Banana Blueberry, Coconut and Toasted

Banana Blueberry, Coconut and Toasted

I saw this recipe on one of my favorite food blogs, Noble Pig, and knew I had to make it. The recipe was originally posted by Leslie, The Hungry Housewife. I had extra ripe bananas that needed to be used and a handful of fresh blueberries left in the refrigerator. I also had just a bit of vanilla yogurt that I didn't want to go to waste, so this was the PERFECT recipe for me. The original recipe called for buttermilk but I replaced it with vanilla yogurt. I also halved the recipe because I only had 2 bananas. My kids baked this loaf with me and we had such a fun time together. My daughter even cracked her first egg (actually two eggs, the first one landed on the floor). It was an easy and kid friendly recipe to make.

I love anything with coconut so I knew this would be tasty but it was better than that - it was EXCELLENT! We all loved it and devoured over half of it when it was fresh from the oven. My kids had some with their breakfast and asked for more at snack time. I love the sweet coconut, juicy berries and crunchy toasted walnuts. This is my new favorite banana bread - perfect with a glass of ice cold milk. Thanks for the great recipe Cathy and Leslie.

• 1/4 cup softened butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 egg
• 1 large very ripe bananas
• 5 tbsp + 1 tsp vanilla yogurt (I used non fat)
• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts
• 1/2 tbsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup blueberries (divided)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a loaf pan with cooking spray. Cream together the butter and sugar with a mixer. Add the egg mixing thoroughly. In a separate bowl whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and the baking soda. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, alternating with the yogurt - make sure to start with flour and end with flour.

Place the walnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat and cook for a 3-4 minutes, tossing frequently. Set aside and cool. Mash the bananas very well with a fork. Gently add the smashed bananas, vanilla, toasted nuts and coconut into the batter then carefully stir until combined. Fold in blueberries, reserving a few for the top of the loaf. Pour the batter into the bread pan then sprinkle the remaining blueberries on top. 

Bake for 45-50 minutes or until tester comes out of the center of the loaf clean. Let cool in the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a rack. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before slicing. Serve warm with butter. Enjoy.

Roasted Vegetable and Kale Soup and a Giveaway

Roasted Vegetable and Kale Soup and a Giveaway

In an effort to keep the "scrapers" from stealing my recipes and photos I have changed my blog to show partial posts. I want to say a HUGE thank you to my pal Grace who helped me insert the html code for the partial posts into my blog. Thank you so much Grace!

My son was home from school with a terrible cough and cold. It was a really gloomy, cold and rainy day so I decided to make a big batch of vegetable soup. I found this recipe for Roasted Vegetable and Kale soup from Simply Recipes and decided to give it a try. I adapted the recipe just a bit to work with the ingredients I had on hand. It was really rich in flavor and full of roasted garlic goodness. I loved the flavor of the roasted carrots and butternut squash along with the creamy beans. My kids liked this soup (except for the kale) and I loved it; my husband, on the other hand, wasn't a fan - you can't win them all. I love that it was full of vitamins and minerals and made my sick little guy feel a bit better. I served this soup with a green salad and fresh baked bread. Thanks for another great recipe Elise.



Roasted Vegetable and Kale Soup:

• 3 carrots, peeled and quartered
• 1-2 cups of butternut squash, peeled, seeded cut into chunks
• 4 large tomatoes, quartered
• 1 small sweet yellow onion, sliced into wedges
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• 6 cups of vegetable or chicken broth (I used chicken)
• 4 cups of kale, chopped
• 1 can of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper
• 1 bay leaf 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Chop all of the vegetables and place on a baking sheet that has been coated with cooking spray. Drizzle the veggies with olive oil, sea salt, fresh cracked pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of thyme. Mix the vegetables thoroughly. Make sure to place the cloves of garlic on top of the onion wedges or in the tomatoes to prevent from from burning.
Place in the oven and bake for 25-35 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown and tender.

Place the roasted tomatoes, onions and garlic along with the chicken broth (reserving 1/2 cup) in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Using an immersion blender, mix until thoroughly blended and smooth.

Cut the carrots and butternut squash into bite sized pieces and set aside.

Take the remaining 1/2 cup of chicken broth and pour onto the baking sheet; scrape up all the tasty brown bits from the pan then pour into the soup. Add the kale, bay leaf, remaining 1 teaspoon of thyme and more salt and pepper if needed to the soup. Bring to a boil then reduce heat. Simmer uncovered until the kale is tender, about 30-45 minutes.

Add the white beans, roasted carrots and butternut squash to the soup. Simmer for about 10 minutes to let the flavors mingle. Discard bay leaf before serving. Enjoy. 

GIVEAWAY:

See's Candies is offering one of my readers a gift certificate for $25.00 and it will be delivered in time for Mother's Day. They have some amazing Mother's Day Gifts and candies for sale right now.

All you have to do is leave a comment here, on this post, no later than Thursday by 5:00 p.m. (Pacific time). I'll be announcing the winner this Friday, May 1, 2009. Good luck!

Green Beans with Feta and Dill

Green Beans with Feta and Dill

I was searching through my favorite sites, Tastespotting and Foodgawker, for a side dish idea. I saw this amazing looking green bean side dish and knew it would be perfect to serve with my razor clams (recipe to come). I adapted the recipe a little to suit our tastes and we all LOVED it. Both of my kids asked for seconds and gobbled every last bite. I loved the dill flavor and thought it paired nicely with the razor clams and rice. I look forward to making this again - soon.

