Bettye's Banana Bread

This weekend we had three bananas that had ripened beyond deliciousness and so I dug out my favorite banana bread recipe. I don't bake much anymore because we simply cannot afford the calories of such a decadent snack. I've had this recipe for years and years. It's from a 1971 cookbook given to me by my mother - The Gift-Giver's Cookbook by Jane Green and Judith Choate. I made a few changes to the recipe 40 years later. I added a tsp. of black walnut extract and 1 cup of chopped walnuts and baked them in a muffin pan which I did many times when my children were growing up. The recipe made 12 nicely rounded muffins.

Bettye's Banana Bread:
1/3 cup of butter
2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
3 mashed bananas
1-3/4 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. black walnut extract
1 cup chopped walnuts

Cream the butter and two eggs and then add the sugar. Stir in the mashed bananas. Add the dry ingredients and mix very well. Add the flavorings and chopped nuts.

Bake about 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Week Night Dinner with Kevin Sheldrake

There is nothing like dining with friends from faraway (in this case, England). I've been looking forward to meeting Kevin Sheldrake, or AKA Charlie's Dad. Charlie is Kevin's daughter who is not only beautiful but very smart. She reads Gerry's Bee Blog and is intently interested in the life of our bees ... and the taste of our honey! We are looking forward to someday meeting Sarah, Kevin's wife, and his two gorgeous girls. In the meantime, we have to be content shipping off honey and maple sugar candies to England.

In a very short time beginning at about 5:54 pm, I was able to put together some ingredients that I shopped for on the way home with Colin from work and school. We always have garlic and shallots, butter, jams and jellies, fresh rosemary, hard-cooked eggs and frozen bacon. Dinner was easy and fun and I only needed about three small plastic bags of groceries and a bag of locally-grown apples!

First things first (after you've lit a fire, set the table and tidied up the place) you assemble your main course, a Pork Loin Roasted with Garlic, Pepper, Rosemary and Cherries. Then you ready some Fingerling Potatoes with Olive Oil, Sea Salt and Rosemary to roast with the pork. Saute Butternut Squash and Shallots, Crisped Brussels Sprouts and assemble a Spinach Salad. Serve with a store-bought bread (no time for homemade) and lots of Tempranillo. Oh, and don't forget the fresh apple crisp, New England Barnstable Road Apple Crisp, for dessert.

Crisped Brussels Sprouts

Colin loves these! Halve about 18 brussels sprouts. Steam until al dente. Place cut side down in a saute pan with olive oil, a bit of butter, sea salt and pepper. Crisp them until they are nicely browned on the one side. Turn if desired. Throw in extra leaves that have fallen from the sprouts. Serve!

Butternut Squash with Shallots

Trim, peel and cut a small butternut squash into 1/2 inch chunks. Steam until they are al dente - not crunchy but not smooshy. In the meantime, cut about six peeled shallots in half and slice them. Saute these in a mixture of butter, olive oil, fresh sea salt and pepper, and fresh thyme leaves until they are soft. Add the squash and cover, cooking until the squash is soft.

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Olive Oil and Rosemary

Steam halved fingerlings (unless they are small and can roast on their own.)  When they are softer than al dente, remove from the steamer (either microwaved or stovetop) and mix with olive oil, a bit of butter and chopped rosemary leaves. Top with freshly ground sea salt and pepper.  Put them in a roasting pan and roast for about 20 minutes on 350 degrees next to your main entree.

Roasted Pork Loin With Garlic, Rosemary, Pepper and Cherries

We usually buy a two-pack of pork tenderloins. They are about 10 inches long and 2 inches around. Slit the tops of both loins. Lightly oil a baking dish with olive oil. Press about 10 cloves of garlic (slice in two lengthwise if they are large) and press them into the slits on the pork. Generously grind fresh black pepper and sea salt on the whole loins. Press sprigs of fresh rosemary onto the garlic and top these with one jar of Trappist Cherry Preserves.* Let sit until your oven (on convection roast if possible) is ready at 350 degrees. You'll roast this for about 25-30 minutes depending on how well-done you like your pork. Test in the very center of the thickest loin for doneness.

*I like this brand because there are whole cherries in it. Other brands have whole or halved cherries. You can make a sauce of this when you are done, if you'd like but I didn't this time. When you slice your meat top it with the juices on the place. Be sure to include most of the garlic on a garlic-lover's plate! It is crispy and not very soft but garlic-lovers (my Gerry) go wild.

You can come up with your own concoctions of herbs and jams - apricot is delicious with thyme and sliced green onions.

Halloween Soup, Cider, Sweets and Treats

On Halloween we celebrated at the library with a luncheon of soup, hot and cold ciders and sweets and treats. I made the soup and heated the cider and the rest of the staff brought plates of baked cookies, cupcakes and lots of sweet treats.

We knew we would be losing our power due to the Halloween eve snowstorm on October 29-30 that downed trees and power lines throughout New England. So I shopped Trader Joe's on the way home in the snowstorm and hoped for electricity at the library. And of course, there was. So I was able to assemble the soup in my wonderful All Clad stainless slow cooker and took off for work where it heated for a few hours until the start of the luncheon at 11:30 a.m.

Here's the recipe for Smokey, Spooky Halloween Soup

(4) 15 oz. cans Trader Joe's Chicken Chili with Beans
(2) 15 oz. cans of Trader Joe's white beans or any beans
(1) 16 oz. jar Trader Jose's Hot Chipotle Salsa "with a slightly smoky taste"
(2) boxes Trader Joe's organic chicken broth or (1) large can of College Inn chicken broth
16 oz white chicken meat, cooked
1 green pepper chopped and four Roma tomatoes chopped

If desired, one bag of Trader Joe's frozen roasted corn kernels (I forgot to add them!)

Cook on high in a crock pot 1 hour to heat everything and then turn to low. Top with finely grated Mexican cheese blends, tortilla chips, sour cream, chopped fresh cilantro, sliced black olives and IF RIPE, avocado slices!

Barnstable Road Apple Crisp

I love to make apple crisp because it is easier than the pie. Probably not less calories but crusts just leave me cold.

Peel and slice a bunch of apples depending upon your dish. I use nearly one full orchard bag which is about twenty small apples. I highly recommend an apple corer and plunger - it is a simple utensil that makes peeling apples much easier and they cost from $5-$20.

I've made apple crisp in the crockpot and it is delicious and easy. Sometimes it works well to dust your apples with a little fresh lemon juice and then a mixture of a bit of sugar, Wondra baking flour and some apple pie spices.

In any event, place the apples in the baking dish or crockpot.

Crumb: Mix about 1/3 cup flour into 1 stick melted butter. Add 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed and about 1-1/2 tsp. apple pie spice. Add 1/2-3/4 cup nice and chewy oatmeal (Trader Joe's toasted oats or Silver Palate Thick and Rough Oatmeal is what I use. Mix this all up and then press onto the top of the apples covering as much of the apples as you can.

Bake 350 degrees in your over (convection bake if possible) for about a half an hour depending upon your apples. If you overbake, well, they are delicious anyway. If you are using your crockpot, Top with the crumb mixture and cook on low for about 2-3 hours.