Banana Bread

I have the best memories of my mom making banana bread when I was a kid--it was soo moist, flavorful, and delicious.  I never cared much for bread when I was young, but banana bread was like candy! Especially the kind with nuts.

About two years ago, I had a cooking itch to make one of my mom's favorite recipes.  BUT, with no recipe on hand, I had to give myself up to the fates of google's search engine.  That's when I found THIS Banana Bread recipe on Elise Bauer's food and cooking blog, Simply Recipes.  This was the very first Elise recipe I ever made, and I've been going back to her website for dinner ideas ever since.

Follow the below recipe for a banana bread that is fast, easy, and clearly delicious.

Banana Bread
The below recipe can be made with either 3, or 4 bananas.  I typically make it with three large, very ripe bananas, or four small ones.  Add according to your taste preferences.  You can find the original recipe here.
Ingredients
* 3-4 bananas, cut into pieces, and mashed
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 1/2 cup flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 cup pecans, or walnuts
* pinch of salt
* 1 egg, beaten
* 5 tablespoons butter (1/3 cup), melted

1.) Preheat oven to 350F.  Cut up 3-4 bananas and mash (either with a potato masher, or whisker in a bowl, or a Kitchenaid mixer).

2.) Add 1 egg and beat to combine thoroughly.

3.) Cube up butter and place in a microwave-safe bowl.

4.) Melt in microwave and add to banana/egg batter.

5.) Add 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract.

6.) Add 1 teaspoon of baking soda and a pinch of salt.

7.) Add 1 cup sugar and mix to integrate.

8.) 1/2 cup at a time, add 1 1/2 cup flour.  Mix to integrate.

9.) Measure 1 cup pecans.

10.) Scrape down sides of bowl, add pecans to mixture, and mix one last time.  Pour batter into a well-greased loaf pan.

11.) Cook at 350F for 45 minutes to an hour.  The bread will be done when it's both golden on top and a knife comes out clean.  Remove from oven.

11.) Transfer to plate and allow to cool.  Serve in 1/2-to-1 inch slices.  Makes 10-12 servings.

Subscribe to Clearly Delicious by Email

Spiced Nuts

Spiced Nuts.  Doesn't everyone love spiced nuts? No, this is not a "that's what she said" joke, but rather a very tasty, crunchy, candied appetizer.  I made these spiced nuts several weeks ago to compliment the appetizers at Lydia's surprise birthday party, and they were a big hit.  Once you start snacking, you just can't stop!

Plus, the recipe is incredibly easy--melt down your ingredients, stir in your nuts, spread on a cookie sheet, and bake in the oven until crispy and delicious.  And...well, that's what she said.

Spiced Nuts
This recipe is a concoction of my own desire for sugary, salty yummyness.  Although not necessarily peanut brittle (there isn't nearly enough caramel), it does have a candied crunch that sticks to many of the nuts when cooled.  Plus, most of us have these ingredients in our kitchens already, so it's easy, fast, and rather economic to make.

*1 16 oz package of pecans or walnuts
* 1 stick butter, salted
* 2 tablespoons cinnamon
* 1 tablespoon nutmeg
* 1/3 cup sugar

1.) Preheat oven to 350F.  Now, begin by melting the butter in a saucepan.  Stir in sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, and whisk to integrate fully.
2.) Turn off heat and sprinkle in nuts.  Stir to integrate so that nuts are completely coated with sugary buttery mixture.
3.) Spread nuts over a standard, ungreased cookie sheet.
4.) Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the nuts are sizzling in the oven.  Actually, a good rule of thumb is a saying that one of my family friends always says, "The Nose Knows!"  Basically, if you can smell the nuts cooking in your house at around 10 or 15 minutes, they're done.
5.) Remove from oven when the "nose knows" and allow to cool for about five minutes.  You'll want to remove the nuts from the pan and transfer into a serving dish/tupperware while the candied coating is still warm enough to break up fairly easily.  If you let the nuts cool completely, you're gonna have some very dangerous scraping business ahead of you--although some nuts may come off pretty easily, others will be stubborn and literally GLUED to the pan.  This is not only a pain in the butt to detach, but also a great opportunity to lose your nuts...that's right...lose your nuts.  Too much scraping and sticking and before you know it, you'll have nuts flying all over the kitchen.  Unfortunately, since these nuts come in a candy-ish coating, they cannot be salvaged with the five second rule.  Otherwise, you'll have family and friends wondering why your nuts are covered in dog hair.

