Banana Nana Fo Fanna

Last week after running errands all day I was pretty tired, so I stopped at Sharon's Pizza and picked up a bake-at-home pizza. Well, it sat out on the counter for two hours, and by the time I put it in the oven, man that yeast was happening! What is better than bread, cheese and veggies?!

Yesterday I wanted to make Ed something special since he was working so hard on the house construction, so I made his favorite cake. Banana Pecan Cranberry Rum cake.

I always use buttermilk when I bake. It gives a nice rise to the cake. Dried cranberries add a little color. Now the thing about bananas.., You know how it is. You buy a bunch of bananas, you eat four of them and then the other two sit on the counter until they get a little...unruly. I just peel them, put two in a ziplock sandwich bag, and put them in the freezer. When I want to make something bananay (is that a word?), I just take them out. At this point they look really awful. They're really brown, mushy and liquidy. Not to fear. Take them out of the bag, liquid and all, mash them up, or use a whisk, and put them in the batter. Besides, considering how much rum goes into the cake, who cares what the bananas looked like?  

Who's Hungry? Rice Your Hand.

     We have family visiting for the weekend. I wanted to keep meals simple but tasty. Once again I decided to braise the meat, this time boneless pork shortribs. I cheated and used a bottled BBQ sauce, added some water and a little red wine, then popped it in the oven for about 2 hours.

   I also made rice, but I make mine a little differently than most people. I use a ratio of 2/1 rice to bulgar, and cook it just like white rice. This boosts the protein and fiber without significantly changing the taste or texture of the rice.  Some steamed broccoli and we were all set. Delicious!

High Braise Indeed!

Last week I was braising everything in sight. I love the depth and richness of the flavors braising creates, but I find I have to do it in the winter because the oven creates too much heat in the summer. I used a basic chuck roast, browned it, then threw in about 5 cloves of chopped garlic, some tomato paste, red wine, beef stock base, let's see.. herbes de Provence, like that. Then I put it in the oven at 325 for several hours. I threw the mushrooms in for the last hour. Oh, the house smelled so wonderful!

The beef had to share the oven with the vegetables, another favorite recipe of mine. Red potatoes, carrots,artichoke hearts, zucchini, maui sweet onions, and of course, garlic...what have you. Toss them in olive oil with some salt and pepper, and throw them in a foil lined pan. They went in the oven about the same time the mushrooms went in the braise. Forty five minutes later..oh man, was my mouth happy!

I've not tried to braise a chicken, and that's probably what I should have done with last night's bird. It was a fairly large bird. I always feel sorry for them in their raw state. They look so...vulnerable.

   Anyway, we have a rotisserie/roaster, so after trussing the bird, I put it on the spit and set it for 1 1/2 hours. This is usually a failsafe method.This particular bird wasn't tough, but it wasn't tender either. It probably could have benefitted from another 15 minutes on the spit.
   Next time, I may braise the chicken.

"Moses, Go And Make Thy Salsa"

Have you ever been awake at 3:00 a.m. and suddenly had a great idea for a recipe? I call it my food epiphany, and it takes all my resolve to go back to sleep. Can you imagine one of the biblical prophets receiving a visitation from an archangel and saying to himself, "I sure hope I remember this when I wake up." Some people get angels and burning bushes....I get food. Go figure. Instead of "Moses, go out into the desert." I hear "Theresa put those cranberries in the salsa."
Those "what if" moments catch me at odd times. Banana pancakes are almost always mushy. But what if, instead of putting the bananas in the batter and the pecans on top, I did it the other way around? What if I took that left over sweet potato and put it into muffin batter? I don't have any basil, but what if I used this cilantro instead?
Yeah, that's the ticket. And so it goes. Some are disasters. Most are edible. And once in a while, ooooh..ambrosia.