Banana Pecan Muffins

I had to end the weekend on a happy baking note. Plus, I feel the need to have something housed inside our cake dome. Not wanting to throw away perfectly good overly ripe bananas, I attempted a banana nut muffin. The recipe ended up being somewhat original after I totally rewrote the ingredients to a recipe I found in "The Joy of Cooking".

Happily, I can report that the muffins turned out great.

You'll need:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup oats

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup pecans

3 mashed bananas

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 large egg

3/4 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 375°.

In a medium bowl whisk together flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in pecans.

In a large bowl whisk together mashed bananas, oil, vanilla, egg and sugar.

Add dry ingredients to wet and fold until all traces of flour disappear. Lumps are good, so don't over incorporate.

Fill 12 muffin tins and bake for 24-30 minutes. The muffins are done when they're golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

I let the muffins cool in the pan for a few minutes before I removed them to cool further on wire racks.

Simon says "Make Pesto"

Simon says "Do Back Breaking Work in the Yard"

We're done for the weekend. I imagine the rest of Sunday will be spent reading and maybe a nap. After spending all day on our feet Saturday, first cleaning and running errands and second me failing miserably at attempting the filling for a lemon tart while the Italian plucked and washed basil leaves in preparation for a second mega-batch of pesto, we spent the first half of Sunday getting the garden ready for the inevitability of Fall. Pulling out tired tomato and yellowing zucchini plants, aerating the dirt, plucking dead heads and finally hosing everything down. We're done, I say...for now. It's exhausting. And, while we don't mind the energy it takes to get things done, we do mind the aching muscles and joints, bug bites, scratches, and mountains of bagged yard waste that comes with it.

No doubt in my mind that both of us are already looking forward to Labor Day weekend.

What Before My Wondering Eyes

Aglio e olio (garlic and olive oil pasta) in our house at its most basic is garlic, red pepper flakes, olive oil and parsley. This is the pasta dish we go back to time and time again.

So, we went back to it last night. We'll probably go back to it next week at some point and probably once a week, thereafter, indefinitely.

While not Italian, I have been known to succeed at making this dish. The key is to let the garlic, olive oil and red pepper flakes sit together in a cold pan. I like to let things sit together for at least 15-20 minutes while other things are prepped or cleaned up. From there you build up the heat in your pan gently. I find this is a great trick for red sauce as well. The garlic, given a little time, infuses the olive oil and you're left with intensity and depth of flavor that you just can't get by throwing your ingredients into a hot pan.

While I'd love nothing better than to post how to make this dish, if you've never attempted it, you would probably fail miserably like I did my first, second, and third time out. You have to see it being made, not once, but multiple times. And, you have to have eaten it, made perfectly even more. But please don't let that discourage you from trying.

Life is food and food is life. There is no distinction between the two. Engage in the conversation, create traditions in your kitchen and bring the day to a close at the kitchen table.

Comfort Food

After three weeks of pasta, it was time for a change. Last night we kept it simple with organic long grain white rice made with a little bit of olive oil, red onion, chicken stock, butter, salt, pepper and parsley.

Since we were just making it for two, with no intention of keeping leftovers, the ratio was about a cup of rice to two cups chicken stock/water.

At the table we added some freshly grated parm. It was so good.

If readers haven't figured it out yet, dinner is the business in our house. We do give it more attention than other meals because it's the one meal a day where we know we'll be sitting down together. It's a time to unwind, discuss the day, transition.

So, yes, I am thinking about "What's for dinner?" at about half past 10 on a Thursday morning. Will I need to scoot out at lunch and buy anything to supplement or is there something in the pantry that will suffice?

Big

I feared that the giant tomato, hanging fearlessly, would eventually pull it's peers to the ground. But it wasn't until I held it in my hands that I fully grasped the enormity of its size.

Bright

We're using them up and wearing them out, our tomatoes. They are dwindling, though. On Saturday we made an impromptu sauce with a mountain of just ripened that had been hanging out on our windowsill. The addition of tomato paste and basil seemed to pull down the acidity leaving us with a finished sauce that was bright and sweet.

