There seems to be quite a lot of debate about banana bread and whether or not the inclusion of nuts is significant. I'm not really sure which side of the fence I stand on over this, so for now I'm going to plonk myself right in the middle, on the fence! It's actually quite comfortable here and I can see both perspectives. On one hand, there are those who love the combination of the crunchy nuts through the soft cake, the flavours of the two mingling together in one mouthful of wonderfulness, completely oblivious as to why you would accept anything less. Then on the other side I see all you lovely people who really can't see why you would tarnish such a pure and delightfully moist, spongy, banana flavoured loaf with the somewhat crude addition of nuts. Well I say stop your cribbin' and either way this recipe is damn good and will accommodate for both your nut or non nut needs!
Auntie Ann's Banana Bread This recipe comes from my auntie Ann who spent a lot of time in America over the years and has picked up some really great US inspired recipes. This banana bread is deliciously moist and is extremely easy to throw together. I add a little sliced banana on top before it goes into the oven, but if you want you sprinkle some nuts on top or even stir some chopped ones through.
Makes 8 mini loaves or 2 larger loaves 110g butter 190g caster sugar 2 large eggs 240g self raising flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract 3 large bananas
Preheat the oven to 180oC/Gas Mark 4. Cream the sugar and the butter in a bowl with a hand held mixer until light and pale. Add in one egg and a little flour and mix through, repeat with the other egg and the rest of flour and baking soda, until everything is mixed through and smooth. Peel the bananas and mash them with the back of a fork. Add them to the bowl with the vanilla extract and mix through. Pour the mix into a well greased loaf tin and place in an oven for approximately 50 minutes. You can cover it with tinfoil after 25 minutes to stop it browning too much on top if you need too. Insert a metal skewer into the centre of the loaf and if it comes out clean the banana bread is ready. Remove from the loaf tin and place on a wire rack to cool. Enjoy with a big cuppa and filthy smile!
Well hello there! It's been a little quiet around here the last few days, but I have just cleared out all the tumbleweed and I'm back with you! Firstly, a massive, massive thank you to everyone who joined in with the Twinnerparty, we had over 60 participants for the first one, and I will be announcing the dates for the next one very soon, so stay tuned for that. Everyone took fantastic shots of the dishes they cooked so I will post as many of them as I can in the next few days, it was so exciting to see all the dishes as the night unfolded! I'm pretty sure you have all had one of those week that is just so crazy that you barely have time to think. Well I had one of those rolled into a 10 day cycle, but the one thing I relied on was a really good breakfast, porridge, you are my hero!
Blueberry and Banana Breakfast Porridge I eat porridge for breakfast most mornings, normally with a bit of honey and cinnamon, but eating the same thing everyday can become extremely boring. This recipe is my solution to jazzing up regular old porridge, it's really filling and super healthy! In the winter months when fresh berries aren't in season, I keep my freezer stocked up with frozen ones which are great to have at hand.
Makes 1 serving 35g of jumbo oats 200ml of water 1 banana 1 teaspoon of honey A small handful of blueberries
Place the oats and water in a small pot and place over a medium heat. Allow the oats to swell and cook slowly, stirring with a wooden spoon, until they become nice and creamy. While the porridge is cooking, using the back of a fork, mash together the blueberries and banana until you get a nice smooth paste. Pour the cooked porridge into a bowl, top with the blueberry and banana mix and stir through with a little bit of honey. Serve straight away.
All this week I will be out and about promoting the book, and this morning I am on Limerick's Live95FM. They asked me to pick out my favourite breakfast recipe from the book for their breakfast show so I had to go with my all time favourtie breakfast muffins! But these aren't any regular light and empty muffins, these babies packed full of chunky oats, bursting blueberries and bananas to keep you on the move!
Blueberry and Banana Breakfast Muffins
Healthy muffins are perfect for a quick breakfast on the go. These blueberry and banana muffins are packed with healthy ingredients, which will keep you going for any busy morning. I normally make them the night before I have them and grab one or two just before I leave the house.
