Spring Banana Bread

It's the first weekend of Spring, and I've finally gotten caught up on this blog for the months I've missed. Though I didn't plan any specific baking for the new season, I felt like whipping up something in my kitchen again, and overripe bananas were just the inspiration I needed to make banana bread.

I've made many a banana bread in the past: Banana Pecan Muffins, Buttermilk Banana Bread, Banana Chocolate Bread, and even a failed attempt at Banana Muffies. All of them ended up tasting fine, but none were quite strong enough to be my "go-to" recipe every time (at least, not as memorable as I would have liked them to be). Thus, I turned to the Internet for help--especially since I had no buttermilk on hand and needed a recipe without it. One of the first results was a banana bread recipe from Simply Recipes that had no dairy other than butter and was advertised as "the most popular recipe on Simply Recipes, first posted 2005." Sounded like good reviews to me.

The execution of the banana bread was easy--I had all the ingredients on hand and could gather them quickly. I felt like making a loaf of bread rather than muffins, so I followed the original recipe, but decided to add brown sugar instead of white sugar for a little molasses flavor sweetness (And of course, I used my traditional whole wheat pastry flour in place of all-purpose).

Ingredients:

2-3 very ripe bananas, peeled (I had two small ones on hand)
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup of sugar (I used brown sugar)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 and 1/2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour

Directions:

1.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a metal or ceramic loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2.) In a single bowl, mash the bananas with a fork, then stir in the melted butter, baking soda, and salt. Add the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sift your flour last, folding it in slowly so that the flour fully incorporates into the mixture.

3.) Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for about 45-55 minutes (The original recipe calls for an hour to an hour and 10 minutes, but my bread browned up just a little too much after 53 minutes. I forgot to check it earlier as the Simply Recipes method suggested). Use a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread to check for doneness (if it comes out moist with crumbs on it, the bread might need a little more time. If it comes out dry, you're good). Cool completely, remove from pan, and slice to serve.

Sadly, this banana bread came out a little more done than I had planned, dark brown across the top, but with a nice crunchy crust that was still appealing. And even though I waited until the bread had cooled before cutting it, the slices came out more than a little crumbly, making it harder to serve. I decided against bringing it to brunch, for fear of the slices falling apart. However, here at home my family and I have been perfectly satisfied munching on the pieces. Flavor wise, this recipe delivers. A warm slice with butter on top made for the perfect tasty snack, and even the crumbling slices were a nice combination of crunchy on the top but soft in the center. So I'll definitely give this recipe another go, perhaps with a few tweaks and a little less bake time, to see if it's the banana bread keeper I've been looking for.

Catch Up Time

Wow, it's been a long time since I've blogged a new recipe, mostly because my baking lately has been recipes I've posted before. That, and a busy work schedule and a few trips out of town kept me from baking as much as I used to. But that's no excuse not to share delicious food and get back on schedule with seasonal recipes! As my latest banana bread is baking in the oven, I'm going to take a moment to catch up on the various recipes I've made throughout the winter season, concluding with Spring Banana Bread on my next post! So stay tuned....

Catch Up:

October
After making Pumpkin Spice Lattes multiple times this fall, I proceeded to decorate my house for Halloween, enjoy a boisterous football season, attend the local Aki Matsuri festival (autumn Japanese festival), and make Halloween treats for my friends in a gathering much smaller than the famous party of 2012, but just as fun! I also carved a pumpkin and made toasted pumpkin seeds on Halloween Day.

November
The month of November brought about a wonderful vacation to visit my grandfather, his new wife, and my aunt and uncles in south Texas. While there was obviously no time for baking away from home, I enjoyed authentic Mexican food close to the border, as well a BBQ, burgers, and free hotel breakfasts. Later that month I went on a second trip, this time with my boyfriend's family to whale watch at Newport Beach. Though it was just a weekend trip, I was able to enjoy a couple of nice meals and see live dolphins to boot! Oh, and what about Thanksgiving? I made my traditional pies (pecan, pumpkin, and sweet potato!), as always, and spent Thanksgiving evening with my boyfriend's family--a second feast of authentic Filipino cuisine!

December
I can't have Christmas without baking. This month I made savory scones and artichoke dip for my holiday party at work, then Christmas cookies (from store-bought dough), pies, and other snacks for another gathering with friends, celebrated the 90th birthday of my boyfriend's grandmother with lots of food and fun, made Mickey waffles for breakfast, had one final Christmas gift exchange party, and baked my traditional cinnamon rolls for breakfast on Christmas morning. I also tried a scorpion chili pepper for the first time--spicy but not unbearable!

