mini banana bread muffins

These are adapted from Ina Garten’s banana bread recipe, and the mini size makes them more fun.  If you want, you could frost them with a cream cheese frosting… I included a recipe for that below!

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup regular sugar
1 stick butter (room temperature)
2 eggs (room temperature)
3 ripe bananas (or slightly overly ripe in my case… brown bananas are perfect for this recipe)
2 tablespoons milk
2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  

First, cream the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. 

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a small bowl mash the bananas with a fork. 

Mix in the milk and cinnamon. 

In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  They say it’s better if you put all dry ingredients through a sieve in order to aerate and shake up any lumps.

Add the banana mixture to the creamed mixture and mix until combined. 

Add the dry ingredients, mixing just enough that the flour disappears.

Pour batter into prepared cupcake pan and bake approximately 15 – 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Set aside to cool on a rack for 15 minutes. 

I’ll be impressed if you can resist sampling them before then!

Oh, and the cream cheese frosting… blitz the following ingredients in a food processor:

     1 pound cream cheese (room temperature)
     2 sticks butter (room temperature)
     1 teaspoon vanilla extract
     3/4 pound powdered sugar (sifted if you have time)

cheese plate

D and I wanted an easy dinner one night a couple of weeks ago, so I put together this spread:

- quick arugula salad (tossed w/ lemon juice, olive oil, s&p)
- creamy buffalo mozzarella cheese (there was no burrata left at the store, sadness) sprinkled with my new Turley olive oil, a teensy bit of lemon juice, s&p)
- crostini (slice really good bread on the diagonal, spray w/ olive oil spray and bake for approximately 10 minutes at 350 till crusty)
- a bunch of green grapes
- a small bowl of pistachios

So simple, so quick, yet wonderful to eat!

thai lettuce wraps

This recipe comes from my friend Sarah and they are so delicious and healthy I just had to share!  The first time I made these I forgot to buy lime and had to use lemon instead (still tasty, but lime is better).  I’ve changed the original recipe slightly by adding in water chestnuts, onion, and mushrooms to beef it up a bit and make it healthier!  Also, this makes a huge amount… enough for six to eight servings.

Meat mixture:

2 pounds ground chicken or turkey
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 small shallots, minced
2 small can water chestnuts, roughly chopped
2 large yellow onion, diced
4 cup of white or brown mushrooms, finely diced
2 large jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
salt and pepper


Stir-fry Sauce:

Juice of 2 limes
Zest of 2 limes
2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
1 teaspoon brown sugar or 1 teaspoon Agave nectar
1 teaspoon Sriracha (or more!)
1 teaspoon soy sauce

To serve with:

1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup chopped mint
1/2 cup chopped basil
Sriracha
Soy Sauce
Extra jalapeno slices
Lime wedges
1 cup chopped almonds
2 large heads of butter or iceburg lettuce, separated into leaves
 

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium high heat.  Add the onion and shallots and sauté for a couple of minutes, then add in the garlic and jalapeno and sauté for a couple more minutes, and then finally add the diced mushrooms and cook for a couple minutes longer.

2. Season the ground chicken or turkey with salt and pepper, then add to your pan and cook for 5 minutes or so until cooked through, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon.

3. While the meat is cooking, first zest two limes, then whisk the lime juice, fish sauce, brown sugar or agave, soy sauce and Sriracha together. 

4. Remove from heat and stir in the lime juice mixture. Let stand for five minutes.

5. Toast almonds in a small pan over medium heat, stirring frequently.  

6. Mix in the basil, mint & cilantro and transfer the meat to a bowl. Top with almonds and sliced jalapenos.  Serve with lime wedges, soy sauce, Sriracha and lettuce for wrapping.

Other possible additions for the stir-fry sauce (I have yet to experiment with these!):

- Sesame oil
- Hot mustard
- Rice Wine Vinegar
- Ginger