Makes 12 muffins 125g/4½oz blueberries 2 bananas, mashed 125g/4½oz plain flour 75g/3oz wholemeal flour 200g/7oz rolled oats 75g/3oz brown sugar 250ml/8½fl oz milk 2 large eggs, separated 3 tablespoons of sunflower oil 3 teaspoons of baking powder 1 teaspoon of cinnamon 1 teaspoon of salt
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, rolled oats, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and sugar. Create a well in the dry ingredients and add the banana, egg yolks, milk and oil. Mix everything gently until a wet batter forms. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Fold the egg whites and blueberries into the muffin batter until everything is mixed evenly. Divide the muffin mix into individual paper cases and place in an oven for 25 minutes at 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6. The muffins should be fine to eat for 4–5 days and can easily be frozen in zip lock bags.
Grand Marnier: blended cognacs with orange essence
Speaking of tradition, it's as good as written law around here that when there are fresh, local strawberries on hand there must also be strawberry shortcake. So, we had back to back shortcake. The second time 'round though I needed it to be an easily transported dessert to bring to a party. Cake form seemed like the perfect way to go, all assembled and easy to head out with. Playing on the orange tones of my first orange-rosemary shortcake, I incorporated some Grand Marnier to lend a sweet citrus flavor to the whipped cream. Also, instead of a plain vanilla bean cake, I made a rustic cornmeal cake to add pleasant texture and sweetness from the fresh milled corn.
Cornmeal cake with Grand Marnier vegan whipped cream and fresh berries
One note though, as pretty as it is to have the green tops on the strawberries topping this cake, it's a total suckers move and I implore you to resist it! I can't tell you how many ways in which I should have known better, but the beauty of the berries with the tops still on conspired to drag me down as I opted, thoughtlessly, for aesthetics over eating. A choice that meant I later had to sit, shamefaced, as my friends picked berries out of the mess of whipped cream to remove the tops, which of course they couldn't enjoyably eat. Sigh.
Strawberry rhubarb pie with cornmeal pâte sucrée
I tried to make it up to them though with my favorite pie, strawberry rhubarb. Following the thought about cornmeal and strawberries, which worked so well in the cornmeal shortcake, I made a tender pâte sucrée with cornmeal and coconut oil instead of margarine or oil. The coconut was a very mild flavor influence on the end result and worked surprisingly well in the crust which was wonderfully flaky, light and tenderly sweet against the tart fruit filling.
Fresh strawberry jam filled rambutan mochi with Thai basil sauce and strawberry powder
Last year I served my strawberry rhubarb pie with basil ice cream, but this year my basil is not incredibly bountiful. My lemon verbena could swallow up the yard, but the basil is sort of a no-go. It's sad. There is enough to work smaller projects with though, so I made a dessert that caught my eye in Johnny Iuzzini's Dessert FourPlay a couple months ago. In the original version, Iuzzini fills strawberry mochi with strawberry rhubarb compote and serves it with basil fluid gel. I took some liberties to make the dessert a little faster to assemble and different in flavor, pairing my fresh strawberry jam filling with a freeze-dried rambutan mochi (reasoning that if I find an affinity between strawberries and lychees, rambutans would work as well) and serving it with Thai basil sauce. My mochi technique could use some work (I blame the leakage on my imperfect motor control with a hand still swollen from carpal tunnel release surgery) but overall, I adored this light little dessert and its intriguing Southeast Asian flavors.
Chocolate spiced baby banana pudding with strawberries
A more straightforward, classic pairing between strawberries and chocolate was something I noticed had fallen by the wayside this season. I guess I've been taking my chocolate pretty straight these days and have been in a particular rut with the super dry, dark and lovely 84% Theo single origin bar from Ghana. So good. But I digress. Feeling that these amazing strawberries could make chocolate even more magical, I whipped up a very random pudding of organic baby bananas, dark chocolate, anise, chilies, cinnamon, nutmeg and espresso salt, sweetened with date syrup and topped with fresh berries. It was meant as a quick treat of no consequence but was so good, I'm pledged to make it again and actually write down every element of the recipe since several friends have proclaimed it's one of the best things ever, period.
