Banana Bread

 

Sometimes it pays to try a new recipe.  I tend to think that all recipes are the same and get stuck in a rut…especially with banana bread, chocolate chips cookies, brownies, etc.  There are two recipes for banana bread generally followed in my kitchen.  This may be the new ONE.  For some reason, this has a better crisp to the crust and it’s lighter than either of my other recipes.  I’m always on the lookout for a 4-H project, and had asked Angelina to try this recipe last week.  She didn’t have time, and those brown bananas on the counter were just begging to be used in something.  Here’s a picture…and here’s the recipe.  Try it for yourself!

 

Banana Bread

Ingredients:

½ c Coconut Oil – melted

1 c Sugar

1 c Mashed Bananas

2 Tbs Greek Yogurt – plain or vanilla bean

¼ c Milk

1 tsp Lemon Juice

2 c Flour

1 ½ tsp Baking Powder

½ tsp Baking Soda

¼ tsp Salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream coconut oil and sugar together. Add eggs and beat. Add mashed bananas, milk, lemon juice and Greek Yogurt. Mix thoroughly. Mix in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir until combined. Pour into a prepared bread pan (coated with oil or non-stick spray). Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick, inserted in the center, comes out clean.

At your repeated request!

Blueberry French Toast

Yield: 8-12 servings

 

INGREDIENTS

12-14 slices day old bread (I used a large loaf of French bread cut into 1” cubes)

2 (8oz.) pkgs. cream cheese 

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

12 eggs

2 cups milk

1/3 cup maple syrup or honey

 

DIRECTIONS:  Cut bread into 1” cubes.  Place half into greased 9x13-inch pan.  cut cream cheese into 1-inch cubes and place over bread cubes.  top with blueberries and remaining bread.  In large bowl, beat eggs.  Add milk and syrup.  Mix well and pour over bread.  Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight.  Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.  Cover with foil and back at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Uncover and bake 25-30 minutes more or until golden brown and center is set.

SAUCE

1 cup sugar

2 1/2 Tbls. cornstarch

1 cup water

DIRECTIONS: In saucepan, combine sauce ingredients.  Bring to boil over medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.  Stir in 1 cup blueberries.  Reduce heat and simmer 8-10 minutes until berries burst.  Put sauce into pour pitcher to serve over hot dish. 

 

**This dish reheats fabulously!  We ate it almost three days in a row and enjoyed every bite.  I didn’t think to take a picture, but it looks wonderful, too.

Canning Cherries!

Thursday was the day to accomplish the task.  I enlisted Angelina because this may well be her 4-H Food Preservation project for the coming 4-H year.  As a 4-Her, I remember receiving a Grand on my cherries one year. 

Memories of my dad, and all of us kids, eating canned cherries are still quite vivid.  I have no idea if my family will like canned cherries as much as my dad and siblings did years ago, but I’m always looking for a good alternative to boxed cold cereal for our breakfasts. 

Each canned quart needs about 2 to 2.5 pounds of cherries, pints approximately half that amount.  We’ll use a raw pack with a light sugar syrup.  Interestingly, the Ball Canning Book recommends pricking each cherry if they are not pitted … I do NOT remember doing this when canning with my mom.  Rather than rely on my somewhat shady memories of canning, we’ll prick the cherries to prevent bursting or shrinking.

Light Sugar Syrup

2 1/4 cups granulated sugar

5 1/2 cups water

Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan and heat at med-high until the sugar is dissolved.  Keep the sugar syrup heated until ready to pour over fruit.  Each batch yields 6 1/2 cups of syrup.  (I like to make a double batch right away.  If there is leftover it can be stored in the frig for a couple weeks until the next canning session.)

 

Cherries

Raw Pack Processing: 

1. Wash cherries and drain.

 

2. Prepare the light syrup, and keep it hot.

3. Sterilize jars.  I have used the dishwasher to sterilize, but have also used the boiling water in the canner to accomplish the task.  The dishwasher will keep the jars hot, but you can also use the oven to keep jars hot. 

