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banana bread part three February 28, 2010

Posted by molly in : desserts , 2comments

you guys know my love of banana bread. i make it quite often, it seems! check out my previous bundles of joy here and here. both of those recipes were vegan and came from books that already included ways of making it without eggs and dairy. but this weekend, i thought i’d try my hand at following a recipe that wasn’t originally vegan and mix things up a little bit. the result was the richest, butteriest, loveliest banana bread i’ve found yet. there are a couple of little tweaks i’d like to try, but overall it is brilliant. and it comes as no surprise that the man behind the recipe is mark bittman. of course!

so without further ado, i present to you a heavenly banana bread recipe with some exciting twists…

banana coconut bread

based on the recipe from how to cook everything vegetarian

the particulars:

  1. preheat the oven to 350F / gas mark 5. grease a loaf pan using a paper towel and some vegan margarine.
  2. mix together the dry ingredients. cream the margarine and beat in the eggs (or egg replacement mixture), bananas, and agave nectar (if you’re using sugar, mix it into the flour). stir this mixture into the dry ingredients; do not mix more than necessary. gently stir in the vanilla and coconut (and any other optional extra ingredients, if using).
  3. pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 45 to 60 minutes, until nicely browned. a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread will come out fairly clean, but banana bread is excessively moist compared to other breads. do not overcook. cool on a rack for 15 minutes before removing from the pan.

lesson learned: for the monkey in all of us, this is a lovely flavoursome treat that isn’t tooooo indulgent – i wish i had super ripe bananas on hand at all times.

a taste of the pacific February 27, 2010

Posted by molly in : mexican , 3comments

today, i’m thinking positive. my hobbling is decreasing by the day, i’ve got an exciting event to plan, and dinner last night was super tasty and reminded me of san diego (always a good thing).

now it’s your turn: what are three things you are feeling positive about right now? seriously, i want to know! comment please :)

i’m really excited to share this recipe with you, because it’s so tasty and QUICK to make. there’s three essentials: FRESH halibut (pacific), a RIPE avocado (smushy), and a JUICY grapefruit (or any other citrus fruit… orange will do). it’s fun to put these guys together and then chomp on down. ideal for a small group of people for dinner.

fish tacos with grapefruit salsa

makes enough for 6 tacos – based on this recipe from the california avocado commission

the particulars:

  1. make the salsa: slice ends off grapefruit and stand it upright on your chopping board. cut away peel and membranes, exposing fruit. working over a bowl to catch the juices, separate the grapefruit sections by slicing with a serrated knife between membranes. remove and discard seeds.
  2. cut grapefruit segments and avocados into 1/2 inch dice. toss with the chipotle paste and chives in a medium mixing bowl. gently stir in reserved grapefruit juice, orange juice, lime juice, a little olive oil, salt and pepper. let sit 30 minutes before serving.
  3. fish: on the stovetop, heat a griddle pan over medium-high heat or prepare a medium-hot grill. drizzle halibut with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and grill until barely done. depending on thickness, this should be 2-5 minutes per side. remove fish from grill, cool slightly, and pull apart into large flakes.
  4. place warm tortillas (or taco shells) on a work surface. line each with a piece of lettuce and chunks of fish.
  5. spoon some salsa over each taco and serve immediately.

lesson learned: they are very very messy, these tacos. but that’s part of the fun.

tastes like burning February 26, 2010

Posted by molly in : curry , add a comment

it’s good to challenge yourself in the kitchen. some recipes are pretty straightforward, but if you can add something to the mix that’s unusual or beyond your comfort zone, all the better. case in point: dinner last night. on the menu was a simple lentil curry (sort of a dal but not really) involving root veg and red lentils – a side of brown rice – and that was it. so to mix things up, we decided to try our hand at cooking up poppadums and not using a ready-made variety. hmmmm.

here’s what we should have done:

but instead we followed the weird instructions on the packet that said something about being healthier and cooking them directly over an open flame. we used one of the hobs on our stove, thus burning the poor little poppa to smithereens. another suggestion involved the microwave. with a paper towel and some oil. another ignition, another burnt poppadum. we gave up after 3 failed attempts.

next time: go the unhealthy route and cook them properly in hot oil!

ah well. plenty of leftovers for lunch today, so i’m not too concerned about a lack of crackers.

easy-peasy lentil curry

from 101 best ever curries

the particulars:

  1. heat the oil in a large pan. add the onions and cook for about 8 minutes. stir in the curry paste for a minute, then pour in a little of the stock so it sizzles. pour in the rest of the stock.
  2. stir in the vegetables, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. add the lentils and simmer for a further 20 minutes, or until cooked.
  3. season the curry, toss in the raisins and parsley, then serve with brown rice or poppadums and mango chutney or naan. yum.

