Peter's 1st Cooking Adventure -- Banana Bread!

My 14-month-old son, Peter, has recently learned to climb up on the chair my almost-three-year-old daughter, Charlotte, stands on when she "helps" me cook. He insisted on standing there while I made banana bread this morning using Erin's recipe that she posted ages and ages ago.

The bread is still in the oven, but I'm going to declare this a "success" event because Peter and I had so much fun cooking. No, he didn't really help, and it was kind of awkward because I had to use only the part of the island counter out of the reach of his chubby little arms. He was enthralled by the mixer though, and he looked super cute cuddling the plush dog puppet* (given to his big sister by Joslyne's parents at Halloween in 2009). I'm 99.9% sure Peter will wolf down the banana bread when it comes out of the oven, but his sister, of course, will refuse because she is the pickiest eater alive. Sigh.

Here is Peter inspecting the overripe bananas we used. You get a much better flavor from the bread if you use nasty, stinky bananas -- trust me!




And here is Peter cuddling with the dog puppet. He may not have a permanent security item, pacifier, or thumb to soothe him, but he really likes cuddling with stuffed animals. And he adores baked goods. I have a feeling we will be eating this banana bread while cuddling some stuffed animals together later!




*This dog "barks" when you squeeze down on its mouth. I learned last night NOT to put Peter to sleep in his crib with said barking dog because when he rolls over on top of it in the middle of the night, the resulting "bark" heard over the baby monitor wakes me up out of a sound sleep and kind of freaks me out. Lesson learned.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS makes 12 muffins, with enough left over to fill a couple tiny ramekin-cakes.

• 3/4 cup white sugar (I subbed equal amount of dark brown sugar)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup canned pumpkin ( I use at least a full cup)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (1/2 a cup? You're wasting my time. Make it 1C)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400. Grease and flour muffin pan or use paper liners.
2. Mix sugar, oil, eggs. Add pumpkin and water. In separate bowl mix together the baking flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt.. Add wet mixture and stir in chocolate chips.
3. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

I first made these with regular chips. The kids asked for minis, which I made yesterday. The consensus? Back to regular, please. I also used rounded spoons of spices, as my kids like the taste of a little extra. Makes the house smell GREAT! I took a picture of these. Do I get partial credit?

A challenger for Erin's banana bread recipe

I was looking for my copy of the banana bread recipe that Erin posted (and I stupidly forgot I could just look it up on the blog!) and came across this one I had stuck in my recipe box (without trying it first) ages and ages ago. I made it for the casual Easter dinner we just had with my husband's grandparents, and it was a big hit with everyone except my weirdo daughter. She wouldn't even try it for some reason. What a chucklehead. Oh well.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/4 cup oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium ones)
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease and flour an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch (6-cup) loaf pan.
• In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.
• Mix in wet ingredients.
• Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts, the pour it all into the loaf pan.
• Bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 70 to 80 minutes. Tent loosely with foil if loaf browns too quickly.
• Cool loaf 10 minutes in the pan, the turn it out and cool completely on a rack.

I did the foil tent thing and baked it for 80 minutes. The result was delicious. I actually had oranges in the house so I used fresh grated zest, but I bet the jarred stuff would be just as good. There's still half a loaf left, but I bet it won't stick around for long.

I was distracted and failed to take a picture of the loaf when it was fresh out of the oven, so to distract you from this faux pas I'm posting a photo of the two cutest Easter egg hunters in Tennessee:



You're welcome.

Whole Wheat Banana Carrot Bread

I know we already have a banana bread recipe on the blog, but you can never really have enough banana bread, can you? This one is super easy, fast, fairly healthy, and delicious - and a great way to sneak veggies in the mouth of a super picky baby who likes to reach into her mouth and pull out the half-chewed peas and hand them to you. (Not that I would know anything about that.)

Not surprisingly, I got this recipe from my chef-in-residence (not for long! HA!) and muse, Josh. Here's how he wrote it out:

This recipe demonstrates the classic quick bread proportions: 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup butter, 2 eggs, 2 cups flour, teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 2 cups “fillings”. I modified it to avoid saturated or trans fats and to provide some fiber, but really any combination of ingredients works. You could try brown sugar, different fruits or vegetables…

1 cup sugar
6 1/2 tablespoons oil (100 ml)
2 large eggs
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 to 1 teaspoon assorted ground spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne, etc.)
1 cup mashed ripe banana
1 cup grated carrots

Beat together sugar, oil and eggs. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda, and spices. Gently add dry ingredients to sugar and oil. Fold in banana and carrot. Pour into greased pan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes to an hour, depending on shape of pan (shorter for square and flat, longer for loaf pan).

