Spiced Banana Bread

I think this is my new go-to banana bread. I added some buckwheat flour (apparently I’m becoming a little obsessed – I just made some pancakes with this flour too!), which I think makes the flavor a little deeper, and the spices compliment that well. The butter and eggs make it moist. I brought this to a choir rehearsal and it’s a good thing because I would have eaten way too much on my own!

why hello there

Spiced Banana Bread
Adapted from here for the basic recipe and here for the spices

Ingredients

1.5 cups all-purpose flour, plus a tablespoon or two for dusting the pan
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 very ripe bananas, mashed into about 1.5 cups
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 large eggs, beaten lightly
3/4 stick/6 tablespoons/85 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for the pan
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or add 1 sachet de sucre vanille to the sugar measuring cup before you measure the normal sugar)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pain d’épices mix (or 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, pinch of ground cloves, and a few grinds of black pepper)

1. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan, then dust the pan with flour.
2. Mix the mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter, and vanilla in a medium bowl.
3. Add the flours, sugar, baking soda, and salt to the wet mixture and mix until just combined.
4. Scrape into the prepared loaf pan. Bake 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean and top is brown.

This is what “mix until just combined” means

Gluten- and Dairy-Free Zucchini Bread

I never thought I would say this: I have been eating an all gluten- and dairy-free diet for about two weeks now.

I saw a naturopathic doctor for stomach pain. I have always had a sensitive stomach. Since I was a teenager I have experienced months-long periods of daily, unexplained stomachaches. Traditional doctors thought it was an acid-reflux-type condition, so I was always taking antacids and avoiding acidic foods. Sometimes this treatment would work and sometimes it wouldn’t. When my mom so generously offered to pay for me to see the naturopathic doctor, I figured I might as well try. I am going back to Paris for another year in September, and I didn’t want to be dealing with this issue there.

More and more people are becoming sensitive to gluten and dairy in recent years. I suppose this is why at my appointment, my doctor recommended that I do a super-healthy gluten- and dairy-free diet. She took it one step further and limited my fruit servings to 1-2 per day and upped vegetables to 6-10! I am also supposed to try to avoid dried fruit, fruit juice, bananas, potatoes, peas, and corn. Because I have previously had problems with coffee, tomatoes, and jalapenos, I have to continue to avoid those as well. The plan is to follow this healthy diet for two weeks in the US and then 1-2 weeks after I arrive in Paris, then gradually start adding foods back in to see what is causing the problem.

In the past, I would notice blogs, recipes, cookbooks, and packaged foods here and there boasting “gluten-free!” and never thought much more than, wow, I’m glad I don’t have to worry about that. I don’t know anyone personally who has gluten issues, (although I know several people who have varying levels of sensitivity to dairy) so it just never seemed like a big deal. At least not to me personally.

Well, I get it now! American food culture, while very diverse, is not set up to accommodate either of these dietary restrictions. Even vegetarians still have a hard time staying true to their diet choices, depending on which region they are in. (On a trip to Montana in high school, chicken was offered for the vegetarians with all seriousness!) If you are gluten- or dairy-free, it can be difficult and frustrating to eat out, because menu options are severely limited. But if you are both gluten- and dairy-free like I am right now, you can pretty much forget about eating out.

This has been such a challenge. I thought the hardest part would be saying no to things like pasta, cheese, baked goods and coffee. In fact, aside from the caffeine withdrawal I went through for the first four days, the hardest part has been community eating. It’s only been two weeks, but I already have numerous stories about situations where I couldn’t eat what everyone else was eating. At a traditional English tea with countless cakes and cookies, complete with freshly whipped cream, I ate only grapes. At a fancy restaurant in Napa, I couldn’t order a fancy-sounding ravioli dish or share the goat cheese appetizer; I had a plain salad and some meatballs. A coworker brought donuts specially from Portland for the office…I could continue, but I might start crying. (Just kidding…sort of.)

