Banana Nut Bread

When the weather turns cooler, I love to start baking. The warm oven heats up the kitchen, making it a natural place for my family to gather. And what calls to them more than the wonderful smell of baking bread? I make our banana nut bread in mini-loaves, with nuts on the inside and outside. They make wonderful gifts for neighbors, or a delicious snack, sliced with a light spread of cream cheese.

Ingredients

3 overripe bananas, well mashed.
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 tbs. oil
2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a loaf pan, or mini-loaves. Mix bananas, oil, and eggs thoroughly in a large bowl.

(Tip: for perfect mashed bananas, place overripe bananas in the freezer overnight. Allow them to thaw in a bowl on the counter top. Snip off the end of the peel with a pair of scissors and squeeze the banana out through the opening.)

Stir together the dry ingredients and add to the banana mixture. Mix thoroughly. Add half of the nuts to the batter and stir. Pour the batter in prepared pan(s) and sprinkle remaining nuts on top. Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean (mini-loaves will take less time). Cool completely before slicing.

Enjoy!

Celeriac Vichyssoise

There's a chill in the air, which means the time has come for beautiful soup recipes. This recipe is taken directly from The New Basics Cookbook, by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins. I make it every year when the weather turns chilly and your bones tell you that winter is around the corner. "This soup is like eating a bowlful of life itself," my sister told me when I sent her the recipe. It is just too good not to share.

Ingredients

4 tbs butter
3 cups diced onions
1 leek, well rinsed and diced
2 lbs. potatoes, peeled and cut into large dice
2 lbs. celeriac (celery root) cut into large dice
6 cloves garlic
6 cups homemade or store-bought chicken stock
3 tbs. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp celery seed (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
3 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream

Melt the butter in a large soup pot. Add the onion and leek and cook over medium heat until translucent (10 minutes.) Add the potatoes, celery root, and garlic. Stir and cook 5 more minutes. Add the lemon juice, stock, celery seeds (if using), salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and cook 30 minutes or until the celery root is tender. Allow to cool slightly, off the heat. Puree the mixture in a blender, in batches. I blend until the soup is the consistency of applesauce -- not entirely smooth, but fairly so. Return the puree to the soup pot and add milk and cream. Heat, stirring constantly, until soup is heated through. Serve with a warm, crusty baguette.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Applesauce

Last week, I had the distinct pleasure of helping my son's second-grade class make applesauce in the slow cooker. They were studying Johnny Appleseed and wanted to finish the week with a hands-on project. This is a perfect recipe for children who are just getting used to reading a recipe and measuring ingredients -- and it tastes terrific! Parents helping may want to peel the apples before slicing; the method I used for the recipe was designed to allow the children to do much of the work of peeling without using a knife. We used a star-shaped press-slicer and then peeled each slice with a potato peeler. It was a challenge, to say the least. But the children sure enjoyed making something entirely on their own. The best part of all, of course, was eating the applesauce at the end of the school day. Yummy!

Ingredients

10 Apples (Jonathan, Granny Smith, Golden Delicious)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup water


Wash the apples. Preheat the slow cooker by turning it on HIGH setting. Slice and peel the apples. Put them in the slow cooker. Discard the peels. Add water, cinnamon, and sugar. Stir together. Cover and cook until apples are soft. When ready to eat, uncover crock pot and gently mash the apples with a potato masher. Allow the applesauce to cool slightly and then scoop it out into cups.

Enjoy!

Great Grandma Mildred's Tomato-Pepper Salad

Great Grandma Mildred worked with a wonderful woman named Brita Saladino in the kitchen of St. Paul Gradeschool. They were great friends, sharing a love of life and plenty of recipes. This salad was one of their simplest, but most satisfying. (When we make it, my husband snacks away at least half the bowl before supper is even served.) As always, this late summer delight is best with produce fresh from the garden or farmers market.



Ingredients:

6 Roma tomatoes
2 green bell peppers
1 small white onion
1 tbs. olive oil
2 tbs. white vinegar (or white wine vinegar, if you prefer)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar

Wash and dice tomatoes into 1/2 inch pieces. Remove seeds and stem from peppers and dice the same size as the tomatoes. Peel and dice the onions. Toss tomatoes, peppers and onions in a large mixing bowl. Add the remaining four ingredients and toss thoroughly.



Enjoy!

Easy Peach Freezer Preserves

When I was young, we lived in Virginia. In front of our house were two huge white peach trees, and each year my mother would make peach preserves for our family. To this day, peach preserves are my favorite on toast or biscuits or over vanilla ice cream. Here's an easy recipe to make them at home. Use the freshest orchard peaches you can find -- the more local, the better!

