Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Almond Blueberry Banana Bread #BreadBakers

Almond flour is the secret ingredient that adds richness and extra flavor to this almond blueberry banana bread, making it buttery, without any butter. As a bonus to many, it's also gluten free!


I’ve been thinking a lot lately about friendship and what it is that creates those bonds. Sometimes it’s a hobby or interest in common that brings us together. Other times it’s weathering a storm or difficult circumstances or even living in a challenging place at the same time. As expats in far-flung locations, we come to depend on each other, become like family, because we have no one else who understands us, who gets what we are going through.

The blogging world is like that too. I can’t compare starting my food blog with moving to places like Balikpapan, Indonesia or MacaĆ©, Brazil, but back in 2011, typing up words and sending out a recipe for possibly no one to read and comment on felt equally as solitary at the beginning. (Six years ago this very month!)

Like moving to a new city and country, finding friends in the food blogging corner of cyberspace takes time. My first blog, started in 2007, was set to private. I didn’t see it as a way to connect with anyone but family. I told stories of our holidays and posted photos of our girls. But with the public food blog, all that changed. I was a nervous wreck the first time I actually shared a post link on Facebook with friends. What would they think? Would anyone read it? Worse, would they laugh?

My confidence grew as I made blogger friends, joined the Food Bloggers Network group on Facebook, exchanged tips and comments on cooking and recipe writing and photography and social media. I learned the meaning of foreign terms like SEO and white balance and bounce rates, including the mysterious ways of Google analytics. I began participating in themed group events, like Sunday Supper and Bundt-a-Month and Muffin Mondays.

I might never have believed it before, but my online friends, my fellow bloggers, became real friends. We chat privately, in twos and in groups. We commiserate with each other. We support each other. We laugh and we vent. We are a community drawn together by our like interests, our love of cooking, our frustration with changing social media algorithms and learning new technology, and the profound knowledge that we are understood.

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This month my Bread Bakers group is using nut flours to bake our breads at the instigation of our host Cindy of Cindy’s Recipes and Writings. I’ve been enamored of using almond flour in baked goods since I first read Nigella Lawson’s languorous description in her How To Eat of the clementine cake she makes every Christmastime.

While the gluten free flour mix in this recipe can be easily substituted with all-purpose flour, I chose to make a gluten free recipe today to honor my friend and fellow blogger, T.R. Crumbley of Gluten Free Crumbley, one of our community who left us too soon, not even 30 years old.

As a member of the Sunday Supper, Movement, I got to know T.R. through our group events. He was a sweetheart, quick to volunteer his help, the first to crack a joke and at our annual Food Wine Conference, the life of the party. I’m so sorry that he was too sick to join us in person this year where he was honored as Bloggers' Choice Blogger of the Year. He’d have been in his element at the Strawberry Bash on Saturday night. He accepted his award by Skype so he did get to hear the cheers and applause of the crowd.

As managing editor of Sunday Supper, I corresponded from time to time with T.R. over the last year. He graciously gave me permission to expand the Weekday Supper posts that he had contributed over the years, to include the full recipe. His only request was that I let him know when I was going to republish one, so that he could be sure to share it again on social media. That was T.R. all over.

If you or someone you know eats gluten free, please check out Gluten Free Crumbley. T.R.’s family plans to keep his blog going both as a tribute and because it would be a shame to let all of his hard work go to waste. He loved to cook for family and friends. He especially loved sharing his recipes. I like to think he'd enjoy this almond blueberry banana bread. I hope he knows how much we miss him.

Ingredients
3 medium ripe bananas
1 large egg
3/4 cup (180 ml) milk
3 tablespoons or 45ml canola or other light oil, plus extra for pan if not lining with parchment
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup or 120g almond flour
1 1/4 cup or 200g gluten free bread flour blend (I used Dove Farms.)
1 1/4 cup or 120g quick cooking oats
1/2 cup or 100g dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup or 140g fresh or frozen blueberries (do not thaw first, if using frozen)

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and grease a 9x5in or 23 x 13cm pan or line it with baking parchment.

Use a whisk to mash your bananas in a bowl and then add in the egg, oil vanilla and milk. Whisk to combine.


In another large bowl, add all of your dry ingredients and stir to combine. Add in the blueberries and stir to coat.


Pour your wet ingredients into your dry and use a wooden spoon to mix well until the dry ingredients are thoroughly combined with the dry. Unlike in quick breads made with all-purpose flour, gluten free flour batters need to be completely wet before baking.


Pour the thick batter into your prepared pan.