 

4. Ladle 1/2 cup hot syrup into a sterilized, hot jar.

 

5. Fill jar with cherries.  Shake the jar gently to pack the cherries and leave 1/2 inch headspace. 

6. Ladle hot syrup over the cherries to cover.  Remove air bubbles, wipe jar rims and cap. 

 

 

7. Process pints and quarts for 25 minutes in a boiling water canner.  Since we live above sea level, our processing time is adjusted by adding 5 minutes.

8. Let jars cool for 24 hours before storing.

Strawberry Scones

 

First saw these on Regan’s, then had to link  and link to find them here!  I planned to freeze them for next week, but I snuck a taste before they cooled completely.  Utterly light and delightful! 

My only issue is that the batter doesn’t make enough to completely fill my mini scone pan.  I’ll find a way to adjust and add about a quarter more to the dough (there are plenty of strawberries to accommodate) and fill the remaining 4 scone forms.  Either that or I need to make them all smaller!

My notes and changes are italicized.

Strawberry Scones

Yields: 6 large scones or 12 mini scones

Ingredients:

1 cup diced strawberries (or other fruit)

3 Tablespoons granulated sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

6 Tablespoons butter, cubed

2/3 cup half-and-half or cream or cold buttermilk*

Topping:

1 Tablespoon granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet. I used a mini scone pan.

If using larger fruit, cut into bite-sized pieces. Sprinkle fruit with ½ tablespoon sugar; set aside. Be sure to dice the pieces small or they tend to fall out of the dough. They’ll still be plenty prominent in your finished scones.

Combine remaining sugar with flour, baking powder and salt. Add butter, using a pastry cutter or 2 knives to cut in butter (you may want to use your dingers to be sure butter is evenly mixed into flour). Stir in fruit; then add cream/half-and-half/buttermilk all at once. Use spatula to gently stir dough until it holds together. I chose to add the fruit last because I didn’t want it to break up when I was mixing the dough. I also chose to eliminate the kneading, as the dough was fully incorporated by mixing in the bowl.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times to incorporate dry ingredients. Be gentle so you don’t break up the berries and don’t overwork the dough. Sprinkle dough with flour if it gets sticky.

Press the dough into a circle ¾ inch thick. If any berries peek out, push them into the dough. Cut circle into 6-8 wedges, then transfer wedges to the cookie sheet, leaving ½ inch of space between them.

Bake 15 minutes. Sprinkle with sugar and bake 5-10 minutes more or until the tops are beginning to brown and spring back when you push them (This took another 15-20 minutes in my oven, but keep a careful watch and check every 5 minutes – you do not want dry scones!). (The sprinkling of sugar over the top for the last few minutes of baking creates a simple, sparkly topping.) My scones were done after a total baking time of 25 minutes.

* I used slightly more (maybe 1 Tablespoon) than 2/3 cup to hold the batter together.

First Fruit of Spring

My mom tells me that at the first sign of the Rhubarb poking out of the ground, my Grandpa Earl would say, "It's time for Rhubarb Pie!"  He's a fan a quite a few different pies, but the first fresh fruit pie of the season is special.  I don't have a pie recipe today, but since Angelina enrolled in Food Preservation for 4-H this year, we tried Rhubarb Sauce.  The first time I ever tried Rhubarb Sauce was at a 4th of July celebration hosted by friends at their farmstead.  The sauce was served over ice cream, creating a perfection of sweet and tangy.  I hope to acquire the recipe used that day, but for now, here is the recipe Angelina and I used to preserve our rhubarb.