It’s actually really easy to say no to food when you have doctor’s orders. Previously, if I’ve ever tried to limit foods, all it took was a craving, a friend making cookies, or a commercial for french fries and I was easily breaking my promise to myself. Refusing certain foods isn’t the hard part now. The hardest thing is having to say no to other people. I know that I come off as picky, rude, and snobby when I refuse food people have made for me, or when I ask a waitress how a smoothie is prepared (I just need to know if there is dairy in it!). It’s so frustrating and sad, because I respect food and the people who make it, and I don’t ever want to come off as ungrateful. However, my mom paid a lot for this doctor, and so far I haven’t had any stomach pain, so it’s worth it to me to try. I owe it to myself!

I’m trying to look on the bright side: it’s only one month, this will help me feel better, and it’s been a great way to force me to cook more and eat a variety of foods instead of copping out to convenience food when I’m too tired or lazy. The lack of options makes that impossible.

I have learned a lot about myself during this process. I knew I loved food, but I never realized that a lot of that enjoyment comes from the act of sharing and eating it with friends, family, and strangers. I learned that I have a lot more willpower than I thought I had. And, I learned that I love baked goods soooo much that I figured out how to make a gluten- and dairy-free zucchini bread!

I’ll be honest; if I had no dietary restrictions, I would probably choose a traditional recipe including butter and eggs. But if you really can’t have dairy or gluten, this is a great substitute! I’m eating it tomorrow morning with maple syrup and bacon. Maybe I will survive this diet after all…

Gluten- and Dairy-Free Zucchini Bread
adapted from How Sweet It Is

Ingredients

2 cups gluten-free flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp chia seeds, mixed with 1/4 cup room-temperature water
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup soy milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup oil of your choice (I used canola, but you could use vegetable or coconut)
1 small zucchini, grated (yielding anywhere from 1-1 1/3 cups
1 small banana, mashed
1-2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Instructions

Place chia seeds and water in a bowl. Whisk with a fork. Let sit for 20-30 minutes, until chia seeds have swelled and the water is gel-like.

Before…

After!

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray an 8x8in pan with cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.

Thank you Bob’s Red Mill for taking gluten-free eating into consideration!

In a large bowl, whisk chia seed mixture and brown sugar.
Whisk in vanilla, oil and milk.
Stir in zucchini and bananas.

Adding in zucchini

Add dry ingredients in two additions, stirring until just combined.
Spread batter into prepared pan. If you desire more sweetness, sprinkle the top with a tablespoon or two of granulated sugar.
Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

Breakfast treat!

I DO <3 my mom!

Lately…

Food Creations

I haven’t made any recipes that are too involved in the past few weeks, but I have a few things that I want to share!

Sandwich with Brie and Cornichons
inspired by a boulangerie near the Sorbonne

On a baguette or panini bread, place a few slices of chorizo or salami, brie cheese, and cornichons (pickles). Grill in a pan with a heavy pot or pan on top (or a panini maker if you are so lucky) and eat! The combination sounds weird but it works – salty, creamy, and crunchy all at once!

Broccoli with Lemon, Parmesan, and Black Pepper

I have been using a new healthy-eating technique that has been working really well to keep me eating lots of veggies! I chop up a vegetable and put it in a tupperware, and then for the few days after I have no excuse not to use it since it is already prepared. Broccoli works well because it doesn’t go bad very quickly, but I’ve also done it with cauliflower, cucumbers, bell peppers, and onions.

Little trees dusted with snow

Here is how I do it in my small “kitchen:” Place bite-size pieces of broccoli in a bowl with an inch or two of water, put a plate or paper towel on top, and microwave for 30 second intervals, testing with a fork until it’s as soft as you want it. (Usually for me it’s 45 seconds, but it depends on your microwave and how crunchy you want it to be.) After it’s cooked to your liking, drain the water out. Then squeeze lemon juice over it, put a few spoonfuls of grated Parmesan cheese, and a twist or two of black pepper.

It’s really flavorful and quick to prepare. Eat it right away because it gets cold fast and there’s nothing worse than cold broccoli. Next I am going to try adding in zucchini!

