Hippy Banana Bread from Shutterbean

I came across this recipe following a link to pickled carrots. Ah, the internet. What I loved about this one is how it invites substitution - while the original calls for sunflower seeds, pepitas, nuts, and dried cherries, I used a combination of things I had on hand and needed to use up from the pantry, and it was still a success! I can imagine going a chocolate direction as well.

Hippy Banana Bread
(recipe from Shutterbean)

makes 1 loaf

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup maple syrup*
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup puree)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup dried cherries*
• 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds*
• 1/2 cup raw pepitas

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter an 8 x 4 inch loaf pan. Line pan with a sling of parchment paper, with the long sides overhanging. Lightly butter the parchment, then set the pan aside.

Whisk together the flours, baking soda, salt and spices in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil and brown sugar, breaking up any lumps. Add the maple syrup and vanilla, whisking until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time and beat until fully incorporated. With a wooden spoon, stir in the bananas. Add the flour mixture to the liquids, stirring until just combined. Stir in the walnuts, cherries, sunflower seeds and pepitas until fully incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pan, evening out the top if necessary.

Place bread in the oven and bake until cake tester inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean, about 55-60 minutes. Remove from the oven, and leave the bread to cool in its pan for 10 minutes. Using the parchment sling, lift the bread out of the pan, unwrap and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Notes from JennyBakes:

I ran out of maple syrup so I ended up using 2 tbsp maple syrup and 2 tbsp dark Karo syrup.

I used dried orange-scented cranberries instead of cherries, because I had leftovers from the holidays.

I used shredded coconut instead of sunflower seeds because I had it on hand.

I did use walnuts and pepitas, because I happened to have them...
 

Happy Wife, Happy Life Chocolate Cake

On Episode 171 of the Reading Envy Podcast, I spoke with Jen Nathan Orris about foodie recommendations - cookbooks, memoirs, and more. She brought up Julia Turshen, cookbook author and recipe developer extraordinaire, and recommended all of her cookbooks, particularly Small Victories. Julia actually appeared on Jen's podcast, Skillet, where she cooked Chicken Pelau. (I would later discover Turshen also has her own podcast called Keep Calm and Cook On, which is on brand for her reputation of making cooking accessible.)

I am always excited when I learn about an author or cook (or both) who I haven't heard of before, because it gives me an excuse to dive into something new. So of course I listened to the podcasts and hunted down the cookbooks. I would actually love to try making the chicken pelau at some point, because I am still feeling a bit tentative about cooking chicken and it has some unique techniques like starting with burned sugar. 

I'm not sure if this happens to anyone else, but sometimes I will encounter a recipe in a blog, Instagram post, or cookbook, and it will stick with me. When I'm thinking of my grocery shopping lists it will come to mind again, and I'll make sure I have the ingredients in case I feel inspired to make it. This cake is one Turshen makes for her wife. I was intrigued by the simplicity of the recipe and the strange (to me) ingredients in the frosting. I liked that it tasted better cold. The combination of chocolate and raspberry probably moved it up a few notches. And then when I needed to bake something to burn off some nervous energy, this was the thing. My husband was called home to Oregon at the last minute, and I must admit I've been eating this cake for breakfast (but you know, happy wife and all that.)

Happy Wife, Happy Life Chocolate Cake
from Small Victories by Julia Turshen

Cake:

1 1/4 cups (150 g) all purpose flour
1 cup (200 g) sugar
3/4 cup (75 g) Dutch-processed cocoa powder (such as Guittard or Droste, sifted if lumpy)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
8 Tbsp (110 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup (240 ml) strong black coffee, at room temperature
1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk or plain yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Frosting:

3/4 cup (130 g) semisweet chocolate chips or roughly chopped semisweet chocolate
3/4 cup (180 ml) sour cream, at room temperature
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1/2 cup (160 g) raspberry jam (seeded or seedless, whatever your preference)

Raspberries for serving (optional)

To make the cake: Preheat your oven to 350 F (180 C). Use your hands to butter the bottom and sides of two 8-inch (20-cm) cake pans, then line the bottom of each with a circle of parchment paper. For good measure, butter the parchment paper. Set the pans aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the melted butter, eggs, coffee, buttermilk, and vanilla and whisk until the batter is smooth. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cake pans.

