Do you have family favourites in your recipe repertoire? I have plenty in mine. These recipes are my tried and trues.
Recipes that have been gleaned and collected through the years, handed down from family and friends. Shared recipes. Recipes that turn out every time and that never disappoint. Recipes with a history.
Don't get me wrong. I love trying out new recipes. I have lots saved on Pinterest to try at some point. There are some wonderful gems in the new ones that I try as well.
After a time, however, I do tend to gravitate back to what I have known, loved, cooked and baked for many a year.
Using one of these old recipes is like visiting with a long lost friend. A companion that has kept you company for many, many years.
Recipes like this are usually attached to fond memories, be they of family members or of friends.
This recipe I am sharing today is so old that I can no longer remember where it came from. It is one that I have been baking since before I finished high school.
I strongly suspect it is a recipe that was handed down from my grandmother to my mother, to me. Its hand written into my Big Blue Binder . . .
along with a bazillion other treasured recipes. I wish that I had been a bit better at writing down the sources of these things through the years.
I guess when I was writing them down I never dreamed that one day I would be sharing them with the world! Isn't that a magical thought?
To think that my Grandmother's banana bread recipe might could possibly one day be shared with the world. I wonder what she would think of that??
The whole idea would actually be quite mind boggling to her, as would the idea of her granddaughter living in the UK one day!
Most of my Grandmother's recipes were written on the backs of envelopes or on scraps of paper. There were no instructions included, just a title and list of ingredients and measures, and sometimes very vague measurements at that . . .
Things like butter the size of an egg . . . or five cents worth of flour. Recipes she might have shared with friends along with cups of tea and conversations . . . or maybe even recipes which had been handed down from her own mother . . .
I actually remember my Great Grandmother. She was this tiny little white haired lady, as tiny as a bird, slightly stooped over, with dark wire glasses. This was way back when a grandmother looked like a grandmother.
She had been a farmer's wife and the community mid-wife in her day. Oh what I would give to be able to sit down and talk about cooking and recipes with her.
She passed away on Christmas Eve in 1959. I remember the time very well. My mother, sister and I were staying with my maternal grandparents, who my great grandmother had also lived with in her old age.
She was in a bed in the back bedroom of the house, where everyone was gathered. They kept shooing me out of the room. I expect I was being a bit of a nuisance.
My mother wasn't allowed in the room because she was pregnant with my younger brother, and there was some wierd idea that my mother's pregnancy would be affected in some negative way by being in the presence of someone who was in the process of passing over. They were a superstitious lot.
That was back in the day when generations of people lived in and shared the same house. In that modest home there was my Great Grandmother, my Grandparents, my Aunt Freda, her husband Harold and their wee boy Danny, along with my mother, sister and myself.
As I recall it only had four bedrooms and an outdoor loo.
I can remember getting washed at the kitchen sink, whilst standing on a stool . . . while wood snapped and crackled in the kitchen wood stove. . . . the smell of the old linoleum floor and the noise it made when you walked across it. It was lovely and warm in that kitchen.
There was a huge trap door in the floor below the lineoleum which led down into the root cellar beneath the house. The lineoleum would be rolled up to get to it. My grandfather kept his home smoked hams and bacon and barrels of homemade Kraut down there, along with my grandmother's preserves and pickles. There was probably plenty of root vegetables as well.
There was plenty of love in that house and lots of simple, but very good food. It was 60 years ago this next Tuesday, on the 3rd of March, my brother made his entry into the world while we were living in that house.
I remember dancing around in the kitchen holding onto my 3 year old sister's hands, and singing out with joy, "We have a baby brother!" It was such an exciting time! We are a pair of old ladies and and an old man now.
And none of that has anything to do with Banana Bread, other than the fact that as much as we like to try new things, there is still a great great value to be found in the old. Things like this old family favourite Banana Bread.
