Showing posts with label Banana. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Banana. Show all posts
Saturday, July 16, 2016
Better Than Flour Banana Bread
June 16,2016
This is a keeper for sure!! Delicious, comforting and all banana bread-y. I did not miss the sugar; in fact felt that the banana flavour was more pronounced. I suspect the same could be said of my family because of how fast the banana bread were devoured. I must say, they tend to favor the minis baked in the brownie bite pans. So easy to swing by the kitchen and pop a tasty mosel (almost without anybody the wiser.)
Saturday, June 25, 2016
Baking with Less Sugar
June 2016
While on a recent trip to New York I came across Joanne Chang book BAKING WITH LESS SUGAR. It is exactly what I had been looking for. Both sides of our family have a history of diabetes. We have been eating healthier and leading a more active lifestyle. I had been cooking lower carbohydrate and less sugar meals for my family for awhile now. But, sometimes you crave a little something, not necessary sweet but with a great mouthfeel to end the meal or as a pick me up.
Faced with the shelves full of Cookbooks that I have to cull for the move, I was trigger shy of buying yet another book. Luckily, I was able to borrow the ebook version of it from our local library. Joanne Chang of Boston's Flour Bakery, is of the Sticky Buns Throwdown with Bobby Flay fame. She beat the Master Chef.
While on a recent trip to New York I came across Joanne Chang book BAKING WITH LESS SUGAR. It is exactly what I had been looking for. Both sides of our family have a history of diabetes. We have been eating healthier and leading a more active lifestyle. I had been cooking lower carbohydrate and less sugar meals for my family for awhile now. But, sometimes you crave a little something, not necessary sweet but with a great mouthfeel to end the meal or as a pick me up.
Faced with the shelves full of Cookbooks that I have to cull for the move, I was trigger shy of buying yet another book. Luckily, I was able to borrow the ebook version of it from our local library. Joanne Chang of Boston's Flour Bakery, is of the Sticky Buns Throwdown with Bobby Flay fame. She beat the Master Chef.
My first try was the Blueberry Bran Muffins. The recipe looked so promising I purposely went out to buy the wheat bran. 2 1/2 cups of blueberries provided moisture, sweetness and drama! You peel of the muffin wrapper and are greeted deep purple promise of deliciousness. It is buttery and delicious. Yum!
Baking with Less Sugar
June 2016
While on a recent trip to New York I came across Joanne Chang book BAKING WITH LESS SUGAR. It is exactly what I had been looking for. Both sides of our family have a history of diabetes. We have been eating healthier and leading a more active lifestyle. I had been cooking lower carbohydrate and less sugar meals for my family for awhile now. But, sometimes you crave a little something, not necessary sweet but with a great mouthfeel to end the meal or as a pick me up.
Faced with the shelves full of Cookbooks that I have to cull for the move, I was trigger shy of buying yet another book. Luckily, I was able to borrow the ebook version of it from our local library. Joanne Chang of Boston's Flour Bakery, is of the Sticky Buns Throwdown with Bobby Flay fame. She beat the Master Chef.
While on a recent trip to New York I came across Joanne Chang book BAKING WITH LESS SUGAR. It is exactly what I had been looking for. Both sides of our family have a history of diabetes. We have been eating healthier and leading a more active lifestyle. I had been cooking lower carbohydrate and less sugar meals for my family for awhile now. But, sometimes you crave a little something, not necessary sweet but with a great mouthfeel to end the meal or as a pick me up.
Faced with the shelves full of Cookbooks that I have to cull for the move, I was trigger shy of buying yet another book. Luckily, I was able to borrow the ebook version of it from our local library. Joanne Chang of Boston's Flour Bakery, is of the Sticky Buns Throwdown with Bobby Flay fame. She beat the Master Chef.
My first try was the Blueberry Bran Muffins. The recipe looked so promising I purposely went out to buy the wheat bran. 2 1/2 cups of blueberries provided moisture, sweetness and drama! You peel of the muffin wrapper and are greeted deep purple promise of deliciousness. It is buttery and delicious. Yum!
How Do You Move a Garden?
