Monday, November 9, 2009

Banana nut bread...in a different way


Banana bread is a type of bread that contains mashed yellow bananas. Banana bread is usually a quick bread: usually a sweet, cake-like bread which typically uses baking soda as the leavening agent instead of yeast. Banana bread first became a standard feature of American cookbooks with the popularization of baking soda and baking powder in the 1930s - Wikipedia.
My association with Banana nut bread has been from childhood. Even though my origins are not American, my version of Banana nut bread is strikingly different.
We used to have tons of bananas which no one would touch for days and then what was mom to do with overripe bananas? That was the most efficient way to use them up and also make sure all got their serving of fruit with some hot tea.
I tried different versions of the bread and let me show you a few pictures.

Friday, November 6, 2009

My first recipe - Pear and Maple Bread Pudding

Food is such an important part of our life.....whether we like food or not....
My attempt is to make food consumption a little more interesting. It's not just by trying new recipes, it is the cooking process, the heat, how long it remains in the oven, maybe a little more sugar or maybe a little pinch of salt to add that punch........all these nuances matter!

I'll start of with a new recipe I tried -a twist on the original
Pear and Maple Bread Pudding
I tried at the Pear Tree Cafe (I think it shut shop in 2007 but the owner was kind to pass on the recipe).
I must admit I am quite an avid learner in baking. It is an art something I keep striving the perfect. You get the temperature wrong, you get the proportions wrong, it all messes up. But you got to keep on trying. It helps when you have some guinea-pigs at home :) We tried this pudding and I fell in love with it immediately. I rarely try puddings as most of the time, they're either mushy or hard or just no right. This one was sweeter than I expected but the crunch and crisp was so right!!!
My twist - I added 2 apples and 2 pears instead of 4 pears and kept the skins on....it added some color to the pudding. Also, instead of maple syrup I added honey and reduced the sugar content in it. I like desserts but just right on the sweetness....not too much of it.
And it turned pretty good!




Yummy....in my thoughts!

I wonder how do I get these dishes I create on my blog....
Do I make a recipe blog........naaah!!!!!!!! Too many people do that!!!!
Do I give my experience about it...hmmm that sounds more like it.
A lot of these recipes I try are very routine....mundane...with a dash of my interesting ingredients in it!!!
So maybe my take over the recipe is more someone would like to read.....

Yummy in my thoughts............. it is!!!!




Monday, November 2, 2009

A new beginning!

It's been quite a while since I've blogged....well Aug to Nov was blank on my side...that does not say good things about being a dedicated blogger I suppose!
Well, I've been busy....hmmm a little lazy too.
Been wondering where to drive this blog to?????
I guess I should be driving the blog to wherever it takes me...good to reflect and see what I do in the months passing by.... :-)

So what have I been doing????
I have been very actively cooking - searching for innovative recipes like a million others and creating my own!
I have also been taking pictures.....but that can be talked as a separate blog altogether!!!