Tomato and Basil Salad

With a simple vinaigrette, this has been a great lunch along with bread and cheese. It’s a great light lunch when it’s too hot to cook or eat hot food (such nice weather this week!).

Simple and delicious!

Herb Butter

I saw a bunch of herbs at a store near me for only 1.50eu per bunch! I couldn’t resist so I got basil and cilantro. They have started to wilt before I could use them all, so I finally made herb butter, something I see on blogs all the time but haven’t gotten around to trying. This is now going to be my go-to recipe to use up herbs that are on their way out.

Simply use some good butter (I used this yummy salted butter, but you can use unsalted and add salt if you want) that is slightly softened. Chop up whatever combo of herbs you want (I used basil and cilantro; thought it would be weird but they work together!) and throw them into the butter. Mush together with the back of a spoon until the herbs are incorporated.

So easy, so fancy!

I would love to do this with cream cheese; in fact, I thought I was buying cream cheese but I actually bought margarine. (Just when I was getting confident in my ability to understand French, the dairy goods got me again! I don’t know if I will ever be able to navigate the extensive French dairy aisles…) Damn it! Anyone have a good use for margarine?

Anyways, I put my herb butter on toast. I bet it would be good with pasta, on some sort of roasted meat, baked onto chicken, on toasts for a party, need I continue?

Oranges and Mint

No picture here, because this was a dessert one night with the family I work for. Peel and slice oranges and then garnish with a little mint. If you are thinking – EW that sounds like when I brush my teeth and then drink orange juice – SHHT! It’s not! It’s refreshing and makes you forget the fact that you are eating just oranges for dessert!

Non-food stuff:

-Did you know I am kind of a freak? Well, I left a comment about my siren song on my favorite podcast, and I got a shoutout on this episode! I was happy I made Joy the Baker and Shutterbean laugh. I was a little starstruck just listening to them say my name (well, my fake name “sweetmaddy”)!

What’s your siren song?

-This week, I went to Vertigo Productions, a recording studio located in Boulogne-Billancourt where I live, for a recording session. I, along with a group of six people from my choir, sang some small singing bits for the film Nous York. The recording engineers needed more voices to layer the sound in a few parts of the movie. There is a birthday scene, so we sang “Happy Birthday,” and we also sang the chorus of this song by Diam’s. In the film, the main actress (who showed up later to listen to us!) gets a group of the patients at an old folk’s home to perform the song with her. So, our voices will be used to round out the sounds of the group of old people singing on stage with her. Hilarious!

The screen we watched the movie on with the lyrics sliding by below

My friend Sophia and I – so excited to become superstars!

-Speaking of my choir, we have a concert coming up! I am very excited for this one. Not only do I love all three pieces we are performing, but I have a solo! I love most music, but it’s rare that I am STOKED to sing everything on the program, and I am SO stoked. I dork out every week and really enjoyed practicing and rehearsing every minute of this music. So, if you or anyone you know will be in Paris on June 8 or June 9, please stop by!

-I am still hammering out the details of what I will actually be doing next year, but I did buy my plane ticket back to California on July 5. I will be returning to Paris on September 3, so the adventure will continue!

Banana Bread au Régime

Régime=diet

Banana Bread

As a single eater, I should have known better than to get a bunch of FIVE bananas. After eating two of them, the remaining three began to brown. The sight of brown bananas makes me think of only one thing – banana bread! If you bake, you know that bananas with spots on them are great for making bread or cake because they are soft and easier to mash.

So much baked-good potential!

I usually use either my mom’s recipe or this one from Smitten Kitchen, but because we are entering spring (aka I can’t hide under 7 shirts, tights AND jeans, and a giant coat anymore) I decided to try out this recipe.

I, as well as Edgar and Myrtille, call it a winner! It’s the perfect thing to make if you have browning bananas, want something homemade, but don’t want to go to some crazy cardiojazzstripperpole class to make up for it! I will say, it’s slightly…plain tasting. This could be remedied by adding some more spices, chocolate chips (although that would negate the régime part of the equation), or nuts (if you are a weirdo and like nuts in your baked goods, ew). I experimented with adding some fig jam swirled into the top on one part of the bread. This enhanced the flavor, although you could totally just put the jam on a slice after it’s baked. I would love to try to make this in muffin form with halved figs nestled on the top, but I didn’t have figs or a muffin pan (although I do have a muffin top) – that would be a project for another lifetime, when I actually have a kitchen counter/oven/tools of my own.

