A New Favourite

For years my favourite recipe for banana bread came from The Joy of Cooking. Moist, with a fantastic banana flavour, easy to put together; no reason to look elsewhere. Until now.

A recent Home Plates column had not one but two recipes for banana bread; specifically banana-orange bread. Sometimes one comes across recipes that you want to try right away. This was one such recipe. I even had three bananas well on their way to that ugh-I-can't-possibly-eat-that stage which is perfect for banana bread. Firmly ignoring the twinge of disloyalty I felt towards the recipe I'd used for years, I started to preheat the oven.

Picture courtesy my daughter.

As always I made some minor changes to the original recipe: what to do, I'm like that only.
I never tire of saying that and the kids invariably cringe in embarrassment when I do. All the more reason for me to keep saying that!

Here is the recipe with my changes:
Banana-Orange Bread

Ingredients
1 ½ cups sugar
5 tbsp vegetable oil
2 eggs
3 largish bananas (yielding about 1 ½ cups mashed)
¾ cup orange juice
3 cups flour (I used 1 ½ cup all purpose flour + 1 ½ cup whole wheat flour)
½ tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
1 cup finely chopped walnuts (pecans ok too)
2 tbsp orange zest (packed)
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Method
Grease two 8x4-inch loaf pans and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 325F.
Using a food processor, mash the banana.
Transfer the banana-mush to another bowl.
In the same food processor bowl (rinsing not necessary), combine the sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla extract.
Mix well, till slightly light in colour.
With the motor running add in the banana-mush and the orange juice.
Add the dry ingredients and mix till well combined.
Add the nuts and again mix well.
Divide the batter between the loaf pans.
Place the pans in the center of the oven and bake for about 50 minutes or till a toothpick inserted in the center of the pan comes out clean.
Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes and then transfer the loaves to a cooling rack.
Enjoy!

Verdict
Such a lovely loaf!
This recipe makes two generous sized loaves. I was worried that the loaves would turn out dry, given the baking time and the considerable quantity of the batter in the pan, but I was wrong. But, next time I'll definitely divide all this batter into three.
I'll also significantly increase the quantity of the orange zest or skip the orange zest altogether and instead add a handful of chocolate chips.
If one makes three loaves from this recipe, you have less than one egg/ loaf. Immensely veganisable.

If you have any questions or comments, please write to me the.best.cooker@gmail.com.Thanks for stopping by.

256 Types of Cookies

Multiple Choice Cookies

Years ago the kids gave me a couple of books by Joanne Fluke for my birthday.
'Since you like reading and cooking, we bought these books because the main character owns a bakery. The books also have recipes'. This is by far one of the most thoughtful gifts I've ever received.

We've been planning to cook from these books for a long time. This week we actually did. Yes, it was a collective effort. To be fair, my son did most of the work; I occasionally chimed with expert comments.

These cookies provide instant gratification. My son made these on his own and was immensely thrilled with himself. He definitely seems to have been bitten by the baking bug.

Multiple Choice Cookies

Ingredients
½ cup unsalted butter
1 can sweetened condensed milk
One ingredient from each of the following columns:

Column 1	Column 2	Column 3	Column 4
(1½ cups)	(2 cups)	(2 cups)	(1 cup)
Graham cracker crumbs	Semisweet chocolate chips	Rice crispies	Chopped pecans
Vanilla wafer crumbs	Raisins	Frosted cornflakes (crushed)	Chopped pistachios
Animal cracker crumbs	Chopped dates	Frosted cornflakes (crushed)	Chopped mixed nuts
Sugar cookie crumbs	Milk chocolate chips	Marshmallows, small	Chopped walnuts

Method
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Grease just the sides of a 13x9 in baking pan.
Melt the butter and pour it in the pan.
Sprinkle the chosen ingredient from column A.
Drizzle the condensed milk over the butter.
Sprinkle the chosen ingredient from column B, then column C and lastly the one from column D.
With the palm of your hand, press down the layers.
Bake for about 25 minutes.
Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Note: Given that there are four ingredients in each column, and four column in all, 4x4x4x4 varieties of cookies are possible.

I'm sharing these cookies with Bhags for her This book makes me cook event. These cookies were made from the Blueberry Muffin Murder.

Lapping up the Lapsi

Most weekday dinners are poli (or phulkas), a bhaaji (vegetables) and a simple daal.
There are times (a particularly hectic day, an aced test, or just a very good day) one craves a sweet something to go along. On such days, a welcome addition to the meal is a bowl of kheer or sheera (suji halwa).
Child development experts frown on using food as rewards etc., but sometimes a bowl of warm kheer does so much more for the soul than the body; especially if fat free milk and conservative amounts of sugar are used! So I don't mind; we are like that only.

The kheer of choice is ravyachi kheer (suji, cream of wheat) but I'm always on the lookout for alternatives.
Making the lapsi from Tarla Dalal's The Complete Gujarati Cookbook
Lapsi has been on my to-make list ever since I bought this book last year.
It seemed too rich (6 tbsps of ghee) and too sweet (1 cup of sugar) for my tastes. Using greatly reduced quantities of these ingredients, I went ahead and made the lapsi anyway.

We loved it! But then I already knew I was going to like it.
What ever little was left over tasted even better the next day. The nutiness of the cracked wheat, made better by roasting it in ghee is totally delicious.

