Banana-Walnut Loaf

Aside from the fried/baked pork dish that I cooked, I also baked banana-walnut loaf.  There wasn't any special reason other than the fact that I had bananas that were getting too ripe for my liking.  I do not even know why I bought bananas in the first place since I am not much of banana eater.  Maybe I was thinking of making a shake or something but for some reason I got sidetracked and ended up with overripe ones...hehehe...no problem though as this dish save them.



Bananas. by the way, are great ingredients in making your smoothie a lot creamier without adding too much milk or dairy products.  It can even be used instead of the dairy products.  I slice them about an inch to a couple of inches in size and then wrap them in parchment paper and freezer bags.  Pop them in the freezer until they are frozen and use them instead of ice to make a smoother and creamier smoothie.  I believe I posted about this tip somewhere in the blog about a year ago.



Anyways, I had some overripe bananas and free time so I baked these babies.  I used a little bit of olive oil along with the butter when I made these.  The result is a very moist and slightly dense banana cake that taste really good.  They taste even better the following day...even after they have been in the fridge overnight.  To make them soft and moist after being the fridge, I usually pop a slice in the microwave and heat for about 10-15 seconds but the time will be dependent on your microwave.




This morning I had a cup of coffee with a slice of banana walnut loaf  and a very hilarious episode of a Korean drama that is currently airing entitled "A Gentleman's Dignity"  It stars Jang Dong Gun and Kim Haneul along with a bunch of other korean actors/actresses.  Jang starred in an American movie entitled "A Warrio's Way" with Kate Bosworth in 2010.  I only watched the first part of that movie but it didn't pique my interest so I didn't finish the entire movie.  A Gentleman's Dignity though is different-it is hilarious, witty, sexy, crazy, heart-warming, and heart-wretching all at the same time.  The dialogue exchanges between Haneul and Dong-gun are really good. Right now, they have about six episodes out and I cannot wait for the next installment.  I didn't think I would say this but the writer (who is also the writer for Secret Garden which I did not like)  is doing a good job and hope she will continue to do so until the end....




Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup honey

2 eggs

4 large ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

a pinch of salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/3 cup walnuts, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350F


2. Spray loaf baking pan with non-stick spray or coat evenly with oil.


3. In a bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt.  Mix well and set aside


4. In another mixing bowl, add butter, olive oil, honey,and sugar.  Beat until light and fluffy.


5. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.


6. Stir in mashed banana and vanilla.  Mix well.


7. Add flour-baking soda mixture and mix into the batter.  Do not overmix .  


8. Stir in walnuts and transfer to a loaf baking pan and bake for 1 hour or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.


9. Remove from the oven and let it cool slightly before slicing and serving.

Persimmon Smoothie

My brother-in-law returned my Korean drama DVDs yesterday and brought a box full of persimmons, kalamansi (Philippine lime), and a couple of guavas. The persimmon and kalamansi was from the fruit trees in their backyard while the guavas was from his office mate. My brain was working double time churning possible dishes that I could create from the goodies that I got. Will post update of them when I get a chance to make the dishes that I planned. The fruits of their persimmon tree is really great because it is sweet and crispy. I love eating them raw but I think I will use some of them to make persimmon jam and bread.

Kalamansi is the Philippine version of lime which is a citrus fruit. Like its American counterpart, it is slightly sour but the taste is slightly different. I can't really explain the difference but it has a distinct flavor that sets it apart. The juice is often mixed with water, ice, and sugar to serve as a juice/ beverage. The juice, like lemons and limes, can also be used in dishes such as part of a marinade for beef, pork, and chicken. It can also be combined with soy sauce and served as a dipping sauce. Normally, kalamansi do not grow very tall but my brother-in-law's kalamansi tree is almost as tall as their persimmon tree which bears so many fruits. Fresh kalamansi fruits are hard to come by even at the Filipino store but you can purchase it frozen and comes in small sachet which cost a fortune :(

Ingredients:

