banana bread

Another useful recipe from Bill Granger's Feed Me Now... delicious for breakfast, but also nice with a cup of tea in the afternoon.

melt & mix banana bread - makes 2 loaves
45g soft light brown sugar
30g almonds, chopped
255ml sour cream
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
100g unsalted butter, melted
230g caster sugar
2 medium eggs, lightly beaten
250g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
250g mashed ripe banana (2-3 bananas)

here's how:
Preheat oven to 180C/gas 4.
Grease and line two 10 x 18cm loaf tins (i used 1 large loaf tin) with baking paper.
In a bowl mix together the brown sugar and almonds and set aside (this will be sprinkled on the loaf before baking).
In a large bowl, mix together the sour cream and bicarb, leave to stand for 5 mins, then stir in the melted butter, caster sugar and beaten eggs.
Sift flower, baking powder and cinnamon into another bowl. Gradually fold in the sour cream mixture, followed by the mashed banana.
Divide the mixture equally between the prepared tins and sprinkle the brown sugar mixture on top. Bake for 1-1.5 hours or until a skewer inserted into the centre of each loaf comes out clean.
Cool in the tins for 20 mins then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Nice on its own and can also be toasted and spread with butter or honey (just make sure you don't slice too thinly or it may fall apart and your toaster will never be the same again...). I've put some individually wrapped slices in the freezer so i can have a quick fix before i make it again.

banana smoothie

Most mornings, I start the day with a smoothie. I get up and leave home at early o'clock but have to have something to eat/drink or i end up feeling sick on the train to work. I then have a second proper breakfast at my desk, which keeps me going until lunchtime (ok then, elevensies!).

I was given a Hamilton Beach Classic Blender over 15 years ago (which has just made me think what i actually did just over 15 years ago... but that's a whole other story which i will have to come back to at some point) and it's still going strong. I know a recipe for a smoothie might seem a little simple, but this one from Breakfast Lunch Tea is my new favourite.

So here it is, and it's a lot quicker than making granola (especially for you miss baglady).


Classic Banana Smoothie - Serves 1
1 banana
1 tsp honey
2 tbsp apple juice
125ml natural yoghurt or soya milk (i use half and half)
Put all the ingredients in a food processor/blender and liquidize until smooth and frothy (does anyone remember Cresta? I can't say the word frothy without thinking about the large white polar bear wearing sunglasses)
Variations:
*Add a handful of strawberries in season
*Replace the apple juice with lime juice, the honey with 1tbsp sugar and add a handful of desiccated coconut (i would have to add a shot of rum with this one to make a delicious tropical breakfast cocktail, mmm...)
*Replace the banana with chunks of ripe mango and add a dash of lime juice to the apple juice
*Use any poached fruit and some of its liquid, especially apricots, and you won't need the apple juice

rose bakery's honey granola

I have been lusting after this book for some time now... I first saw it at the top of Gemma's book list on Dressing for Dinner. I added it to my shopping basket on Amazon a good month or so ago and had resisted completing the order until last week. I knew i had been neglecting my blog and was in need of some culinary inspiration! Anyone who knows me well, knows that i would love to run a little coffe shop one day - serving the freshest, tastiest coffee, home baked biscuits and cakes and healthy quiches and tarts.

For now, i will keep attempting to write the business plan and try out as many delicious recipes as possible so when the time comes, i will be ready!

After a weekend of cake-eating, i thought I'd better start with a healthy breakfast recipe:

Honey Granola - serves 6


Ingredients:
400g rolled oats
125g whole almonds (I used flaked)
100g sunflower seeds
100g pumpkin seeds
50g sesame seeds
1 tbsp wheatgerm
125ml sunflower oil
250ml honey (I used half honey and half maple syrup)
50g brown sugar (I left this out)
a few drops of vanilla extract
pinch of ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 handful dried fruit, such as sultanas (golden raisins) or dates
milk or soya milk to serve (i like it stirred through natural yoghurt and drizzled with honey).

Preheat oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3.
Mix together the oats, almonds, seeds and wheatgerm in a large mixing bowl.
Place the sunflower oil, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and salt in a saucepan with 125ml watwe and bring up to just boiling point, stirring constantly.
Stir this into the oats and seeds and mix everything together well.
Spread out evenly onto a large baking tray (i line mine with parchment/bake-o-glide) and place in the oven for 1 hour. (i gave a little stir halfway through).
Turn the oven down to 140C/275F/Gas 1 and bake for a further hour (again, i gave a couple of stirs).
Finally, turn the oven off and allow the granola to dry out for a further hour or overnight.
Stir through the dried fruit and allow to cool completely before placing in sterilised jars (i also put some in cellophane bags to take in to work).
I have tried quite a few different granola recipes and what i like about this one is that the mixture stays quite loose rather than clumpy and it has a lovely toasty, nutty flavour.
I will try it with different combinations of fruit and nuts next time too - pecans and cranberries would be lovely.