Breakfast with berries and nibs
After finally getting my strawberry and chocolate fix, I realized that I'd sort of been enjoying the two together all along in my breakfast bowl. Homemade cocoa nib granola with fresh berries isn't quite chocolate dipped strawberries, but it's more than satisfying at seven am.
Almond crust mini tarts with fresh fruit, nibs and lemon verbena
Thinking about how nicely nibs complemented strawberries, I sprinkled a few Taza chocolate covered nibs into my mini tarts. They provided a nice bittersweet crunch against the fruit and buttery almond crust.
Almond strawberry cheesecake
Almonds are a natural complement to strawberries. Their rich sweetness and lightly bitter edge are perfect against tart berry notes. And there's a reason why strawberry cheesecake is so popular; sweet tangy cheese has its richness both cut slightly and complemented by each bite of berry. So, an almond crusted and amaretto spiked cheesecake topped with fresh strawberries glazed with hot strawberry syrup and sprinkled with almond slices seemed like just the thing.
Whole wheat English muffin with farmer's cheese and strawberry rhubarb jam
I've had a lot of semi-successful vegan cheese-ish substances around lately as I've been experimenting to find one that really suits me. None of them are perfect, but with a good amount of fiddling, they've all turned into tasty additions to desserts and ice cream bases. The mixture that I turned into cheesecake was also spun off into a nice mellow farmer's cheese that went wonderfully with fresh strawberry rhubarb jam (again from the Joy of Jams, but with much less sugar than called for).
bagels fresh out of the oven
In fact, I made several jams from the new book: plain strawberry, strawberry rhubarb and strawberry kiwi. With such deliciously fresh tasting jams are hanging around the house, it seemed pretty much obvious that I needed to make a delicious delivery mechanism for them. So when King Aurthur flour had a free-shipping deal, I refilled my stock of organic high gluten flour and made a batch of bagels from the Bread Baker's Apprentice, some coated into sesame seeds and some streaked with pasilla chili powder and topped with chili lime Hawaiian sea salt.
Brunch at Dara's with everyone's delicious contributions: homemade bagels and jam, fennel seitan, chicory in tahini garlic sauce, roasted potatoes, beet orzo and melon with mint
Toasted and spread equally with fresh made jam and strawberry cream cheese, these were a delicious promise that the joy of strawberries in season can last as long as the jars of jam do, even if we've only got another week or two to enjoy them fresh.
This is what we woke up to this morning. Now if that doesn't get you going on a Monday morning I don't know what will! After a pretty unsettled couple of weeks were back on track with a healthy lifestyle starting with a nice healthy jog last night, unfortunately I know it's going to be broken up yet again when we hit Sweden on Friday!
This is a great breakfast to start the week. So many people forget about breakfast, but when your mother told you to eat it, she was right! When you think about it logically, your body hasn't received any nutrients since the night before and is therefore running practically on empty! When you wait till twelve to nourish your body you have wasted a whole morning, when you could have had your body full of nutrients releasing energy.
As a general rule it is always better to eat something for breakfast rather than nothing. People who are making the time excuse generally aren't being realistic, I made this breakfast and ate it in 20 mins and it was a fairly big one, every person can make the time in the morning, by setting the alarm that little bit earlier.