lesson learned: this curry has a lot of liquid in it, in order to properly cook the vegetables (which can be any root veg by the way, not just carrots and sweet potatoes). so make sure to strain a bit before serving.

not quite curry February 25, 2010

Posted by molly in : curry , 2comments

well i’ve had an interesting morning! last night i did something bad to my big toe – i iced it up when i got home, but it hurt more than ever when i woke up this morning. and because i’m a huge worrier, i decided to take myself to the hospital, just to make sure it wasn’t broken. and of course – after an hour and a half of waiting rooms – it isn’t broken. but at least now i know! i can hobble around the flat with peace of mind. and i’ll be hobbling to the shops later to pick up cupcake cups. it’s a beautiful image, isn’t it?

speaking of beautiful images… the photo from the sainsbury’s dinner i promised has already arrived!

pak choy + hairnet + lab coat = yikes. so much fun though!!

other news of interest:

right, on with dinner. this seems like so long ago, but it was super tasty and worth talking about. although i found the recipe in the 101 best ever curries book, it is more of a stir-fry than a curry. i absolutely love the combination of sweet and spicy here – all totally adjustable based on individual taste. give it a try if you’d like some interesting flavors on your table for dinner! we served ours with leftover toasted baguette, but obviously some naan or chapatis would be better.

tamarind chickpeas

serves 2

the particulars:

  1. heat the oil in a pan, fry the fennel seeds for 10 seconds, then add the onion and cook gently for 8-10 minutes.
  2. mix in the tomatoes, chilis, sugar, paprika, turmeric, and chickpeas. bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. stir in the tamarind and coriander. add the spinach leaves and stir gently until they’ve just wilted.
  3. serve with naan or chapatis and yogurt (to cool down the spices if you wish).

lesson learned: before serving, drain out some of the excess liquid. this dish benefits from a good strong simmer to reduce down the liquid.

freefrom dinner party February 24, 2010

Posted by molly in : afk (away from kitchen) , 1 comment so far

last night was the sainsbury’s food allergy and intolerance dinner party at sainsbury’s hq in holborn – the first event i’ve been invited to as a result of starting this blog! i felt really honored to be asked and was really curious about how this whole evening would play out. this event was planned in conjunction with the release and redesign of sainsbury’s freefrom product range, which focus on a wide variety of delicious products sold in their shops which are literally FREE FROM many of the common allergens.

before the dinner party, all of the bloggers invited were asked to submit some recipes of our own, as well as inform the sainsbury’s try team which dishes we missed the most as a result of our allergies or intolerances. they came up with a great menu, including one dish submitted by yours truly. have a look!

they had a beautiful dining table set up for us to enjoy this three course meal – most of which was cooked and prepared by us bloggers that evening. my prawn pad thai dish (with a few alterations) was prepared by the lovely pippa (the intolerant gourmet), who i got the opportunity to hang out with before the event. we are total twins! i made a chinese stir fry, which didn’t contain any soy (and was vegetarian – could easily be made vegan, but the dressing contained honey). check it out:

all the finished dishes before we scoffed them (it was just a coincidence that my stir fry was in the spotlight!):

my favorite of the evening had to be the sweet potato wedges with turmeric, lime, and coconut. SO GOOD and definitely worth a try on my own sometime soon:

i met some wonderful ladies (and one dude haha) from around the blogosphere – as well as some great girls from 1000 heads. and of course, the brilliant team from sainsbury’s – they were all so welcoming and a delight to meet. they made special versions of everything just for pippa and i (as we seemed to be the most intolerant of the lot!) – and sent us home with a great goodie bag! mine included some special beef stock, thai green curry sauce, gluten-free spaghetti, and tasty-looking granola. i can’t wait to try this stuff.

roxy from 1000 heads was taking photos with her amazing camera all night, so i’ll post some better pictures once they come through – including some of me and the rest of us wearing HAIRNETS and WHITE LAB COATS. very attractive.

it’s a wonderful thing that a national supermarket chain is so invested in catering to the ever-growing population of food allergy sufferers. holding an event like this just shows how committed they are to connecting with the public on this issue – and i love that we all got to share ideas and recipes with each other. it’s exciting to think that MY recipe will potentially be available to all sainsbury’s customers!

anyway, like i said, i feel really honored to have been included in this dinner party. check out the blogs of some of the other attendees below – they are all fabulous people with a great attitude and passion for food!