Friday, June 13, 2014

Rainy Day Baking

The wind picked up, the skies got dark and my son and I snatched the laundry off the line just in time. Now the rain is drenching the gardens, filling my rain barrel and clearing the dust from the air. Welcome summer rain :)

Riding was cancelled today, so I'm off to the kitchen to complete a few projects. I have cream on the counter to culture, bananas ripe enough to make muffins and hope to mix up some quick bread and brownie mixes.

First, those bananas! For me, there is a perfect point when they are at their most sweet. They are still yellow, but are just beginning to get a few little brown spots on them.
Peel and break into pieces, then place in the blender with softened coconut oil and butter. Add eggs and blend until smooth.


At this point I am going to tell you what not to do! LOL! In our house, we really hate doing dishes. So if I can make a recipe with only getting one thing dirty instead of two, then that's what I do. But seriously, make life easy on your self and get out a large bowl. Don't try to add the dry ingredients to the blender like I did. It makes it very difficult to mix. You have to do several cycles of blending then scraping it down to blend it again.

Don't do this to yourself! Lol.

Instead, get out that big bowl I mentioned and sift all your dry ingredients into it. Whisk a few seconds to blend, then pour your banana mixture from the blender in and stir until smooth.

Next butter a loaf or bread pan with butter. Then line it with parchment paper and butter that too. Then dust with a bit of flour, especially any part of the pan not covered by parchment. then pour in batter.


Bake at 350 F for about 25 - 30 minutes until a toothpick or knife point inserted comes out clean. Watch after about 15 - 20 minutes as oven temperatures may vary.

Let cool on the counter for a few minutes. Then remove from pan by lifting parchment paper edges.


This is a very soft, cake like bread. We don't usually put nuts in it, but mini chocolate chips are divine!

Banana Bread

1/4 cup softened butter (room temperature)
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 ripe bananas
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a blender place butter, *coconut oil, bananas and eggs. Blend until smooth and no lumps remain.
In a large bowl, sift flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Whisk a few seconds to mix dry ingredients. Make a well in the center and pour banana mixture from the blender. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine.
Grease a loaf pan with soft butter. Line with parchment paper and butter it also. Lightly dust with a bit of flour. Pour in batter and bake for 25 - 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool on counter a few minutes, then remove from pan by lifting with the parchment paper.

*Notes: Coconut oil is liquid most of the year here in Florida. For easier mixing, if yours is solid, you may try melting it first. All ingredients are organic except the baking soda and the eggs from my backyard chickens, who get lots of organic kitchen scraps and natural layer mix.

Enjoy!