May, 2016
The past couple of months and weeks has been strange and uneasy for me. I had been purging and packing our offices for the office move. If that is not unsettling enough, I had also started the same purging and packing on our own San Diego home. But my most ambivalent feeling might be regarding my garden. Over the years, we have grown our San Diego garden in the style of the lush tropical garden we grew up with. The San Diego weather has allowed us to grow tropical fruits like bananas, mangoes, Sapote Ciku, longan as well as figs, persimmons, and citrus like pomelos and kumquats. In anticipation of our move and sale of the house, we had started clearing out and tidying our San Diego garden. Not everyone appreciate the "Jungle Look" we favored.
The plan is after we tidy up the garden, we can plant a more acceptable palate of plants to prospective buyers.
The past couple of months and weeks has been strange and uneasy for me. I had been purging and packing our offices for the office move. If that is not unsettling enough, I had also started the same purging and packing on our own San Diego home. But my most ambivalent feeling might be regarding my garden. Over the years, we have grown our San Diego garden in the style of the lush tropical garden we grew up with. The San Diego weather has allowed us to grow tropical fruits like bananas, mangoes, Sapote Ciku, longan as well as figs, persimmons, and citrus like pomelos and kumquats. In anticipation of our move and sale of the house, we had started clearing out and tidying our San Diego garden. Not everyone appreciate the "Jungle Look" we favored.
The plan is after we tidy up the garden, we can plant a more acceptable palate of plants to prospective buyers.
Monday, October 6, 2014
Fruits of Neglects
October 2014
I woke up happy that I was relatively unaffected by jet lag, thanks to sleeping just 3 hours on the last leg back from Asia and a dose of melatonin to grant me a full night of blissful sleep. This morning, I headed excitedly out to my garden/orchard. Weeds abound as expected after three weeks absence....plus even more weeks of neglect prior. I was anxious to check on the bunches of banana that started forming as I was leaving for my trip. Three bunches of bananas!! So glad that this year the banana plants flowered early enough in summer for the fruits to form and ripen before fall/winter.
I woke up happy that I was relatively unaffected by jet lag, thanks to sleeping just 3 hours on the last leg back from Asia and a dose of melatonin to grant me a full night of blissful sleep. This morning, I headed excitedly out to my garden/orchard. Weeds abound as expected after three weeks absence....plus even more weeks of neglect prior. I was anxious to check on the bunches of banana that started forming as I was leaving for my trip. Three bunches of bananas!! So glad that this year the banana plants flowered early enough in summer for the fruits to form and ripen before fall/winter.
Friday, November 11, 2011
The Roar of Stormy November
It has been cold, stormy and rainy this November so far. Today, I was playing my new IPhone 4s camera and decided to take a picture of the banana bunch that was developing. I stopped in my track...and was stunned! A banana plant had snap and was lying across the path.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Banana, banana is a growing......
Bananas, are to me, the prefect snack. You will almost always find a comb of banana sitting on my kitchen counter. I find that they are filling without being too filling, and they provide the just a right amount of sweetness. I have a 12 year old grove of 'Ice Cream' banana in my garden. The label said "Texture and flavor similar to vanilla ice cream." Now, how could you resist that!!
After growing up in Malaysia with so many varieties of bananas, the Ice Cream banana pales in comparison. I find that its flavor depends on when the comb of banana develops. If it has a long hot stretch to develop it can be nice. I suspect that it would taste much better grown in a more tropical climate like Florida versus San Diego. Yet, I keep hoping one day, I will get the perfect bunch from my grove. That one plant I bought is a grove of ever regenerating banana plants. I try to keep it to 6 or so plants at any one time. I keep it also for the beautiful banana leaves. It serves as my natural window dressing. I love looking out my tall windows and seeing the banana leaves swaying in the breeze. It reminds me of home. More importantly, I use the banana leaves for cooking- for making otak-otak, lining steamer basket for nasi kunyit, for kuihs and also table decorations at times.