Fig Jam

Banana Bread au Régime
adapted from Joy the Baker’s Low Fat Oatmeal Banana Bread

Ingredients

- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar [didn't have brown sugar, use it instead of white if you have it]
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp canola oil [I was low on oil so I only put 1 tbsp, orig. recipe calls for 3. Mine was fine but a tad dry (easily remedied with peanut butter or butter when eating), so if you want it more moist add a few tbsps of oil]
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 2 medium egg whites, beaten
- 3 large bananas, ripe
- 1 cup uncooked old fashioned oats
- a few tbsps of fig jam, or other fancy jam

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a loaf pan and set aside. In a large bowl, stir together all the dry ingredients.

Flour, sugar, bp, bs, salt, cinnamon, oats

In a smaller bowl, mash bananas with a fork. Add oil and the whole egg and mix thoroughly.

Bananas, egg, oil

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well into a thick batter.

Exciting wet ingred. into dry ingred. photo

Beat the egg whites with a hand mixer or a stand mixer until medium stiff peaks form. [It takes longer than you think. The white will start out transparent and gradually become more opaque, glossy, and they will increase in their total size. You will be able to see the tracks made by the beaters, and when you lift them you will see a little dollop that stays in place attached to the beater.] Fold the egg whites into the batter. *Optional: Place a few dollops of jam on top of the batter and swirl with a knife.

Start out with egg whites...

Almost there...

There we go!

Pour batter into pan and bake until top of loaf is firm to touch, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from oven and cool, then flip out of the pan onto a wire rack. Slice and serve!

Enjoy with crême Chantilly and new spring flowers

Bread Pudding

I am obsessed with salad, but I hate to make it.  I hate watery lettuce but I also hate drying it; I feel like bagged salad goes bad quickly but I hate ripping up heads of lettuce; I never have on hand exactly what I want to put in it.  So, when I have a salad craving, I go to Intermezzo on Telegraph in Berkeley.  They have huge portions, it’s affordable, and they serve their salad with a big hunk of honey wheat bread on the side.  It’s delicious!  The last time I was there, I asked for more bread as we were leaving so I could enjoy it with my leftovers the next day.  They charged me a quarter for a whole bag of bread!

I knew I wouldn’t eat it all, so I decided to invent this bread pudding recipe to use it up.  The bread ended up being great for this recipe because it’s substantial and a little bit sweet.  If you make this and you don’t have a bread that’s on the sweet side, I would add some honey, maple syrup, or agave to the custard.

I haven’t had a chance to make this again to perfect the recipe.  If I were to make it again, I would use superfine sugar for the topping to make it less gritty.  I would also be curious to see how it baked up in a larger pan as opposed to the small ramekins that I used.  It also might be nice to do layers of bread and sugar instead of only doing sugar on the top.  Play around with it!

Bread Pudding

Ingredients

-4 cups of 1 inch cubes of day-old bread (preferably honey whole wheat)

-2.5 cups milk (2%)

-3 eggs

-3 tbsp melted butter

-1 tsp vanilla

-1/2 to 3/4 cup white sugar

-1 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 4 ramekins with butter and set aside.

2. Cut bread into cubes. Set aside.

3. Whisk together the milk, eggs, and vanilla.  Set aside.

4. Mix the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.  Set aside.

5. Place bread cubes into the ramekins.  Pour milk mixture over bread until liquid reaches just under the rim.  For less custard, fill only halfway (if you do this, make sure to serve with syrup or other liquid as they turn out a bit dry).

6. Drizzle a bit of melted butter on each ramekin.  Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture on top (not as much as I did!).

7. Place ramekins on a baking sheet.  Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until custard is set and tops have begun to brown.

8. Let them cool and enjoy for a sweet breakfast or light dessert!

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