Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Nice-Cream

I first came to know the magic of frozen bananas years ago as a cold treat after a long run on a hot and humid day. When given the freezer treatment, both the sweet and creamy aspects of bananas shine and they are transformed from fruit into dessert.

More recently, I’ve come to know what’s referred to as banana nice-cream. Frozen bananas, peanut butter, a little unsweetened almond milk, a splash of vanilla, and some mini chocolate chips blend together into something you’d swear was actual ice cream. And other than the chocolate chips, which are optional, there’s no added sugar. Totally plant-based, healthy, but eats like a decadent delight when you really need dessert.

You can play with the flavors. Instead of peanut butter, almond butter would be good, with a bit of almond extract in place of the vanilla. Instead of chocolate chips, mix in some chopped fruit and/or nuts. For those with nut allergies, sunflower seed butter is a delicious option.

I make this delicious indulgent-tasting dish in my Vitamix, but a food processor would work too. At first it’s the texture of soft-serve ice-cream and becomes as firm as regular ice-cream after about 4 hours in the freezer. If frozen longer, it gets pretty hard, so it’s best to take it out of the freezer and let sit on the counter for a bit before scooping.

If you’d like, add your favorite ice-cream toppings, then sit back and savor this rich, creamy treat there’s no need to feel guilty about. Enjoy!

Banana Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Nice-Cream

• Servings: 2
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Adapted from this Fit Foodie Finds recipe

2 frozen bananas (I peel my bananas, place in plastic wrap and freeze until solid), sliced

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Place bananas, peanut butter, almond milk, and vanilla in a high-speed blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy, the consistency of soft-serve ice-cream. Add chocolate chips and blend until just mixed in.

Eat right away as a soft-serve treat or place into a container with tight-fitting lid and freeze for 4 hours until it becomes firm like regular ice-cream. If you freeze it longer, it will probably need get too hard to scoop, so it will need to sit on the counter a while to soften a bit.

Top with your favorite ice-cream toppings. Makes about 2 servings and is easily doubled.

Panettone Muffins

A few weeks ago, I ordered a new-to-me ingredient from King Arthur Baking Company, Fiori di Sicilia. It’s a blend of citrus and vanilla with a subtle floral aroma that reminds me of an Orange Julius. This secret ingredient can be added to cakes, cookies, sweet breads, muffins, and scones for a lovely mysterious flavor that you just can’t quite put your finger on when describing.

Eager to bake something with it, I turned to the King Arthur website for a recipe and chose Panettone Muffins. Perfect for the season and I had all the ingredients on hand. Fiori di Sicilia (flowers of Sicily) is traditionally used in Panettone, which is a classic Italian Christmas yeast bread. If you don’t have the Fiori di Sicilia, you can sub orange extract or orange essence, or just leave it out. You won’t get that special “je ne sais quoi,” but will still have a mighty tasty muffin.

The recipe calls for soaking the dried fruit in ¼ cup of apple juice, orange juice, or rum, but after reading the comments, I followed a suggestion and used Cointreau, an orange flavored liqueur (plan ahead and start the soaking the day before—it’s worth the extra time). To make the muffins partially whole-grain, I subbed in whole wheat pastry flour for some of the white all-purpose. If you don’t have the whole wheat, just use all-purpose for the full flour amount.

Made on a Saturday morning, we had them with scrambled eggs for a delicious treat that tasted like Christmas. Wanting to use my pretty muffin papers that hold more batter than a typical muffin pan, we ended up with a size in between regular and jumbo. If you do that too, you’ll need to increase the baking time.

Enjoy! And merry Christmas!