And on that note, did I mention that nuts in dog hair are not tasty? Also, did I mention that nuts covered in candied cinnamon are clearly delicious? Enjoy!


Subscribe to Clearly Delicious by Email

Roasted Vegetables and Fall Salad

What do you get when three PhD ladies who haven't seen each other, like really seen each other in waay too long, get together? Eat, drink cocktails, and watch a movie but of course, silly!

However, what happens when one of these ladies is a vegan, one a former vegetarian, and one a girl who just likes her peas? A meal that's primarily vegetable based (and very healthy) including roasted vegetables and a fall salad.  Yum.

The roasted vegetables recipe below is one of the easiest recipes to whip up, and a big crowd pleaser.  Eat it as the main course as we three veggie loving girls did, or eat it alongside a more carnivore-friendly dish like steak, or chicken.  Finally, the salad is one of my favorite ways to eat salad and I never make it any other way: walnuts/almonds, green lettuce, or spinach, lots of tomatoes and cucumbers tossed with garlic, herbs, and cranberries.  SOO GOOD!

Roasted Red Potatoes and Carrots
This recipe comes from no source in particular.  The combination of olive oil with balsamic vinegar, red potatoes, and other veggies comes from my friend Laura.  However, after making this recipe a good 10-15 times, I've perfected the combination of the below ingredients and the correct ratios for this combination.

 
* 1 bag of carrots (preferrably organic)
* 1 bag of small red potatoes
* 1/2 of an onion, chopped
* olive oil (to taste)
* balsamic vinegar (to taste)
* 5 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
* freshly grated pepper, to taste
* kosher salt, to taste
* 1-2 tablespoons of dried or fresh rosemary
* 1-2 tablespoons of basil, chopped

1.) Chop all of the vegetables (red potatoes, onion, and carrots) and throw into a roasting pan; red potatoes should be in eighths, or whatever size seems bite-size enough and will cook thoroughly, and carrots should be the size of carrot sticks.  I prefer using large carrots over baby carrots because they are higher in beta-keratin, and more flavorful.  Plus, organic carrots are even more flavorful in their larger form!

2.) Drizzle vegetables with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  I have not put a specific ratio of olive oil-to-balsamic vinegar above simply because I think this an issue of preference.  Laura prefers more balsamic vinegar and less olive oil, whereas I prefer an equal amount of both.  Just go with what you like!

3.) Sprinkle with remaining seasonings--pepper, basil, rosemary, and kosher salt.  Salt and pepper should be to taste because again, this is an issue of how you like to prepare your food.  Finally, press/mince garlic over the vegetables and stir to integrate.  Cover with an oven-friendly lid or aluminum foil.

4.) Roast in oven at 400F for 35 minutes and check for ready-ness (ready-ness = potatoes are soft enough to chew in your mouth, but not so soft that they will mash when being served).  It's possible you will need to cook the dish longer depending on the stove (in my gas stove, 35 mins. is perfect, but in an electric, it will possibly take longer).  Let cool, and serve!

Fall Salad
I have been making some variation of this salad for as long as I can remember.  Every now and then, I switch up the ingredients (i.e., dried cherries instead of cranberries, spinache instead of romaine, you get the picture), but the core ingredients are below.  

* 1/2 head of romain lettuce, or 1/2 bag of spinache
* 1/2 container of cherry tomatoes, or 1 whole regular tomato
* 1/2 cup walnuts, or almonds
* 4-5 cloves garlic minced/pressed
* 1/2 cucumber peeled and cut into circular halves
* 1/4 cup olives, black or kalamatta (heck, even green if you're into that sort of thing!)
*  1/2 cup craisins, or dried cherries

1.) Wash and chop vegetables--lettuce/spinache, tomatoes, cucumber.  Place in bowl.
2.) Add remaining ingredients--nuts, garlic, olives, and craisins.  Toss together.
3.) Add any salad herbs you might enjoy with your salad.  I sometimes toss ground pepper, mint, or basil in between, but these ingredients are not necessary.  Enjoy!