January 4, 2016

Banana Bread

By Kat Myrman

As promised, one more recipe from my cooking spree this weekend! This is an easy recipe. I only go for easy peasy and delicious of course! And I HATE to waste bananas that have gotten too ripe.

Here’s a handy tip for storing your bananas…I found it on Pinterest and it WORKS! To make your bananas last longer, separate the bunch into individual pieces of fruit. I promise…it really does prolong the shelf life of your bananas. The bananas in the photo below have been out for a week and are only starting to get a few brown spots. If I had left the bunch intact, it would have only taken a few days to get to this.  🙂

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Back to the recipe! When you do find that despite your best efforts you have several very ripe bananas the best thing you can do is MAKE BANANA BREAD! 🙂

Preheat your oven to 350 F Degrees and grease a standard loaf pan.

What you will need:
3-4 very ripe bananas, peeled (other recipes call for less bananas, but I like my banana bread moist and full of banana flavor! 🙂
1/3 cup melted butter
3/4 cup of sugar (you can use as much as 1 cup or scale it down to a 1/2 cup depending on how sweet you want your bread to be.)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda (not in my photo above…but be sure not to forget this important ingredient!)
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
(Some recipes call for adding nuts, raisins, craisins, dates, etc. You can certainly add these to your recipe. In my house we’re banana bread purists, with the banana’s being the star! 🙂 )

Mash your banana. Add the melted butter, sugar, egg and vanilla and mix until blended. Add the baking soda and blend in. Sprinkle a  bit of salt in and finally add the flour and blend. Pour into your prepared loaf pan and bake for about an hour. (the time will depend on your oven so start checking the loaf at around 50 minutes. A knife inserted in the middle should come out clean and the top will be a nice rich dark brown – see below). Once I remove the bread from the oven, I cover it loosely with aluminum foil to keep the moisture in while it cools.

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Can you say YUM?! Enjoy! 🙂

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26 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Stone Soup and Other Delicacies

January 3, 2016

Root Veggie Medley

By Kat Myrman

I stopped eating meat about 6 months ago and I am always experimenting with new and interesting ways to prepare veggies. I was excited to find some beautiful purple sweet potatoes recently at our Fresh Market. And I also had some red potatoes and brussels sprouts on hand. There is nothing I love more than roasted veggies! I don’t know why I ever thought boiling them was a good idea! So the wheels started turning and I thought…mmmm…a medley!

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Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees.

You will need:
1 large baking sheet (with edges)
1 lb of Brussels Sprouts / sliced in half
1 Large Purple Sweet Potato / peeled and cubed
4-5 Red Potatoes / peeled and cubed
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Garlic Powder (or if you have it real garlic) 🙂
Parsley Flakes
Red Pepper Flakes
Salt & Pepper
(You’ll notice I do not give you any measurements for the spices. I like things spicy. So I would say…season to taste!)
Butter for serving

Once you have sliced, peeled and cubed all the veggies put them in a large bowl with the spices and toss with enough olive oil to completely coat everything. Pour them onto the baking sheet and spread them out to form one layer. Doesn’t that look pretty! 🙂

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Bake until the potatoes are tender and the brussels sprouts are brown and caramelized. Serve with pats of melted butter.

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It was hearty, spicy and filling…and I even have enough to pack for my lunch tomorrow! This kitchen experiment is definitely a keeper!

 

 

10 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Stone Soup and Other Delicacies

January 3, 2016

Magic Cake

By Kat Myrman

I’ve been wanting to try this recipe for a while now. Of course the name is most intriguing. Magic. Anything MAGIC has to be good, right? So I assembled the ingredients and got to it.

 

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You’re going to need:

4 Eggs / Separated at Room Temp
3/4 cup of Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
1 Stick or 1/2 cup of Butter / Melted
3/4 Cup of All Purpose Flour
2 Cups of Lukewarm Milk
Powdered Sugar for Dusting the Cooled Cake

8×8 inch baking pan (I only had a 9×9 inch pan, which made the cake height less than optimal for the cool layered affect, but it was still DELICIOUS!)
Mixer
Spatula
Several bowls for ingredients

Preheat the oven to 325 F degrees and grease the baking dish.

Start off by whipping the egg whites until they were stiff, and then set them aside. Next beat the egg yolks and sugar until light. Add the butter and vanilla, beating for a few more minutes. Add the flour and mix until incorporated and then add the milk and continue mixing until everything is well blended. Finally, gently fold the egg whites (1/3 of the batch at a time) until all the egg whites have been folded into the batter.

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Pour into the baking pan and bake for 40 minutes (you’ll need to figure out the time for your own oven. I have seen the baking time extended to 70 minutes). You’ll want to look for a light golden brown top to let you know it’s done.

Let the cake cool completely and dust with powdered sugar before serving. The “Magic” is in the way that the cake appears to have a crust layer, a custard-like layer and a cake top layer. (As I had mentioned earlier, if I had used a smaller pan the layers for my cake would no doubt have been much more dramatic.) But the taste was delightful. It had a vanilla custard  flavor and each slice was the consistency of a brownie. It would be a very nice recipe for a pot luck or perfect for packing in a to-go lunch or picnic. There are variations in other flavors like lemon and chocolate. I will definitely want to try those.

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The anticipation was definitely worth the wait!

I found this particular recipe on Jo Cooks at www.jocooks.com/bakery/cakes/magic-cake/. There are a lot of variations out there but I liked her list of ingredients the best.

 

28 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Random Thoughts and Musings, Stone Soup and Other Delicacies

January 3, 2016

Finding Bliss

By Kat Myrman

Sages, Greek, surmised that happiness can’t be controlled
Mere random acts of favor from the gods on us bestowed.
But current thought has turned a page
Pursuit of bliss is all the rage
Where legislators wield the power once held by gods of old.

kat ~ 3 January 2016

“Happy” is the prompt for this week’s Limerick Challenge. Join the fun by reading other Limericks or adding your own by clicking HERE.

11 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Challenges and Writing Prompts, Limericks, Poetry

January 3, 2016

Sunday’s Week in Verse – 3 January 2016

By Kat Myrman

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Happy 2016! This week’s review is balanced on the cusp of the past and the future…2015 and 2016…out with the old and in with the new! I found myself feeling ever mindful of the present moment. To pause, to breathe and to savor the bliss and happiness to be found in the messiness of life. What a ride! Fasten your seat belts kiddos! Here we go! 🙂

Sunday’s Week in Verse – 3 January 2016

It’s all vanity
Live a life of much less stress
fading petals left there hanging.
Now, I’m not so sure…
like tender kisses
find bliss.
I’m so happy for you…
I think you’re gonna want to see this!
Forget your plans and silly lists
Did you know that is a thing?!
I think I’ll call it “Purple Haze!”
Free souls will spill out.
Jars of savory, sweet spice
The best containers…
life, precious, messy life, is so worth living!

kat ~ 3 January 2016

If you’re new to this blog, a bit of background to explain the verse above. It is a line from each poem or prose from the previous week. Lifted and placed in the order written. A snapshot review of the week. It helps me to prepare for the upcoming week with a clean slate. 

15 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Week in Review