January
New Year's parties brought more food, while the month of January was also my older brother's birthday, and a sushi outing! I tried a new breakfast diner in town, ramen, buffets, and made both pizza and French Toast without a recipe. You probably think all I do is eat out and...eat.

February
In the beginning of February I enjoyed the Super Bowl by eating a Super Bowl of ice cream and cookies. Then there was an early Valentine's Day lobster dinner with frozen yogurt. Next, my mom's birthday, followed by my boyfriend's birthday. February is also the month of my friend's birthday and my late grandmother's birthday, so we had celebrations for each. On Valentine's morning I made heart-shaped pancakes with a chocolate chip border using my traditional pancake recipe.

March
March brought about going away parties for my friend, my first 5K, and a St. Patrick's Day where I wore green but sadly didn't bake anything green! I did, however, make bibingka and halo-halo for the going away party. I spent the rest of the month celebrating Pi Day (3/14/15) with my mom's coconut banana cream pie, and Macaron Day with macarons. I also baked chocolate chip cookies for two different occasions using my favorite Pillsbury dough from Sam's Club. Yes, despite the delays in posts, I have actually done some baking! Oh, and there were some ice cream adventures in between (like dark chocolate ghost pepper gelato shown in the last picture--eaten just last night!).

So you're finally all caught up with my food adventures (if you were wondering where I've been all this time). And now, back to my not-so-regularly-scheduled blog programming. Thanks for staying with it!

Homemade PSL!

Continuing my pumpkin theme (because there's only so many months you can bake and post pumpkin), I attempted another easy recipe that fit perfectly with this year's transition into fall--and wasn't even any baking involved.

For those coffee addicts among us (I am one of them), the season of PSL (pumpkin spice latte) is a reason in itself to rejoice. However, not everyone spends this time of year celebrating. Recent reports of unhealthy ingredients in the Starbucks PSL and a comparison by John Oliver equating the taste to a candle can make even the most die-hard PSL fans a little disheartened. I won't go into a rant defending the taste of pumpkin (my bias is clear) or breakdown the unhealthy ingredients and excessive sweetening pumped into most Starbucks beverages (like the 79 grams of sugar for a non-seasonal Venti Mocha Frappuccino...). Instead I'll just point out that if you're a coffee addict and a pumpkin addict you probably enjoy the PSL. If you're also a bit health conscious/lactose intolerant like me, you might try ordering the PSL in a size small (tall) with soymilk, no whip, and maybe one pump of syrup. Or, to save money, confusion, and a potential waxy aftertaste, you might try making your own.

Recipes for PSL knockoffs can be found all over the Internet, but my mom recently presented me with one from Averie Cooks, who offers a vegan, gluten-free option that is also as easy as pumpkin pie. I tested it with my mom after inviting her over for afternoon tea and have since had three more cups and then made a second batch to last me through the weekend. It does, admittedly, taste a bit different from the Starbucks version, but it also tastes more natural, more fall-like, with the flexibility to doctor it up as sweet or less sweet as you like and the added health benefits of actual superfood: pumpkin.

Ingredients:

1 cup of your favorite brewed coffee
1/4 cup (heaping) canned pumpkin (I used Libby's, as usual)
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (Averie's recipe recommended this kind of milk, and it also happens to be what I use every day for cereal!)
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons brown sugar or sweetener of choice
a pinch of your favorite fall spices to taste (I did a sprinkling of cloves and a sprinkling of nutmeg)

Directions:

1.) In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the canned pumpkin and almond milk, whisking or stirring well to blend (I just used a fork). Add in the spices, vanilla, and sugar, continuing to stir.

2.) Heat the concoction in the microwave for about 1 minute or until warm (you can also heat the ingredients together in a small pot of the stove). Brew your coffee as normal and pour into a mug about one half to two thirds full.

3.) Add 1-2 ladles of the pumpkin milk to your cup of coffee and stir well (the pumpkin may separate out by the time you finish drinking and get a little thick, but it still tastes delicious).

You can top with whipped cream and sprinkles of spices if you desire, and experiment with the amount of sweetener to get it just right for your taste.

So easy! And such a nice treat to really make you feel like fall is finally here. It certainly jump started my season as I continued on that week to make pumpkin pancakes (to go with my second batch of pumpkin spice lattes), and enjoy pumpkin pie flavored Italian ice (which my boyfriend surprised me with this weekend before taking me to the local Pumpkin Patch). Trust me, I'm getting in all the pumpkin, and all the autumn, while I can.