Rhubarb Sauce

Ingredients:
1.5 to 2 lbs. rhubarb per quart jar
Sugar

Directions:
Wash the rhubarb stalks and drain. Cut the stalks into 1-inch pieces (we prefer 1/2 inch).  Put rhubarb in a large saucepot.  For each quart rhubarb measured, add 1/2 to 1 cup sugar (we used 1/2 cup to keep the sauce more tart and tangy).  Stir to coat the rhubarb with sugar; let stand 3 to 4 hours in a cool place.  Bring slowly to a boil; boil 30 seconds.  Pack hot rhubarb and syrup into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Remove air bubbles.  Adjust seals and screw bands.  Process pints and quarts 15 minutes in a boiling water canner.

Remove jars from the canner and let cool at least 24 hours. 

Harvest Apple Bake

In my quest to find recipes that use a LOT of eggs, I came across this breakfast dish that is prepared & refrigerated overnight.  I found the recipe online at Iowa Egg Council’s website … www.iowaegg.org … I found a few other recipes to try later on, too.

Harvest Apple Bake

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 8 eggs
• 1 loaf French bread
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup cream
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 Tbls. vanilla
• 1 Tbls. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
• 7 medium sized cooking apples (Granny Smith is one variety)
• 2 Tbls. butter

Directions:

Slice bread into 1 1/2 inch slices.  Place bread tightly together in a 9x13 inch greased pan.  In a bowl, whisk together eggs, 1/2 cup sugar, milk, cream, and vanilla for about 30 seconds.  Pour half of egg mixture over bread.  Peel, core, and slice apples.  Place sliced apples on top of bread to cover and pour the rest of the egg mixture evenly over the apples.  Mix remaining 1/2 cup sugar with cinnamon and nutmeg.  Sprinkle evenly over the top of apples.  Dot with butter.

Cover and refrigerate overnight.  The next day, bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour.  Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes.  Cut into squares and serve warm with syrup and a dot of whipped cream.  YUM!

Peach Wow!

 

The Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook by Ree Drummand has 5 star after 5 star recipe.  I’ve tried over a handful and my family has raved and ahhed over each.  With a couple lugs of peaches in the frig, I made plans to try her Peach Crisp.  It did NOT disappoint.  I recommend you try it today!

Peach Crisp with Maple Cream Sauce

Peach Pie

Yes, it’s that time of year.  The peach trucks roll into the biggest towns nearby and I dutifully trek to town and stand in line for my lug … or two of sweetness.  I’m hoping to capture a lug or two tomorrow, in fact.  While we’ll eat quite a few with cream or just plain, our favorite dessert is Grandma Golden Acres’ Peach Pie.  A Peach Pie any other way just isn’t the same.

Grandma Golden Acres’ Peach Pie
Unbaked 10 inch pie shell – you can use the Never Fail  Pie Crust recipe I just posted or use your favorite recipe.  You can use a smaller pie crust, but you should decrease the cream/sauce or you will have leftover – I’ve been known to eat this alone.  Fill the bottom with peaches; heaping is what I prefer.  You’ll need about 5 or 6 large peaches (if your peaches are smaller, you’ll need 7 or 8).  Pour the following sauce, well mixed, over the peaches:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 cup cream
• 1 tsp. almond extract

Top the pie with a second crust & crimp the edges.  Cut slits in the top if you haven’t already done something else decorative.  I always place the pie plate on a large baking sheet or pizza pan to prevent spills from reaching the oven.  I’d also recommend placing thin strips of aluminum foil around the crimped edge to prevent it from burning.  Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 50 minutes.  Remove the aluminum foil for the last 15 minutes of baking.
Serve with ice cream, whipped cream or Cool Whip!

Not your usual pear sauce.

Zeke would eat a pear before any other fruit ... and Graham will eat almost any fruit.  The two of them have been having a pear a day since I picked up my lug last week!  It's a great snack and not so sweet as other fruit.  So, the pear sauce is a treat for Zeke, usually. 

Suzie's Spiced Pear Sauce - approved by Zeke, Graham and Angelina

My normal method of preservation is peeling, coring, and quartering the pears to preserve them in a light syrup.  This year, I wanted to try something new ... pear-sauce that resembles applesauce.  I found a couple recipes and proceeded to try one out.  At a point in the recipe, it said to use the 'old taste method' to adjust spice and sweetness.  I adjusted to the point of it being a different recipe, so I'll post it below. 