Getting out of bed is a mental thing, when the alarm goes off I get straight out of bed and don't leave myself time to consider those extra few minutes I could waste by staying there. Try it tomorrow, just get straight up when the alarm rings, it's not that hard and you feel great about yourself too! Well that's what I told the girlfriend when I dragged her out of bed this morning! :)
Mixed Fruit Smoothie
1/2 cup of Mixed Frozen Berries
1 Banana
Orange or Apple Juice (not from concentrate)
I always keep some frozen mixed berries (Boylan's) which you can get in most supermarkets these days, as there perfect for smoothies because they last for a long time in the freezer. Throw the Berries in a container with the banana and fill the container up as far as the berries with Orange or Apple juice.
Then blend and serve, it's really quick and really easy.
What I think I love most about Gizzi's book is her take on recipes, a perfect example being this Sticky Banoffee Pudding, what an inspired idea of combining banoffee pie and sticky toffee pudding, clearly the woman is a genius! If you are intrigued by the lovely Gizzi then you should definitely take a peak at the video below, where she talks about her style of cooking and her favourite recipes in the book.
Which reminds me I really should make one of those for Good Mood Food! Now that you have a full grasp of what Gizzi is all about I think it's high time we getting cracking with one of her recipes. I chose this recipe basically because not only does it look delicious, but because it combines two of my favourite desserts, simple really! :) Also don't forget to give me your questions for Ms. Erskine in the comments below or on twitter and facebook.
Gizzi Erskine's Sticky Banoffee Pudding This is my boyfriend Dean’s recipe. While he is a fantastic cook, he is so lazy he never cooks for me, except for this. And my God, does it make up for it! The banana is terrific with the toffeeish dates and keeps the pudding really moist.
Serves 6 Preparation time 15 minutes Cooking time 40 minutes 250g dates, stoned and chopped 250ml hot black tea, made with 1 teabag 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda 85g softened unsalted butter, plus extra butter for greasing 175g caster sugar 2 large free-range eggs, beaten 175g self-raising fl our, sieved 3 bananas, roughly mashed 1 teaspoon ground mixed spice vanilla ice cream, or clotted cream, to serve
For the sauce 100g light muscovado sugar 100g unsalted butter 150ml double cream
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4 and butter a 22cm baking dish. Place the dates in a small pan and cover with the hot tea. Bring to the boil and cook for 3–4 minutes, until the dates have softened, then stir in the bicarbonate of soda. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add the eggs, one at a time. Fold in the fl our, banana, mixed spice and the date mixture and pour into the baking dish. Bake for 30–35 minutes, until the top is springy and a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre. While the pudding is cooking, make the sauce. Put the muscovado sugar, butter and cream into a pan, place over a low heat and melt until the sugar has dissolved. Then whack the heat up and simmer for 3–4 minutes, or until the sauce is a light toffee colour. Serve the pudding with the warm sauce and a big scoop of vanilla ice cream or clotted cream. Or remove the bananas from the ingredients and you’ve got a classic sticky toffee pudding!
(Taken from Gizzi’s Kitchen Magic by Gizzi Erskine published by Virgin Books, price £20)
To celebrate the official launch of my very first cookbook "Good Mood Food" last week, I have a signed copy up for grabs! The book is now available in all good Irish bookshops and online for international visitors, via Amazon UK, Amazon US, and Play.com EU.
Good Mood Food is a cookbook that I hope will change your attitude to food, offering over 100 delicious simple, healthy home-cooked recipes. Good Mood Food such as Broad Bean, Pancetta and Pea Shoot Salad, Cookies and Cream Chocolate Chip Oreo Cupcakes, Blueberry and Banana Muffins, and a tasty Aromatic Duck Salad.
In order to get your hands on an exclusive signed copy, simply fill in your details below and submit the answer to the following question:
What month did I first start posting on this blog? A: January B: June C: July
Michael, my office buddy, has just got back from New York City and after I bought him a Banana guard (see picture) from my recent trip to Sweden, he decided he would respond in kind, and bought me a foodie related gadget! Check out the video below, which demonstrates what the little thing does! I'm a big fan of gadgets and garlic so was very impressed with this looks like it could work too, I'll keep you posted on how easy it is to use! But for now check out the demonstration video!
