georgia's "Winter Granola" (which I've named after the subtle flavors it offers like cinnamon and pumpkin spice and cranberries), and I absolutely couldn't put it down.  I asked her if she would share the recipe, and she did.  I made a batch yesterday with the intention of giving some of it away, but I don't think that's going to happen.  IT'S ALL MINE!

Thanks, G :)

Winter Granola, by Inspired Spoons

(Makes approx. 4 cups)

Printable Recipe 

2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup unsalted sunflower seeds

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup unsalted almonds

1/2 cup buckwheat groats (or wheat germ)

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

2 T unsalted butter (or coconut oil)

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350.  Spread oats, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds and buckwheat groats onto a baking sheet.  Toast in oven for about 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes.  In the meantime, in a medium saucepan, combine maple syrup, brown sugar, butter, spices and salt over medium heat until the sugar dissolves completely.  Turn off heat and stir in vanilla.  After the oat mixture is done toasting, reduce oven heat to 300.  Add the oat mixture to the saucepan and stir to coat completely.  Turn the mixture onto the baking sheet (this time lined with parchment paper) and distribute evenly.  Bake for 25 minutes, stirring a few times to ensure everything cooks evenly.  Remove from oven, immediately add cranberries and raisins and toss.  Let cool and devour!

Read More

Baked Egg & Kale Bites

We're on our way back home today and I couldn't be more excited to start baking holiday cookies and treats.  I am going to call myself "Intha" for the entire month of December, which is a name I just made up by combining Martha and Ina.  It's a beautiful name, isn't it?  I will most likely name my 4th or 5th or 6th baby Intha.  What's more important, however, is the spirit that Intha represents, which is "holiday food and decor created in an obsessive and perfect way."  Yeah, Intha be crazy.  So look forward to that!

But first, please enjoy this easy (my phone just autocorrected "easy" to "rash" and that made me chuckle) breakfast snack.  It's very simple to throw together and extremely versatile, meaning everything and anything can go into it.  Here's what I did:

To make 6 bites, whisk 6 eggs together in a bowl with a couple tablespoons of milk.  Add one cup of chopped kale, and stir.  Season with salt and pepper.  Spray a muffin tin with baking spray.  Add one slice of pancetta to each cup (optional), and then evenly distribute the eggs.  Bake for 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees.  I put the broiler on for the last few minutes to make them golden brown.

Read More

Pumpkin Scones

Did you know that Trader Joe's is currently selling THIRTY FIVE different pumpkin products?  Did you know that women across the country, wearing cozy sweaters, boots and scarves, are buying ALL of them?  They might even be secretly listening to Christmas music in their cars on the way home!  I am not, of course, talking about myself... and even if I were talking about myself, I would claim it was all in the name of "blog research" - holiday music included.  I'm a normal person.

So I may or may not have a lot of pumpkin puree around the house, and I may or may not be in search of recipes.  Similar to this recipe, for these Pumpkin Scones.  They are moist, they are full of all those spices that accompany pumpkin so well and they are topped with sweet, sugary icing (I ran out of powdered sugar, therefore only made the basic glaze).  Also, they are perfect with coffee for breakfast.  Joy to the World!  (I'm talking about myself I'm listening to Christmas music already help) 

Read More

Q's Green Smoothie

Y'all know me.  I'm a 'cup of coffee slash chocolate croissant' morning kind of person.  I'd rather eat a salad, not drink one.  Hell, it's breakfast time and I'm devouring a cookie as I type this (I'm still pregnant, right?).  So you'd be correct in assuming I haven't had many green smoothies in my lifetime.  In fact, up until the other day, I hadn't even had one!  But Carson's sister Quinn was visiting, and she decided to change all that by making me one.  Guess what?  I enjoyed it!  It was very smooth, just slightly sweet and extremely fulfilling.  She threw it together in a matter of minutes... a very encouraging thing because now I have a thousand children and zero time.  I will make you again, Green Smoothie!  And probably balance you out with a chocolate chip cookie (let's be real here). 

