MY BEST DARN BANANA BREAD (FLOURLESS!)

Hello, dear reader. Hope you're enjoying the beginning of summer. I'm about to take little trip to visit family in Illinois, and I'm so looking forward to it. Despite the heat and the 95% humidity, I love Illinois in the summer. Probably what I miss most about midwestern summers is summer thunderstorms. After a hot sticky day, there's nothing quite like running outside into heavy rain and thunder, tromping around barefoot and feeling the thunder rumble. And the whole time it's still 80-something degrees, so the wetness is a welcome refreshment.

The forecast calls for storms this week. I can't wait!

The other thing I'm most looking forward to is driving out in the middle of no where (you don't have to go far), in the middle of the night, sitting out by a silent field and watching the stars. Nate and I tried to get that kind of quiet the other night in the bay area (to see the recent anticipated meteor shower, which we didn't see), and we totally struck out. Too close to city lights and noises, and not enough time to go up a mountain just for an evening view.

Of course I'm hoping that those thunderstormy skies clear up enough for me to get a star fix.

Since I'm leaving for more than a week, these last few days have involved a lot of strategic cooking in order to use up all the food we have in our kitchen without having to throw anything out before leaving town. Naturally we had some ripe bananas, so I used them up on my favorite banana bread recipe. I've baked this recipe several times now, learning and tweaking a little bit each time. This time it was so delicious that I decided it was blog-worthy.

I've made this recipe with and without chocolate chips and walnuts, and with both; every combination works well. This time I left them out, since I was feeling more of a classic banana bread taste.

Enjoy any little trips you might be taking in these early weeks of summer!

MY BEST DARN BANANA BREAD (FLOURLESS)

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
4 ripe bananas, smashed (very ripe (read: almost black) = best)
1/3 cup melted coconut oil
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1- 2 tablespoons bourbon*
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
dash nutmeg
1 3/4 cups dry oats, blended (in a blender or food processor) to powdery consistency
optional 3/4 cup chocolate chips or walnuts

* just for flavor; it mostly bakes out, but if you particularly dislike bourbon, use only 1 tablespoon

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a big bowl, mash the bananas. Don't make them too smooth - there should be some small chunks. Stir in the melted coconut oil. Mix in sugar, egg, vanilla, bourbon, baking soda, and salt, and spices. Gradually fold in powdered oats. If using, stir in chocolate chips or nuts last.

Bake in a greased 4x8 inch loaf pan for one hour, or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a rack.

PLUM GINGERSNAP ICE CREAM SANDWICHES

I wanted to follow up on my last post to let you know that I made ice cream sandwiches with that plum ice cream. They're perfect little treats!

I mentioned in my last post that the ice cream seemed like it'd be a great consistency for ice cream sandwiches: it firms up well, but it doesn't get rock solid. It ended up working PERFECTLY for sandwiches. They don't slide apart when you bite into them. And the cookie recipe I used even stays a little soft when frozen (so you don't feel like you're eating a rock).

And don't gingersnaps sound good with plum ice cream? Mmm. They are. I made smallish gingersnaps (for smallish ice cream sandwiches). They're 1.5 inches wide (great for snacking, *cough). I realized a few sandwiches in that they should be assembled with the bottoms of the cookies facing out - that way they sit flat. I wrapped the sandwiches individually in saran wrap and put them in the freezer to firm up.



Now I didn't consider the fact that the saran wrap's wrinkles would leave their impressions in the ice cream and make the ice cream sandwiches look like wrinkly little messes. Of course, let's be honest, if I had realized that, I probably wouldn't have spent too much time trying to make sure the saran wrap was perfect, anyway.

Here's the recipe I used for the plum ice cream.
Here's the recipe I used for the gingersnaps.

Enjoy!

PLUM ICE CREAM

Happy stone fruit season, everyone! I realized recently that plum season doesn't last as long as peach season does, and I've definitely been favoriting peaches lately... So I thought I'd fix it by eating lots of plums this week while they're still sweet and beautiful. And, wouldn't you know it, I made some ice cream, too.

This recipe is from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop (but paraphrased...). It has only 5 ingredients (yay). For some reason, I've had better luck getting the perfect ice cream consistency in recipes that don't contain eggs. So generally I skip over recipes that do. Plus, holy cow, this recipe is so simple.

The ice cream was very creamy, indeed. It firmed up very quickly in the freezer but never became super hard. For that reason, I think it would be perfect for ice cream sandwiches... hm... I'll keep you updated! I made the batter the day before and it saved perfectly. 

Now the recipe calls for Kirsch (a liqueur), but I used some vanilla extract instead. Also, a few of my plums weren't very ripe, so I peeled some skin off of those. I also added an extra spoonful of sugar. 

Plum Ice Cream

Adapted slightly from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop

1 pound red plums
1/3 cup water
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar (+ a little extra, if your plums aren't too sweet)
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (or Kirsch cherry liqueur)

Cut the plums into 8ths, removing the pits. Add to saucepan with the water and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until tender (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Cool to room temperature. Add heavy cream and vanilla extract (or Kirsch) and puree. Cover batter and chill in refrigerator. Freeze according to ice cream maker's instructions. Makes 1 quart.

CHOCOLATE COVERED FROZEN BANANA BITES

My husband and I recently bought all three seasons of Arrested Development on DVD. And in honor of all the time we've been spending with the Bluth family lately, I made some chocolate covered banana bites. There's always money in the banana stand! (If you've never seen the show, dear Reader, and you like dry comedy, I highly recommend it. :))

So the inspiration came from the TV show, but the case was actually just that I had some leftover chocolate melted in a bowl from another project, and there was one banana sitting in the fruit bowl. So it was an impromptu treat for two :)

Since I made them with only one banana, I figured I'll just give you the recipe for one banana. You can of course multiply as needed.

Chocolate Covered Banana Bites

• one banana, sliced into 1/2-inch disks
• 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (this is probably a little more than you'll need)
• 2 tsp. coconut oil
• toppings (graham cracker crumbs, sweetened coconut flakes)

Lay the banana slices out on parchment paper and freeze for 30 - 45 minutes, or until frozen. Before removing them from the freezer, melt the chocolate and coconut oil in the microwave (increments of 20 seconds, then 10, stirring between each until melted). Use a spoon and knife to dip the bites and replace them on parchment paper. Sprinkle with toppings and return to freezer for 20 - 30 minutes.

They'd be cute on kabob picks or toothpicks for parties.

Bon appétit, dear Reader! Thanks for stopping by! :)