Almond Banana Bread

I baked this rich, flavor-packed bread a couple of weeks ago at work.  To be honest, I kindof made do with what I was able to find in my pantry and used The Best Recipe's Banana Bread recipe as a reference.  Everyone concluded that it was the best banana bread we'd enjoyed in the office (we have a little thing for banana bread).  I substituted 1 cup of spelt flour for 1 of the 2 cups of white flour, as I wanted to kick up the health factor a bit.  Spelt is an ancient grain that's got a huge amount of fiber in it because it is ground with the bran intact.  I was a little afraid it might make the bread too tough, but the texture was delightful.

Because there is such a high ratio of nuts in this bread, it's quite hearty, which is great because you're getting a good amount of protein from the nuts in addition to the fiber from the spelt flour.  Additionally I used kefir in this recipe, which is a wonderful natural probiotic, but you could use buttermilk or plain yogurt instead.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup spelt or whole wheat flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 + 1/4 cups slivered almonds
• 2 extremely ripe large bananas, mashed
• 1/4 cup kefir (you could also use plain yogurt or buttermilk)
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 6 Tablespoons butter, melted and set aside to cool
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Preheat over to 350

2. Use non-stick spray or butter to grease all sides of your loaf pan.  Then add a Tablespoon or so of flour and shake it all around, making sure all sides and edges are covered in flour.  Tap the side of the loaf pan to remove any superfluous flour - you want it to be very lightly floured.

3. Combine your dry ingredients in a large bowl: flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and ONE CUP of the almonds (you'll use the other 1/4 cup to top the loaf before baking).  Toss all ingredients together so the almonds are coated in the flour.

4. In a separate bowl, mix together the mashed bananas, kefir, eggs, butter, vanilla extract and almond extract.

5. Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, combining them as minimally as you can.  Keep in mind the more you mix this batter, the tougher your final product is going to be - as you've now activated the gluten in both flours with the addition of the wet ingredients.  It's better to have patches of dry ingredients when you add your mixture to the pan than a completely smooth batter that's been over-worked.

6. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan

7. Sprinkle the additional 1/4 cup of almonds on top of the batter

8. Bake until the almonds on top are toasted and a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out with small crumbs attached - about 40-60 minutes.  Start checking the cake every five minutes after the cake's been baking for 40 minutes.

I used good quality almond extract and Mexican vanilla extract from Nielsen Massey

9. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer it to a wire rack to cool

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This cake was definitely best when I served it warm - but it was still tasting delicious after 3 days!

Coating the almonds in flour before incorporating them into the wet ingredients keeps them from sinking to the bottom

Dense with almond goodness

Come fabulous!

Roasted Cauliflower and Fennel Soup

Cauliflower and fennel are two of my favorite vegetables, so I created this recipe to utilize both for a super-creamy, healthy, dairy-free (and if you choose to use olive oil, vegetarian) soup.  It's so rich and hearty that your friends and family will be surprised it's dairy free.

Ingredients:

• 2 heads cauliflower
• 2 bulbs fennel
• 10-12 crimini mushrooms
• A pound or so of freshly shelled peas
• You can also use frozen peas: see step 11 for instructions
• 1 yellow onion
• 1/2 cup dry white wine, such as pinot grigio
• 2 quarts vegetable stock or broth
• Olive oil or butter, as needed
• Kosher salt, as needed
• Lemon pepper, freshly grated, as needed

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Put your roasting pan in the oven at this time so that it also preheats and gives the vegetables a nice sear when they are added to the hot pan

2. Remove the oxidized ends of the cauliflower heads and fennel bulbs.  Also remove the fennel tops (which you could use in an accompanying salad).  Then cut each into approximate 1 inch pieces.  You'll be roasting the fennel and cauliflower, so it's important that they be cut into similar sized pieces so they cook uniformly

3. Season the cauliflower and fennel liberally with kosher salt and freshly ground lemon pepper and toss to coat.  Next drizzle a generous amount of olive oil over the vegetables and toss again.  Taste one of each to be sure they are well-seasoned and glistening with olive oil

4. Add cauliflower and fennel to the *hot* roasting pan and roast for 40-60 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until they have shrunk in size and are golden brown with caramelization

5. Meanwhile, heat a large pot of boiling salted water.  When the water has come to a boil, add the shelled peas and blanch for approximately 30 seconds, or until they begin to soften.  Keep in mind you'll be sautéing them along with the Criminis later, so this is just the first part of the cooking process.  Remove the peas and plunge them into a bowl of salted ice water to shock their color and stop them from continuing to cook

* It's very important that both the boiling water and the ice water be salted.  If the boiling water is salted and the ice water is not salted, all of the seasoning and flavor will drain out of the peas and into the ice water by the process of osmosis, leaving you with a bland finished product.

6. Next, cut your onion into a small dice, slice your mushrooms, and set aside

Cutting your vegetables and putting them in small bowls makes it easy to stay tidy and organized 

7. Prepare the same pot you used to blanch your peas by discarding the salted water and returning it to the stove top.  Heat approximately 4 Tablespoons of olive oil or butter over medium heat sweat your onions just until they begin to turn golden

8. Add the wine to the pot to deglaze, using your wooden spoon to scrape up any caramelized bits.  You may have to take your pot off the heat at this point, until your cauliflower and fennel are finished roasting

9. When your vegetables are well-roasted, add then directly to the ( already hot or reheated ) pot and stir to combine them with the onions

9. Add enough vegetable stock/broth to the pot so that the vegetables are covered by about 1/4 inch.  Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes, allowing all the flavors to mellow.

The beautiful caramelization on the cauliflower is due to the fact it was added to a preheated roasting pan

10. Once your vegetables are very tender, use an immersion or standing blender to thoroughly puree your soup for 5-10 minutes.  Return the mixture to the pot, and stir in more vegetable stock/broth if the soup is too thick for your liking.  Taste for seasoning, adding more salt or lemon pepper to taste.  Add more 

11.  In a small saute pan, heat 2 Tablespoons of olive oil or butter and saute your mushrooms, adding the peas 2 minutes before the mushrooms are fully cooked.  *If you were unable to find fresh peas, you can add thawed frozen peas to the mushroom mixture at this point.

Ladle soup into warmed bowls and top with the sauteed Crimini mushrooms and peas.  Serve immediately.

Note: this soup freezes beautifully.  If you make a large batch, ladle cooled soup into ziplock bags and place in the freezer, leaving out the mushroom and pea mixture.  The soup can be thawed in your refrigerator and warmed on the stovetop for service at a later time.

In love with Flora Grubb

My friend Molly, her dog Archie and I visited Flora Grubb Gardens yesterday and ended up staying for  over two hours!  If you've ever visited this incredible, magical space you can understand why.  The sun was out, Ritual coffee was brewing, and everywhere I turned there was a new fascinating treasure to be found.  Here are some snapshots of the nursery in all its glory - you can check out the website here: http://www.floragrubb.com/.

i ended up buying the long oval dish in cobalt blue

someday I will paint this

secret garden

come sail away

miniature oasis

here's a mini cactus planter I put together for my bathroom

sleepy boy