• Servings: 12
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Adapted from this King Arthur Baking Company Recipe

1 ½ cups diced dried fruit (I used a combination of dried cherries, cranberries, gold and regular raisins)

¼ cup apple juice, orange juice, or rum (or do what I did and use Cointreau or another orange liqueur)

4 tablespoons butter, at room temp

2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used grapeseed—any neutral oil will do)

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs, at room temp

¼ teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia (you can sub orange extract or orange essence, or just omit)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon fine grain salt

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

2/3 cup milk

Several tablespoons of coarse sugar (turbinado, demerara, or sparkling sugar)

In a small bowl, mix the dried fruit with the juice or booze. Cover and let it rest overnight, stirring it up occasionally so the fruit is evenly saturated. You can speed this up by heating the fruit and liquid in the microwave until very hot and then letting it cool to room temperature, although I think it really benefits from the longer soaking time.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. (or 350 on a convection setting). Lightly grease a 12-cup or two 6-cup muffin tins. If you use muffin papers, lightly spray them before adding the batter so the paper will come off the muffins easily.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat the butter, oil, and sugar together until smooth. Add the eggs and beat to combine. Stir in the Fiori di Sicilia and vanilla.

In a small bowl, whisk together the baking powder, salt, and flours. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture alternately with the milk, starting and ending with the flour mixture and making sure everything is thoroughly combined.

Stir in the dried fruit and include any remaining liquid.

Spoon the batter evenly into prepared muffin pans or cups. Sprinkle the tops generously with the coarse sugar. Bake for 18-20 minutes (for standard muffins. If making larger ones, the cooking time will need to be increased), until a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean or with just a few crumbs clinging to it.

Remove muffins from the oven and let them sit in the pan for a few minutes before moving them to a cooling rack. Makes 12 standard muffins, or in my case, with the larger muffin papers, 7.

One comment after the recipe on King Arthur’s webpage said they are even better the next day and we’ll find out tomorrow if that’s true. With the boozy fruit and Fiori di Sicilia, I’m betting that will be the case.

Oven Fries

Potatoes, in just about any form, are the ultimate comfort food. Mashed, French fried, au gratin, scalloped, hash brown, chips, or baked. All delicious. All comforting. My favorite is French fries, which I’ve been woefully missing since the start of the pandemic—we haven’t dined at a restaurant since March 14.

Sure, we’ve done carry-out and delivery, but French fries just don’t travel well. Nothing deep-fried does, so why bother? But I do have a solution that comes pretty darned close to the hot and crispy fries from your favorite eating establishment. Oven fries—no deep-frying necessary, which is a good thing because no matter how much I miss fries, I don’t want that grease hanging in the air.

The key to crisp fries from your oven is soaking those fresh-cut batons in a big ole bowl of ice water for about 20 minutes before they hit the oven. A lot of the starch from the potatoes will drain away and the result will be fries crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

Another trick is to space the fries apart on the baking sheet, so they are not touching, otherwise, you’ll end up with potatoes that are more roasted than “fried.” Seasoning is key too. At the very least, you’ll want to salt them generously, both before and after they come out of the oven. I like to play around with the flavors though, using a seasoned salt like Lawry’s or a Cajun blend, or you could use your own custom seasoning mixture.

For the ultimate crispiness, a thorough dusting of cornstarch or arrowroot does the trick. I usually mix the cornstarch and seasonings together and toss the taters with the mixture after they’ve been coated in olive oil. Easy peasy and oh so good. Make a platter, get out your favorite dipping sauce, and I won’t judge if you eat them all yourself. That’s what comfort food is all about. Enjoy!

• Servings: 2-4
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About 2 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled or unpeeled (I leave the skins on for added flavor and nutrition)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons cornstarch or arrowroot

1 teaspoon Lawry’s seasoned salt or Cajun seasoning (I used the Louisiana brand), or go old school and just use about ½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon onion powder

Ice water

Salt

Cut the potatoes into batons about 1/3 inch thick. Transfer to a large bowl and cover with water and ice. Set aside for 20-30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil two large baking sheets.

Meanwhile, mix cornstarch or arrowroot, Lawry’s or Cajun seasoning (or plain salt), and onion powder in a small bowl.

Drain potatoes and place on a clean kitchen towel. Pat dry. Either put dried potatoes back in bowl (dry it out first) or into a large zip-lock bag. Drizzle with olive oil and toss or shake until potatoes are evenly-coated. Sprinkle about 1/3 of the cornstarch mix over potatoes and toss or shake. Repeat two times until cornstarch mixture is used up.

Transfer potatoes to the baking sheets and spread fries out so they are not touching. Bake for 30 minutes, turning fries over and rotating pans about halfway through for even browning and crispiness. Remove from oven and top with a final sprinkling of regular salt. Eat while hot. Makes 2-4 servings.