Bake until the cakes are firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Transfer the cakes, still in their pans, to a wire rack and let them cool completely. Once cool, use a dinner knife to loosen the edges of the cakes from the pans and invert them onto your work surface (you might need to give the pan a little whack). Peel off and discard the parchment.

To make the frosting: Meanwhile, bring a small pot of water to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer. Put the chocolate chips in a large stainless steel or heatproof glass bowl and set it over the pot (the water should not touch the bowl - if it does, simply pour some out). Stir until the chocolate is melted. (Alternatively, you can melt the chocolate in a microwave in 15-second increments, stirring between increments.) Remove from the heat and whisk in the sour cream and maple syrup. The frosting should be smooth and quite silky. Refrigerate the frosting until the cakes have cooled. It will thicken as it cools (a good thing).

Once the cakes are cool, put one on a serving platter upside-down so that the flat side is facing up. Spread the jam over the top. Put the second cake on top of the jam-slathered cake, again flat-side up—this way you get a nice flat top. (If the jam makes the layers slip and slide a bit, use a couple of skewers to hold the layers together while you frost the sides and then remove the skewers to frost the top). Using a small offset spatula or a dinner knife, spread the frosting all over the sides and top of the cake. There’s no need to be perfect with this; I like it kind of rustic looking. But if you’re more of a type-A person, go ahead and smooth the top and sides (and you could even stick strips of parchment paper under the bottom of the cake before frosting it to keep your serving platter clean). Whatever makes you happy.

Let the cake sit for about 1 hour before serving. There’s something about letting each element get to know the others that serves this cake very well. In fact, I prefer to make it the day before and refrigerate it overnight, and serve it cold. Either way, slice and serve with some fresh raspberries alongside if you’d like.

Note: If you only own a single cake pan, fear not! Simply pour the batter into the pan and bake it until a toothpick tests clean (it will take 10 to 15 minutes longer in the oven than the two separate layers). Once the cake cools completely, use a serrated knife to cut it into two layers. Voilà.  

Notes from JennyBakes:

I don't have a lot to say because the recipe is solid. I did specifically look for Dutch-processed cocoa at the store and even in the 21st century, I'd have to go to a specialty place for it, so I just went with a combination of the last of the Ecuadorian cocoa powder from Libby and the Ghiradelli I had in the cupboard. And it was fine. I also didn't wait for the coffee to cool and only quick thinking with the buttermilk saved my eggs from curdling, but all told this is a pretty forgiving recipe. The frosting was such an interesting texture from the start, and the tang of the sour cream is amazing with the raspberry.   

Save-the-Day Spinach Pie

One of my goals for this year is to get better about weekday dinners, and to learn more recipes that might be palatable for younger eaters. I was poking around the internet and found a recommendation for Every Day is Saturday: Recipes + Strategies for Easy Cooking, Every Day of the Week by Sarah Copeland. This recipe is in the "Projects" section because it's just as easy to make two at once, and then you will have made an extra! I like the unusual sections in this cookbook because it's based on type of meal or rather need like quick dinners, last minute friends, etc.

I made a few mistakes with this recipe but I don't think they mattered to the final taste, but it's definitely not as pretty as the one in the cookbook! I'll add some notes at the end to talk about what I could have done better.

Save-the-Day Spinach Pie
(recipe from Sarah Copeland) 

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

30 oz frozen spinach, thawed
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
⅓ cup crumbled feta cheese
3 tbsp chopped fresh dill
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp fine sea salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
8 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Set the spinach in a colander to drain while you prepare the remaining ingredients, then place it in the center of a large, sturdy dish towel. Squeeze out as much moisture as you can. (If you wash the towel shortly after, the color won’t stain.)