Bake for 55-65 minutes, or until the internal temperature of your Almond Blueberry Banana Bread reaches 210°F or 99°C on an instant read thermometer. Cover the loaf with foil if it is getting too browned before it is cooked inside.

Remove from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.


Enjoy!


Do you love baking with nut flours too? You might enjoy making my White Chocolate Cranberry Blondies, Staffordshire Yeomanry PuddingAlmond Raspberry Cake or Passover Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars as well.

And check out this creative nut flour recipe list from my fellow Bread Bakers. Many thanks to our host Cindy of Cindy’s Recipes and Writings for all of her hard work behind the scenes.
#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page.
We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.
BreadBakers
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Sunday, June 11, 2017

Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

Cauliflower Mac and Cheese is a delicious twist on a family favorite, adding extra nutrients to our comfort food. No one can resist the cheesy goodness!

Food Lust People Love: Cauliflower Mac and Cheese is a delicious twist on a family favorite, adding extra nutrients to our comfort food. No one can resist this cheesy goodness!

We talk about eating the rainbow for optimum health, which seems to imply that only the most colorful vegetables are high in nutrients. But despite its bland appearance, cauliflower is actually one of the most nutritious vegetables, with one serving supplying more than 70 percent of our daily recommended intake of vitamin C, along other vitamins and nutrients. It makes the top 30 list compiled by the Center of Disease Control.

For this cauliflower mac and cheese, I like to choose macaroni that is a bit bigger than your average elbow variety. Then I chop the cauliflower florets into pieces about the same size as the macaroni will be when it is cooked. This gives the dish a more homogeneous look and texture, so if you are feeding picky eaters who would normally try to separate the veggies from the pasta, they likely won't even notice the cauliflower. The sharp cheddar sauce makes it all taste like deliciously normal mac and cheese.

Love cauliflower? You might enjoy my Cauliflower Cheese Pie with Potato Crust, Cauliflower Cheese Waffles and Cauliflower Leek Roquefort Tart. All three are seriously good. 


Variations on Cauliflower Mac and Cheese


Sometimes I make this cauliflower mac and cheese with bacon, as outlined below; sometimes I make it without. Either way, it’s delicious and filling enough to be a main course. It’s also very tasty with some chopped frozen spinach thawed then added to the cheese sauce. Serve it alongside a fresh green salad, or with some sun-ripe summer tomatoes simply seasoned with a sprinkle of salt and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Ingredients
8 oz or 227g pasta
1 small head cauliflower (about 11 1/2 oz or 325g florets), divided into florets and chopped
6 1/3 oz or 180g smoked streaky bacon, chopped – about 5 thick-cut slices (or 3 tablespoons of butter or olive oil)
4 tablespoons flour
1 small onion, minced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
2 cups or 480ml cold milk
12 oz or 340g extra sharp cheddar or cheese of your choice
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne - optional
1/2 cup or 35g fresh bread crumbs

Method
Boil the pasta according to the package instructions, setting the timer for half of the recommended al dente cooking time. Add in the chopped cauliflower when your timer goes off. Cook pasta till al dente.


Drain and set aside, still in the colander, while you make the cheese sauce.

Fry the bacon until crispy. Remove the bacon and all but three tablespoons bacon fat. If you don’t have enough fat, make up the difference with butter, canola or olive oil.

If you don’t want to add bacon, start with three tablespoons of butter, canola or olive oil.

Sprinkle in the flour and mix well to make a roux.  Cook the roux for a few minutes to get rid of the floury taste.

Add the minced onion and garlic into the roux. Cook over a low fire until they are softened.

All at once, whisk in the milk, whisking quickly so that the flour and milk don’t form lumps.

Cook until the sauce thickens and reduces in volume, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350° or 180°C and butter or grease a baking pan or casserole dish.

Add in three quarters of the grated cheese and stir until melted. Add in the dried mustard and stir.  Season with salt, black pepper and a little cayenne, if desired.


Pour the cauliflower and pasta back into the pot with the bacon, saving a little of the bacon to sprinkle on top.


Pour on the sauce and fold to combine. In case you are wondering why it isn't orange, my favorite extra sharp cheddar is an Australian brand. They don't tend to put the coloring in it that many American cheesemakers do.


Spoon the mixture into your prepared baking pan or read note below.

Note: If the pan you cooked everything in is ovenproof, you could skip transferring the mixture to a baking dish, and move on to the next step - the topping- but for me, the best cauliflower mac and cheese is all about the crunchy, chewy top covered with extra cheese and bread crumbs, baked till golden. So I like to spread mine out in a wide dish to maximize the square footage of that top.

