Bananas 4 this frozen treat

Yumumum.

Roast some bananas (I used 4 smallish ones) for thirty minutes in the oven. They should be cut into bananaslices, and placed on parchment paper. The oven should already be 400F by they time they hop on in there.

Then let them cool, pop them in the freezer, and blend them when frozen! Eat them right away. It's a very filling snack, so share with friends.



See here for the origin of this wonder.
-Anna

Underwhelmed

These aren't my favorites. They were supposed to be great. I took the good bran muffin from before and then swapped greek yogurt for the milk and added a bit of ground almonds and peaches instead of raisins.

Maybe pumpkin pie spice would have made it better. Or almond extract.

I used this recipe .



You know I used a bit more greek yogurt and only 1/2 c. of applesauce for the muffins. Maybe that killed it?

Also maybe frozen peaches are just dumb.
-Amanda

Bake Vs. Gratin

I say bake. This seems simple but actually takes quite a bit of leg work. Got it from here.

Swapped the rice for barley, just cause. Didn't feel like buying rosemary, so that go nixed. I must say I do like the idea of using the chard stalks.



Impressive NY Times. I clap for you. Just a little bit.

-Amanda

Boil, Barley, Boom!

This is really simple and made up. Boil water, rinse barley, put barley in water. For about a 1/2 c. of barley in 2 cups of water that took like 35 minutes. Then chop some carrots, de-stem some spinach, chop some scallions, take the leaves off some thyme and sauté with salt and pepper and a little white cooking wine. Add barley and some grated gouda.

And Bam!




-Amanda

A Brownie Comparison

I tried making brownies once. I failed miserably, but that's all right.

The image above is not a picture of my failure, but it is a funny picture. It's of the second type of brownie being compared here today.

So I met this girl, and she's not on good terms with gluten. That was all the impetus I needed for the first brownie.


Gluten-free Almond Chocolate Brownies!

Thoughts: Very VERY moist. Soggy. If you like fudgier brownies, it'll work out well for your mouth. I liked the taste a lot. I could only eat teeny tiny bits though--pretty sweet and filling.

link to recipe

I tried sub'ing agar flakes for xanthan gum (i read it online somewhere, but i think it was a silly attempt.) My friend at trader joe's led me to the gum section near the registers when I asked for xanthan. Maybe next time!

I didn't have--or want to buy--rice flour, so I made some almond meal and used that instead. So much almond! I also used all of the zest of my orange, so it was just jam-packed with flavor.



This second kind has its fair share of flour.

link to recipe I think I used

I remember so little about this. I was in a frenzied state, cramming carboxylic acids and their derivatives into the corners of my brain for the text the following day. Brownies needed to happen. I'm glad they did--they served me well that week. I'm realizing more and more how important it is for me to have something to tea with regularly.



-Anna

I Made a Recipe!

Whole Wheat Penne with Kale, Onion, Thyme
I found a recipe it called for chard. I used kale. It called for feta. I was going to use goat cheese, but then I decided I didn't feel like opening the container. Then I was going to use a combination of ricotta and not fresh Parmesan. The ricotta had expired over a week before, so it was only Parmesan. It called for red onion sauteed in olive oil. I broke our olive oil container last week and only had a white onion, so I sauteed it in vegetable oil. It called for pine nuts. Pine nuts are expensive, so no. It called for oregano, no oregano, so I used thyme. It called for tomato sauce or canned tomatoes, I'm not a fan and didn't feel like opening up a container regardless.



I think this means I made a new recipe(!) So first chop an onion. Sauté it in a tablespoon of oil. It'll cook so fast if it's vegetable and not olive! While this happening heat up a pot of water to cook the pasta. Once the water is ready put in about 4 or 5 handfuls of whole wheat penne. It usually takes like 15 minutes or so to cook fully. While the water is heating/pasta is cooking take a bunch of kale and tear the good leaves off the stalks into bite-size pieces. Gradually add the kale to the onion pan and make sure the heat is pretty low, say simmer. As the vegetables are cooking add some from thyme and salt and pepper. Stir until the kale is nearly soft, but still bright green. Mix together in a bowl with the cooked pasta and add however much Parmesan you like.

It's real.

-Amanda

The First Lemon Bar Post?

Can it be?

I feel like lemon bars are what I crave making/end up making most often, when I don't have a recipe I specifically shop for. It's usually honey lavender, but these here are going to be nice plain ones. With a guest photo by pro photographer Angela Char.

I used less sugar; still too sweet. This is becoming a recurring problem for me!


When you cut into bars while hot.


When you cut into bars once cool.

And for the grand finale:

Angela's magic.

Recipe: Not sure. It was plain! We googled lemon bars! Maybe you remember, Amanda?

I think powdered sugar all over lemon bars is just frivolous. They are brilliant nude.
-Anna

Brown Sugar Cardamom Friends

Nothing makes you feel a rumble in your tummy quite like the sight of a forest creature.



The recipe was quite simple. All you need is butter, flour, brown sugar, and cardamom. What could be simpler?

I would definitely add more cardamom.

I also topped the cookies with turbinado instead of more brown sugar. Shiny!


Farewell, Mr. Moose!

Recipe: here
Forest creatures: Hiding in the forest, and in ikea cookie cutters.

-Anna

Edit: I forgot my favorite photo!


Me and the cookie, drinkin that earl grey.

Because it's my birthday in 1 minute.

Song first: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONd4qSs5B5k


I'm going to post a post about something that adds limitless happiness to my smile spot.



Red currant.


The best part of dealing with gloomy Berkeley summer is the red currant.