Falafel with Creamy Tahini-Yogurt Sauce

I don’t know why, but earlier this summer I started craving falafel. And Foxy Falafel, my go-to source for truly great falafel, is limited to curbside pick-up during the pandemic. Deep-fried food just doesn’t travel well, and I’m thinking it wouldn’t be as amazing by the time I got it home.

This led me to look for an authentic recipe that would satisfy my craving. I found it and must share—it’s that good! Plus, it’s not deep-fried–yay! Golden brown and crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside with all those signature falafel herbs and spices, it’s served with a creamy tahini-yogurt sauce, thinly sliced radishes, cucumber, red onion, and tomatoes from our garden. All piled on a whole wheat tortilla or, if you have time, stuffed in my whole wheat pita bread, it’s a nutritious, delicious all-in-one meal.

There’s nothing difficult or time-consuming about this other than the need to plan ahead and start soaking the dried chickpeas the night before (canned chickpeas won’t work here). And after soaking, you don’t have to cook the beans, which makes this recipe even easier! Everything else comes together quickly enough for a weeknight meal. A very special weeknight meal! Enjoy!

• Servings: 4
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Adapted from this Downshiftology recipe
This recipe is naturally gluten-free and all that’s needed to make it vegan is to use a tahini sauce without the yogurt, like this one.

1 cup dried chickpeas (canned won’t work in this recipe)

About half of a medium yellow onion, roughly chopped

1 cup fresh parsley, in between loosely and tightly packed

1 cup fresh cilantro, in between loosely and tightly packed

1 medium jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 heaping teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

Several grinds of black pepper

2 tablespoons chickpea flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

Grapeseed or avocado oil for pan-frying (or another neutral oil of choice)

Tahini-yogurt sauce, recipe follows

Flour or corn tortillas or my whole wheat pita bread

Accompaniments:
Thinly sliced radishes, cucumbers, red onion, diced tomato

The night before you plan to make the falafel, place the chickpeas in a pot and cover with water by 2-3 inches (the chickpeas will triple in size and you want to make sure they stay submerged). Cover pot and set aside.

The next day, drain and rinse the chickpeas and add them to your food processor (after draining, I dump them onto a clean kitchen towel and pat them dry before putting them in the food processor).

Add the onion, parsley, cilantro, jalapeño, garlic, cumin, salt, cardamom, and black pepper to the food processor and process until the mixture is the texture of coarse sand (you may have to stop and scrape down the sides a couple times).

Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in the chickpea flour and baking soda. Cover and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Place a cooling rack on a baking sheet and place it in oven.

Heat a cast iron pan over medium heat. Add a couple tablespoons oil. When oil is hot, form falafel mixture into balls (I used a #30 cookie dough scoop, which is about 1 ½-2 tablespoons) and place in hot pan. Flatten slightly with a spatula. You’ll have to do this in batches—don’t crowd the falafels.

If the mixture seems too wet, add another tablespoon of chickpea flour. If it seems too dry, add a tablespoon of water (I didn’t need to do either both times I have made this recipe).

Cook the falafels for about 3 minutes, until golden brown on the bottom. Flip and cook another 3 minutes. Remove to rack in oven to stay warm. Repeat with remaining falafel mixture. You will probably need to add more oil to the pan.

Serve in warm tortillas or pita with a swoosh of tahini-yogurt sauce, several falafels, tomato, radish, cucumber, or other toppings of choice. Makes about 4 servings or 18-20 falafel.

Creamy Tahini Yogurt Sauce
From this Feasting at Home recipe

¾ cup plain Greek yogurt (I used 2%)

¼ cup tahini

2 garlic cloves, grated on a micro-plane

Juice of one medium lemon

½ to 1 teaspoon kosher salt (my tahini was salt-free, so I used the full teaspoon)

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Wisk all ingredients in small bowl until thoroughly combined and creamy. Can make a day or two ahead of time. Cover and refrigerate until use.

 

Cherry Tomato Quick Kimchi

I recently read an article in which the author ponders the word kimchi not as a singular noun, but as a verb, in that you can kimchi just about anything. And “quick kimchi” at that! If  you can quick pickle, why not quick kimchi?

