banana yumyumyum

Well this is maybe the most awesome thing. It's so great I'm having trouble finding what to say about it. Let's start at the beginning?

My sister Sarah called me up last weekend and told me she had something I needed to try. She does this every once in a while and history has taught me to blindly follow her. If I didn't I would never have tried delicious things like this, and let's not forget about this. Also, she's my big sister and therefore what she says still goes. So I tried it and oh wow! It's great! Like take a bite and (if you're me) pump your fist in the air at its magnificence great. It's like ice cream but with no dairy, so it doesn't make my stomach explode and it's actually good for you.

Here's what you do-
Take two ripe bananas, peel them, cut them up and then put them in a bowl in the freezer. When they're frozen solid, transfer the pieces to a food processor and process until they are completely blended. Once this happens it becomes the creamy consistency of ice cream. Also, it's super delicious. I've been adding a tablespoon or so of almond butter to mine.

birthday cake!!

Last Monday was Matt's birthday. We both took the day off, went for a ride on the Tall Ship Windy in Lake Michigan, sat in Millennium Park for the free Ponys show, drank vodka tonics and went out for Thai food. All in all it was pretty great.

Somewhere in there I made a cake. Because you just can't let someone have a birthday without cake! Not even if, say, you're a really awful baker with no electric mixer. Or if the birthday boy works in a delicious bakery, making it a little intimidating. Or even if last year the two of you ended up taking the flat, awful, wreck of a cake you tried to make for him and throwing it out the window at parked cars.

So I sucked it up, did a lot of research, and used a Smitten Kitchen recipe since I know those always turn out awesome. And it worked!  The sour cream frosting was a little... sour. But after we put it in the fridge and it hardened into more of a fudgey texture I really enjoyed it.

Best Yellow Layer Cake
4 cups plus 2 tablespoons cake flour (not self-rising)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups buttermilk, well-shaken

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans and line with circles of parchment paper, then butter parchment.


Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl after each addition. At low speed, beat in buttermilk until just combined (mixture will look curdled). Add flour mixture in three batches, mixing until each addition is just Incorporated.

Spread batter evenly in cake pan, then rap pan on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles. (I like to drop mine a few times from two inches up, making a great big noisy fuss.) Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes, then run a knife around edge of pan. Invert onto rack and discard parchment, then cool completely, about 1 hour.

Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting
Adapted from The Dessert Bible

15 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/4 teaspoons instant espresso (optional, but can be used to pick up the flavor of average chocolate)
2 1/4 cups sour cream, at room temperature
1/4 to 1/2 cup light corn syrup
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine the chocolate and espresso powder, if using, in the top of a double-boiler or in a heatproof bowl over simmering water. Stir until the chocolate is melted. (Alternately, you can melt the chocolate in a microwave for 30 seconds, stirring well, and then heating in 15 second increments, stirring between each, until the chocolate is melted.) Remove from heat and let chocolate cool until tepid.

Whisk together the sour cream, 1/4 cup of the corn syrup and vanilla extract until combined. Add the tepid chocolate slowly and stir quickly until the mixture is uniform. Taste for sweetness, and if needed, add additional corn syrup in one tablespoon increments until desired level of sweetness is achieved.

Let cool in the refrigerator until the frosting is a spreadable consistency. This should not take more than 30 minutes. Should the frosting become too thick or stiff, just leave it out until it softens again.

beans and rice

I'm pretty sure everyone has that go-to meal- where you know you need to eat, but don't want/can't afford to go to the grocery store so you suck it up and make whatever you have. For me, it is beans and rice. I always seem to have the ingredients, it's super cheap, and it's a complete protein. Also, I never seem to mind eating it. I don't enjoy it, but I don't mind it either. Add some peas, tomatoes and sour cream and it's almost yummy. Almost.

So what's yours? I'd love some new ideas.

spinach and chickpeas

Yesterday was one of those days where you wake up and just hate everything. Pretty much the only thing accomplished was a lot of pouting.The relaxing weekend I was planning on (and needed) had not happened. Instead it involved very little sleep and a lot of work for no pay, which pretty much equals meltdown in my book. I yelled. I threw a cat. I stormed out on my boyfriend. Meltdown.

A day of sulking was in order. This included a banana pecan muffin from Lovely, getting into pj's right after work, going to sleep at 9:30pm, and (of course) appetizers for dinner. I made spinach and chickpeas from Smitten Kitchen, bought a multigrain baguette from La Farine and the whole meal only cost me around $6. Try being mad after that.


Spinach & Chickpeas
From Smitten Kitchen, Adapted from Moro: The Cookbook and Lobstersquad

2 15-ounce cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
6 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound spinach, washed
A hefty 1-inch slice from a country loaf or about 2 slices from sandwich loaf bread, crusts removed and cut inset small cubes (I used 4- 1" slices from my baguette)
1/2 cup (4 ounces) tomato sauce
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lemon juice, to taste

Place a large saucepan over medium heat and add half the olive oil. When it is hot, add the spinach with a pinch of salt (in batches, if necessary) and stir well. Remove when the leaves are just tender, drain in a colander and set aside.

Heat 2 more tablespoons olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Fry the bread for about 5 minutes or until golden brown all over, then the remaining tablespoon of oil and the garlic, cumin and pepper. Cook for 1 minute more or until the garlic is nutty brown.

Transfer to a food processor along with the vinegar, and mash to a paste. Return the mixture to the pan and add the drained chickpeas and tomato sauce. Stir until the chickpeas have absorbed the flavors and are hot. Season with salt and pepper.

If the consistency is a little thick, add some water. Add the spinach and cook until it is hot. Check for seasoning and serve with paprika on top, or on fried bread toasts (as the Spanish do).

wish list

I think  probably need this cookbook. Oh and by the way, my birthday is September 14th. Or whatever.