Fried Bananas, Batman!

So I'm trying to write more posts more often...so this morning, I decided to make fried bananas for breakfast. I don't really like bananas but fried anything is amazing! It was really easy, required very few ingredients and turned out delicious!






I fried the bananas on each side for about a minute in coconut oil for added flavor. Besides adding a delicious coconuty flavor, coconut oil has the good kind of fat and has also been known to stave off infections and heart disease. I highly recommend substituting coconut oil for butter or vegetable/canola oil when frying sweet things.

The banana slices cook very quickly so you need to make sure that you watch them the entire time. If you cook them too long, the sugar in the bananas breaks down from the heat and they can burn very easily.

After the banana slices cooked on both sides, I poured a small amount of honey mixed with a little hot water over them and then sprinkled with ground cinnamon. You don't need a lot of the honey because they are already very sweet.

Let them cool for a couple minutes before eating because they will be very hot. I kind of wish these weren't so easy to make because now I think I'll make them all the time...

I'm gonna put a shortened version of this recipe down below :)




Fried Bananas with Honey Drizzle 

• banana(s)
• coconut oil (use as needed)
• honey
• hot water
• ground cinnamon

1. Melt 1-2 tablespoons of coconut oil in the pan and spread so it covers the pan. 
2. Slice banana into 1/2 inch pieces and place in the frying pan. 
3. Cook for about a minute or until they are dark brown on both sides.
4. Mix a little hot water into a few tablespoons of honey and drizzle over fried bananas.
5. Serve sprinkled with ground cinnamon. 

Pollotarian, pescatarian, vegetarian, vegan...what am I?!

When I first started cooking my own food when I moved away to college, I was introduced to all the different kinds of diets in regards to meat and animal by-product consumption...pollotarian, pescatarian, vegetarian, and vegan. Most people haven't heard of pollotarian or pecatarian even though they might identify with those eating habits. I had a friend in college who called herself a pollotarian when I first met her, became vegetarian shortly after, and a couple years later went vegan. Because of the nature of the vegan diet, it was difficult for her to get the protein that she needed so she has since gone back to simply being a vegetarian.

So...not that I've used all these different words, let me define them for you.

A pollotarian is someone who eats poultry i.e. chicken, duck, turkey, etc. Some have used this term to mean someone who eats both poultry and fish but technically one would not consume any fish.
A pescatarian is someone who eats fish i.e. cod, salmon, swordfish, shrimp, etc.
A vegetarian is someone who doesn't eat any kind of meat but eats animal by-products i.e. eggs, dairy products, honey, etc. You can even break this category down more into two more categories:

1. ovo-vegetarian, someone who eats eggs
2. lacto-vegetarian, someone who eats dairy products

A vegan is someone who doesn't eat any kind of meat and won't eat any animal by-products.

I haven't done a whole lot of research on these different eating habits and lifestyle decisions other than what I learned in the general nutrition class I took in college and from the many friends I have who have either tried out one or more of these options or who are have been eating one of these diets long term. For short periods of time, I have only eaten fish and poultry but never for very long. For me, I hate to say it but rather than being about animal rights, my diet is much more about nutrition.

I have threatened to become a vegetarian many times in the last 10 months but every time, my boyfriend has talked me out of it and convinced me to simply have more moderation in my consumption of beef and pork. Personally, I think that all diets are about moderation...cutting something  you love out of your diet can make you want to binge on something else thats unhealthy. It's easier to eat healthy when you treat yourself a little bit as a reward for eating well.

Thoughts? Comments? Criticism?

Cilantro

There's nothing quite as flavorful or mouth watering as a pile of minced cilantro...
Recently, I've been experimenting with it by putting it in salads and it really adds a whole new dimension to an otherwise mediocre spinach salad. My boyfriend tried the salad and couldn't quite put his finger on it but said that it was the most flavorful salad he had ever eaten...I don't think he was just trying to flatter me, I think he really enjoyed the cilantro flavor in the salad.

I love the way my hands smell after I tear the cilantro leaves off the stem!

Cabin Fever Maple Whiskey Cupcakes

About a month ago, my boyfriend and I decided to buy several different kinds of liqour to make mostly wintery drinks but also to make a refreshing gin and tonic on the days when we want to pretend it's summer time again. One of the liqours we picked out was Cabin Fever Maple Whiskey. It tastes like maple syrup and whiskey, just like it sounds. When we first tried it, we just had a little on the rocks and the second time we put it on pumpkin ice cream, the latter of which I would highly recommend. 

Recently, I've been wanting to experiment with using liqour as an ingredient in baking so after I tried the coconut, chocolate chip, banana, honey whiskey muffins my roommate made, I wanted to make something similar. Today, I used it to make maple whiskey cupcakes with maple buttercream frosting and a bourbon drizzle. I found a recipe for honey whiskey cupcakes and simply substituted maple whiskey for the honey whiskey. As a full time nanny, I spend a lot of time cooking while I'm with my 2 year old charge, Molly and today she helped me. Don't worry, I didn't let her anywhere near the whiskey :)

It was very easy making the batter and the ingredients were simple, nothing that a regular cook or baker wouldn't have in their kitchen cupboards. The only ingredient that would need to be bought is the maple whiskey.














Making the buttercream frosting was the hardest part for me because I wanted to use milk instead of 1.5 cups of butter which seemed like a lot to me. Looking back, the butter would have made the consistency of the frosting much less runny. I had to add a lot more confectioners sugar to the milk and ended up with almost double the amount of frosting that I needed for 12 cupcakes. Next time I make them, I would use more of the maple whiskey and possibly add some maple syrup to the mix.

The drizzle was very easy to make and added a very distinctive maple flavoring. Boiling it for a couple minutes tamed down the whiskey flavor leaving it more maple-y which was exactly what I wanted.

Cabin Fever Maple Whiskey Cupcakes with Maple Buttercream frosting and bourbon drizzle


For the Cupcakes:
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 3 Tbsp Cabin Fever Maple Whiskey
• 3 Tbsp Milk
• Cupcake liners
For the Bourbon Drizzle:
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup Cabin Fever Maple Whiskey
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
For the Buttercream Frosting:
• 1 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp Cabin Fever Maple Whiskey
• 1/4 cup heavy cream or substitute such as almond or soy milk (as much as needed to get correct consistency)

Preparation

To Make the Cupcakes:
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix just to incorporate.
3. Whisk together flour, salt and baking powder. Add to the wet mixture and beat until just combined. Add the whiskey and milk until just combined.
4. Line 12 muffin cups with cupcake liners and divide batter evenly into cups; approximately 2/3 full for each cup.
5. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes; test with a toothpick; the top will be firm so make sure the inside is cooked through.
6. Cool completely on a wire cake cooling rack before frosting.
To Make the Bourbon Drizzle:
7. Add all ingredients together in a small pan, bring to a boil and boil for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool before drizzling on cupcakes.
To Make the Buttercream Frosting:
8. Cream butter until light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar.
9. Add the vanilla and Cabin Fever Maple Whiskey and combine thoroughly. Add the cream a Tbsp at a time until your frosting is very light and fluffy and the correct consistency.
10. Using a large serrated icing tip, pipe the frosting onto cupcakes.
11. Garnish with the Bourbon Drizzle.

Hi. I'm Brooke and the short story is that I love to cook, eat food, be healthy, and write. That's about it. Welcome to my food blog and please feel free to comment with constructive criticisms, ideas, encouragements and anything else you'd love to share. Looking forward to sharing my edible adventures with you...