Having made kimchi before, I know it’s a process—chopping, brining, packing, and then the fermenting—it’s at least a week before you can enjoy this addicting Korean side dish. So to see an article that offered a recipe for a speedy option, I was intrigued.

The article included three quick kimchi recipes: smacked cucumber, fennel, and grape tomato. I had picked up an heirloom cherry tomato medley package the other day and had all the other ingredients, so that’s the version I went with.

This doesn’t have quite the funk of traditional kimchi, but it’s still delicious, addicting even. A little smoky, a little nutty, with the sweetness of cherry tomatoes and the heat of Korean chili pepper (gochugaru), it’s a unique dish with lots of uses. I served it with arugula over buttered baked potatoes and called it a meal. The next morning it was on homemade toasted bread and topped with a fried egg. I imagine it would be great with rice and crispy tofu or grilled portabella mushrooms. It’s even wonderful eaten out of the bowl all by itself while you’re waiting for your potatoes to bake! I see myself making this often throughout the summer as my cherry and pear tomato plants start producing. Enjoy!

• Servings: 2 1/2 cups
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From this NYT Cooking recipe

Note: Gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) is not the same as crushed red pepper flakes. It’s slightly sweet and smoky and has less heat than crushed red pepper or cayenne. You can probably find it at a well-stocked grocery store or Asian market, but if not, it’s easily available online.

1 pound cherry or grape tomatoes (about 2 to 3 cups), halved lengthwise

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons white distilled vinegar

½ teaspoon finely grated garlic

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon gochugaru (Korean chili flakes)

2 teaspoons tamari or soy sauce (can sub fish sauce if not vegetarian)

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

Thinly sliced scallions, chopped chives, cilantro, or flat-leaf parsley leaves for garnish (optional)

In a medium bowl, toss the tomatoes with the salt, transfer to a colander, and let sit in the sink to drain, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in the same bowl, add the vinegar and garlic and set aside.

After 30 minutes, add the sesame oil, gochugaru, soy or fish sauce, and sugar to the bowl with the vinegar and garlic and whisk to combine. Use a paper or cloth kitchen towel to pat the tomatoes dry, then add the tomatoes to the dressing and toss until well coated.

Garnish with the optional scallions or herbs before serving. This is best eaten right away, but can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Makes about 2 ½ cups.

Three Yolk Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have found my favorite chocolate chip cookie! In an effort to use the three egg yolks sitting in my fridge, this recipe turned up in a search for cookies made using no whole eggs, only yolks.

Rich and delicious, heavy on the chocolate chips, and generous in size, these mostly brown sugar-sweetened treats may just become your favorite too. Enjoy!

• Servings: about 28 cookies
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Adapted from this Violet Bakery recipe published on Taste

1 cup, plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup, plus 2 tablespoons light brown sugar

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 egg yolks, at room temperature

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour

¾ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon fine sea or table salt

1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Line a small baking sheet or pan (one that will fit inside your freezer) with parchment paper.

Beat the butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer until combined but not too creamy—you are not aiming for light and fluffy, as that would make the cookies too cakey. Add the vanilla and the egg yolks and mix well.

In another bowl combine the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, and salt and whisk together well. Add this to the butter and egg mixture and mix well. Add the chocolate chips and mix until combined. Dough will be quite stiff.

Scoop individual portions (I used a number 30 cookie scoop) of dough onto the lined baking sheet. If you don’t have the cookie scoop, pat 1 ½ tablespoon portions of dough into balls. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for an hour.

Preheat oven to 355 degrees F. (330 degrees F. in convection ovens). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange the cookies on the pan about 2” apart (I did this in two batches).

Bake for 13-18 minutes, until the center of each cookie is slightly soft and under-baked, but the edges are crisp and golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Remove to cooling rack and serve either warm or at room temp. Cookies will keep for up to 5 days in an airtight container. Makes about 28 cookies.

Big Crunchy-Lidded Blueberry Muffins

Last weekend, while preparing for what feels like the apocalypse (Covid-19 pandemic), I turned to the comforting task of baking, thinking it would be nice to have something on hand I could freeze and take out for a little treat here and there. We all still need treats!

