Summer snacking prep work.

The other weekend I thought I'd get ahead of the game and bake several loaves of banana bread and put them up in the freezer.  As summer officially starts next week, I thought this would put me in good shape to have something on hand for snacking.

Problem is, I haven't baked banana bread in a while.  The boys went nuts, eating an entire loaf in an afternoon.  And then they inhaled the second loaf the next day.  I didn't tell them where I hid the third.

I was left with merely an end slice (which was delish with my morning cuppa).

I went with the Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze again.  I can't believe this but I need to head to the store to buy ripe bananas for baking this week--I've also alerted the non baking neighbors to drop off any black bananas (yes, I totally do that).  I figure I have a fighting chance to stock the freezer if I do the baking while they are out of the house.  I have new recipes to try--both banana based and not--and will report back.  And maybe, just maybe, I'll write down and capture the chocolate chip cookie recipe we've finally deemed our "keeper"...it's only taken me 2.5 years to decide.  I am so fickle.

Sandra

Mixing it up.

After weeks and weeks of churning out the  coconut banana bread with lime-glaze, I decided to mix up a batch of banana bread from the "archives."  It was one of my original posts--Banana Blueberry Bread. 

I made a couple of loaves last week and completely over baked them.  I had an odd, nonchalant attitude about the entire thing and did not watch them like a hawk those last critical minutes in the oven.  This is a departure for me.  I have been known to pull a chair up to the oven and watch a baked good like a sitcom.  Perhaps gooey lime-glaze and its wondrous moisture-enhancing quality has made me a bit lazy?

Even though the bread turned out on the dry side, we nonetheless enjoyed some variety and I'll still reach for the recipe now and then.  But the boys are asking for our "normal" banana bread for their upcoming birthday breakfasts.  We celebrate three birthdays in just over five weeks.  And the first one, for littlest one,  is tomorrow! 

Sandra

Coconut banana bread with lime glaze.

When I saw this recipe on Made, I knew I had to try it.  It has many of our favorite ingredients:  coconut, banana, citrus.  Plus, it's a lower calorie recipe.  We still love the banana blueberry bread recipe that I previously posted, but this is a wonderful way to vary the bread box.  I made our first loaf on Friday and it was gone before dinner that evening.  I then made two loaves on Sunday, thinking they would get us through the week.  They were gone by Tuesday.

On the first batch, I only glazed half of the loaf because I wasn't sure if the boys would take to the lime glaze.  It turned out to be their favorite part, so for the following batches, I used a skewer to poke holes in the loaves before glazing.  Yummy pockets of lime goodness ensued.

Dana has great step-by-step pictures over on her site.  But I make my quick breads a little differently.  Basically, I do things in the order my cooking guru, Alton Brown, tells me to do it.  I'm posting my take on the recipe here.

Coconut banana bread with lime glaze

care of Cooking Light Magazine, via Made

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) softened butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 bananas)
• 1/4 cup yogurt (I used vanilla)
• 3 Tbl apple juice or applesauce (I used apple cider)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup coconut flakes
• 1 Tbl coconut to sprinkle on top of bread
  
  Glaze 
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbl fresh lime juice (approx 1 lime) 

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Prep loaf pan (spray with a baking spray that has flour incorporated or grease and line loaf pan with parchment paper)
• Mix the 2 cups flour, 3/4 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp salt in a large bowl, whisk, and set aside
• Place the 2 eggs, softened 1/2 stick of butter, and 1 cup sugar into a mixer bowl (I just used my hand mixer) and beat on medium for one minute
• Add the following ingredients:  mashed bananas, 1/4 cup yogurt, 3 Tbl apple juice/applesauce, 1/2 tsp vanilla, and 1/2 cup coconut flakes;  mix just until everything is incorporated
• Dump wet ingredients on top of the dry ingredients and hand stir until just blended (no dry pockets)
• Scrape batter into prepared loaf pan, sprinkle remaining 1 Tbl coconut on top, and bake for approximately 1 hour (mine was perfect at an hour but my oven is true to temp--do not over bake)
• For the glaze, stir together the juice of one lime with 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• After removing loaf from oven, allow it to rest for 5 minutes in the pan
• Remove the warm loaf from the pan and drizzle with glaze (I used a skewer to poke random holes through the loaf from the top before glazing because we loved the glaze)

I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Sandra 

Banana Blueberry Bread. Yum.

            Have you ever been to an Amy's Bread shop in New York?  If not, you should know that the promise--the potential--of a home cook turning out treats like theirs is pretty amazing.  And since my sister-in-law's name is Amy, I decided I had to get her The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread cookbook for Christmas.  And because I don't know of any fabulous "Sandra" bakery cookbooks, I went ahead and stuck one under the tree for little 'ole me as well. 

Since Will, our 15 month-old, usually loves bananas, I have not laid hands on any overripe ones for quite some time.  But now, out of the blue, he won't eat them.  He will mash them, fling them, poke them, and sculpt them, but nary a bit will get past his lips.  I've tried.  Of course, I'm more than a little vexed that without warning, my go-to, easy to transport--yet healthy--snack is out of favor with him.  But at least now we can enjoy banana bread again. 

Know that this is no ordinary banana bread--it's neither achingly sweet (yippee!) nor cinnamon-y.  It's flavorful and moist and, well, it's really, really good.  We ate both loaves within days.  I will force restraint next time by freezing one.  Better yet, I'll give away a loaf as a gift and spread the goodness.  I hope you'll try it. 

      

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