Ingredients:

8 cups fresh peaches, pitted, peeled and diced
Juice of 2 lemons
4 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
2 packages pectin (I use sure-jell)

Prepare your peaches and place them in a large saucepot. Add lemon juice and stir to incorporate. Use a potato masher to lightly press the peaches and allow them to release their juice. (If you like your preserves less jam-like, skip this step.) Stir in sugar until thoroughly distributed. Allow peach mixture to rest for 10 minutes. In a medium saucepan, bring water and pectin to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute. Pour over the peaches and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Pour into freezer containers, leaving at least 3/4 of an inch at the top for expansion. Allow the preserves to cool at room temperature for 24 hours to give the pectin a chance to set. Use within 3 weeks if stored in the refrigerator, or within one year if frozen.

Enjoy!

Crisp Apple Tuna Salad

This tuna salad has a bright, fresh flavor. It is easy on the waistline, too. Serve with fresh tomatoes or in a pita wrap for a delicious light lunch.

Ingredients:

12 oz. canned albacore tuna, drained
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup baby spinach leaves, packed
1 granny smith apple
1/2 tbs. fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. dried ground coriander
salt & pepper to taste

Place well-drained tuna in a medium mixing bowl. Chop celery into 1/4 inch dice and add. Roll spinach leaves together and slice thinly into strips. Place in mixing bowl and toss with the tuna and celery. Core and dice apple into 1-inch pieces. In a separate mixing bowl, toss apple pieces with lemon juice. Add to tuna mixture. Sprinkle all with coriander, salt and pepper, and toss thoroughly.

Enjoy!

Honey-glazed Apple Barbecue Chicken

Our family loves the combination of sweet and smoky when we make barbecue. Here is an easy recipe to make in the oven or on the grill.

Ingredients:

6 chicken legs or thighs, bone-in
2 tbs. honey
2 tbs. prepared barbecue sauce, we use KC Masterpiece Original
1 tsp. hot brown mustard
1 tsp. dried thyme
ground black pepper to taste
(use a pinch of red pepper flakes if you like more heat)
1 granny smith apple

Rinse chicken pieces and pat dry. In a medium bowl, combine honey, barbecue sauce, mustard, thyme and pepper. Coat chicken pieces with mixture and lay on a large piece of aluminum foil. Rinse, core, and slice apple. Place slices on top of chicken. Pour on the remaining sauce. Make a foil packet by covering with a second piece of foil and folding all four sides up about 1 inch. Fold each side again twice to seal packet. Carry foil packet on a large cookie sheet. Transfer from sheet to preheated oven and bake at 375 degrees for 60-75 minutes or grill for 60-90 minutes. (Note: for the last 30 minutes of grilling, it may be helpful to slide cookie sheet back under foil packet to prevent scorching.)

Enjoy!

Tart Cherry Cobbler

Michigan tart cherries are the best in the world (in my humble opinion.) We have used thawed frozen cherries in this recipe, a great alternative to fresh if you have missed the short June-July cherry season. Our cobbler contains no starchy thickener, so the cherry layer remains juicy and delicious.

Ingredients:

5 cups tart cherries, pitted (with juice)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. almond extract

1/2 cup sugar

3 sticks butter, divided

2 eggs

1 cup milk

3 cups flour

4 tsp. baking powder

3/4 cup additional sugar

1/2 tsp. additional salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Measure cherries and juice into a large bowl. Add salt, almond extract, and sugar. Mix thoroughly and set aside. Melt one stick of butter (8 tbs.) and pour it into a 9X13 glass baking dish. Swish the butter around to coat the dish. Pour the cherry mixture into a buttered pan, using a spatula to spread the cherries in an even layer.

Melt the remaining 2 sticks (16 tbs.) butter. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. Slowly drizzle warm butter into egg mixture, whisking constantly so the eggs don't curdle. Set wet ingredients aside.

In a large mixing bowl, blend remaining dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, 3/4 cup sugar, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour wet ingredients into center. Using a wooden spoon or sturdy spatula, gently mix the dry into the wet ingredients until fully incorporated. Evenly drop large spoonfuls of dough (like dumplings) overtop of the cherry mixture. The cherries should not be entirely covered.

To catch any overspill during baking, place a large cookie sheet onto the oven rack where you will bake your cobbler. Rest cobbler on the baking sheet and slide into preheated oven. Bake 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the dumpling layer comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!