Fleeing from fruit flies

There is only one thing to do when the bananas on your kitchen counter are on the verge of breeding fruit flies: chocolate chip banana bread!

I have a recipe that I adapted from my mother in-law. It has no eggs in it and I now swap out a little whole wheat flour to make it seem "healthier". Just ignore the fact it has a stick of butter in it and tons of sugar. Shh!

Chernof banana bread
1/2 c butter, softened
1/2 c sugar
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tbsp sour cream
3 tbsp milk
1 t vanilla
1/4c whole wheat flour
3/4c all purpose flour
1 t soda
1 t baking powder
1 pinch of kosher salt
1/2 c chopped pecans
1/2 c chocolate chips
1-2 tbsp sugar in the raw (optional

Preheat oven 350 degrees
1. blend flour, baking power and soda. set aside
2. cream butter and sugar
3. add mashed bananas, milk, sour cream and vanilla
4. mix in flour mixture
5. add nuts and chocolate chips
6. pour into greased loaf pan, sprinkle with sugar in the raw
7. bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour


Comments:
The new thing I tried is something I normally do for muffins. I sprinkled raw sugar on the top before baking. Crunchy! My kids loved it for breakfast smeared with nutella.

Now Bake That!

New Year's Resolution

Most people I know make New Year's resolutions to do things that they really, deep down, do not want to do. It's more like a to-do list your grandma would make for you. Sit up straight, go for a walk, eat your vegetables, wear a hat, and my favorite "If you eat the crusts off your bread, you'll get curly hair!". Yeah, my grandma lied. I still have stick straight hair. That's okay, I forgive her. She grew up during the Great Depression. Thrown away crusts would have been a crime. 

I didn't want a New Year's resolution that I didn't look forward to. I wanted something I was excited to do. Problem? I have a busy life. I work full time and have two busy school aged children. I needed a reason to carve a little "me" time.

My New Year's resolution: to bake pie. 

I love to bake. It's a hobby I have had since I was 8. I started with my mom making chocolate chip cookies. Since I still love to bake a myriad of other things, I chose to only bake a pie a month. So I went on the internet and figured out when different fruits are in season. Get some tips for that evil pie crust. My husband loves food magazines. I flipped through our pile and picked some winners. Here comes the first!

January: Lemon Icebox Pie from Saveur magazine

Recipe: http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/silver-skillet-lemon-icebox-pie

Comments:
The pie turned out great! I think starting with a cream pie was a very good idea. 
The recipe made a lot of filling so I had more than enough. When I pulled it out of my pie pan, the crust was hard for me to manage and some of it stuck on the bottom of the pan and it crumbled up. Clearly I am not a food stylist. It tasted great though.

Now Bake That!