Green Beans with Feta and Dill:

• 1 lb. fresh green beans
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon minced shallot
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
• 1/4 small red onions, sliced thinly
• Feta cheese, crumbled
• 2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped

 In a small bowl add the chopped shallot and minced garlic along with the red wine vinegar and olive oil, whisk well and set aside to let the flavors mingle.

Trim the ends of the green beans, if desired. Place in a pot of boiling water for 3-4 minutes, I like mine tender but still crisp. Drain and place in ice cold water to stop them from cooking and to keep them bright green. Drain and place in a bowl. Add the sliced onion, fresh dill and salad dressing to taste. Toss until evenly coated. Place in a serving dish and sprinkle the top with feta cheese. Serve and enjoy.

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Southwestern Salad with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

Southwestern Salad with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

If you visit my blog you know I love Mexican food. I needed to create a delicious salad to go with the different Mexican entrees that I make. This salad is a great combination of textures and flavors and is a favorite in our house, especially with my kids. It's light, crunchy and full of flavor and the cilantro lime vinaigrette gives it a nice zing. I love that it's easy to make but tastes so delicious. It goes well with any Mexican food as well as chicken, beef or seafood.



Salad:

• Romaine lettuce
• Handful of grape tomatoes
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 2 small baby bell peppers - red, yellow or orange, diced
• 1/2 cup black beans
• 1/2 cup sweet frozen corn, thawed
• 1 tbsp raw or toasted pumpkin seeds
• 1 avocado, diced
• 2 tbsp cotija cheese
• 1 handful of tortilla strips for salads
• Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette (recipe below) to taste

In a large salad bowl add chopped lettuce, tomatoes, green onions, avocado, bell peppers, black beans, corn, tortilla strips, pumpkin seeds and cotija cheese. Top the salad with the vinaigrette to taste and serve. Enjoy!

Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette:

• 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1-2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar OR red wine vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp oregano

Use am immersion blender or a regular blender to blend the dressing. Let the flavors mingle for at least 30 minutes before using.

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Sea food - Razor Clams

Razor Clams

Time to vent. I found out today (thank you so much for your help Kathy) that my blog has been the victim of many blog scrapers. Not only are they taking my entire posts, recipes and photos but they are not giving me credit or a link back to my site. They are using my recipes as their own to make money. It's not just a couple of recipes but at least four different sites have nearly EVERY single recipe and photo that I have ever posted. It's discouraging, frustrating and hurtful that they would try to get credit for my recipes and photos. I love this food blog very much and I work hard to maintain it. It's upsetting to me that people would do this just to make money. Does anyone know what I can do to prevent this from happening? Now, on with the recipe...

One of my very favorite meals is fried razor clams. I don't eat them often because they aren't very healthy but when I do eat them, I savor every last bite. Our dear friend Jake recently went clamming on the Oregon coast and he surprised me with a bag full of these tasty morsels. I was so excited to fry them up! I thought I would be really good and just cook them in olive oil, but halfway through cooking I realized it just wouldn't do, so I added a bit of butter and I am so glad I did. They turned out crispy and delicious. My entire family, including my two kids, LOVED them. I made two sauces for dipping that turned out delicious. My sister, Dana makes an incredibly delicious cocktail sauce that's really easy to make because it only has two ingredients - ketchup and wasabi. I also made homemade tarter sauce with fresh dill and lemon. I served this dinner with rice and Green Beans with Feta and Dill. It was a wonderful meal that satisfied all of us. Thank you for sharing your delicious razor clams Jake - we loved them!

Razor Clams:

• 10 razor clams, removed from shell and rinsed
• 1 cup of flour
• 2 eggs, beaten
• Panko crumbs
• Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper
• Olive oil
• Butter (not pictured)

Place the flour in a bowl and season with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. Place the eggs in a bowl and beat. Place the panko crumbs in a bowl. Dip each razor clam in the seasoned flour, then egg, then panko, making sure to coat evenly. Set aside on a plate. Repeat process until all clams are coated. Place the plate of clams in the refrigerator for 20 minutes then remove from the refrigerator and let them rest on the counter for 10 minutes. This will help keep the breading on the clams when you cook. I made both sauces (recipes below) during this time.

Dana's Cocktail Sauce:

• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1-2 tsp wasabi, to taste

Add a bit of wasabi to the ketchup at a time and taste until it's as spicy as you desire. Place in the refrigerator so flavors mingle.

Tarter Sauce with Lemon and Dill:

• 1/2 cup of mayonnaise (I used light)
• 1/4 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1-2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon, more if desired
• 1 tbsp dill pickle, diced
• 1 tbsp sweet yellow onion, diced
• Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

Place all of the ingredients in a small bowl and mix thoroughly. Taste and re-season if necessary. Place in the refrigerator for flavors to mingle.

Back to the clams...

Heat a bit of olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Once the pan is HOT, add the clams, cooking a few at a time. Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side until golden brown, don't over cook or they will be tough. You will need to add more oil and butter when you add the additional clams to the pan. Drain on a paper towel then serve with fresh lemon, cocktail sauce and tarter sauce. Enjoy.

Note: I am leaving the amount of butter and oil up to you. I didn't measure, I just did it by eye. I tried not to use too much because I didn't want them to be greasy but enough to give them a beautiful golden color.