1 ripe persimmon, peeled and chopped
1 frozen banana
1 cup milk
sugar, according to desired sweetness
3-4 ice cubes

1. In a blender, combine persimmon, frozen banana, milk, and sugar.
2. Blend until smooth then add ice cubes.
3. Blend some more until smooth.
4. Transfer to a tall glass and serve immediately

Banana Avocado Smoothie

I bought unripe avocado last week because they were on sale at one of the supermarket that I go to and they have ripened really well so I made some smoothie today. I used both avocado and banana which is a perfect combination. I also added milk and a few ice cubes. They result is a very creamy smoothie which has the consistency that is almost similar to soft serve ice cream.

I think the frozen banana really did help to make it very thick and creamy. I bought a little too many bananas (again) last week which ripened almost all at the same time. I intended to make some banana-nut bread but I was just not in the mood to bake so I ended up with too many bananas that were really ripe. I was going to throw them away since I am not really a big banana eater but it was such a waste since there was too many so I peeled and cut them in half. I then wrapped them individually in waxed paper, placed them in freezer bags, and popped them in the freezer. Wrapping them in waxed paper prior to placing them in freezer bags made removing easier since it prevented the bananas from sticking to each other when frozen. This little trick is a keeper for me. It also cut down the amount of ice cubes which I needed to add for the smoothies.


Ingredients:

1 ripe avocado
1 frozen banana
sugar, according to desired sweetness
1 cup milk
3 ice cubes


1. Cut avocado in half then scrape the flesh using spoon and place in blender.
2. Add frozen banana, milk, sugar and blend until smooth.
3. Add ice cubes and blend some more until smooth.
4. transfer to glass/es and serve.

Turon (Banana and Jackfruit Wrapped in Spring Roll Wrapper)

It's just another manic monday...wish it were sunday...coz that's my fun day...hahaha...whoa! where did that come from? Gosh it has been a while since I heard that song which would probably clue you in on how old I am...hehehe...Ahhh, I think I am really getting old because there are a lot of things that I used to be alble to do that I can't do anymore. It's okay though because getting old can be compared to an old wine that only gets better with age...hehehe.

Today, I made turon which is a fried Filipino dish made of banana and jackfruit wrapped in spring roll wrapper then coated with syrup. This can either be served as dessert or snack. It is sometimes sold by street vendors usually around mid-afternoon. Ahhh, that brings back old memories...

The banana used in this recipe is saba (burro) banana which is commonly found in the Philippines. This variety has a thick peel and usually shorter than a regular banana found in the regular American supermaket. The taste and texture also differs from the regular banana. Jackfruit, on the other hand, is also common in the Philippines but it can also be found in other parts of Asia such as Bangladesh, India, Thailand, and Malaysia. It is a huge fruit which has several segments and each segment encloses a huge seed (about the size of a chestnut). It can be eaten raw once it has ripened or used in dishes when it is in its unripen stage. In the States, canned jackfruits are available in Asian markets. Frozen jackfruits can also be found in Filipino stores.


Turon coated with syrup
Ingredients:

6 ripe burro banana, cut into quarters lengthwise
1 can jackfruit, drained and then slice into thin strips
spring roll wrappers
brown sugar, according to desired sweetness
oil for frying

1. Take a quarter of banana and few slices of jackfruit. Place in the middle of a spring roll wrapper then sprinkle with a quarter of tsp of brown sugar.
2. Wrap as shown in the pictures. Moisten the end with water to secure.





3. Do this until all of the bananas and jackfruit has been used up.
4. To fry, heat oil in pan over medium heat. When oil is hot, add a few turon and fry until golden in color.
5. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain excess oil.
6. Transfer to a serving platter and serve with muscovado syrup.

Muscovado syrup:
1 cup muscovado (or you can use brown sugar)
1/2 cup water

1. Place a pan over medium heat.
2. Combine muscovado and water and stir until dissolved
3. Cook until syrup thickens
4. Serve with turon.