About the Blog The Good Mood Food Blog started in 2007 after I moved in to my first apartment. I've always had an interest in photography so when I bought my lovely camera, I thought it was finally time to start documenting some dishes I was cooking and with that the blog was born! Most of the recipes on the blog try to include as many healthy ingredients as possible. I'm a big believer in the power of food and it's affects on our lives. I hope you enjoy the recipes and the bit of banter that goes with them.
About Me Hey I'm Donal I come from Dublin. I grew up in family obsessed with food and drink which made it pretty hard not to have an interest. I love trying out new recipe's, adapting old ones, and tasting new things. I also have a serious addiction to cookbooks! But there's nothing wrong with that, right?
About the Book
I have recently finished writing my first cook book which is due for release Oct 09' with Mercier Press. The book is called "Good Mood Food" and is full of healthy home cooking.
Good Mood Food is a cookbook that aims to change your attitude to food, offering a delicious range of simple, healthy home-cooked recipes. Good Mood Food features mouth-watering recipes like Broad Bean, Pancetta and Pea Shoot Salad, Cookies and Cream Chocolate Chip Oreo Cupcakes, Blueberry and Banana Muffins, and a tasty Aromatic Duck Salad.
"Good Mood Food is a new breed of cookbook that springs from the talent of a passionate home cook. A truly scrumptious read." Ross Golden-Bannon The Sunday Business Post and Food & Wine Magazine.
“At last... Simple, easy recipes that are healthy and interesting. Donal Skehan's book reclaims good food from the convenience of supermarket shelves and puts it back where it belongs - in the domestic kitchen.” Paolo Tullio The Resturant
Buy Book via Mercier Press Buy Book via Easons Buy Book via Amazon Buy Book via Play.com
About the Photos All the photo's featured on the blog are taken with my handy dandy Canon 400D camera which has seen me through the last few years. The food is all home cooked and barely tweaked before being shot.
Press for the blog and book Irish Independent Weekend Magazine "My First"- Richie Taylor Irish Independent "The Guilty Gourmets"- Declan Cashin Irish Tatler "Food For Thought"- Ciara McDonnell
Sunday Independent "Why You Should Know About Donal Skehan"- Julia Molony
A decision has finally been made! After a hell of a lot options this is the cover Mercier Press decided on. I'm pretty happy with it, and just can not wait to see the finished product after all this time!
Here's a little bit about the book and some of the quotes:
Good Mood Food is a cookbook that aims to change your attitude to food, offering a delicious range of simple, healthy home-cooked recipes. Good Mood Food features mouth-watering recipes like Broad Bean, Pancetta and Pea Shoot Salad, Cookies and Cream Chocolate Chip Oreo Cupcakes, Blueberry and Banana Muffins, and a tasty Aromatic Duck Salad. "Good Mood Food is a new breed of cookbook that springs from the talent of a passionate home cook. A truly scrumptious read." Ross Golden-Bannon The Sunday Business Post and Food & Wine Magazine.
“At last... Simple, easy recipes that are healthy and interesting. Donal Skehan's book reclaims good food from the convenience of supermarket shelves and puts it back where it belongs - in the domestic kitchen.” Paolo Tullio The Resturant A sneaky peak from one of the recipes inside the book!
The book will be available from mid-October but can be preordered here: Mercier Press Easons Amazon Play.com Borders
I spotted these amazing cupcakes in Leila's book when I first scanned through it, they really pop out! They would be absolutely perfect for kids parties as I am sure they would get a great reaction. In fact there is a whole chapter in "A Piece Of Cake" dedicated to Leila's fab cupcake creations, including flavours like, raspberry, lemon and poppy seed, banana fudge, blueberry corn, and carrot, ginger and walnut!
I know I have been talking about Leila all week but as I said I am a little bit in love! :) I hope you have been enjoying learning a bit about her and some of her recipes. Tomorrow I have a really exciting competition for you to win a copy of the book, so make sure you stop by to enter!