Recently I made muffins for a work party welcoming a new staff member and they were delicious. With blueberries still in the fridge, making blueberry muffins was the obvious choice, but I had run out of grapeseed oil, my go-to neutral oil when a recipe calls for canola or vegetable oil.

Having made some cakes and sweet breads with olive oil, I thought that might make a suitable substitute, but wasn’t sure if the flavor would overwhelm the blueberries. What I ended up using was a mixture of olive oil and melted butter, and I actually think it made for an even better muffin than the original. Also, instead of the coarse sugar the recipe suggested sprinkling on the muffins prior to baking, I opted for cinnamon sugar. And to make the muffins lean a little healthy, I used whole wheat pastry flour for half of the all-purpose flour the recipe called for.

Off to the freezer these muffins went. We’ll dig into them once the Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with Irish Whiskey Buttercream I made for the office birthday party that was cancelled because we’re all now working from home are gone. I hope this social distancing thing doesn’t result in packing on a few extra pounds—I am making sure to work out a little longer each day now that I don’t have drive time.

Enjoy these treats if you make them, and by the way, frozen blueberries will work equally well. Wishing you all good health in the days to come!

• Servings: 8 large or 14 regular muffins
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Adapted from this Sally’s Baking Addiction recipe, one of my go-to sites for all things baking. I used these muffin/cupcake molds and they make a large, but not jumbo muffin. They stand by themselves on a baking tray. You could also use a large muffin tin. If you want standard size muffins, the baking time will need to be shorted and I have listed the different times in the recipe instructions.

1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup low-fat buttermilk, at room temperature

¼ cup (half a stick) butter, melted

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 ½ cups fresh or frozen (do not defrost) blue berries, divided

Cinnamon sugar for sprinkling (1/4 cup granulated sugar mixed with one tablespoon cinnamon)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. If not using muffin molds or liners, spray your muffin pan with non-stick spray or butter it.

In a large bowl, mix together the flours, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar buttermilk, butter, oil and vanilla extract.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the buttermilk mixture. Mix together until just combined—don’t over mix. Batter will be thick. Gently fold in 1 ¼ of the 1 ½ cups blueberries.

Scoop batter into prepared molds or muffin pans, filling about ¾ of the way full. Top each muffin with a few blueberries from the reserved ¼ cup. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar (you will probably not use it all—save for cinnamon toast on a rainy morning).

If making large muffins, bake at 425 degrees F. for 5 minutes, and then reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Bake for an additional 20 minutes or until tops are golden and a toothpick or tester inserted into the center of muffins comes out clean. If making regular-sized muffins, cook 5 minutes at 425 degrees F., reduce oven temp to 375, and continue baking for another 12 minutes or so.

Set pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, then remove muffins from pan and continue cooling on rack. Makes about 8 large or 14 regular muffins.

 

Secret Ingredient Spinach-Artichoke Dip

When grocery shopping for food to take on our most recent cabin trip, I impulsively grabbed a bottle of Original Grlk Sauce, an amazing condiment I first discovered at an indoor winter market in NE Minneapolis where I sampled the original flavor and was immediately in love!

Creamy, fluffy, garlicy goodness in a plastic bottle. Locally made (in St. Paul, MN) with all healthy ingredients (it’s also vegan, sugar-free, and gluten-free), I was sold! Back then I used my purchase mainly on sandwiches and in sandwich fillings and was very sad when that bottle was empty. The winter market was over, and my source was gone.

A year or so later, I was surprised to find the elusive condiment I had been craving in a grocery store. Hallelujah! I could now satisfy my hankering whenever it arose.

Fast forward to our cabin trip, on a stormy night with Lake Superior’s waves crashing loudly and the wind roaring, we needed a comfort-food snack. I had a bag of spinach, the beloved Grlk Sauce, parmesan cheese, and some scallions and was mad at myself for not grabbing that container of sour cream from the fridge at home when filling the cooler. But somehow the ingredients on-hand came together for a hot and bubbly snack—a perfect example of food always tasting better at the cabin.

