The Charmed Kitchen

Banana Oatmeal Bread

Funny how things work out in the end. I wasn’t planning on making banana bread, but I did. It all had to do with Chinese New Year. This will all make sense, I promise.

We had delayed celebrating Chinese New Year because a couple of friends were out of the country. Once they came home, my friend Amy and I started planning the menu. You have to understand Amy, to know that the whole dinner theme had to work. You see, it is the Year of the Monkey. She wanted at least one thing to have some monkey reference to it. Amy thought maybe a banana dessert, and I had suggested monkey bread. This was all pretty last minute, so I picked up bananas at the store, just in case.

In the end, I made the monkey bread, but forgot about the bananas. I found them last night, still in the grocery bag, all nice and ripe- so I made the banana oatmeal bread. I didn’t need the bread. I could have frozen the bananas and made it at some later date. It had been a long day and I was really tired.  But for some reason I made it anyway.

This morning, I get a call from my brother. He wanted some baked gift for a neighbor who had done something nice for him. Could I help him out? I could, indeed. He seemed pretty impressed when I dropped it off 10 minutes later.

I don’t think there is any deep message here, or special meaning. It’s just that sometimes, things work out. It feels good when it happens.

The bread is actually a really nice recipe. Moist, not too sweet, and a little extra boost of fiber from the oatmeal. It can be a dessert, snack or breakfast. It freezes well, too. So if you have a lot of bananas, make a couple and freeze one for later.

Banana Oatmeal Bread

½ c. butter, softened
¾ c. sugar
2 eggs
1 c. mashed bananas
1 t. vanilla extract
1½ c. flour
½ t. baking soda
½ t. salt
½ c. oats, regular or quick cooking
½ c. chopped nuts, optional

Preheat oven to 350-degrees and grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time until well mixed. Stir in bananas and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients and add to banana mixture. Beat well and stir in oats and nuts. Place batter in prepared pan and bake for 50-55 minutes, test for doneness with a toothpick. Cool 10 minutes and remove to cooling rack. Makes 1 loaf.

Spiced Pumpkin Waffles

When pumpkin and winter squash were all over the place in the Fall, I stocked up. I have used quite a few of them up, but there are still some hanging around. I decided to cook one of the pumpkins up last night. After baking it, and scraping out all the yummy insides, I pureed it and put it in smaller containers to freeze. I did save some, though, to make waffles for breakfast.  This is a simple and tasty recipe that will make breakfast special. Because of the pumpkin- or cooked squash-  in the batter, these waffles need to be cooked until golden brown to be crispy. They just don’t get as crispy as other waffles, if you don’t cook them long enough. I love them with maple syrup or a dusting of powdered sugar. They would also be great as the base for chicken and waffles. Of course, you could use canned pumpkin, if you like.

Spiced Pumpkin Waffles

¾ c. mashed, cooked pumpkin or winter squash
½ c. flour
1 egg, beaten
¾ c. half and half or milk
1 T. melted butter or oil
1 tsp. baking powder
1 t. cinnamon
½ t. nutmeg
½ tsp. salt
Pinch of cloves

Combine all ingredients, mixing until smooth. Cook in prepared waffle iron until golden brown.

Citrus Honey Dressing on Fresh Greens

This simple to make citrus and honey dressing is a great addition to any tossed salad. You can also use it as a glaze on meats, or even as a dipping sauce. In this dressing, the combination of juices, zest, honey and fresh basil works on green salads and fruit salads alike. I really prefer homemade dressings for my salad. They are easy to make, and I get to control what goes in them. This one is great to have on hand in the fridge. Just shake it up and it’s ready to serve.

Citrus Honey Dressing

1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1t. lemon zest
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon honey
2 T. chopped fresh basil
1 T. white wine vinegar

In a jar with a lid, mix the olive oil, orange juice, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, honey, basil, and vinegar. Seal and shake well. Chill 2 hours in the refrigerator. Strain basil before serving. Use on green salad or with chicken, meats or seafood. Can also be brushed on chicken, meat or seafood as a glaze.

Spicy Lime Chicken

I love the zing that lime, and other citrus fruits, add to savory dishes. This recipe is  a great example. Chicken is rubbed with a simple spice/herb mix and sauteed. The lime juice, added near the end, adds a wonderful flavor. This is a nice dish for when time is a factor. It really takes no time to put together. I used boneless breasts, but boneless thighs work well. I almost prefer them. I have also made this dish with bone-in thighs and drumsticks. Add about 20 minutes to the cooking time when using bone-in chicken.

Spicy Lime Chicken
1 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
1/2 t. paprika
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. onion powder
1/4 t.  thyme
1 T. fresh parsley
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves or 8 boneless thighs
2 T. butter
1 T. olive oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons lime juice

In a small bowl, mix together salt, black pepper, cayenne, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme and parsley. Sprinkle spice mixture generously on both sides of chicken. Rub in. This can even be done day ahead. Keep chicken in fridge until ready to cook. Heat butter and olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute chicken until golden brown, about 6 minutes on each side. Sprinkle with minced garlic and lime juice. Cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently to coat evenly with sauce. I like to serve with rice or pasta. Serves 4.