After growing up in Malaysia with so many varieties of bananas, the Ice Cream banana pales in comparison. I find that its flavor depends on when the comb of banana develops. If it has a long hot stretch to develop it can be nice. I suspect that it would taste much better grown in a more tropical climate like Florida versus San Diego. Yet, I keep hoping one day, I will get the perfect bunch from my grove. That one plant I bought is a grove of ever regenerating banana plants. I try to keep it to 6 or so plants at any one time. I keep it also for the beautiful banana leaves. It serves as my natural window dressing. I love looking out my tall windows and seeing the banana leaves swaying in the breeze. It reminds me of home. More importantly, I use the banana leaves for cooking- for making otak-otak, lining steamer basket for nasi kunyit, for kuihs and also table decorations at times.
 |
| My natural window covering |
Monday, June 21, 2010
Eating from my garden
As May drew to a close and sunny June, despite the June gloom reputation, settled in, my garden started to take off and provide me with pleasurable eating. I started off eating blueberries with my breakfast cereal, slowly adding blackberries, then came the strawberries. Now, I am in heaven!! I am eating my morning cereal with all those berries and tree ripen bananas from the garden. Imagine!!
It has been many years since I have devoured, yes that is the correct expression- DEVOUR- because that is exactly what I do, tree ripen bananas from my garden. Almost every year a banana plant or two would flower. Invariably it is almost Fall when it does so. I half heartedly let it flower but more often that not chop off the flower, sometimes offering it to my Filipino friends. This is because there would not be enough time for the fruit to develop before winter. Somehow last year, the timing was right and I let it develop combs of bananas. Sceptic that I am I never thought it would ripen. It sure took a long time but now I have delicious bananas!! I was going to cut down the whole stalk and let it ripen away from the tree. Luckily for me, my dear husband suggested that I leave it on the tree and enjoy them tree ripen. So each day I can be seen plucking individual bananas and eating them right under the tree. 'Ice Cream' banana does its name proud.
The first tomatoes are also on our dinner menu. Speckle Roman tomatoes with fresh basil from the garden, drizzled with balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil makes a fine lunch. Cherry tomatoes are the sweetest fruits in my garden bar none. They are so beautiful with the sunlight shining through them.Olive oil, chopped garlic, pinch of chili pepper flakes, fresh basil sautéed with those cherry tomatoes makes a delightful sauce served with spaghetti.
 |
| Harvest the fruits |
 |
| slice the strawberries and bananas, scatter blueberries |
 |
| Milk Star on blueberry |
It has been many years since I have devoured, yes that is the correct expression- DEVOUR- because that is exactly what I do, tree ripen bananas from my garden. Almost every year a banana plant or two would flower. Invariably it is almost Fall when it does so. I half heartedly let it flower but more often that not chop off the flower, sometimes offering it to my Filipino friends. This is because there would not be enough time for the fruit to develop before winter. Somehow last year, the timing was right and I let it develop combs of bananas. Sceptic that I am I never thought it would ripen. It sure took a long time but now I have delicious bananas!! I was going to cut down the whole stalk and let it ripen away from the tree. Luckily for me, my dear husband suggested that I leave it on the tree and enjoy them tree ripen. So each day I can be seen plucking individual bananas and eating them right under the tree. 'Ice Cream' banana does its name proud.
 |
| Banana grove |
 |
| Ripening combs of bananas |
 |
| Top combs ripening first |
The first tomatoes are also on our dinner menu. Speckle Roman tomatoes with fresh basil from the garden, drizzled with balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil makes a fine lunch. Cherry tomatoes are the sweetest fruits in my garden bar none. They are so beautiful with the sunlight shining through them.Olive oil, chopped garlic, pinch of chili pepper flakes, fresh basil sautéed with those cherry tomatoes makes a delightful sauce served with spaghetti.
 |
| Heirloom Speckle Roman |
 |
| Sliced Speckled Roman, Basil and fresh Mozzarella Cheese |
 |
| Cherry Tomatoes glisten like jewels in the sun |
Sunday, August 30, 2009
August in the garden
It never fails to amaze what I discover in my garden. All summer long I had be on the lookout for fruits forming on my fruit trees. The dragon fruit forming ( or so I thought) was exciting and now.... an embarrassment. Dear friends and family, in my excitement on seeing the `fruit', I totally missed the biological process of fruit formation!! What I took to be the dragon fruit was actually the formation of the flower bud. No wonder, it was elongating and not plumping out! Needless to say, my dear husband had a good laugh and did not let my faux pas go un-reminded each time he is in the garden.
