Strawberries and Banana Breakfast Smoothie

My fridge is filled with boxes and boxes of Strawberries. Yes, tis the season to be jolly …again! I’ve raved about my strawberry love many times before so you already know I’m crazy about the little suckers. And I always stock up whenever they come around. Apart from eating them dunked in hot chocolate fudge or enjoying them with the traditional fresh cream I also like to make a mean smoothie out of it. Besides, I just bought a nice Morphy Richards blender this month … so I need to puree and blend! I call this my breakfast smoothie because it gives me the necessary kick to start the day. Yes, I need a kick… I am NOT a morning person. Come to think of it, I’m not a night owl either. I’m a nine-to-fiver! Unfortunately those kinds of jobs are hard to come by and even if they do, it will involve sucking up to someone in a government office! Now that I’m done ranting about the lack of optimal timed employment, I come back to the smoothie. It’s yummy, it’s easy, it’s healthy and it’s in season. It’s a complete breakfast, so you can give your Masala Dosa a break today!

Ultimate Chocolate Banana Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache

Oh Man! There’s so much chocolate in this recipe and its soo moist and googey and yummy. I kid you not! It’s now my TOP chocolate cake. Ok, I know it says banana in the title, but don’t let that scare you away. All the banana does is make it unbelievably moist (just like a fantastic patisserie bought cake) and add a faint banana sweetness. I realized that banana in a chocolate cake is not such an odd combo. I ordered a slice of royal banana chocolate cake at the California Pizza Kitchen and was totally transported to heaven. So I looked high and low for a similar recipe and finally found a Joy of Baking one that looked and sounded delicious. The recipe is super rich and makes a huge cake for 12 people. This means not only do I have a fail safe recipe, but one that tastes un-freaking-believable, and feeds a lot of people at the same time…I am really in cake bliss! I balanced the sweetness of the cake with a dark chocolate ganache frosting. Again super easy to make, so don’t sweat it and don’t leave the frosting bit out. I’m telling you it totally elevates the cake. So I’m gonna beg you to make this cake… no really… I am... it’s that good!

Double Banana Nut Bread

Well baking is really not my forte. Not that I suck at it, but I would never really attempt a 10 layer cake and expect to get it right. That’s what the patisseries’ are for right? That said, this Banana Bread recipe is extremely simple. Actually I am even willing to call it failsafe. Add to the fact that it lets you use up overripe bananas left over from overzealous shopping expeditions, well who’s complaining?? The basic Banana bread recipe remains the same and you can toss any dried fruits/ nuts into it to make it more interesting. I would suggest walnuts, almonds and raisins. Also for a yummy flavor you could add blueberries.. but solo. We don’t want a hodgepodge now do we? It’s a really dense bread, so it keeps moist for a long time. But it's never lasted beyond two days at my place… cause we eat it up!!

Double Banana Nut Bread

Recipe Courtesy: Shelley Albeluhn

Baking time: 60 mins

Serves: 8-12 / One 9X5 inch loaf

What you need:

2 cups All purpose Flour

2 med Eggs, beaten

2-3 mashed Overripe Bananas

¼ tsp Salt

1 tsp Baking Soda

½ cup Butter

¾ cup Brown Sugar

Handful of Raisins and Almonds (broken into small pieces)

What to do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. In a large bowl, sift and combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in beaten eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake in preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Ready and Bready :)

P.S. It’s called Double Banana Nut Bread cause it’s got a pronounced Banana flavor compared to other breads. Yes, it’s actually a result of a very scientific survey. Sue me!