Banana Bread

The Doctor wants me to eat a banana a day for Potasium. But I cna't force myself to eat one every day, maybe everyother day. So now I have some going bad, they are BLACK. I wanna throw them out but I remembered my Savta telling me that they re the best for Banana Bread that way. So here was my atempt. Most online recipes require milk and/or butter. I've adapted the recipe to be parve since I didn't want to dairy up my kitchen aid. This could be made with a hand mixer too. The batter will be on the thick side and I doubled the recipe to make to loaves at once. It didn't seam to mind, besides a crust that was a little thicker than I'd like. I think starting at a lower Temp, possibly 300 for the first 15 minutes and then turn to 350 for the next 30 hour. Do use the tooth pick test! I went to take it out at the correct time and the middle was still gooey. So here it is in all its glory....... BANANA BREAD! 1 Cup ripe bananas, crushed 1 cup sugar 2 eggs beaten ½ cup parve margarine 1 ¾ cup flour ½ teaspoon soda ½ teaspoon baking powder if desired, ½ cup chopped walnuts  Preheat oven to 350 Cream sugar and margarine. Mix Flour, baking soda and baking powder together. Add bananas and flour mixture to the margarine and sugar mixture. Beat well. Fold in the beaten eggs and nuts. Pour into a lightly greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 45 minutes.

Sunday Morning Pancakes

Sunday mornings are for big breakfasts. Usualy I use the left over Challah for french toast on Sunday, this week was Pancakes, Eggs and Hashbrowns. I love Pancakes, but I hate buying the mix, I feel that it never is as good as this recipe. I know I made alot more this week then pancakes but today I'll give you the recipe for the pancakes from scratch, next Sunday I'll show you how to make awesome eggs and the week after that will be the hashbrowns, stay tuned! For Now---Pancakes!

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 1/4 cups milk

1 egg

3 tablespoons butter, melted

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. The batter will be thick. Brown on both sides and serve hot. Becareful not to burn them they cook quickly. If you don't want to serve them as you make them you can keep them warm on a plate in a 200 degree oven untill ready to serve. I serve with butter and syrup. Wow is it good! Sorry we ate them too fast to take a picture. Now, I wonder if it would be good with bananas?.....

CHALLAH!

So its Friday and this week I only have to make food for lunch tomorrow, tonight we've been invited out (I'll blog about what she made tomorrow night). I'll worry about lunch later but this morning I really have to get my act in gear and make the Challah. Last week I completely forgot, I couldn't believe it. This week I'm starting early so I don't forget, I really love my Challah.

I have a bread maker,I recommend one for the avid challah maker. Don't think that's cheating, you still get to take credit for the recipe and the braiding later, you just won't get those fab arms bakers get. If you don't have a bread maker or kitchen aid, knead by hand (it's apparently very spiritual, especially if you are praying for someone - more on that later)and build those muscles!

Here is the Recipe: Put these in the bread maker in order.
(for those watching their sugar)
1/2 cup hot and 1/2 cup room temp water
2 Tbs Sugar (or Slenda)
1 Tbs Honey (or agave nectar)
2 tsp Yeast
3 1/2 cups Flour (3 cups whole wheat and 1/2 cup gluten)
1 Jumbo Egg
1 tsp table salt (I rarely use kosher salt to bake, but I did this week)
3 Tbs Margarine
Set on your Dough setting on the bread maker and GO.
When your machine says its done, take the dough out and braid (see video).

Turn oven on to 200 and place braided Challah on a cookie sheet covered loosely with plastic wrap on the stove. Let rise for 15 Min's. Turn oven up to 350 and take out another egg to get to room temp for egg wash, let challah rise for another 15min while oven gets to temp.

Bake for 15 mins and brush with egg wash (egg and a splash of water and a squish of honey well combined) and bake for another 10 mins, let cool on racks. Yummy for Shabbat, recipe will make 2, 1 lb Challahs. I sometimes make them a little smaller and make a roll if I'm haveing both meals at home. Enjoy!

Fried Chicken and Potatoes

Tonight after I defrosted the chicken and was told we had been just invited for Friday night dinner. No problem now a mid week treat of chicken! It came out better then I thought it would.
What you need:
1/4 cup flour salt and pepper added
1 egg
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs (you can always add more)
2 chicken breasts butterflied completely in half
3/4 cup olive oil for frying
Here's what you do:
Wash two potatoes and poke generously with a fork and microwave for 5 minutes wrapped in paper towel, leave in microwave until chicken is done.

Scramble the egg in one bowl, put the flour and the panko crumbs in their own bowls. Heat the olive oil on medium heat in a 12 inch frying pan, then start the coating of the chicken breast (flour the chicken breast, dip in egg, allowing the excess to drip of for a second and coat in the panko crumbs)put the chicken on a separate plate to rest as you coat. When you are done with coating all the chicken, the oil in the pan should be ready. Lay the chicken (away from you, so if it splashes you don't get burned) into the oil starting at "12 o'clock" and working your way around clockwise. Fry for 3 Min's on the first side (when you flip the chicken take the potatoes out of the microwave and slice in 1/2 inch slices, set aside.)and 2 Min's on the second, drain on paper toweled. Don't turn off the heat, put the sliced potatoes in the still hot oil (again use the clock positions to know which one you put in first for turning and flip away from you) fry for 2 minutes on each side and then drain on a paper towel. Serve with applesauce or ketchup, Enjoy! We did! Next time, pictures!

In the Begining G-D Made Potato Chips

I love all things cooking. I watch Food Network, Cooking Channel, Travel (food)shows, and BBC america when they rock the food shows, almost constantly. I cook every day and I love to eat. Just the thought of my next meal makes my mouth water. So last night I decided to show you how many things you can make at home. I also keep a Kosher Kitchen and all my recipes will be adapted to be Kosher. (Kosher is a Jewish dietary restriction that literaly mean "fit".) Today we make an all time favorite POTATO CHIPS! WOOOHOOO BIG APPLAUSE!
This is so good and cheep!
preheat your oven to 450 and put a lightly oiled cookie sheet in the oven till it comes to temperature.
Slice 2-4 potatoes as thin as you can no need to peal them, just wash well.(use a mandolin if you need to)
spread them on the cookie sheet in a single layer and sprinkle a little olive oil and kosher salt on them and bake for 25-35 mins.
Cool on some paper towels and eat hot or wait till they cool.
2 potatoes will make enough for a snack for two. Add popcorn seasonings after cooking for extra flavor. So Yummy.

This came about because I bought two bags of potatoes last week and the ones I had left were going to go bad.
Now to plan for dinner tonight! We will see......