You'll need:

1 clove garlic

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup diced onion

2 cups peeled and diced tomato

1 tablespoon tomato paste

10-12 fresh basil leaves

Sauté the garlic, red pepper flakes and onion. Add in tomatoes and bring up to a simmer. Stir in the tomato paste. Add salt and pepper to taste. When the sauce is at the consistency you're looking for turn off the heat and add in the basil. No chopping necessary, just tear and stir. While you can certainly have both the pasta and sauce cooking at the same time, if left to sit a little in the pan, excess water will evaporate leaving the flavors time to get to know each other, rendering the sauce more dense and sweet.

©2009 Amuse-bouche for Two

Dappled Sunlight Through Closed Blinds

Eastern peaches, peeled and sectioned over cubed North Carolina watermelon under florescent cubicle lighting, 08/21/2009.

©2009 Amuse-bouche for Two

Mise en Place

I have to make quick work of dinner prep these days. Summer is winding down and the natural light I've come to love in order to document our food journey is dwindling.

©2009 Amuse-bouche for Two

Oil packed anchovy. I'll have to remember to keep this tiny jar. I'm sure I'll find a use for it. A tiny vase for some freshly cut thyme or a perhaps a vessel for leftover vinaigrette.

©2009 Amuse-bouche for Two

Linguine with anchovy, tomato, eggplant and onion. With help from extra virgin olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, white wine, parsley, salt, pepper and a healthy dose of parm at the table to pull out the flavors even more.

©2009 Amuse-bouche for Two

Toaster Oven Pizza (pizza bread)

In the winter you'll find me making a batch of dough if not once a week, at least every two weeks, to take care of a craving that I've had perhaps most of my life.

I remember growing up, we'd order pizza from the local deli. I remember my mother taking me with her to go pick it up or just order it there and wait. I was just tall enough to see behind the counter. The pizza man would stretch the dough, lay it down on a huge white, floured counter top. He would proceed to ladle on a nondescript sauce, followed by a healthy dose of cheese. Most of the time we ordered it plain. A cheeseburger sub with heaps of shredded lettuce, tomato, mayo and onions (sometimes raw, sometimes fried) always accompanied the order.

If we had a frozen pizza in the house my mother would take bits of ground beef and dot the frozen disc. Didn't matter what was on the pizza, it's just what she did.

So, when summer rolls around and it's too hot to fire up the oven to preheat the pizza stone and bake a pizza(s) we find ourselves taking creative license. A fresh baguette cut on the bias, some leftover red sauce, a ball of mozzarella, a drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkle of oregano and red pepper flakes and some time in the toaster oven and we've got a pizza.

Living with a former pizza man doesn't hurt. I've watched and been in awe of how he rolls and shapes the dough, adds the right balance of toppings, handles the peel and ultimately bakes what are some of the best pizza's you can find coming out of a home oven.

I have a lot to live up to when it comes to pizza making in our house. So whenever I hear "Should we save this sauce for pizza bread?", I know I must be doing something right.

©2009 Amuse-bouche for Two

Another Excuse for Bacon

When we buy bacon we take great care in portioning, wrapping and freezing it. Many a dinner has been made possible do to our stockpile. While we don't add it to everything, lately we've been using it quite a bit, but in moderation. We're all about balance.

Last night we made a simple pasta using leftover zucchini, carrot and red onion. The vegetables glistened in the pan while they lay in wait for the pasta.

©2009 Amuse-bouche for Two

It's funny, as I sit here constructing this post, all I can think about is tonight's dinner. Perhaps spaghetti with diced heirloom tomato, eggplant and anchovy...

©2009 Amuse-bouche for Two

Oily Little Buggers

The remains of our final can of sardines. Now we grieve over the sad remains of our pantry. A trip to the market to rebuild our supply is in order. 

We love sardines. We don't mind the smell. They taste great and are rich in omega's, vitamins and protein.

I wouldn't mind sitting down to a can now, right here in my cube. My neighbors would no doubt cause an uproar over the "stench". I would cry, "It's no worse than your smelly cardboard box microwave meals or leftover Chinese carryout. Let me eat in peace!"

Further, I indulge my fantasy with the idea that one day they will make saltine crackers without high fructose corn syrup. Layering a saltine with yellow mustard, sardine, a sliver of parm and a pitted green olive...