My notes: I made it this time with 1 cup of grated carrots and 1 cup of grated zucchini, because that's what I had in the house. Instead of grating the veggies, I put them in the Cuisinart, and only spent half an hour trying to figure out how to work the damn thing. (Oh, and apparently I used the wrong blade and "chopped" them instead of "grating", which is allegedly why the loaf turned out bright orange.) Also, I sprinkled in some cinnamon because I don't know shit about spices, but I sniffed at the nutmeg and cayenne and thought they were gross, and I didn't know what else to try. I cooked it in a loaf pan, and it needed an entire hour to cook through. It was delicious, though, and Josh, Frieda, and I have all been enjoying it!

Veggies trapped in blender.

This is all that's left less than 24 hours later...

Easy-Peasy-Cheesy Bread

This bread doesn't even require kneading! Or rising! Or . . . all those other complicated things that most breads do! So go cray-zeee!

1-3/4 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

2-1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 egg

3/4 cup milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease 9x5 loaf pan.

2. Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cheese.

3. In another large bowl whisk together egg, milk, and vegetable oil.

4. Stir the flor/cheese mixture into the milk mixture until just moistened. Pour into loaf pan.

5. Bake for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean.

Banana Bread from the past

The best banana bread I have ever eaten is also the one that I make at least once a month. I purposely buy too many bananas to the extra ones that we don't eat simply HAVE to be made into banana bread. The recipe comes out of my mom's way-old Better Homes & Garden cookbook (of which I have a more recent version-- I think my mom's version might be this one), and I have a feeling it just wouldn't fly today, what with all the shortening and whatnot. This is a fabulous thing to bring to brunch, and you can eat it straight or toast & butter a slice.

I love when I can see a picture of a recipe, but I don't have one on hand at the moment.... Next time I bake a loaf (we have bananas sitting on the counter, ripening as I type this!), I will post a picture!

***
Banana Bread:

Ingredients:

1/3 cup shortening (buy the Crisco sticks of shortening-- they're the easiest!)
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup ripe bananas, mashed (about 2 medium or 3 small bananas)
1 and 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream shortening and sugar together, and then add the eggs and mix well. Add the bananas and mix well. Sift together dry ingredients, then add to mixture and mix well. Bake 45-50 minutes in a 9x5x3" loaf pan (greased on bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides). Bread stores best (once it cools) in either foil or a zippered plastic bag.

***

I have baked this recipe so many times that I almost have it memorized, and I can whip it up while Sonia sits in her high chair, shoveling those Gerber cheeto-thingies in her mouth. Once I have the bread baked, Sonia will eat it as well, but only if I smoosh a little piece up into a shape like a tiny UFO and feed it to her. When she picks up the bread herself, she just plays with it until it crumbles. Cuckoo baby!!!

I Am a Baking Goddess! Watch Me Make BREAD!

Yes, it's true. You too can make home-made bread. Without a bread maker. It's so impressive that you will be able to flit and twirl around the house yelling, "I made that! I made BREAD!" Your family will so owe you. Because, come on, what's better than warm bread?

3/4 cup warm water
2 -1/4 tsp active dry yeast (or 1 of those small packages)
1 tsp salt
1-1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp butter, very softened (or Crisco)
1/2 cup milk
3 - 4 cups all-purpose flour

1. Put warm water in a large bowl. Slowly stir in the yeast until disolved.

2. Add salt, sugar, butter, and milk to bowl and stir.

3. Mix in 2 cups of flour a little bit at a time.

4. Continue adding flour a bit at a time until dough is thick and soft and in one big glob. Dough should not be overly sticky.

5. Put glob of dough on a clean, floured surface (like a counter or pastry board). Kneed dough using flour as needed.

6. Knead until dough is soft, smooth, and not sticky.

7. Put dough in buttered bowl, and turn over so all sides of dough are buttered. Cover bowl and let bread rise for an hour or so.

8. Punch the dough down in the bowl and then remove and knead on floured surface.

9. Form dough into a loaf shape and set in a buttered bread pan.

10. Cover pan and let dough rise for about 30 minutes.

11. Begin preheating oven to 375F

12. Bake for about 45 minutes or until goldeny brown

13. Eat, brag, and enjoy your new status as bread-Baking Goddess.