Q's Green Smoothie

(Makes 2 glasses)

Printable Recipe

2 cups super greens (if you can't find, use any combo of spinach, kale, etc.)

1 cup ice

1 avocado

1 banana

1 cup egg whites

1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt

Stevia to taste

Blend everything together and enjoy!

           

Read More

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins

Yesterday, I was all set to make Strawberry Muffins, and then this happened...

Oh, hello chocolate chips!  Listen, I could blame being almost 34 weeks pregnant all day long, but the truth is, I would add chocolate chips to almost anything, pregnant or not.  You guys know that.  You know me.  You get me.  You read my blog, even though I have a chocolate problem.  I love you.

While Etta and I were in MN, the boys hit up an eastern Long Island farmers market and got 2 pints of delicious, sweet, juicy strawberries.  We've been munching on them daily, but I wanted to make something with the majority of them so I turned to an eastern Long Islander, Ina, and her Strawberry Muffin recipe.  Makes sense, right?  They were wonderful, and I only made a few alterations.  Adding 1 cup of mini chocolate chips, of course, and omitting the cinnamon (I was out) and adding the zest of 1 lemon instead.  Then I sent all of them to work with Carson because otherwise they would all end up in my gigantic belly.          

Read More

Mini Baked Funfetti Donuts

I'm constantly getting emails reminding me that such and such day is National [Insert Food] Day.  I usually ignore them, but apparently today is "National Donut Day" and that seems like one that should be recognized!  To be honest, I've never been a huge donut person.  I'd take a chocolate croissant over a donut any day, however I seem to crave the breakfast treat during my pregnancies (I dare you to find a sugary carb-loaded food I don't crave while with child).  So, when Kohl's let me pick out a few items from their Food Network line, I couldn't resist buying this Mini Donut Pan:  

As my 21 month-old daughter says, "cuuuuuuuuuuute."  It is cute, though, right?  I find anything mini adorable, it's a problem.  So even though I don't really love donuts, I now own a mini donut pan.  Jack and I decided to make his teachers treats for his last day of preschool (EVER), so I thought why not utilize my new, precious baking gadget.  I found this recipe for Baked Funfetti Donuts which I thought Jack would have fun with, and fun is what he had...  

One problem: we put too much dough into each donut, creating a puffed ball of sorts, sans holes:  

BUT, after flipping them over and a small amount of carving with a little piping tip, voila, they were back to resembling donuts!  And for those of you wondering if baked donuts taste like the fried assortment, they do.  The touch of nutmeg in this recipe really makes these tiny treats taste just like  cakey, old-fashioned donuts.  Doughnuts?  Donuts?  Whatever.      

Read More

Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding

Nothing makes me happier than a chocolate croissant.  Nothing.  I mean, other than my kids and Carson and good health and peace on Earth.  Obviously.  But I've always had a thing for chocolate croissants, even as a kid when most people my age preferred frosted, sprinkled donuts.  Nothing is worse than a bland, stale chocolate croissant, and nothing is better than a buttery, flaky, WARM one.  For your information, the best one I've had in my 33 years is from Maison Giraud in Pacific Palisades, CA.  Any New Yorkers want to weigh in??  I'm still looking...     

When I found out that a Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding existed, I knew it was going to be my Mother's Day gift to myself.  I used this recipe and went with mini croissants.  I also omitted the raisins (I mean, really? raisins?) and skipped the bourbon ice cream, serving it with just plain old vanilla.  Mine needed at least 10 minutes longer in the oven for it to set, but otherwise I found the recipe to be perfect.  It sort of tastes like a decadent, chocolaty french toast.  It's sort of perfect.             

My biggest, littlest helper...

Happy Mother's Day, you Mamas you!

(Also, Pain au Chocolat)

Read More