Suzie's Spiced Pear Sauce

Yield:  9.5 pints  (I only canned 8 pints because that's all my canner will hold in one batch.  The rest is for snacking!!)

5 quarts peeled, cored and diced pears*

2 quarts water**

1 1/2 cups sugar***
1 Tbl. lemon juice

1 Tbl. vanilla

1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. ground Cloves
1 Tbl. Stevia powder***

1.  Prepare the pears by peeling, coring and dicing/pureeing.  Put the prepared pears in a large stock pot or dutch oven.  Add the water, sugar, lemon juice, and stevia.

2.  Bring to a full, rolling boil, then reduce heat to create a low boil.

3. Add the vanilla and spices.  Continue cooking at a low boil for 15 minutes.  If you've chosen to dice the pears, boil until their texture is at your preference.  I used a potato masher to make the pear chunks smaller in my first batch.

4.  Hot water bath the pear sauce in pint jars for 12 minutes.

*For the first batch, the chunks of pear were about 1/2 inch cubes.  It left the sauce chunky.  I plan to puree the next batch to make it even more like applesauce.

**I used the full amount of water in my first batch.  I plan to cut back to 1.5 quarts water for a thicker sauce.

***At first, I used only 1 cup of sugar, but with the amount of spice the original recipe called for, it wasn't sweet enough for my taste.  The original spice combination tasted bitter to me, too.  So, I added the extra 1/2 cup sugar and added cinnamon.  The spice combination was much improved, but it was still not enough sweet.  So I added 1 Tbl. stevia, which is equivalent to 1 cup sugar in sweetness, to make the pear sauce taste the way I wanted.  If you want, you could cut the sugar to 1 cup and make up for the sweetness with extra stevia.  Use the taste test!

Plums and 'what they're good for'

The sweet smell of plums was wafting around the house early today, signaling that I'd better get them used before they were too far gone.  After washing (no need to remove spots, just take out spoiled or overly ripe fruit), I divided the plums into three pans and just covered them with water.  Next, I boiled the fruit until it was soft and the juices were released. 

Mashing before they'd been softened proved to be a big mess and resulted in me having to change shirts.  So I decided to wait for the skins to split ... that went much better.  After the mashing, I simmered the plums for a bit longer just to make sure all the juice was released.

Below is my straining system; I've used this since my first year of marriage.  It's slow, because it only handles a small amount at a time, but it works.  I remember by mom used to put the whole amount of fruit (especially chokecherries) in a pillowcase and let it drip overnight.

Below is the first 8 cups of juice.  I ended up getting 23 cups of juice from the plums!

I chose to save the first 8 cups to make into jelly or syrup later.  The juice will keep in the refrigerator for quite a while.

I made low-sugar jelly with the second 8 cups, using Pamona's Pectin.  Obviously, it's not as sweet, but it's healthier.  I chose to water bath can all the jars to ensure they sealed (and will keep longer).

The end result was 7 pints of plum jelly.

From the last 7 cups of plum juice, I prepared plum syrup.  The recipe is simple ... for every 2 cups of juice, add 1 3/4 cup sugar and 1/2 tsp. almond extract.  Boil for 15 minutes, and ladle into jars.  You can use the syrup immediately (refrigerate extra), or process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes to seal the jars.  It turned out beautiful in color and has a great tangy taste with a hint of almond. 

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

The Rhubarb I transplanted from our Fargo home established itself quite well in the big garden (located on Grandma & Grandpa Green Acres property). I'd had the strawberries and rhubarb ready to go on Saturday, but just couldn't squeeze in canning.



