Nigella Lawson — Banana Bread†Scrumptious Banana Bread Pudding

The other day I went on a baking spree, resulting in a loaf of banana bread and 6 1/2 dozen pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. The cookies turned out great. The banana bread did not.

My apologies to Nigella Lawson. Her banana bread recipe has been my go-to gold standard since I started feeding bananas to Little Sprout sometime last spring. But I got overconfident.

Attempting to execute her recipe from memory, I added a whole stick of vegetable shortening (1 cup) instead of the ½ cup of butter called for in the recipe. Remarkably, the baked loaf held together. (Just barely.) It had a light crumb but an oily texture.

I'm not afraid to admit when I screw up. What I like even better is turning a failure into a success! So the greasy banana bread got a makeover into a dessert pudding.

Banana Bread Pudding ^‡
⅛ cup apricot brandy
½ cup raisins
1 loaf banana bread
½ cup graham cracker crumbs
½ bag (6 oz.) mini morsels chocolate chips
2 cups milk
½ cup butter, melted
1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
4 eggs

Put the raisins and the brandy in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, cover, and leave for an hour, or until the raisins have absorbed most of the liquid. Drain remaining liquid into a mixing bowl.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 2 quart baking dish with non-stick baking spray.

Crumble banana bread into baking dish. Add graham cracker crumbs, chocolate chips and drained raisins. Mix thoroughly.

Combine milk, butter, vanilla, and eggs into the bowl with drained off brandy. Beat until blended. Pour over bread mixture, soaking thoroughly. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until set.
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† Link to original post about Nigella Lawson — Banana Bread and the Banana Bread Bake Off contest sponsored at Not Quite Nigella

‡ Special thanks to the incredible cooks in my dinner group for their advice on how to salvage a greasy loaf of banana bread.
You are my foodie heroes.

For examples of mouth-watering dishes my dinner group has made in the past year, read Food, Glorious Food

Shrimp-Filled Piquillo Peppers in Sherry Vinaigrette

Doesn't this look yummy?

It is a tapas recipe I found in the July 2005 issue of Cooking Light magazine, in an article titled Spanish Nights, that was lying around my kitchen. Tapas reminds me of Old Madrid. (I traveled there on my first paid vacation as a working woman.)

Tapas are small, savory dishes served in Spanish bars and restaurants as hors-d'oeuvres or cocktail snacks. A tapas-themed dinner group gathering wouldn't be complete without Manchego con Membrillo and a sparkling Spanish Cava. On a couple of occasions, my dinner group has made theme dinners out of tapas and they were mucho gusto!

Is all this foodie talk making you hungry? A bit of delectable nibbling sounds so good! I think I will be working tapas into our weekly dinner menu since I've got it on my mind. I may even make Shrimp-filled Piquillo Peppers in Sherry Vinaigrette, since it seems to be beckoning me from the food mag pages. Here's hoping you give the festive finger foods of Spain a try. Bon Appetit!

Space Cowboys -- LEGO my Firefly!

Happy 50th anniversary to the LEGO brick! In honor of such a shiny occasion, I'd like to share these hand-made mini-figures, based on the short-lived TV series Firefly.

Firefly aired on television for 11 short, but exceptional episodes back in 2002.

Firefly was a Sci-Fi Western set in the inky blackness of space. It was wonderfully comedic and dramatic, with "big, damn heroes" that had realistic and gripping challenges to overcome. After it's cancellation, a legion of impressively loyal and creative fans (I was one, albeit a "Janet-Come-Lately"), flooded the FOX TV network with requests for Serenity, a full-length feature film titled after the rebel ship that was their livelihood and home.

The Reasonably Clever website shows an impressive model of the firefly-class ship Serenity out of LEGO bricks. A few years ago I bought two of the snack-size Serenity kits listed on the page as Christmas gifts for me, Mr. Ridiculous and a married couple I know who are even bigger fans than I am. (They are decorating their at-home bar in a Serenity theme. I joke that they should call it their "Fruity-Oatie Bar." Movie fans will get the reference.)

Is anyone out there making LEGO Firefly movies, similar to LEGO Star Wars? Ooh, I'd love to see those.

So, happy 50th anniverary of the LEGO brick and here's hoping that Firefly and Serenity live on for at least as long!

Piggie Snacks as Survival Food

One of my best friends, fyrlocc, loves nibbling on baby toes and mentions them as "must-have" items on the appetizer list whenever our dinner group meets. Isn't that sweet?

I admit that I think Bruce has the most adorable (and tastey) baby toes ever, but it's nice to know that I'm not alone.

At our house we play a game where I scoop Bruce up into an embrace and declare that it is time for "Piggy Snacks!" Of course he erupts into instant giggles and squeals of glee as I take his delicious, little toes and pretend to eat them all up. I swear, his laughter adds years back onto my life.

Some days these little, joyous moments are all that get me through the emotional rollercoaster day after day. Yes, death is a natural part of life. But that doesn't make it any easier to watch Julie slip slowly into increasing periods of exhaustion.

Bruce, God bless him, is doing his level best to distract me with happy moments! Today he crawled through the doggie door. So cute! Darnit, I didn't get a picture. He'll have to do it again so I can record it in his "First Year" baby book and post a photo here.





Less than 30 minutes after conquering the doggie door, Bruce discovered the Tupperware® cupboard in the kitchen. Playing with Tupperware® is a rite of passage! The best part? It kept him enthralled for 45 minutes. I was able to tidy up around the kitchen and prepare for dinner while I watched him pull plastic bowls, lids, canisters and containers out all over the floor.