Leila Lindholm's High Hat Cupcakes These fantastic-looking cupcakes should be served cold. You can keep them in the fridge for about three days, but cover them carefully in clingfilm to keep them fresh. They are the yummiest of cupcakes.
Makes 12 cupcakes 3 organic eggs 225g caster sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar 50g unsalted butter 100ml sour cream 2 tablespoons baking powder 2 tablespoons cold coffee 210g plain flour 4 tablespoons good quality cocoa powder 1 pinch of salt 100g good quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
For the meringue topping 6 organic egg whites 850g caster sugar Juice of 1 lemon 2 teaspoons vanilla sugar
For the chocolate coating 350g good quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids) 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
Prepare the cupcakes according to the basic recipe. Preheat the oven to 175oC/350oF/Gas Mark 4. Beat together the eggs, butter and vanilla sugar until pale and fluffy. Mellt the butter, add the sour cream and coffee and blend with the egg mixture. Mix together the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt and carefully fold into the mixture. Chop the chocolate coarsely and melt it in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Add the the mixture. Put paper cases in a muffin tin and pour in the mixture until the cases are two-thirds full. Bake in the centre of the preheated oven for about 15 minutes. Leave to cool.
In a stainless steel bowl mix together the egg whites, caster sugar and lemon juice. Beat by hand for about 1 minute until fluffy. Rest the bowl over a pan of boiling water. Beat until the sugar crystals have dissolved and the mixture has a consistency as fluffy as meringue. You should see the trail from the whisk to them foam. Remove the bowl from the pan and beat the vanilla sugar into the foam. Use a hand-held electric beater to mix the meringue for a few minutes until it is thick and cool. Put the meringue in a piping bag with a round nozzle and pipe the meringue on top of the cupcakes in spirals. Leave about 1cm around the edges. Leave to set in the fridge.
Make the chocolate coating. Chop the chocolate and melt it with the vegetable oil in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Pour the chocolate into a small bowl and leave to cool. Take the cupcakes out of the fridge and dip each peak in the chocolate. Brush on additional chocolate if there are any gaps. Leave to set on a plate in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
We have a visitor staying with us at the moment, and he eats a lot, no wait, A HELL OF A LOT! After a big dinner of chicken and rice, the other night, he ate two big bowls of Special K, a Banana, and a bag of popcorn. I wouldn't mind, and apologies for being crude, but what worries me is that the amount of toilet paper were going through does not reflect the amount of food being eaten. As you can imagine I am a little worried about his well being, so I decided that healthy longlasting breakfast, full of fibre would do the trick and perhaps keep him running a little more regular.
I do hope, I haven't put you off the recipe completely, because it's a darn good one, a healthy twist on classic American pancakes. Don't get put off by the use of oat flour, just whizz up some oats in a blender it takes seconds and is much healthier than the refined white stuff. I got the recipe from Stella's Kitchen Blog which gives lots of different options- we used goats milk out of personal choice- so adapt it whatever you want just make sure the balance between your wet and dry ingredients stay the same.
Oatmeal Pancakes
1 cup fat free milk (or water, or goats milk) 3/4 cup oatmeal (uncooked, quick or regular oats)
3/4 cup oatmeal flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
4 large whites
1/2 tsp cinnamon, ground
For baking recipe's like this I like to be able to attack it systematically, I'm not sure why. So First of all, heat your milk in a saucepan until warm and set aside. Blend your oatmeal flour and mix with the rest of the oatmeal, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In a seperate bowl whisk your egg whites until they reach a stiff consistancy.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients in one bowl and mix until blended. Then add the egg whites and fold into the mixture. To cook simply add a full ladel of the mix to a warm pan and it takes just less than a minute each side or until golden brown. Serve with maple syrup, fresh fruit, or whatever takes your fancy!
