So a banana goes to the zoo to see a zebra... : TWD

“I've got spots; I've got stripes, too.”
- Ani Difranco

We're in the throes of tomato overload these days as I find myself the recipient of an overflowing 4 lbs of tomatoes and small forest worth of Basil from my weekly 'tomato subscription' from the local organic farm. But after popping in a dinner of roasted squash and tomatoes with fresh pesto to bake, I was excited to tackle something sweet after all of that savory.


So, I was excited to see a Banana bread picked as this week's Tuesday with Dorie challenge.

I usually always have bananas in the house for banana bread. Problem is, I don't get the chance to bake it as often as I, or my husband's feet, would like. You see, the problem is, my banana bread bananas don't live on the counter. They live in the freezer, ready to jump out at an unsuspecting guest that goes to grab some ice. Its a running joke in our house to watch out for flying bananas when you go into the freezer.



I was excited to try a marbled chocolate banana bread, a nice alternative to my usual recipe for the sweet moist delicacy.

I followed Dories recipe spot on, primarily because of the comments about problems with varying banana sizes. I chose 2 smaller bananas, so I opted to use all of both of them. A couple minutes in the microwave to defrost, and they literally oozed out of their skins with hardly any coaxing or mashing needed.



For the marbling effect, I opted for the spooning method, figuring if nothing else, it might add a pretty effect. I started to run low on the chocolate batter before I could get everything in the pan, so the stripes are more focused to the bottom of the loaf, but it definitely gives it a pretty effect. The bittersweet chocolate contrasts nicely with the sweet banana flavor for a new tasty take on an old favorite.

I'd definitely give this recipe 2 thumbs up, and willing to try it again the next time the bananas in the freezer decide to stage a rebellious escape attempt.

The recipe for Dorie's Black and White Banana Loaf be found over at A Year In The Kitchen, or in Baking: From My Home To Yours, written by Dorie Greenspan.

(red, white and) Blueberry Pie : TWD

I married into a family of blueberry pie lovers. So while a blueberry pie is nothing new to my repertoire, I'm always on the lookout for new takes on the family favorite.

I originally tried Dorie's Blueberry Pie recipe about 3 weeks ago for an annual BBQ my friends host. It gave me the perfect chance to 'test drive' it before it came up in the challenge rotation, and I was then able to perfect it for a 4th of July BBQ we hosted this weekend.


The first time I made the pie, I went for the full amount of citrus and a latticed top. While it was tasty and well received, I decided it was a little too tart for my liking. Not to mention the juice bubbling up over the lattice edges detracting from it's visual appeal.

This weekend, with these notes in mind, I opted for about 1/3 the amount of zest and a regular full top crust. Practice makes perfect, because this weekend's version to die for.



My only downfall was in the calculation of berries. Since they tend to shrink down when baked, I tend to pile in the berries. So for this pie I mixed in 1 full bag (16 oz) of frozen blueberries, 1 partial bag, and most of a pint of fresh blueberries I had in the fridge. This ended up being a little too much, so I put the extras in my standby oven cups and topped them with a bit of leftover crust.



The pie was a huge hit all around, and I didn't get a chance to take any pictures of the slices before they were devoured. This version will definitely make it into my blueberry pie rotation!

The recipe for Dorie's Double Crusted Blueberry Pie Can be found over at South in Your Mouth, or in Baking: From My Home To Yours, written by Dorie Greenspan.

Smoked Salmon Pitas

I try to cook dinner at least 6 nights a week. Both for the sake of budgeting, and healthwise. With most restaurant potions nearing 2-3 normal serving sizes, its far too easy to overeat.

That said, I'm always trying out new recipes on the husband to keep things interesting. Thankfully, according to him, my "Hit-to-miss" ratio errs way to the hit end of the scale.

This week, inspired by Cooking by the seat of my pant's Smoked Salmon Pizza, I opted for a smoked salmon faux-greek dinner.

Smoked Salmon Pitas

Ingredients:

• 4 pocket pitas
  
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• The juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 tbsp fresh dill leaves, chopped
• 1 package boneless skinless salmon
• 1/4 tsp liquid smoke
  
• 1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1/4 red onion
• 2 leaves Romain Lettuce Chopped
• 4 button mushrooms, sliced
  
• Salt and pepper to taste

I stayed true to Pants' recipe for the dill sauce, mixing up the sour cream, garlic, dill, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
In another bowl, mix the pink salmon with the liquid smoke. If you have it in the house, you could of course use some nice smoked salmon for a more authentic taste, but I usually always have the regular salmon and liquid smoke in the house for my smoked salmon party dip. Note- These vacu-packed salmon packages are the best invention ever. When my mother taught me the above mentioned party dip, affordable packed salmon only came in cans, and always had bones in them. It was always a test of patience to carefully dig out all the tiny bones. Yeah, you COULD buy the canned stuff, but why on earth would you?

Slicing the top off the pita pockets, save the tops. Inside each, add a fiew pieces of the chopped lettuce, onions, cucumber, 2 tablespoons of the salmon, mushrooms, and a tablespoon of the sauce to the pita.

Back to the tops we reserved, cut them into small wedges and lay them on a small pan. Pop them in the toster oven and toast them until lightly browned. If you don't have a toaster oven, you could probably pop them in the oven on broil for a couple minutes, just make sure not to burn them like I almost did.

Now, back to the sauce... After stuffing the pitas, I still had a good 1/3 a cup or so left, perfect for our pita leftovers. Putting them in a bowl, heart spoon optional, I set them on the table with the chips for dipping, or for spooning over the pitas for extra sauce. Heck, the sauce was so good, after we ate our pitas, I sliced up the other 1/2 the cucumber and started dipping slices of that in the sauce. Its that good. Note to self, next time make a gallons worth.