Banana Bread

okay, I made this banana bread the other day and it was great but I did not get many pictures. Well, with how easy this banana bread was to make I decided to make it again.

However, this time I had some leftover tropical pancakes that had been soaking in syrup. I really did not want to throw these away for a few reasons. For one we are totally broke. We really do not throw away much. But also, these were whole wheat pancakes, with kiwi, papaya and mango!!! I thought that sounded perfect for banana bread.

The basic recipe was really easy. I got it from the Joy of Baking site. I am in love with this site. But 1 problem I knew I was going to have was that I do not have any baking soda. We only have baking powder. After doing some research online I was able to determine that I could sub baking powder pretty easily for the same measurement. So that is what I did.

The recipe as called for by Joy of Baking is below.

After I got all my wet butter, banana, eggs and villa all together I threw in the rest of the kids pancakes. after mixing in the dry ingredients it seemed a little wet so i threw in a little more whole wheat flour.




I put it into a heart shaped baking dish (still the only 1 that I have!) The bread was great. It was finished off for breakfast the next day. The pancake did add to the flavor not only in the tropical fruit and syrup but also in making the bread a little heavier. It did more to fill you up.


Recipe:

1 cup (115 grams) walnuts or pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped (optional)

1 3/4 cups (245 grams) all-purpose flour

3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar

1 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

3 ripe large bananas (approximately 1 pound or 454 grams), mashed well (about 1-1/2 cups)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Garnish: (Optional)

1 large banana, sliced or dried banana chips

Tropical pancakes

I have been really trying to think of new ways to use a lot of the fruits that either are starting to get too ripe or the ones that get smashed to bits on our way home. Well this morning I thought of a great idea... tropical pancakes.


I took some basic whole wheat pancake mix. I am not sure how much of a difference the whole wheat really makes but I am sure it is at least better for you. And I added 1 large but smashed kiwi and some chopped up bits of mango into the batter. i was a little worried that it would be too wet so I threw in a little bit of wheat flour.

They cooked up very nicely in the pan and I topped them with some mango and some papaya with a little syrup and a touch of powdered sugar. It was really tasty.

The really funny thing is... I have sort of a weird idea for the left overs. I made some banana bread the other night- it was my first batch and it turned out great. I did not get too many pics but anyway... I have decided to make it again but this time I am going to add my kids left over pancakes already moist with syrup.

I am not sure if this is going to turn out but we will see. That is the fun part.

Mango, pineapple sorbet with tequila and orange liquor

May I just say first of all, that I really want an ice cream maker. Ever since keeping strict track of the money we spend on things and at each store I have noticed a few things. One is that the ice cream at the store (which is the cheapest place to buy ice cream) has gone up from 35 pesos for about a liter to 40 pesos and I am sure that it will keep going up as the town continues to grow and populate. The 2nd thing I have noticed is that ice cream is our number one treat because it is so hot here. This is the one that I want... I think it will be so much fun to make a bunch of fruit sorbets. I mean... we have no shortage of cheap fruits here and the need for cool treats.

Anyway...

This palate cleanser was an idea that I had based on a restaurant that I went to twice in Paris, La Truffiere. It was one of those magical restaurants that you sit and eat at for hours. I went there once during the summer of 2000 and then again for Christmas Eve 2001. Both times were a truly unforgettable dining experience. Well, in between the fish and meat course they serve a palate cleanser. This was on both occasions an icy sorbet that contained liquor to help prepare you for the next dish.

Yesterday I was cutting some pineapple for some sweet and sour chicken I was making and the pine apple was to the point of almost done. Still a good pineapple but not the kind you want to eat plain. I had some mangos that were the same way. I decided to give a sorbet a try.

So yesterday I scooped out my over ripe mango and blended it in my trusty mini chopper and then did the same to the remaining half of the pine apple. I mixed the chopped fruit with a few splashes of orange liquor and a splash of tequila as well a cup or so of water.

I put it all in a tupperware dish and put it in freezer. After many hours I went and took it out and stirred the more frozen parts into the middle. Even at this point it was looking and tasting really good. I put it back in the freezer to harden over night. I figured that it would be a perfect snack for the next day which has already proven as I sit here at 10:30 am... that it is going to be a VERY HOT day.

But... alas... my husband came home from work last night and ate it all. can you believe that?!?!?! He assures my that it was very good. What a punk ass. Oh well. I am not really mad, although I would have loved to at least try it. I made it to be enjoyed... and it sounds like it was. But it did make so excited to try another one. What a great way to use all those fruits that are past the point of good raw.

This time I will hide it in the back of the freezer so the hubby cannot find it! :)

Mexican Grilled Grouper in a Tequila Marinade, with brown rice and veggies and sliced mango

So armed with left over brown rice and veggies that I made last night, I set out to make a grouper recipe that was adapted from this web site I had all the fixings for it so I thought that I would give it a shot.

I marinaded the grouper fillets in some tequila, orange liquor, lime juice, garlic and salt. I set the in the fridge for about a half hour or so. I took a picture - it is a pretty boring fridge. And our "pantry" is not that much more exciting.

I then made the salsa. This was just tomatoes, white onion, red onion a little garlic, salt, pepper, a little sugar, _ I would have put in jalapenos but I did not have any. So I added a little red pepper flakes in the kids salsa and then added red pepper flakes and a little habanero salsa to our pico de gallo

I lightly oiled my grill pan and set the fish on there to cook for about 5-6 min. each side. Meanwhile I put the marinade in a little pan and simmered while the rice and veggies that we had leftover reheated.

When served it was a fillet of the marinade liberally dressing the top (this would have been a great topping for fresh steamed veggies. We then piled the pico de gallo on the fish and served with the leftover rice and veggies and sliced mango.


It was a great lunch. It tasted very fresh and light.

I just found this great web site that looks like it has some great recipies for fish.