=)
-Anna

Pahsta

Whole Wheat Penne with Caramelized Onions, Cauliflower, and Thyme
Julie Delpy is my favorite person to hear pronounce "pasta." Just watch the first few minutes of Two Days in Paris and you'll understand.


In most cases I hate pasta. Spaghetti is the main offender. But sometimes I make friends. Especially with a non-tomato sauce recipe.

This is a pretty easy recipe. I mean the onions will make you cry and you will burn yourself separating the cauliflower, but it's still worth it. I say use more onion and I doubled both the portions of onion and onion. Also you have to use red onion over white.

The rest is all here.

Oh and no one needs parsley, period.
-Amanda

Soul and Sumac

Mercimak Cabosi. Turkish Red Lentil Soup. The fluffiest, earthiest soup I've ever slurped out of a mug on a gloomy pre-midterm Sunday. The toasty flavoring was brought out really well before any water even hit the lentils.



recipe, :
http://www.ecurry.com/blog/soups-and-salads/turkish-red-lentil-soup-with-sumac/

Changes: I left out hot pepper flakes and mint, didn't add carrots, used water, not stock.
I used a medium-sized tomato, cubed, instead of tomato paste. I recommend it.
I also added juice from half of a little lemon. Mmmm.

I thought I would have a problem with not adding salt or pepper, but this is not the case! I love this soup! I'm going to send my mom the recipe.



Special hint: Make it when you're ready to serve to mouths. Don't hold it for a week, days, or even half a day. It gets goopy and discolored, and loses some roasted flavor.

I'm probably not going to start posting songs with every recipe like Amanda does (I can see myself getting frustrated if I can't find something), but because I'm obsessed with this S. Maharba video, and it fits my mood, I'll post: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHh76JY9_jA .

-Anna

I like Molasses!

But these aren't my favorite brans. See "muffin in the rough," ça c'est très bien. Cette recette a été au dessous de mes attentes.



Cependant, c'est bon.

I got it from this book from the seventies (like everything else in my parent's kitchen) called Laurel's Kitchen.

Her recipe is for apple bran muffins, but we didn't have apples, so I used strawberries and blueberries instead.

She recommends eating these muffins with cheddar.
I say no.


Recipe: Bran Muffins
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups wheat bran
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 TBS grated orange rind
1 cup apple ( I subbed blueberries and strawberries)
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped nuts/seeds ( I left out.)
juice of one orange
scant 2 cups clabbered milk!
1 egg
1/2 cup molasses
2 TBS oil

1. Preheat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix flour, bran, salt, soda, and nutmeg together. Stir in rind, fruit, and nuts if using.
2. Pour juice of orange into a 2 cup measure, fill the rest up with the clabbered milk. Add to egg, molasses, and oil and stir it all together a lot.
3. Combine, but not too much.
Bake for 25 minutes.
Should make about 2 dozen small muffins

This is what I do.

-Amanda

Tofu Tumble

This recipe really endears itself to titles. So that's what this post will be.
Pistachio Flavored Anger Management.
Fennel FT(RAW)W
Good morning Masala
Don't Cry Over thinly chopped onions.
Don't Cry Over spilled mint!
Cilantro is for sissies, try mint instead!



Courtesy of here.

This is dish is to scrambled eggs like this song is to A Milli.
-Amanda

Muffin in the Rough

Muffin went for a hike and found a maze. Actually there were two kinds of muffins. Muffins with just raisins (à la recette) and muffins with goozed banana, blueberry, raspberry, and strawberry.



These are moist and the best bran so far. And they're rugged!


-Amanda

The End of Canned Beans

I used canned. Don't. Skip the walnuts. Obviously.



Oh and I forgot the Parmesan. Silly.
-Amanda

To Start July Off Right

Mushroom Ricotta Orzo !

Baked :)

Bad news: I ate it too quickly to take a photo.


The beauty of going home for the weekend is that I have no choice but to use up goods before I leave.

Boil somewhere from 1/2 to 1 cup of whole wheat orzo for 8ish minutes (al dente). Simultaneously, chop up about 3 cups of mushrooms into little uneven bits, and add them to a frying pan which already has some minced garlic (I used 5-7 cloves) fusing with some olive oil. I let it brown the slightest bit before adding the mushrooms. Oh right! The mushrooms had some fresh thyme in them, and while they were on the frying pan, I added salt, pepper, and half a lemon's-worth of juice. You let that stew in it's juices for a while (10 minutes? Maybe less. Until you get impatient. At that point you scoop half of the mushroom mixture into an oven dish (8 inches by 4 inches, somewhere there). Pile the orzo on top of that. Spread 1/2 pound lowfat ricotta over that (this was VERY difficult. Fingers were involved). Then top it off with the rest of the mushroom. Pop it in the 400F oven, take it out when your house smells good. Gahhhrlic. Have I already recounted my tale of the visit to the Garlic Shoppe? Awful. Don't ever, and I mean EVER, put garlic ice cream in your mouth. Not worth it. The taste will not leave. Noo it's back. Sorry, I have to leave and go ingest antigarlic now. And also check on the oven.


TL;DR put shit in the oven, don't follow my recipes unless you want to get lost.

-Anna

Don't Burn the Nuts!

That's what I did. Not pretty, but still yummy. I left out the green onions and dried cranberries recommended in this recipe. The green onions because ours had gone bad and the cranberries just because I'm not a fan.


Also I would have used less feta. But yummy dressing. I didn't feel like getting my hands garlic-y smelling so I just used a nice dose of garlic salt instead.

I've been waiting so long for this.



-Amanda