I know, salt on salt. Maybe too much salt. The food realities of my youth merging with the food realities of present. I will always fall happily victim.

©2009 Amuse-bouche for Two

Fico

A bowl of newly ripened figs sit in our fridge. Each day we peel and eat, peel and eat. As they grow softer, skin chilled, gravity starts to take hold, their bulbous bodies start to favor one side over the other. Signs of atrophy.

Last night before the last signs of peach tart were devoured we grazed over a prepared plate of figs that I had sectioned and brought down to room temperature. "They're not that sweet", the words thought by one and spoken by the other. Agreement that the rain we experienced in the Spring managed to dilute the otherwise milky, obscenely sweet fruit.

What a strange year of weather we've had. Even these hazy, hot and humid days of summer are borderline at best. Low 90's instead of the high 90's with heat index's in the 100's our bodies have become used to.

It seems as though the fig tree is just going through the motions and thus we do as well, eating them as they become ripe before the birds do.

©2009 Amuse-bouche for Two

Just Peachy

To be honest, I didn't look for donut peaches at the farmer's market on Sunday. The crowds were dominating all lines of vision. We pulled ourselves away with eggs, milk, and bread. Staples.

The galette dough recipes I came across required ingredients I didn't have on hand. However, I found a tart dough recipe in our "go to" cookbook, The Joy of Cooking. The recipe was simple, requiring very little in the way of skill. After a successful blind bake, a smearing of strawberry jam to protect the crust from getting soggy, I proceeded to load in the anemic amount of eastern peaches I had on hand. First, though, I tossed the peaches in equal parts sugar and flour. I also sprinkled a healthy dose of sugar on top before I slid it back into the oven.

The finished product was more than I could have hoped for. The crust was buttery with just a hint of lemon and vanilla. The bottom of the tart didn't get soggy. There was just enough sweetness from the strawberry jam, peaches and sugar.

Success!

©2009 Amuse-bouche for Two

Tomatoes and Cream

I pulled out a leftover Orange Roughy filet from the freezer to thaw. This act was bold, because it hands down dictated what we were having for dinner. I didn't ask, I just acted. In this case, the act inspired a delicious second course. Orange Roughy with a sauce of diced heirloom tomato and white onion sautéed in olive oil with garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, a nice glug of white wine, lemon, basil, parsley and cream.

My tongue felt like a sponge. The flavor was so intense. I praised the chef. He said the key ingredient that inspired him that night was the cream, the fish was a just a catalyst.

We were delighted with our dinner, as we often times are. In fact, just moments before we made our usual comfort pasta of garlic and olive oil, but that night opted to add in some bacon, just because. We gild every lily we can, you see.

With peaches in white wine for dessert, we managed to pull off yet another meal fit for a king.

Retrospective: Dinner, Thursday

First course:

©2009 Amuse-bouche for Two

Pesto. Because we gladly retreat to our stockpile in the freezer.

Plus, we have precious pine nuts that need to be used or else suffer the fate of rancidity.

A prelude to the second course:

©2009 Amuse-bouche for Two

©2009 Amuse-bouche for Two

Shrimp sautéed in butter, garlic, red pepper flakes and white wine. Partnered with a salad of baby romaine, heirloom tomato, onion, cucumber, and remnants of an Italian boule from Sunday's farmers market.

A happy accident:

©2009 Amuse-bouche for Two

Rex Goliath zinfandel. The peppery finish was magic with all courses.

Coffee...

©2009 Amuse-bouche for Two

and Brownie:

©2009 Amuse-bouche for Two

Lady Liberty:

©2009 Amuse-bouche for Two

"She's a good, honest mortadella." Only we could happen upon a gem such as this. It was bad, but Sophia is holding a mortadella, trying to get through customs in NYC. We watched every edited for television minute.