Yield: 2 loaves (8 X 4 inch)
Family Favourite Banana Nut Bread
I like to try new things, but I keep going back to the classics. Simply because they're the best. One to eat now,and one to gift or freeze.
ingredients:
- 280g plain flour (2 cups)
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- pinch salt
- 120ml vegetable oil (1/2 cup)
- 195g granulated sugar (1 cup)
- 2 large free range eggs, lightly beaten
- 4 medium, very ripe, bananas, peeled and mashed
- 120g chopped toasted walnuts (1 cup)
instructions:
How to cook Family Favourite Banana Nut Bread
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter two 8 X 4 inch non-stick loaf tins. Set aside.
- Sift the flour, soda and salt together in a bowl.
- Whisk together the sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla. Stir in the mashed banana combining well together. Add the flour mixture and stir together to blend completely. Stir in the walnuts.
- Divide the mixture between both of the baking tins. Smooth the tops. Place on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of each comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before tipping out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
- Slice to serve, with or without butter.
NOTES:
Use the ripest bananas you can. If they look like they need to be thrown out, then they are perfect for banana bread. Bread can be stored, wrapped tightly, for up to 5 days. Alternately you can freeze it wrapped in plastic cling film, and then in aluminium foil for up to 3 months.
I like to toast my nuts before I use them in baking. Simply pop them onto a baking sheet and into a hot oven for 8 to 10 minutes. They are usually done when you can smell them all toasty and nutty! have a great Sunday everyone!
What is Pain Perdu. Translated from French into English, the words mean Lost Bread. It is a fancy name for French Toast, which was a great way of using up stale bread in the past. French toast is normally seen as a breakfast dish, and this certainly could be served for breakfast, but when you choose to make it with Brioche bread it becomes a bit more special and actually makes for a very fine dessert.
Brioche bread is rich and sweet and lends itself beautifully to dishes like this. Soaked in the egg and milk it takes on an almost custard-like texture, very similar to bread pudding . . .
But of course, cooking it this way is a lot faster than making a bread pudding. So, if you are looking for a hearty dessert that is quick and easy, as well as being delicious, this is the dessert for you!
Our Brioche bread here in the UK is actually only about 4 inches square in size, so when sliced the slices are not overly large. I cut my slices about 1 inch thick to use, which was absolutely the perfect size of thickness for this.
They were dipped in a simple mixture of eggs, milk and vanilla paste. I toasted each triangle on both sides in foaming butter, and I confess, I also toasted the cut edges as well, along the centre, for an even nicer finish. Not necessary of course, but I thought it looked pretty.
You could serve this with syrup or chocolate sauce if you wanted to. Chocolate sauce with vanilla ice cream would be very nice. In that case I would use sliced bananas instead of berries.
We enjoyed it just plain with a dusting of icing sugar and a mix of blueberries and raspberries.
You could use sliced peaches and a raspberry coulis sauce, which you could call Peach Melba Pain Perdu.
Caramel sauce would also be nice, again with bananas, resulting in an almost Banoffee-like touch!
Of course a dusting of icing sugar really sets it off nicely.
I can't think of too many people that would turn their noses up at this dessert. Of course, it goes without saying that it is a semi-hearty dessert, which makes it the perfect dessert to serve after a light supper.
And yes, it would also make for an excellent breakast. Personally speaking, I coud eat this any time of day or night.
You can save any leftovers, wrapped up, and stored in the refrigerator, simply reheating them briefly in the toaster. You can also freeze them for serving at a later date. Just thaw and warm through gently in a frying pan. Easy peasy.
Pain Perdu with Mixed Berries
Yield: 4
Pain Perdu makes a great breakfast but with a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of Greek yogurt and some fresh berries, it also makes a great dessert!
ingredients:
- 4 thick slices of sweet brioche bread
- 2 large free range eggs
- 6 TBS whole milk
- 1 tsp vanilla paste
- butter for cooking
To serve:
- Icing sugar to dust
- vanilla ice cream or Greek yogurt (optional)
- fresh berries
- Maple syrup (optional)
instructions:
How to cook Pain Perdu with Mixed Berries
- Cut each slice of brioche in half diagonally into triangles. Beat together the eggs, milk and vanilla paste in a shallow bowl with a fork.