Combine the reserved cheese and bacon with the breadcrumbs. Sprinkle over the cauliflower mac and cheese.

Food Lust People Love: Cauliflower Mac and Cheese is a delicious twist on a family favorite, adding extra nutrients to our comfort food. No one can resist this cheesy goodness!

Bake in the preheated oven for about 20-30 minutes or until golden brown and crunchy on top.

Enjoy!

Food Lust People Love: Cauliflower Mac and Cheese is a delicious twist on a family favorite, adding extra nutrients to our comfort food. No one can resist this cheesy goodness!

In the spirit of full disclosure, I must tell you that while my husband and I will fight over the crispiest bits, our younger daughter would have you skip the last step altogether. She likes her mac and cheese straight from the pot, unbaked and sans crunchy pieces. If your kids feel the same, the last step can indeed be skipped.

After all, today’s Sunday Supper event is all about getting kids and other picky eaters to eat their veggies. If you are looking for delicious recipes that will add more healthy vegetables to your family menu, check out this week's kid friendly vegetable recipes for picky eaters. Many thanks to our event manager, Cricket of Cricket's Confections and our host for this event, Anne from Simple and Savory for all of their work behind the scenes.

Kid Friendly Vegetable Recipes for Picky Eaters


Breakfast

Dinners

Sides

Snacks

 

Pin this Cauliflower Mac and Cheese!

Food Lust People Love: Cauliflower Mac and Cheese is a delicious twist on a family favorite, adding extra nutrients to our comfort food. No one can resist this cheesy goodness! #SundaySupper

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Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Bulago Gin Breeze Cocktail #FoodieExtravaganza

With equal parts gin, orange juice, Campari and tonic, a Bulago Gin Breeze Cocktail is super refreshing and a doddle to make.




For the last few years, I've been hearing my friends David and Nicky talking about a small home they have on Bulago Island in the Ugandan portion of Lake Victoria. It's a sweet retreat from the hectic world, where there is scarcely any internet and lazy days are best spent sipping cocktails, doing 1,000-piece puzzles, reading and watching the wildlife.

We finally got ourselves organized for a trip last April. It's less than a five-hour flight from the United Arab Emirates. Completely do-able for a long weekend.

The whole trip was a joy and Bulago is indeed a treasure. The birds alone require a reference volume for birds of East Africa because there are so many that inhabit the island, including enormous Hornbills and colorful Kingfishers and the Egyptian geese that wandered our garden. A pair of binoculars were always at the ready and I kept my telephoto lens on my camera as well. One never knew who or what would turn up.

One afternoon, as my husband and I were sitting out on the lawn reading, I heard a noise in the tree branches overheard. I thought it was some of the birds building nests because they had been going back and forth in an exhaustingly productive manner. Imagine my surprise, when this is what I saw.


I beat a hasty retreat to the house since he looked like he was about to leap down upon me. After my less than endearing experiences with monkeys when we lived in Malaysia, I am not a fan. Eventually he lost interest and we went back to our state of relative inactivity, reading and watching this scenery, keeping an eye out for otters and alligators. (Saw some of both!) There may have been Bulago Gin Breeze Cocktails involved, if not that day, certainly the next.


 Hardly anyone swims in this part of Lake Victoria. Now you know why.

We arrived on Bulago with two bottles of gin, one bottle of vodka and a box of red wine. There was some mix up in our grocery order so a whole case - 12 liters - of orange juice was delivered, along with tonic, beer and fresh vegetables. The store cupboard revealed an elderly bottle of Campari. And so our host created this new drink we aptly named a Bulago Breeze. When the breeze is blowing (or flowing) on Bulago, there is no more pleasant place to be.

Ingredients for one 8 oz drink
1/4 cup or 60ml orange juice
1/4 cup or 60ml Campari
1/4 cup or 60ml gin
1/4 cup or 60ml tonic
Ice

Method
Mix together all the ingredients in a glass. Add ice. It couldn't be more simple.


And enjoy. Cheers!


Today my fellow Foodie Extravaganza friends are sharing recipes with gin, six in all. Many thanks to our event host, Caroline of Caroline's Cooking for her hard work behind the scenes.

Need some gin-piration? Check out our link list:


Foodie Extravaganza celebrates obscure food holidays or shares recipes with the same ingredient or theme every month.

Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook group Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you!

If you're a reader looking for delicious recipes, check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board! Looking for our previous parties? Check them out here.

Pin it!


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