Once back at home, I vowed to make this dip again, but with the additional ingredients I wished I had at the cabin and for sure including my new secret ingredient, Grlk. Then I forgot about it. That is, until watching the red-hot Minnesota Gopher’s football game on a sunny Saturday when, once again, the time was right for a comfort-food snack. After a little improvising, this is what I came up with, and I think it’s a winner, even if we’re not at the cabin! Enjoy!

By the way, Original Grlk Sauce, along with additional flavors, is available at a number of stores in the St. Paul-Minneapolis metro area and online here. It’s amazing!

• Servings: 4
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1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 large clove garlic, chopped

One 6-ounce bag baby spinach

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

One 14-ounce can artichoke hearts packed in water, drained and chopped

½ cup sour cream

¼ cup original Grlk sauce

1 ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (the Annie’s brand is vegetarian and delicious!)

A pinch of cayenne pepper, or more if you like things really spicy

3/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese, divided

Sliced scallions, for garnish (optional—I forgot to use them today, but won’t next time)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 1.5-quart baking dish with cooking spray or coat it with a little olive oil.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. When hot, add garlic and cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add spinach, sprinkle with salt, stir, and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until spinach is wilted and bright green. Stir in artichoke hearts.

In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream, Original Grlk Sauce, Worcestershire, cayenne, and freshly ground black pepper. Stir in ½ cup of the parmesan. Add sour cream mixture to spinach mixture and stir to thoroughly combine.

Transfer dip to prepared baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes, then sprinkle with remaining ¼ cup parmesan. Bake another 10 minutes, then broil for a couple minutes to brown the top–watch carefully so it doesn’t burn.

Remove from oven, sprinkle with scallions, if using, and serve dip hot with crackers, toasted pita or naan, veggies, or tortilla chips. Makes about 4 servings.

 

Spiced Pear Butter

A while back I spied some beautiful organic Bartlett pears on sale at Whole Foods and decided to buy a big bag of ‘em. I left them on the counter to ripen and then put them in the crisper drawer of the fridge with plans for lots of pear snacking. Fast forward a week or so and that bag o’ pears was still in the crisper, said snacking had not happened, and the pears were starting to lose their beauty.

A dessert using all those pears would be mighty big and I certainly don’t need those calories, so I decided to see if there was such a thing as pear butter. Pears are kind of like apples, and apple butter is delicious, so pear butter must be a thing. Sure, enough, I found several recipes online.

The result is wonderful! Full of warm fall spices with a richness from the brown sugar and vanilla—I’ll be finding many uses for this deliciousness! On ice-cream, English muffins (paired with peanut butter it’s especially good!), mixed in with plain yogurt, a sweet touch to a savory grilled cheese sandwich, pancake topping, a smoothie mix-in—so many ways to use this concoction! Enjoy!

• Servings: three 12-ounce jars
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Adapted from this USA Pears recipe

3 pounds ripe Bartlett pears

¼ cup water

¾ to 1 cup light brown sugar, use the lower amount for a less sweet version

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

½ of a vanilla bean or ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract*

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Wash, quarter, and core pears (if you do not have a food mill, mentioned later in the recipe, peel pears after washing, and skip the food mill step).

Place pear quarters and water in a large stockpot, over medium heat, until water starts to simmer. Cover pot and adjust heat to maintain a simmer, and cook until pears are soft, about 20 minutes. It may seem like you should add more than a quarter cup of water, but the pears will release liquid as they soften—I assure you there’s no need for more water.

Remove pot from heat and mash pears with a potato masher (if you don’t have a potato masher, carefully mash the pears with the bottom of a large drinking glass).

Place a food mill over a large bowl and run mashed pears, in batches, through mill, discarding pear skins that are left in the mill. Dump the bowl of pear pulp back into the stockpot, add the brown sugar, the vanilla bean, and the spices.

*If you are using pure vanilla extract instead of vanilla bean, add the vanilla later, after the cooking process, where the instructions have you remove the vanilla bean.

Cook pear mixture, uncovered, at a simmer, for about an hour, until desired thickness. Stir every few minutes to prevent scorching. Mixture will thicken somewhat as it cools.

Spoon mixture into jars and, if freezing, leave about an ½ to an inch of headspace in jars for expansion. Will keep in refrigerator for a couple weeks and in freezer for a couple months. Makes about three 12-ounce jars.