Lemons in the Snow Cookies

The funny name for these cookies is really easy to explain. The cookies are flavored with both lemon juice and lemon zest in the dough. When nearly cooled, they are rolled in powdered sugar. They end up looking like little snowballs. Yummy, lemon flavored snowballs. The dough also contains finely ground almonds, for extra texture. They are a delicate, cake like cookie, with a slightly crisp outside. You could also add a little grated lemon peel to the powdered sugar, before rolling the cookies in it, for a more intense lemon flavor.

Lemons in the Snow Cookies

1/2 cup butter (no substitutes), softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel -or more if you like
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds
confectioners’ sugar

In a mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar and egg until well blended. Add lemon juice and peel. Combine flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt; stir into creamed mixture. Add almonds. Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour or overnight. Roll into 1-in. balls. Place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned (cookies will not brown on top). Remove immediately to wire racks; cool for 5 minutes, then roll in confectioners’ sugar. Makes 36.

Orange Tea Bread

If you are looking for a new recipe for a quick bread, and like oranges, I would recommend trying this one. It is flavored both with orange zest in the batter, and then a warm orange syrup is drizzled over the bread, right out of the oven. This makes for a bread that is flavorful and moist. It can be breakfast, a brunch dish or even a dessert, when topped with ice cream or whipped cream. The recipe makes one loaf, but I often double the recipe and make two. It seems to disappear around here pretty quickly.

Orange Tea Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
Syrup:
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-1/2″x4-1/2″x2-5/8″ loaf pan. Line pan with wax paper or parchment and set aside. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together yogurt, sugar, eggs, butter and orange zest. Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients, and stir mixture until well combined. Transfer batter to loaf pan, smoothing top, and bake in oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until skewer inserted in middle comes out clean. While the bread is baking, combine orange juice and sugar in a saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil over moderate heat while stirring, and simmer for 1 minute. Keep syrup warm. Make holes in top of bread with a thin wooden skewer and drizzle with syrup. Let stand in pan until cool. Makes 1 loaf.

Ruth Steven’s Overnight Slaw

When I was growing up, I had a neighbor, Ruth Stevens, who was like a grandmother to me. I adored her. She loved gardening and animals, and had a gentle quality about her, that I will never forget. I spent many happy days in her garden and learned so much from her. She gave me this recipe. I was about 12 at the time and Mrs. Steven’s was in her 80’s. I still have her recipe, written in her slightly shaky handwriting. Since she said it was her mother’s recipe, I am guessing this recipe to be at least a hundred years old. When I look through old recipes and come across it, I always think of her, and miss her even to this day.

I got some beautiful red cabbage and decided to make this salad for a class I was teaching. It is meant to be made a day ahead- even a few days ahead. You can make the salad with red or green cabbage or a combination. After a few days in the fridge, if you make the combination of red and green the green cabbage will pick up the color from the red cabbage and the whole thing will look red. Because of the acidity of the cider vinegar in the dressing, the red cabbage not only maintains its color, I think it gets a little brighter. With the vinegar dressing the slaw will keep for at least a week in the fridge- it just gets more “pickled” over time.

Ruth Steven’s Overnight Slaw

8 cups shredded cabbage- about 1 medium head

1 c. cider vinegar

1/2 c. sugar, or to taste

1 T. celery seed

2 t. dried dill weed

salt and pepper to taste

Place cabbage in large bowl. In jar with a tight fitting lid place the rest of the ingredients and shake well until sugar is dissolved. Pour over the cabbage and stir to coat. Cover bowl and place in fridge overnight to let the flavor blend and the cabbage soften. Salad will wilt down quite a bit. Keeps in fridge for a week or two. Serves 6-8.

Spinach Salad with Tahini Dressing

I love this salad dressing. The combination of tahini, garlic and lemon juice really works.  It is also very simple to make. Tahini is a paste made from sesame seeds. Think of it like peanut butter, but made with sesame seeds instead. I asked a few friends who do a fair amount of cooking, about how they cook with tahini. The answer was the same, they use it in hummus. That was about it. But tahini can be used in more dishes than just hummus or baba ghanoush. It can be the base for any number of sauces, dressings and dips. Tahini can be found in most larger grocery stores and in specialty stores. You can also make your own by combining sesame seeds with a little olive oil in a blender and mixing until smooth.

Tahini Dressing

1/3 c. tahini
1/3 c. water
1/4 c. lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3/4 c. olive oil
Salt to taste
Combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth. You can also place all the ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid, and shake well to combine. Use on green salads or on fish dishes and falafel.
Note: Tahini is a sesame seed paste used a lot in Middle Eastern and African cooking. It can be found in specialty food stores and in some grocery stores. You can also make your own, in a pinch, by blending sesame seeds in a blender with a small amount of oil, and blend until smooth. I use olive oil. Store home-made tahini in the freezer for best results and just scoop some out when needed. You can also add a little more lemon juice to this recipe when using on seafood dishes.