I Hate Bananas

If somebody asked me to name the fruit I don't like I wouldn't think twice. Bananas. That's the correct answer.
For some reason I have never liked bananas, banana drinks, banana puddings, banana candy or anything that looks, smells or tastes like bananas. Things that have to do with bananas are not for me - that is the rule and I'm not going to change it. I don't have an impression I'm missing anything by not eating bananas - but still world would be less beautiful without them.
See, As I have already stated I don't like bananas and that's the rule. It's holy. But what kind of a rule would it be if there were no exception on it? So. To make my rule quite perfect I have found an exception - and that's banana bread. I love it.
The thing about banana bread is that even though it has to do with bananas the banana taste and flavor are not very obvious. It doesn't smell like raw bananas, nor like artificial banana aroma. It just smells like... well, like banana bread, I would say. No more and no less. And, what is even more important, it does not have the consistency of bananas - even though when I think of the consistency of those mashed bananas that I put in there... OK. let's say the consistency part has not been mentioned here ;-)
Anyway, banana bread I could eat every day. Still warm out of the oven, toasted with butter, not toasted with or without butter, with whipped cream or without it... Banana bread is very flexible, takes pretty much everything. I like flexibility.

Banana Bread
(proportion for two loaves)

1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup shortening
2 cups fully ripe bananas, mashed (5-6 bananas)
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
3.1/2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)

Combine sugar, shortening, bananas, eggs and milk in a mixing bowl, beat well.
Blend remaining ingredients, add to banana mixture and mix until blended.
Turn into two greased loaf pans.
Bake at 180ºC  45 to 50 minutes, or until done.
Get the pans out of the oven, leave the loaves in pans  to cool.
Enjoy your banana bread :-) 
 

Against Bad Moods

Sometimes I don't feel like doing much. I just want to sit on a couch, read a book, enjoy a cup of aromatic tea and a piece of cake. Since I don't feel like doing much, the cake must be easy to make. Since I want to enjoy it - it has to be extremely nice. What kind of a cake should I bake today?...

Chocolate Cake with a Touch of Orange *
(one 30x40cm pan)

225 gram dark chocolate, broken into little pieces
125 gram butter
grated rind and juice of 1 big orange
6 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
your favorite topping/frosting (optional)


Melt chocolate with butter in a small pot, put it aside to cool down a bit. When chocolate is lukewarm, beat the egg yolks with sugar until white and creamy, then - beating constantly at a low speed of the mixer - gradually add the chocolate, orange rind and juice. Gradually add flour and baking powder.
In another bowl beat egg whites until stiff. Pour chocolate mixture over whites, folding gently until just blended.
Turn mixture into a buttered and floured baking pan, bake at 180ºC for 30 minutes.
When the cake is done, leave it in the pan to cool.
You can put your favorite chocolate topping over the cake and sprinkle it without even more chocolate or finely grated and dried orange peel.

I must say the cake is nicer after few hours, or even on the next day - if it gets a chance to wait ;-)

*The original recipe is not mine. I got it from M. on a forum that normally has not much to do with cooking - that proves that you can find interesting things in places where normally you would not be looking for them ;-) Anyway, I have modified the original a bit: I use more chocolate and the orange rind is completely my idea. I think it is adding a lot to the taste, but maybe it's just my opinion.

Food Is Sexy

Well, food can be sexy, to be precise. It all goes about the right attitude and some little details.
Think, what is this little something that makes a person sexy? Is it just the looks? Somehow, I don't think so... Personally I do not see anything sexy about beautiful people who do not have anything but the looks to offer. To me the most exciting people are the ones who do not show everything on the outside, they just give some hint: "hey, there is something about me you might want to discover". If they are not liars and there really is something to be discovered - they are sexy to me. And if the discovery part can last forever and I never get even close to getting bored and saying "Hey, now I know everything about you" - well, I would call it damn sexy, to be honest. But to be even more honest, if those damn sexy people are handsome at the same time... well, it doesn't hurt at all.
The same rule applies to food - for me, at least. I don't want those perfect supermarket apples of same shape, same size and same color, but with no taste at all. I don't like food arranged on a plate in a fancy way when the fancy look is about the only thing the plate has to offer. You see it, you want to try it, and when you do - there goes the disappointment... What I like - and what I think exciting - is food in which I can taste something new with almost every bite. Food, that does not unveil all of it's secrets until I taste it - and when I taste it I want to taste more, because there still seems to be something hidden... And when the food is looking exciting as well... This is what I call sexy food. Exactly.

Melon and pomegranate salad

(4 servings)

1 tasty melon

1 pomegranate

1 lime, juiced

100ml pale sherry

1 teaspoon castor sugar

freshly ground pepper

Spoon out the melon flesh - you can either have it in little balls or in thin slices (this is how I prefer it).

De-seed the pomegranate making sure that the seeds are clean of any bits of the membrane. Doing this carefully, so that the juice doesn't stain your clothes and half of your kitchen ;)

Put the melon and pomegranate seeds in layers into the serving bowls or glasses and place them in a fridge to cool down nicely.

Before serving mix lime juice with sherry and sugar, pour it over the fruit and top everything with a dash or two of freshly ground pepper.

Enjoy your salad :)

Who Bakes Bread, Anyway?

I do, sometimes. And some other people I know. And many, many people that I don't know - of that I'm sure, somehow.
And why bake bread when there is a great choice in supermarkets and bakeries? Well, I don't know some other people's reasons, but I do know mine - and I have to admit they are not rational at all. It is cheaper and easier to buy bread at a supermarket or at a bakery, and some sorts of bread that you can buy are quite excellent. The thing is, you can buy nice stuff, but by buying it you will not get your kitchen full of this wonderful aroma of freshly-baked bread - and I love that smell. I also like to watch bread in the oven and then taste it when it's still quite hot. And I simply think there is something special about baking bread in the times when everybody is in a hurry and nobody has time - baking bread is making me slow down...

Basic Dinner Rolls
(16 rolls)

4 to 4.3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 packages active dry yeast
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter
1 egg (at room temperature)
*1 egg beaten with a little bit of milk, poppy seed, sesame seed - optional

Combine 1.1/2 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt in a mixing bowl.
Heat milk, water and butter until very warm. Add liquid and egg to flour mixture; beat until smooth (about 3 to 4 minutes).
Stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft, sticky dough. Turn dough onto a floured surface, continue to work in flour until dough can be kneaded. Knead until smooth and elastic, but still soft (about 5 to 7 minutes).
Cover dough with a bowl or a pan, let it rest about 20 minutes.
Shape rolls as desired. Place them on a greased baking sheet, cover and let rise until double in bulk (about 15-20 minutes).
Now you can brush the rolls with the egg-milk mixture and sprinkle them with poppy or sesame seed.
Place the sheet in the oven and bake at 220ºC about 12 minutes. Cool on wire rack.