Banana Bread with Caramel Ice Cream

I love banana bread, and it's easy to make. It's perfect for when you have some bananas that are getting a little soft, and you need to use them up. The recipe is from 'The Good Housekeeping Cookbook'.

Start by softening the butter by pulling it out of the refrigerator and leaving it at room temperature for an hour. In a bowl, combine 2.5 cups (11 oz) flour with 2 tsp baking powder, 3/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp baking soda. In another bowl, mash 3 bananas and combine with 1/4 cup milk and 2 tsp vanilla extract.

In a stand mixer (or a large bowl with a hand mixer, or even with a whisk if you need to), beat 4 oz softened butter with 1 cup sugar until creamy. Beat in 2 eggs, then reduce the mixer speed and add about 1/4 of your dry mix. Once combined, mix in 1/3 of your wet mix, then keep going until the last 1/4 of your dry mix is in. Pour your batter into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 F for at least an hour, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack, and allow to cool completely. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and foil and keep at cool room temperature overnight. It tastes better the next day. Enjoy!

To make the caramel ice cream, start by setting up a medium metal bowl on ice, with a strainer in it. Next, measure 7 oz sugar and enough water to make it wet in a heavy pan. Heat on medium until the sugar caramelizes (I like it to get golden brown, but no darker) to the desired point. Carefully (it will boil furiously) and slowly, add 1 pint half and half, stirring. Allow to return almost to a simmer, stirring regularly. Do not allow it to boil. Meanwhile, whisk 5 egg yolks. Ladle some hot half and half into the yolks. Whisk quickly and pour back into the saucepan. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon. When this point is reached, immediately pour it through the strainer into the cold bowl. Once the mixture has cooled a little, chill in the refrigerator and then churn in an ice cream machine. Transfer to the freezer for a few hours. Enjoy with the banana bread.

Note 1 - If you like walnuts in your banana bread, stir in 4 oz of chopped (preferably also toasted) nuts just before pouring the batter into the loaf pan.

Note 2 - Metric Info: 11 oz = 310g; 1/4 cup = 60 ml; 4 oz = 110g; 1 cup = 240 ml; 350 F = 175 C; 7 oz = 200g; 1 US pint = 470 ml.

Zucchini Bread

We had a few zucchini sitting in our fridge from our Full Moon Farm CSA share. I haven't been cooking much, with the extreme heat and all, but it let up a little yesterday, so I finally fired up the oven at night. I had eaten zucchini bread before but had never made it. The recipe is based on one in the Joy of Cooking (Rombauer et al).

Start by measuring out 1.5 cups of flour into a bowl. To the flour, add 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon (or allspice, if you don't care much for cinnamon like me) and 1/2 tsp salt.

In another bowl, crack and beat 2 eggs. Add 1/2 cup canola oil (or other mild-flavored oil), 3/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Mix well.

Next, grate 2 cups of zucchini. Remove the ends, but you do not have to peel them. You should be able to get this much yield from 1 medium zucchini. Squeeze the result to get rid of excess water. You can use a grater for this, or a mandoline (with a julienne attachment), or a food processor with a grating blade - easily the fastest.

Last prep item is 1.5 cups of ground walnuts. You will probably have to grind them yourself - use a food processor with the blade or a blender. If you don't have either of these appliances, you could put them in a plastic bag and bash them with a rolling pin. I wound up with a little less than 1.5 cups - the quantity does not have to be exact on the nuts. You could also use pecans if you like.

Take the bowl with the egg mixture, and stir into it the flour mix. Just mix it until it comes together. Then add the grated zucchini and ground nuts, and fold them in so that they are mixed through. Don't over-mix.

Pour your batter into a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan and bake in a 350 F oven for 40-45 minutes - until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean. Cool in the pan on a rack for a few minutes, then remove from the pan and leave on the rack until cool.

Note 1 - (For English readers) Zucchini = Courgettes

Note 2 - I made this recipe again but with a couple of small changes. I used cinnamon instead of allspice, and ground hazelnuts instead of walnuts. It was even better.

Note 3 - Discovered today that this bread is really good with a little butter and some cheddar cheese...

Note 4 - Made chocolate zucchini bread by substituting 1/4 cup of flour for cocoa powder. It was good!

Note 5 - Metric Info: 1.5 cups = 350 ml; 1/4 cup = 60 ml; 1/2 cup = 120 ml; 3/4 cup = 180 ml; 2 cups = 475 ml; 9 in = 23 cm; 5 in = 12.5 cm; 350 F = 175 C.

Quick Homemade Brownies

We were feeling like something sweet to eat the other night. We were fresh out of junk food, after deciding to live the organic life. Don't get me wrong - unhealthy food is fine, it should just be simple, preferably homemade and not processed...

So, at 10 pm, not wanting to go to the store, this is what I found in 'The Good Housekeeping Cookbook' (they call them Cocoa Brownies):

Mix together 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup cocoa (unsweetened), 1/4 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt.
Melt 4 oz butter in a large pan over low heat. Switch off the heat, and move the pan aside if using an electric stove. Whisk in 1 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla extract, the flour mixture and lastly 4 oz crushed walnuts.

Pour the 'batter' into a pre-greased 9 inch square cake pan and bake in a preheated oven at 350 F for 25 minutes. A toothpick pushed into the mix should have a little crumb attached to it still. Allow to cool before cutting and eating. We found them best the next day, after leaving them in the fridge overnight. As you can tell from the picture, they went fast.

I like this recipe because it is almost as easy as box brownies, but you know what goes into it, and, if you have a reasonably well-stocked kitchen, you should have everything you need. If not, the ingredients are easy to find...

Note 1 - Makes a small batch - 16 very small brownies. If you want to do more, you could double the recipe. If you use the same pan, you will need to bake them a little longer, as they will be thicker.

Note 2 - Use the best cocoa you have/can find. I used Ghirardelli, and think it made a difference over a generic brand.

Note 3 - Thanks to Brad G. for the inspiration.

Note 4 - Although I didn't, the walnuts would probably have benefited from being toasted before adding them to the mix.

Note 5 - Metric info: 1/2 cup = 120 ml; 4 oz = 110g; 1 cup = 240 ml; 9 in = 23 cm; 350 F = 175 C.