Roasted Bananas with Greek Yogurt and Honey

I had some left over Greek yogurt when I made mango lassi last week which was is perfect for this quick but filling dessert/ snack. This dish is based on a recipe from Jenny White's Three Ingredients Cookbook. This desert is simple and easy to make but very delicious. I added honey to the yogurt which made it sweet but not too sweet.

Ingredients:

2 bananas
500 ml Greek yogurt
1 1/2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp roasted pecans


1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Wrap bananas in foil and bake for 20 minutes. Let it cool. Then peel and mash coarsely.
NOTE: The cookbook says peel banana and wrap in foil before baking.

3. In a bowl, mix honey and yogurt.
4. Fold in mashed bananas gently.
5. Transfer to serving dishes and top with pecans.
NOTE: The recipe calls for hazelnuts but I didn't have any so I used pecans instead.

Banana Milkshake

Summer is not one of my favorite seasons because it is just too hot especially here in California. Ughhh...can't even stand to go out for a few minutes. I think this is the reason why I have been mking a lot of frozen drinks and shakes lately...hahaha.

Bananas were on sale the other day when I went grocery shopping $0.59/lb... really cheap so I wan tempted again to buy some....okay, I bought 6 of them and they are Ha! I think I am getting my money worth on the blender lately...I think I have gotten more mileage on it the last few days than I did for the last three years combined...hehehe



Ingredients:

1 banana, peeled and cut up into large chunks
1 1/2 cups milk
1 Tbsp sugar
handful of ice cubes


1. In a blender, add banana, sugar, and about 1/2 a cup of milk. Blend.

2. Add the remaining milk and ice cubes. Blend well until smooth.

3. Tranfer to a glass and serve immediately

Banana Nut Bread

I don't know what I was thinking when I went grocery shopping...bought tons of unripe bananas which ripened all at the same time. I haven't had the chance to eat them and it would be a waste to toss them out...Otoki? I put on my thinking cap on and viola! I thought of banana nut bread... Flour, eggs, butter, vanilla extract, sugar, cinnamon, banana...darn, no baking soda and sour cream which means I have to make another trip to the supermarket... hahaha...



Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup butter, melted
4 ripe banana
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp sour cream
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped



1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Sift together flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda. Set aside.



3. Mash banana using a fork and set aside.



4. In a separate bowl, mix eggs and sugar. Beat until light and frothy.




5. Add melted butter to the egg mixture and mix well.

6. Add vanilla and mashed bananas. Mix well.





7. Add all the dry ingredients. Make sure that everything is mixed in.




8. Transfer to an oiled loaf pan and bake for an hour. This proportion makes 1 loaf.



9. Remove from the oven and cool before removing from the baking pan.

Banana-que and Kamote-que

I have been wanting some banana-que for quite some time now but everytime I go home to the Philippines, I always chicken out from buying street food in fear that I might get sick...hahaha...I think the older I get, the more sensitive my stomach becomes. Anyways, my friends got some banana-que when we went to the public market but I didn't eat any. Instead, I opted to eat some santol which, to my dismay, gave me a belly ache early the following morning. Well, to appease the cravings, I made some banana- and kamote-que today. I bought some sab-a banana from the Filipino store yesterday and kamote from the korean market the other day.





Ingredients:

Sab-a banana (plantain), peeled and cut in half
kamote, peeled and sliced thickly and diagonally
brown sugar (i used dark brown sugar)
vegetable oil




1. Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. cook banana and kamote separately. WARNING: Be careful not to burn yourself.




2. Cook until light golden brown. Remove from heat and transfer to a platter.




3. Remove some of the oil from the pan, leaving just enough to caramelize the brown sugar. Be careful not to burn the caramelized sugar otherwise it will taste bitter.



4. Add the fried banana or kamote a little at a time. Coat all sides and skewer.

NOTE: I find that the easiest way to skewer the banana or kamote que is using two bamboo skewers. One will hold it steady and the other will be used to pierce through and skewer.