Banana Waffles

These tender waffles were a perfect brunch for today's rainy Sunday morning.  The bananas are definitely the star of the show but the oats and pecans play supporting roles with grace.  While many waffle recipes include whipped egg whites in the batter, I cannot be bothered to do so - this recipe is simple, quick, and utterly delicious.

Easy Banana Waffles
inspired by Banana Nut Waffles by Amateur Gourmet

1 cup flour

1/2 cup old fashioned oats

1/3 cup chopped pecans

1/3 cup ground flax seed

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 large ripe bananas

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup milk

1/4 cup oil

3 eggs

1. In a medium bowl stir together flour, oats, pecans, flax seed, and soda

2. In a large mixing bowl mash bananas with brown sugar, until bananas are mostly chunk free (the sugar acts as an abrasive, helping you out with breaking down the bananas)

3. Whisk sour cream, milk, oil, and eggs into the banana and sugar mixture.

4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk until moistened.

5. Let batter sit for 5 minutes to thicken up, meanwhile preheat your waffle iron.

6. Scoop waffle batter into the iron and cook according to your waffle iron's instructions and your personal preferences

7.  Enjoy waffles hot out of the iron or let cool and then freeze to enjoy another day.

Yield:  approximately 14 - 4" waffles.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

I've been eyeing this recipe for a while now: Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting, I like the use of sour cream rather than the traditional buttermilk.  My only simplification was cutting out the milk and using a whole 16 oz. tub of sour cream in the batter (minus 2 Tablespoons for the frosting).  I ended up with 24 cupcakes and one 8" cake.  The cupcakes turned out really tender with the classic tang and subtle chocolate flavor of Red Velvet cake.

The picture makes the cupcakes look brown, I assure you they are the perfect deep-red color typical of Red Velvet Cake.

Golden Danish Twists

I recently got my first Taste of Home magazine.  I have been reading Taste of Home since I was eight, but have never had my own subscription. My mom had got Taste of Home for a while, and I could always check them out at the library.  When I was in middle school through college a family friend who lived down the street would bring me her copies when she was done with them, which was positively wonderful and incredibly thoughtful--shout out to Angie!!

But now I am getting my own subscription to Taste of Home!! Wahoo!  Thanks to Melissa for getting me a subscription for my birthday!

When pouring through my first issue of Taste of Home I came upon this recipe for Golden Danish Twists and knew I would be baking them. I won't include the recipe here, because I made very few changes (swapped 2 cups of whole wheat flour for some of the all-purpose flour, cut the salt down to 1 teaspoon, and added some almond extract to the filling).  Go check the recipe and make them if you have a free afternoon.  They are pretty labor intensive, but utterly fabulous.  Even though there is pumpkin in the dough it imparts little flavor--just gives the dough a beautiful golden color.  While the dough is filled with lemony cream cheese this is not a traditional cream cheese danish, the filling is layered very thinly creating a subtle ribbon of flavor throughout the twists. If you've got the time (3+ hours in and out of the kitchen, perfect for my lazy Sunday afternoon of cleaning, laundry, and starting to watch Doctor Who) this recipe is definitely worth it.

Sage, Rosemary and Thyme Biscuits

You can add parsley to this recipe if you want the full experience, but after I started adding these herbs to this recipe I found myself singing Scarborough Fair.

Sage, Rosemary and Thyme Biscuits

adapted from Delicata Squash and Sage Biscuits from Aube at PBS Kitchen Vignettes

2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
5 fresh sage leaves
the leaves from 3 sprigs of thyme, stems removed
the leaves from 2 sprigs of rosemary, stems removed
1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
1 egg
3/4 cup half and half
1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons half and half for brushing the biscuits
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
12 sage leaves

1. Preheat oven to 425F and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. In the bowl of a food processor add the flour, salt, pepper, baking powder, sage leaves, thyme leaves, rosemary leaves, and butter.  Pulse 5-10 times until the mixture resembles cornmeal.

2. Pour flour/butter mixture into a mixing bowl, add the egg, half and half, and honey, Stir until the flour is just moistened.

3. On a floured surface pat the dough into a 3/4" thick square and cut into 12 biscuits. Place biscuits on prepared tray.  Brush with 2 Tablespoons half and half and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Lay one sage leaf on top of each biscuit.

4. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until they are golden brown.  Remove to a cooling rack or enjoy right out of the oven.

Spiced Pear Cake with Vanilla Glaze

Last weekend I got to spend time with Melissa in Madison.  We didn't realize there was a Badgers game in town, so we quickly found a cute restaurant to have lunch in and escape the crowds of red and white face-painted football fans.  Once things died down we toodled around State Street checking out the free contemporary art museum (which was AMAZING--free art museum?!?  What a treat!) and the cool shops especially the kitchen store.