Upset that my "fruit" was not plumping out!
Ops- looks like they are flower buds
Definitely - flower buds and not the fruit
Spent flower and hopefully fertilized so that I have fruit!
After a few days of my disgust and worrying that maybe I planted a regular cactus and not a Dragon fruit cactus, it dawned on me that it was starting to look like a flower. Look how how gorgeous were those flowers. Like large Christmas cactus flowers. I quickly took the pictures before dashing off on our long drive to Berkeley to settle in daughter L. Now, I worry that those flowers might not have been pollinated and I will not get any dragon fruit....Had I been home, being the Asian gardener I am, I would have assisted in pollinating the flowers, paintbrush and all. Now, I am keeping my fingers crossed.
Around the time that I had the eureka moment about the dragon fruit, I found another pleasant surprise. A bunch of bananas forming on the banana plant! This was so amazing and unexpected, as I swear not more than 3 days before the discovery, I made a concerted effort to look at the banana clump to look for banana flowers. It has been a few years since we had any banana as we had been trimming out the clump. Hopefully the bananas will ripen before the weather cools down. Looking forward to eating "Ice-Cream" banana.
The other plant that had me worried was the passion fruit vine "Frederick". 
It did not form fruit all of last year although it flowered. We were beginning to wonder if it was actually self fertile as advised. This year fruits formed. Early in the summer I had broken open a fruit and it was empty. Again, worried that it was the wrong plant or not pollinated. This week the fruits started turning purple. Now, they have started falling off the vines as they ripen. The fruits are small so I am thinking it needed more water than I was giving it and maybe more fertilizer. Nevertheless, I am enjoying delicious refreshing passionfruit.
All is good in the garden. Look at picture updates of the other fruit trees and vegetable garden.
Mango and Strawberry Guava
Gorgeous crimson flowers and healthy fruits
Cousins! - Beet and Swiss Chards
Onions, shallots and onion flower heads
Sprouting potatoes for the fall crop
Upset that my "fruit" was not plumping out!
Ops- looks like they are flower buds
Definitely - flower buds and not the fruit
Spent flower and hopefully fertilized so that I have fruit!
After a few days of my disgust and worrying that maybe I planted a regular cactus and not a Dragon fruit cactus, it dawned on me that it was starting to look like a flower. Look how how gorgeous were those flowers. Like large Christmas cactus flowers. I quickly took the pictures before dashing off on our long drive to Berkeley to settle in daughter L. Now, I worry that those flowers might not have been pollinated and I will not get any dragon fruit....Had I been home, being the Asian gardener I am, I would have assisted in pollinating the flowers, paintbrush and all. Now, I am keeping my fingers crossed.Around the time that I had the eureka moment about the dragon fruit, I found another pleasant surprise. A bunch of bananas forming on the banana plant! This was so amazing and unexpected, as I swear not more than 3 days before the discovery, I made a concerted effort to look at the banana clump to look for banana flowers. It has been a few years since we had any banana as we had been trimming out the clump. Hopefully the bananas will ripen before the weather cools down. Looking forward to eating "Ice-Cream" banana.
The other plant that had me worried was the passion fruit vine "Frederick". 
It did not form fruit all of last year although it flowered. We were beginning to wonder if it was actually self fertile as advised. This year fruits formed. Early in the summer I had broken open a fruit and it was empty. Again, worried that it was the wrong plant or not pollinated. This week the fruits started turning purple. Now, they have started falling off the vines as they ripen. The fruits are small so I am thinking it needed more water than I was giving it and maybe more fertilizer. Nevertheless, I am enjoying delicious refreshing passionfruit.
All is good in the garden. Look at picture updates of the other fruit trees and vegetable garden.
Mango and Strawberry Guava
Gorgeous crimson flowers and healthy fruits
Cousins! - Beet and Swiss Chards
Onions, shallots and onion flower heads
Sprouting potatoes for the fall crop
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)