Heat a large pan over medium heat. Melt the butter, and pour off and reserve about 5 tbsp.* Add the onion to the skillet and cook until soft but not brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl with the squeezed spinach, and add the ricotta, eggs, feta, dill (If using), lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

Brush a 9x11 inch baking pan with some of the reserved melted butter. Lay the two first sheets of phyllo side by side in the bottom of the pan to cover it and come 1 inch up the sides; brush with butter. Continue with another two sheets of phyllo right on top, layering them slightly overlapping to cover the bottom and up the sides (so far, you’ve used four sheets.) Add the spinach mixture and spread into an even layer. Lay two more sheets of phyllo side by side on top, to cover the entire filling, and brush with butter. Tuck the sides of the phyllo over the top, and layer the two remaining sheets of phyllo on top. Brush with the remaining butter.

Bake until the phyllo is cooked through, shiny, and golden brown, 40 to 45 minutes. Remove and let cool until just warm to the touch before cutting. Cut into 9 or 12 pieces and serve warm or at room temperature. Refrigerate any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

DOUBLE UP
One pan is a great start, but two pans of spinach pie will have you set for one hot meal, plus packable lunches and late-day snacks. Cool one pan completely and freeze, well wrapped (in plastic wrap and foil, right in the pan), for up to 2 weeks. To eat, bring to room temperature first, then warm in a hot oven for 5 minutes.

Notes from JennyBakes: Thawing the spinach and phyllo requires some thinking ahead and this makes this recipe more challenging (I know I need to do better at planning!) Making a double batch makes sense, maybe one in a disposable pan, because otherwise you just throw phyllo away.

Phyllo is tricky; you need to keep a damp towel on top of it every second you aren’t working with it directly. It’s ridiculous to melt all the butter in the pan only to pour and measure it out. I melted 3 tbsp in the pan (and that’s probably too much for one small onion!) and 5 tbsp in a ramekin for the assembly.

I might use nonstick spray for everything except the top next time, since the filling has so much fat already and it would assemble more quickly.

And I should have baked this about 5 more minutes!

Spoon Cookies (Lusikkaleivat)

I've had this recipe pinned for a while but finally made them before the holidays. They are called spoon cookies because of the unique way they are shaped - using a regular or teaspoon. I'm not sure if the traditional Finnish uses browned butter, but this one does, and made the cookies extra tasty. If you recall the chocolate cherry trifle of last week, I had some cherry jam leftover, and it was perfect in these.

Here is a picture of the cookies after shaping but before baking:

And here they are after baking, sandwiching, and sprinkling with powdered sugar:

Spoon Cookies
(Recipe courtesy of FoodNetwork)

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch fine salt

1 large egg yolk

3/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 to 1/3 cup jam, such as a berry, plum or cloudberry

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
2. Melt the butter in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Continue to cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter browns lightly and smells slightly nutty, about 15 minutes. Transfer the butter to a medium bowl -- be sure to get all the tasty brown bits -- and cool slightly.
3. Meanwhile, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in another medium bowl.
4. Whisk the egg yolk, sugar and vanilla into the cooled browned butter.
5. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture to make a uniform but crumbly dough that looks like wet sand.
6. Scoop out dough with a small teaspoon (the kind you set the table with, not the ones you measure with). Rock spoon gently back and forth against the side of the bowl, packing the dough into the spoon, then scrape/slide the spoon against the inside of the bowl to make spoon-shaped cookies. Trim excess dough with your fingers and slide out onto the prepared pans, preserving their shape. (Try to make sure you form an even number of cookies, since these sandwich together.)
7. Bake cookies until just browned, about 12 to 15 minutes. Cool almost completely on the baking sheets, and then transfer cookies to a rack to cool.
8. When cool, spread 1/2 teaspoon jam on the flat side of a cookie, and then sandwich together with a second cookie. Repeat until all cookies have met their match. Lightly dust the cookies with the confectioners' sugar. Serve.
9. Busy baker's tips: The dough can be prepared several hours ahead and stored at room temperature. Freeze baked cookie halves wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, followed by aluminum foil for up to 2 weeks. When ready to serve, defrost at room temperature and assemble as desired. Store sandwiches in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Do not store with crisp cookies, as moisture from the jam will soften the texture of other crisp cookies.