Before we left Melissa, who works for Taste of Home, loaded me up with old Taste of Home magazines and a cook-book too.  I raced (I mean drove the speed-limit) home to browse the magazines.  I tore out many recipes to add to my recipe binder and started baking with this delightful fall cake.

Spiced Pear Cake with Vanilla Glaze

based on Spiced Pear Upside-Down Cake from Taste of Home

2 pears, peeled and thinly sliced

½ cup butter, melted

½ cup sugar

½ cup plain yogurt

1/3 cup molasses

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 ½ cups flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon ground cardamom

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line the bottom of a 9 inch round cake pan with parchment paper.  Grease the sides of the pan.

Fan the pear slices in a circle around the bottom of the pan, filling in the middle and any gaps, to make an even layer. 

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the butter, sugar, yogurt, molasses, egg, and vanilla.  Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom and slowly whisk in until no lumps remain.  Pour over the pears and spread to the sides of the pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.  Let cool for 10 minutes on a cooling rack then run a knife around the edges of the pan and flip it onto a plate.  Peel off the parchment paper. 

Vanilla Glaze

2 Tablespoons melted butter

1 Tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla 
¾ cup powdered sugar

Whisk all ingredients together and drizzle over the cake.

Today's baking adventure

I saw this recipe for Spiral Apple Bread with Caramel Apple Glaze on Pinterest this morning and knew I had to make it.  I pretty much just followed the recipe only substituting a little whole wheat flour for some of the all purpose flour, adding lemon zest, and some peaches to what was already written--so I won't write the recipe down here.

It is basically a simple bread dough rolled out, cut into strips and wound around slices of apples (and peaches, in my case) and baked.  The recipe calls for a cinnamon sugar topping to sprinkle on the bread after it is baked, I omitted it, and found the glaze added enough sweetness. This dessert is so beautiful, I wish I had guests over to serve it to.

Go check out Michael at Inspired by Charm for awesome recipes, cool DIY projects, and entertaining ideas.  This is my new favorite blog.

Farmers Market Pot Pie

I love the farmers market, you can read me wax poetic about it here.  This morning I bought a lot of beautiful produce, and among the mix was rainbow chard.  Now I love chard, but I usually do the same thing with it over and over: braise it with onion, garlic, apple cider vinegar, and a little strawberry jam.  Delicious? Yes, but starting to get a little boring.  So I consulted my favorite food blogs and fount this recipe from Smitten Kitchen and boy was I smitten.  Ree had just posted a recipe for pot pies, so I was already in the mood for a pot pie (just as we are on the verge of, what could possibly, be the hottest week of the summer, and all I want to make is classic winter comfort food).

While I love pot pies, I'm not a huge fan how sometimes the pie crust on top of the pie gets soggy as it bakes, I want a crisp and crunchy accompaniment to the warm and bubbly stew--so I decided to separate the two parts: serve a stew with puff pastry on the side.

Farmers Market Pot Pie Stew with Thyme Puff Pastry Triangles

Inspired by Pot Pies from The Pioneer Woman
Heavily based on Pancetta, White Bean, and Chard Pot Pie from Smitten Kitchen

Stew:
3 oz. pancetta, diced
1 Leek, just the light green and white parts, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
The kernels from 2 ears of corn, about 1 1/2 cups
1 bunch rainbow chard, sliced, about 1 cup, packed
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon italian seasoning
1, 15oz., can great northern beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup half and half

Thyme Triangles:
1, 14 oz, box frozen puff pastry, thawed
2 tablespoons half and half
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Stew:

1. In an 8 quart pot over medium high heat, cook the pancetta until golden brown.  Remove from the pancetta to a small bowl and save for later.  
2. Add the leeks, garlic, carrot, and red onion to the pan and saute until lightly browned. 
3. Stir in the corn, chard, pepper, thyme, italian seasoning, beans, and wine.  Simmer until the wine reduces by half, about 5 minutes.  
4. Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk the flour into about 1/2 cup of the chicken broth.  
5. Add the flour/broth slurry, remaining chicken broth, half and half, and the reserved cooked pancetta to the pot, stirring constantly until thickened. Gently simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often.  Taste for seasoning: add salt if needed, and possibly a sprinkle of sugar if the rainbow chard is excessively bitter.  

Thyme Triangles:

1. Lay out the puff pastry on a cutting board and brush with half and half.  
2. Sprinkle with thyme and black pepper.  
3. Cut into 16 triangles  and place on a greased baking sheet.  
4. Bake on 425F for 8-10 minutes until they start to turn golden brown.