Banana-Blueberry Buttermilk Bread

We started our vacation visiting with friends and going to the beach. This second half has been spent at home doing whatever we want whenever we want.  It’s been glorious. I’ve gotten up and done some sort of run or walk or combination of the two almost every day since Monday (I skipped Thursday).  And then we’ve used the rest of the day to do anything else that seems important.

Today’s big plan was to finish the book I was reading but as I settled in, I thought about some bananas that were browning on the counter, the open container of buttermilk from last week’s cake and some blueberries that we still hadn’t eaten.

Suddenly I was searching online for a recipe and making an impromptu Banana-Blueberry Buttermilk Bread.

I followed the recipe for the most part except I used 2 and 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour since that’s what I had and put in two cups of blueberries. It was so easy to put together, in fact I did it all by hand with a whisk.  And it turned out great.

Mike and I shared a piece for an afternoon snack (after I finished my book) and we could not believe how good it was. I guess all that buttermilk and mashed up banana helped keep it moist but the outside is firmer and it just tastes so good. I don’t normally make banana bread because it’s just okay to me (but I’ll gladly eat it when others make it because a home baked treat is always delicious) but this was amazing with the addition of blueberries.

This is one of many reasons that it’s so nice to just be on vacation at home and live in the moment because I discovered this simple, tasty recipe that I am definitely making again.

Strawberry-Lemonade Icebox Pie

The other night we went to one of Mike’s friend’s houses for a get together. His friend was the recipient of a firkin for Father’s Day and he needed a thirsty crowd to drink it all when he tapped it.  Mike requested that I make Martha Stewart’s Strawberry-Lemonade Icebox Pie to bring along.

Martha has you making a graham cracker crust from scratch and topping the pie with meringue. I buy a pre-made pie crust. And I’ve eliminated the meringue. It travels better without it and I can bring the strawberries on the side.  Plus, this makes the hardest part of the recipe juicing the lemons which isn’t hard at all.  And people still love it.

Here is the pie cooled out of the oven.

And a crappy iPhone photo of Mike’s slice next to a strawberry pie from Wegman’s.

I have to admit that I don’t love this pie but I’m not always the biggest pie or lemon fan.  It’s very lemony and people who like it say it’s refreshing and not too sweet.  It’s easy to transport to a cookout and perfectly summery.

 

For BYOCN Some Soft and Fluffy Blueberry Lemon Cookies

Tonight is BYOCN (bring your own craft night) which is my knitting night and a good number of us are knitters but people bring other things as well.

I decided to make these Soft and Fluffy Blueberry Lemon Cookies to bring along.

They were so easy to make.

I am the queen of leaving out ingredients, forgetting to bring the butter and eggs to room temperature, and just plain making a mess.  But the sugar and butter creamed perfectly, I folded in the blueberries with few of them breaking, and I didn’t burn anything or get them stuck to the pan.

We had to test one out for quality control purposes. They are so light and sweet and tangy.  I thought they might be almost like a muffin top, but they are not dense at all just soft and cakey.

And the blueberries are so juicy and sweet.

And now I will go bring them to my fellow crafters.

My Hamantaschen: A Cooking Drama Not Quite As Dramatic As the Book of Esther

Although my family has never been very religious, I remember that for the period of time that we belonged to a synagogue Purim was a time to wear costumes, play games and win prizes at a bazaar, and watch the rabbi and the other men get drunk while reading the Book of Esther. However, even in the non-synagogue years, we always made Hamantaschen for Purim.

When I first graduated from college, my mom must have given me her recipe over the phone.  I know I made it a few times, but today was the first time I’ve made in years. Here’s what I found on my 3 by 5 card.

Humantoshen

Combine:

• 4 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• shake of salt

• 1 stick of butter
• 1/2 to 3/4 cups of sugar
• 2 eggs
• (grated orange or lemon rind)
• oranje juice

• cream sugar and butter
• add eggs beat well
• add flour mixture with rind gradually
• add orange juice to moisten
• refrigerate for an hour
• roll out 1/8 inch
• brush with egg wash
• bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes

Yes, that’s really how I spelled hamantaschen and orange.  There are numerous recipes from that year that also say sause. I was a pretty sloppy speller but oranje?

I was really excited to get started and make the most of my recipe and enjoy my hamantaschen. I was especially excited to roll out dough on my counters instead of struggling with that rolled pastry mat.

It went pretty well and I used a glass to cut out circles that would be filled with the cherry pie filling and apricot preserves I bought.

I noticed they were a little thin and sort of heavy but I got them on the tray, gave them a brush of egg wash and put them in the oven.

I went on to roll out my second batch.  I made them a little thicker this time and they definitely looked nicer.

These went in when the others came out and the first batch looked awful.

And when they were cool enough I tried to get them off the tray.  I never greased the sheet because the recipe didn’t say to and these thin heavy hamantaschen resisted.

There were a few casualties, mostly little corners that still tasted pretty good since I ate them as they fell off.

At this point I felt a little defeated. I knew my second batch was definitely better because the dough was thicker but I hadn’t greased the sheet and I was worried they would also break apart when I tried to get them off.

