Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze [Wenatchee food photography, Washington]

Always in search of a way to use the last few bananas, I was happy to stumble upon a twist on the old classic banana bread. This Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze from Cooking Light was just the ticket. It goes together pretty simply, like good quickbreads do, and the lime glaze is super easy and super tasty. Sweet and tangy, these two ingredients make a tremendous difference to this kitchen staple. Recipe below with my modifications noted.

Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
1/4 cup plain yogurt (I used sour cream)
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon flaked sweetened coconut, divided
1/2  cup chopped, pecans (I toasted mine first)

Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime

Preheat oven to 350°.

1. In large bowl, beat together sugar and butter until well blended.
2. Add eggs, banana, yogurt, milk and vanilla; beat until blended.
3. Add flour mixture and beat just until moist. Stir in 1/2 cup coconut and pecans.
4. Spoon batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon coconut.
5. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan to serving plate.
6. Combine powdered sugar and lime juice, stirring with a whisk; drizzle over warm bread.

My notes: I made this into 2 smaller loaves and doubled the glaze recipe so I could add glaze to both loaves. Because of my smaller loaf size, my total cooking time was 50 minutes. I checked it at 40 and the top and coconut was getting brown, so I covered the top with aluminum foil to prevent over-browning.

The apple spice pecan cake that almost wasn't [Wenatchee food photography, Washington]

I made a classic rookie mistake. I started a recipe without making sure I had everything I needed. But I also felt I've baked enough I could probably work around it so I bravely soldiered on. I added this spice and that one, a dash of something else and a big shake of yet one more thing, stirred and made a silent wish for...well, a not-sucky cake. I gave the beaters a lick and the batter tasted delicious. Now drunk on my crazy cake-saving-skill, I added more. More fruit, more nuts, MORE. I spooned the yummy batter into an angel food cake pan. Why angel food cake pan? Because no matter what I do, when I turn my Bundt pans upside down to gently coax out a cake, a substantial portion of the top, or just one side, sticks and I end up with a decidedly un-cake like pile o' cake pieces. My angel food pan has straight sides and a flat top and a removable bottom. I greased and floured like the recipe said. There was no way I was ending up with anything short of a stellar, state-fair-winning cake. I was going to take it to work. I would get recipe requests and pats on the back and be office queen for the day! The timer went off, I pulled out my bee-you-ti-ful golden cake. The house smelled like sunshine and warm quilts and apple orchards and smiling babies. I think I heard a chorus somewhere in the background. I let it cool, I put a rack on top of the pan, flipped it upside down and gingerly lifted off the pan. Once again, a substantial part of the top AND one side were missing. Still stuck in the pan. And then, as if to say "oh, I'm not through yet," the remaining intact portion of cake started to fall apart, right through the bars of the rack until I had a giant pile of warm (delicious!) cake...nuggets? Chunks? Pieces? I am guessing in my glee to add more fruit and nuts that I sabotaged my cake. Being heavy, they sunk to the bottom, (the top of the cake when flipped,) and didn't leave much actual cake batter to keep everything together. If I had cooked this in a regular 13" x 9" pan, all would have been well. This cake tasted so good that I couldn't let it go to waste, so I started thinking of every cake-like treat I had seen...cake pops, triffles, jar cakes...jar cakes, cakes in a jar! Cupcakes in a jar are often regular cupcakes broken in half and placed in a jar, separated by layers of frosting. Well, I had cake and a fantastic caramel brown sugar glaze still warm in the pan, so I pulled out a dozen half-pint canning jars and begin spooning in and packing down. I topped each jar with a healthy dose of caramel glaze and sealed them up. Today, with a dollop of fresh whipped cream and a sprinkle of toasted pecans, these little conglomeration cakes sang. They sang so sweetly you would have thought I meant to do this.

Sunny morning muffins [Wenatchee food photography, Washington]

When I have something left in the refrigerator that is just about past its shelf life, I always try to find a recipe that I can make to incorporate the ingredient so they don't go to waste. I get the biggest thrill out of "making something from nothing," so when I had a big handful of strawberries that weren't so pretty anymore, meaning the kids wouldn't be eating them, I went looking for a recipe that could use them. I love the internet, being able to type "strawberry recipes" and finding so many links quickly is nice. This recipe for Sunny Morning Muffins sounded good and I thought I could cheat a little and make them on a Friday night because it meant I could wake up Saturday morning and eat them without having to cook first, which for me = a much sunnier morning. Wenatchee has this bad habit lately of being sunny and beautiful Monday-Friday and then rainy all weekend. I thought maybe with something as sunny sounding as these muffins that I could sway the weather gods into sending a few of those golden rays our way when we could actually be outside to enjoy them. Long story short, I made the muffins, but we still woke up to grey skies. Nothing dark and ominous, but it has been raining off and on anyway. Weather aside, these muffins are pretty tasty and helped turn the grey day a little warmer. The recipe is at the link above, but I will add that they didn't include quantity (mine made 16) and the lemon zest flavor is pretty strong using the whole lemon as indicated. You might consider using less if it's not your favorite flavor. Here's to sunny mornings!

[edit: Since I posted this, I wanted to add that these were really good right out of the oven. But after sitting in a more airtight setting, the tops got a bit wet. The muffins were moist, but the tops were too moist and a bit unappealing. I later saw several comments on the original recipe post (link above) that mentioned something similar. Just wanted to give a heads up that these are probably better made and eaten the same day.]

Chicken: It's what's for dinner [Wenatchee food photography]

If you have kids, you know the popularity of the venerable "chicken strips." I've never been a huge fan, but am always happy when I see them on the menu (when we're eating out) because I know if nothing else, my kids will have something to order. When my husband (the main dinner cook in our house,) found a recipe for homemade chicken strips, I was equal parts wary and happy. When he told me the recipe was "from some chick called the pioneer woman," I had to laugh (and breathe a sigh of relief.) Most everyone I know knows who Ree Drummond is (the pioneer woman,) and knows her recipes feature good home cooking with fabulous photos that help practically guarantee success. Well, now I am a fan of chicken strips. These ones anyway. So much different then the restuarant or frozen variety. Tender, juicy, actual chicken flavor. Who knew?

Pumpkin pie cupcakes [Wenatchee food photography]

My oldest little recently requested pumpkin pie cupcakes and being as I've never heard of such a thing, we decided to look for a recipe. I found several for pumpkin cupcakes, which I had a feeling would be too cakey for her as she was wanting more of the pie flavor without actually being pie. I found a recipe that looked like a good place to start and with a few tweaks, we came reasonably close. We added the surprise of a gingersnap cookie as a base to the cupcake for a bit of extra spice. They had the right flavor, were slightly creamy and dense, and with whipped cream and a sprinkle of extra cinnamon, they were a pretty good rainy day dessert. Our Spring has certainly been Fall-like with its cool temps and frequent rain, so these fit right in, despite the normal Autumn association that pumpkin has. Recipe below image.

Pumpkin pie cupcakes

1-1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 29-oz can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup milk
Small, round gingersnap cookies that will fit in the cupcake liners.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Makes about 24-30 cupcakes. Line muffin tins with paper liners and place one gingersnap in the bottom of each liner.

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and all spices.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, sweetened condensed milk and milk until well combined.
3. Add in dry ingredients and whisk until no streaks of flour remain and batter is smooth.
4. Fill each muffin cup to just below top of liner. These cupcakes sink when cooling because of the creamy consistency so will end up being fairly flat on top.
5. Bake for 20-22 minutes. Cool cupcakes in pan then transfer to refrigerator once they're at room temperature.
6. Serve chilled and topped with lightly sweetened whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.