So here is a low-fat version of the Fada Lapsi:

Ingredients
1 cup cracked wheat (dalia)
1 cup sugar (I used 1/3 cup and it was sweet enough for us)
6 tbsp ghee (I used 2 tbsp)
3 cups hot water (see Notes below)
a pinch of powdered elaichi
10-15 almonds, coarsely crushed (optional)

Method
Over medium-low heat, roast the dalia in the melted ghee.
Slowly add the water to the dalia.
Add the sugar and elaichi and mix well.
Cook this mixture stirring often and breaking any lumps that form.
Let this mixture cook for about 8-10 minutes or till you see ghee on the sides of the pan. If you use less ghee, it won't be visible right away. In that case cook till the wheat is cooked.
Add the nuts, if using.

Notes
Lapsi is made with either milk or water. This time I used just water, but next time I'll definitely be using milk. Since I've greatly reduced the quantity of ghee, milk (even fat-free) will add some richness.

This lapsi is my entry to RCI:Gujarat, hosted by Mythili. Regional Cuisines of India (RCI) is a brainchild of Lakshmi.

Quinoa Kheer

Though we like the savoury Desi version of quinoa, quinoa kheer is good too.
To make this kheer, wash cooked quinoa in several changes of water to remove much of the bitter taste. In savoury dishes this bitterness is welcome; not so much in sweets.
Add milk, sugar, a pinch of elaichi, and a strand (or two) of keshar and cook for about 10 minutes on medium-low heat.
The quantity of milk and sugar depends on how thick you like your kheer and the preferred sweetness levels, respectively.
I've also made a vegan version of this kheer using soymilk. My cousin, who is a vegan, loved it...I'll take his word for it.

Dunkers

My days usually begin and end with a cup of tea. Orange pekoe, lightly brewed, with a little milk, no sugar.
No matter how much my tastes and preferences have changed over the years, my cup of tea has remained the same. Another thing that has not changed is the need to dunk something in the tea. For tea, the dunkers of choice are the good old Britannia Marie or Parle G biscuits.

But when it comes to coffee, the dunkers are either day old poli or biscotti.
If you think poli dunked in coffee is weird, you just have to try it at least once.
The next best thing to dunk in coffee is biscotti.
Chocolate-hazelnut biscotti dunked in the coffee of choice. La dolce vita!

Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti
Ingredients
3 cups all purpose flour
2 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1/4 cup oil
1 cup sugar (or more if you like sweeter biscotti)
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped.
½ cup hazelnuts (or walnuts, pecans, almonds) chopped

Method
Preheat the oven to 375F.
Grease a cookie sheet and set aside.
Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Mix the rest of the ingredients.
Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix well (don't over handle the dough).
The dough will be sticky. Divide the dough into two. Shape each portion into a log, either by using plastic wrap or using your hands (lightly floured).
Arrange the logs on the baking sheet making sure they are not too close to each other.
Once the logs are placed on the baking sheet, flatten the logs a bit.
Bake for about 25 minutes.
Let the logs cool a little (10 minutes) before slicing them.
Lay the slices on the baking sheet and bake them once again. This time for about 7-8 minutes, or till they start browning.
Turn them over and bake for 8-9 more minutes.
The biscotti will harden when cool.
Dunk on!
The yield depends on how thinly you slice the biscotti.

Raising the Bar

After a much needed and relaxing break, we are now back to school, projects, homework, and of course school lunches. A favourite school lunch staple of mine are granola bars.
Quick to make and devoid of any preservatives, corn syrup, HFCS, anything unpronounceable. I can never make enough of these bars. Full of nuts and dried fruits along with that woodsy oaty flavour; these are the best granola bars we've ever eaten. No contest!
Though these bars contain all good stuff, they are quite calorie-dense; in a good way.

My version is based on a recipe from Good Housekeeping. Over the years I've made several variations and continue to make more variations mostly based on current favourites. It is a work in progress.

Here is latest version.

Ingredients
2 cups old fashioned oats (not quick cooking oats)
½ cup all purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup (or more) brown sugar, packed
½ cup lightly toasted wheat germ (optional, see notes below)
1/4 cup flax seed meal (optional)
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup honey
a pinch of salt
1 tsp (or more) ground cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup raisins, sweetened dried cranberries, dried blueberries
½ chopped nuts
1 egg, lightly beaten

Method
Preheat oven to 350F.
Line a 13x9 baking pan with foil leaving an overhang on all sides.
Spritz the foil with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients.
Add the oil, honey and egg.
Mix well.
Using wet hands pat the mixture in the pan.
Bake for about 30-35 minutes, till the edges start browning slightly around the edges. Don't over bake as the granola bars will very quickly go from nice and woodsy to cardboardy.
When cool, use the overhanging foil to lift the entire batch onto a cutting board.
Cut into bars.
Enjoy!

Notes
You could use only whole wheat flour. But after much experimentation, I've settled on this proportion of whole wheat flour and all purpose flour.

If the wheat germ is omitted, replace with an equal amount of oats.

If using flax seed meal, refrigerate the granola bars as the flax seed may start smelling off if left for too long at room temperature.

The egg can be omitted but the bars don't hold their shape as well.
Next time I make these bars, I want to try Nupur's idea of substituting the egg with flax seeds.