Today, with Angelina up at Grandma Green Acres' and the boys in town for baseball/haircuts, I DID the canning. I hadn't taken out my canning supplies, but they're in one place, so it wasn't time-consuming. If supplies and ingredients are prepped, canning goes very smoothly. Plan canning for a time when you most likely won't be interrupted; I have afriend who cans at night ... after kids are in bed.

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
Yield: 6-8 (8oz.) half pints

Ingredients:
2 cups crushed strawberries
2 cups finely chopped rhubarb
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 tsp. butter
5 1/2 cups white sugar

I followed the recipe in the Fruit Pectin box, although I did look in a couple other places. This recipe followed the quantities I had available better than others. There aren't as many pics to go with the steps ... it's just too hard because canning moves pretty quick and I just didn't have time. Here goes ...



1. All my supplies and ingredients were prepped first. I always clean an extra two or three jars; many times I'll need one for foam and often I end up with more jam than the recipe predicts. Start the water boiling in your canner so it's ready when the jars have been covered.*

The second pic shows the rhubarb, crushed strawberries, lemon juice, pectin, and butter mixed together. This mixture is brought to a full rolling boil - that means the boil cannot be stirred down - over high heat, stirring constantly.



2. All the sugar is added to the fruit. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Once again, the mixture is brought to a full rolling boil. Boil for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim any foam, if necessary. **If there is foam, I skim it into a jar to be used. It still tastes good on bread!









3. Ladle the jam into jars. I always end up with more jam than the recipe predicts.











4. The jars have all been filled, leaving about 1/4"- 1/2" headspace (the distance between the layer of jam and the top of the jar). My next step is to wipe the jar rims with a clean damp cloth to remove any sticky jam. If you skip this step, there is a chance your jar won't seal.

5. Next, place the lids and screw-bands. Tighten the screwband until just tight.











6. Move the covered jars to the canner. Once a full boil is reached, set your timer for 10 minutes and cover the canner.












7. When the timer signals the end of processing, remove the jars to a towel covered wood board or cutting board. The lids should seal within 24 hours ... mine usually seal within the first minute. When the top is pressed, it won't flex up and down when sealed. Let the jars cool for 12-24 hours, undisturbed.



8. Once cooled, label the jars or write on the lids with permanent maker (lids aren't reusable). The jam is good for one year, but I have used mine after a year ... as long as it's sealed and if upon opening it is not discolored and smells good.


*Many times, I'll start my canner to boil well before I start mixing the jam ingredients. It saves time in the long run, and it's better to put 'hot' jars into the canner. You do not want the jam to cool down between being ladled into jars and being placed in the canner for processing.

Raspberry Syrup

I purchased bulk, frozen raspberries from a food coop quite some time ago. Many of you might have given them over to compost it was so long ago. But, even with freezer age, I cannot throw out the berries! Their taste might be slightly compromised (okay, when I first brought them home, they were amazingly sweet and delicious, so I am expecting a less than ideal syrup flavor), but I think I can salvage them for our use here at home. Sugar makes pretty much anything taste good, and Raspberry Syrup will be a treat on pancakes, waffles or French toast on an upcoming Lenten Sunday.

Raspberry Syrup

Yield: Approximately 6 cups

Ingredients
1 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup water

Directions
1. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch.
2. Stir in water.
3. Over medium heat, bring mixture to a boil.
4. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly.
5. Stir in the raspberries, cooking gently over low heat until the syrup reaches your desired thickness.

WOW, am I impressed! I cannot detect a hint of freezer age in the syrup. And, the color is beautiful.

I did not strain the raspberries for this recipe. Some people may find the syrup more pleasing if about 1/2 of the seeds are strained out and if the berries are crushed. I just did not want to take the extra time when I couldn't be sure of results with using old berries. In hindsight, I could have taken this extra step.

I've saved glass syrup jars that have been purchased or given as gifts over the years. I prefer glass over plastic, and therefore give up the safety feature of a squeeze bottle! Since I don't have a funnel large enough to allow the berries to pass through, I made a foil funnel to transfer the syrup into jars.