Dream: Donut Peach Galette

It's restaurant week in Baltimore once again. While perusing the dinner menus for participating restaurants on http://www.baltimorerestaurantweek.com I came across a Roasted Pineapple Galette offering from Gertrude's. All of sudden I was stricken with the memory of a dream I had just last night. A donut peach galette. In the dream I see myself clearly, rolling out the dough, then folding it in half and then in half again, covering it with plastic wrap and then placing it into the fridge to chill. Then, like a flicker or the blink of an eye, I've got the dough open on my counter top and I'm cutting up donut peaches, skin on, quite rustically. It gets a little fuzzy at this point (no pun intended). I believe I sprinkle a coarse crystalized sugar on top, and fold in the edges of the dough.

But, that's all I can remember. 

I'll have to make this now. Peaches are in season. A buttery galette dough cuddling up on some sweet peaches gilded by a dusting of sugar...

Have I crossed over to some unique place where food has invaded my dreams? Ideas for recipes that I didn't know I had the desire to make are revealing themselves to me. I find it fascinating. I just hope I can find donut peaches at the farmers market on Sunday.

©2009 Amuse-bouche for Two

What Is For Lunch

Using it up and wearing it out, lunch today has some inspiring and not so inspired components. Forgive the slice cheese product. Who can deny the flavor of youth? My adult spin on it, being organic sliced cheese product. Artisan ciabatta rolls from the supermarket on their last refridgerated leg hold a stack of heirloom tomato, before-mentioned cheese, cucumber, salt, pepper and a leaning tower of mixed greens, heavy on the spinach.

Another local product of my youth, Utz pretzels will accompany. Mass produced and local. They sorta cancel eachother out, leaving me to question whether the pretzels actually exist.

A camera shy container of blueberries and kiwi will finish the meal.

I'll be hungry again at 3:00. Wondering what's for dinner. A question I ponder throughout the day. Keeping my stomach at bay with as much water as I can, I'll hope for a commute that doesn't inpire expletives the entire drive home. Ah, but I do have an excuse, or two. I'm very susceptible to dehydration and my blood sugar levels need to be addressed or else I can get quite ornery.

©2009 Amuse-bouche for Two

Aquarium Inspires Fish for Dinner

A late start, kick-started by some freshly ground local coffee, and we were off. Downtown, heat and humidity were percolating. With the car parked in Little Italy, we had three hours to spare. The mission that day was simple, the Baltimore Aquarium. Four tickets in hand, our directives were for a noon entry. To kill some time we emptied our bladders and set out for a nice stroll along the Inner Harbor. Walking Baltimore-style (this would be less than zero mph), our feet barely catching air, we landed in front of the Science Center and turned back. Our timing almost impeccable, we lined up to enter the aquarium only minutes before noon.

We shuffled through, like cattle, in less than 40 minutes.

Lunch brought us to a busy and understaffed Miss Irene's in Fells Point. We ordered calamari salad and muscles to share before our sandwiches arrived. Stuffed, we headed over to Eddies of Roland Park to pick up supplies for dinner. Five Orange Roughy filets, olives, mozzarella, pine nuts and baby red potatoes.

Back at home, we prepped for dinner with our stomach's still somewhat full. Making use of our abundant garden, we enjoyed some of the best pesto ever muddled in a mortar and pestle. The pesto, thick with basil, pine nuts, garlic and cheese nestled in the medium sized shells we opted for that night. I can't forget to mention the heirloom tomatoes we enjoyed with fresh mozzarella bathed in salt, pepper and olive oil beforehand. Our third course of Orange Roughy baked with pine nuts, lemon, salt, pepper and olive oil was accompanied by sautéed baby reds seasoned with garlic, salt, pepper, chives and a mixed green salad using ever more of our abundant tomatoes.

We cleaned our plates, with not a thing to lay leftover in the fridge. For the very idea, would be a crime. Don't you think?

 

©2009 Amuse-bouche for Two

Homecoming

Sometimes the best part about going away on vacation is the

coming home part.

On Sunday our garden happily greeted us with heavy hanging tomatoes (both green and juicy ripe, roma and heirloom),

green peppers and eggplant.

It's almost too much for two people to eat...There's always family and friends to share it with and if all else fails the kitchenette at work, but somehow I think we'll manage. Neither one of us has a hard time making room in our belly, especially when we know

we'll be filling it with something fresh and delicious.

I have a feeling that a future post might involve fried green

tomatoes with goat cheese...