So I greased a new cookie sheet, dropping it on the floor and scaring away my baking companion Chica who was so patiently sitting by my feet. And then I decided there would be no more hamantaschen but I didn’t want to waste the dough. I mixed together some cinnamon and sugar and sprinkled it over the remaining rolled out dough.

Then I sprinkled it with some raisins and began rolling it up.

I cut it into about one inch rolls and and put it on a greased baking sheet.

Meanwhile, my second batch of hamantaschen were finished baking and they looked perfect.

And when I braced myself for chipping them off the baking sheet, they came right off. No chipping necessary.

This batch was such a success.

Mike and I sampled hamantaschen from the first batch and they still tasted pretty good. But these look great and I bet they’ll taste wonderful.

And those rolled up dough things.  They look pretty good too.

I haven’t tasted one yet but I’m sure that they’ll be sweet and soft and good.  I guess if you’re not a raisin fan, they might suck.  Mike asked hopefully if the brown things were chocolate chips.  I guess that would make them even better but in my frustration I went with raisins first.

So it all turned out well.  I thought I would have tons of hamantaschen to share but this is a nice mix of delicious treats.  Good thing I did eight miles this morning.

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

This recipe is another one from my childhood.  It’s very easy and such a cheat because it uses Bisquick and there is nothing fancy about it at all but it is so cozy and delicious.

My recipe card is a photocopy of my mom’s recipe card. I have no idea where she got it from or how long she’s had it but it’s definitely the kind of recipe that makes me think of an era when housewives were just learning short cut type recipes and cooking for 2.5 kids in their new suburban homes.

If you google the hot fudge pudding cake and Bisquick, it says it’s impossible. I guess what’s impossible is understanding how mixing all these ingredients together creates so much gooey chocolatey pudding. I was explaining to Mike how the recipe turns out (I thought I made it for him but like six or seven years ago but he didn’t remember it) and he kept asking if there was pudding mix in it.  My guess is it’s the hot water but I have no idea how this all works since I’m not a food scientist. But it does and it’s very good.

Most of the fudge is on the bottom so when you spoon it into dishes, you pour it on top.  It’s the best part.

I think we always ate ours with Cool Whip but I haven’t had Cool Whip in years. We’re primarily a whipped cream in a can family these days.

 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

I have been wanting to bake something for a few days now. I’m on vacation and have a lot of free time but I feel like we ate so much last weekend it seemed dumb to bake something when we were sort of fooded out.

This morning I finally decided that I had to do something and looking at the ingredients I had on hand, I decided to make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread.  I looked around online and found this recipe. It was so easy to put together and made two loafs – one for now and one to freeze for later.

I think it turned out great and it was cooled in time to sample for brunch.

It was moist and soft inside and the outside had a little crunch to it.

This recipe is definitely a winner and it’s nice to have another bread to use in the future to bring somewhere or just have for ourselves if we decide we need something sweet.

Apple Cake

I am not a fan of cooked fruit but Mike has a weird allergic-like reaction to most raw tree fruits with a pit or core. So when I saw Teddie’s Apple Cake on Alexandra’s Kitchen, I knew that he would love it.

It turned out perfect! It was very easy to make (especially since Mike peeled and sliced the apples).

I had a piece last night and it tasted really good. I still don’t loved cooked fruit but I can see how this would be a great cake for someone who does.  The cake part is so moist and flavorful and the outer part is a little more dense and chewy.

Since I won’t be eating any more of it, we froze a large portion of it (hopefully it holds up) and Mike can enjoy a few more pieces this week.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today really feels like fall.  It’s cold, it’s rainy and the leaves are noticeably changing and falling off the trees. One of my favorite fall things are pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

Many of the desserts I make come from my childhood (like those awesome caramel brownies) and these cookies are no different.  For all I know, this is the most standard pumpkin chocolate chip cookie around but I have no idea where she got it from.  All I know is they are good.

They are so soft and smell so wonderful.  They’re almost like mini muffin tops.

Here are all the ingredients.

I ended up with this organic pumpkin because that’s all our grocery store had.

I know in previous years there has been a pumpkin shortage and I heard this year might be the same because of all the rain so I bought two cans, just in case.  This can is 15 ounces and I doubled the recipe which calls for one cup of pumpkin, so it was a little shy of two cups.

This is so easy to put together.  Today, I threw in a bit of nutmeg.  I’ve never done that before and I think it worked really well. I also usually put in extra cinnamon because I love that flavor in them.

Then you drop teaspoonfuls on a lightly greased cookie sheet.

I baked them for 10 minutes at 375 degrees and they came out perfect.  They are soft and cake-like almost mini-muffin tops.

Because I doubled the recipe, I now have a lot of cookies but we plan to share.

Look at the innards – cinnamony, pumpkiny and chocolatey.  Perfect.Recipe:

• 1 cup cooked pumpkin
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 large egg
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda dissolved in 1 tsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup chocolate chips

In a large bowl combine the pumpkin, sugar, oil and egg. In another bowl stir together flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture along with dissolved baking soda and mix well. Stir in vanilla and chocolate chips.

Drop by teaspoonfuls on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.