 

Ultimate Zucchini Bread

Up until recently, if you mentioned zucchini bread to me, I would have said, “Meh.” It was okay, but nothing I would have chosen to make unless I was desperate to use up some zucchini and wasn’t feeling a savory recipe.

So when I saw a zucchini bread recipe pop up on the Smitten Kitchen, the only reason I didn’t skip right over it was the word “ultimate” in the title. Deb Perelman doesn’t throw around words like that without the goods to back ‘em up.

With that in mind, and some farmers’ market zucchini in the crisper, I baked a loaf that Pete and I enjoyed the heck out of. Soon after, another one when I had a tooth pulled and needed something moist and soft that didn’t require actual chewing (and kept this one all to myself). And another loaf after that to serve with breakfast when my parents were visiting. And, again, to take to take to the cabin. In between, I was craving this stuff. Crazy, right? Never in a million years did I think I’d actually be craving zucchini bread!

The nice thing is, this loaf of yumminess is so quick to mix up and pop in the oven. A one-bowl feat of ease with no need to wring the moisture out of the zucchini. And it freezes beautifully!

Deb mentions using a neutral oil, melted, butter, or olive oil. Wanting to maximize the health factor, I opted for olive oil. With the first loaf, I think I used whole wheat pastry flour for ½ cup of the 2 cups flour, and each time I made it, I increased the percentage of whole wheat till there was no white flour included. Totally whole grain without any heaviness or grainy texture—yay!

The only hard part about this recipe is the suggestion requirement of waiting 24 hours after baking to dig into it. Be assured, though, this is necessary in order for it to live up to the “ultimate” moniker. Once you’ve waited that excruciatingly long full day, I think you’ll agree, the delay was worth it.

In order to keep the crunchy dome of this treat crunchy, don’t cover it, just let it sit out on the counter in the pan in which it was baked—no need to do anything else—I’ve got four (or more by now) loaves under my belt, so am speaking from experience. Just wrap the cut end in foil and return it to the pan and keep it on the kitchen counter. I pretty much guarantee it won’t last long–it’s that good!

Eaten plain or slathered with whatever spread, butter, or topping you please, let this warmly-spiced sweet treat ease you into fall. And if you happen to have made a batch of the Smitten Kitchen’s Peach Butter like I did, it will elevate this “ultimate” zucchini bread to super ultimate status. Enjoy!

Amazing Zucchini Bread

• Servings: 8-10
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Slightly adapted from this Smitten Kitchen Recipe

2 cups (13 ounces or 370 grams) grated, packed zucchini, not wrung out, grated on the large holes of a box grater

2 large eggs, room temperature

2/3 cup (160 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, butter, or a neutral oil like safflower or grapeseed

½ cup (95 grams) packed dark brown sugar

½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon fine sea or table salt

1 ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground or freshly grated nutmeg

¾ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

2 cups (9.65 ounces or 275 grams) whole wheat pastry flour (I like Whole Foods 365 Organic)

2 tablespoons raw or turbinado sugar

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. or 335 if you have a convection oven. Lightly coat a 6-cup or 9×5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

Place grated zucchini in a large bowl and add oil, eggs, brown and granulated sugars, vanilla, and salt. Mix with a fork until combined.

Sprinkle cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and baking powder over the surface of the batter and mix until combined. Then, to ensure ingredients are well-dispersed, mix an additional 10 or so stirs.

Add flour and mix until combined, with no pockets of flour remaining. Pour into prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle with the raw or turbinado sugar—use it all—it will make that awesome crunchy dome.

Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick or tester inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out batter-free. Because I have a history of quick breads being doughy in the middle, to ensure doneness, I also use an instant read thermometer to test the internal temperature. If it’s not between 195 and 200 degrees F., I put it back in the oven until it reaches that temperature range.

Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack. Leave in the pan, unwrapped, overnight or 24 hours. Remove loaf carefully from pan, being careful not to ruin the crunchy lid, and cut into slices. Zucchini bread keeps 4-5 days at room temperature. Only the cut end of the loaf needs to be wrapped in foil; store the bread in the baking pan.

Makes 8-10 servings.