- Heat a knob of butter in a large skillet or griddle pan until it starts to foam. Working quickly, dip each side of the brioche bread into the egg milk mixture and then pop them onto the hot griddle pan. (Mine fits all of it at once, if yours is smaller you will have to work in batches.) Cook until golden brown on the bottom side, then carefully flip over and cook until the other side is golden brown.
- Arrange two triangles on each dessert plate, top with some yogurt or ice cream if using, sprinkle with berries and dust with icing sugar. Serve immediately.
NOTES:
For a delicious variation: Simmer 1 cup (150g) ready to eat dried apricots with the juice of one orange and 120ml of water (1/2 cup) for 10 minutes until tender. Cut the bread as above. Add 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon to the egg mixture. Dip and fry as above. Serve hot with Greek yogurt and a spoonful of Apricot compote.
We are bracing ourselves for yet another wind and rain storm this weekend. My heart goes out to all who are affected and living in flood zones. I am not sure how much more we can cope with this. Thankfully where I live in Chester we are quite high up. My back yard however is a quagmire. I am not complaining. Better that than that our house be under water.
I am sitting here as I write this and I am trying to think back to when I first tasted Mexican Food. (Not that this recipe is very Mexican by any stretch of the imagination.)
I think it was when I had moved to London, Ontario and we discovered a restaurant called Chi Chi's. I believe it was a chain restaurant.
We used to go there every now and then and treat ourselves to Chimichangas and fahitas, and yes, (at that time) margaritas. I liked the strawberry ones. They were so yummy.
The Fajitas were probably not overly loaded with fat and calories but those Chimichangas could probably be considered heart attack specials.
But we were young and did not think of such things. They fed you hot tortilla chips and salsa while you waited for your order.
If it was your birthday they would don Sombreros and come and sing Happy Birthday to you at your table. Horror of all horrors.
As a person who did not and does not like to be the centre of attention, this was a fate worse than death.
My sister taught me how to make Nachos. I learned how to make Enchiladas from an old Sunset cookery book. My love of all things Tex Mex was born.
Up to that point the only thing even remotely resembling Tex Mes in my experience was my mother's Chili Con Carne and she got that recipe from off a can of tomato soup. Not exactly authentic, lol.
Of course when you have five growing and hungry children, it can get to be rather expensive to eat out and so you learn to make things you like at home and that is what I did.
I think I got rather good at making Enchiladas and Nachos, Tacos and Chili.
These Flat Chicken Tacos resemble real tacos only in the sense that they are served with flour tortillas. We like soft tacos in this house.
You can eat them flat with knife and fork (my husband's preference) or folded up like a real taco. (My bohemian preferral!)
I simply toast some six inch soft flour tortillas over my gas burners until blistered and blackened on the edges and then I top them with shredded poached chicken that I have mixed with my own special sauce.
My sauce is tangy and smoky and spicy. I add some heat by using Spanish smoked paprika, this also adds a smoky touch . . . I do use tomato ketchup. It works well.
I add brown sugar, cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and mustard. I use Dijon, but you use whatever kind of mustard you like.
I add a full teaspoon of Green Tabasco sauce. Oh, I simply adore Green Tabasco sauce. I could eat it with a spoon.
Its not quite as hot as the regular one and has a green chili flavour.
I use a bit of seasoning and some garlic powder. This gets cooked for a short time to really meld the flavours and then I stir it into the poached and shredded chicken.
The chicken then gets piled onto the tortillas, topped with a four cheese blend, sprinkled with red onions and baked until the chicken is hot and the cheese has melted.
You don't want them to brown. You want the tortillas to stay fairly pliable. Served hot with your favourite toppings, they are really quite delicious.
Today I accompanied them with a quick slaw that I threw together by grating a carrot, shredding a head of baby gem lettuce, and hand shredding a bit of red cabbage.
This I dressed with a mix of Mayonnaise, Ranch dressing, a squirt of Lime juice and a pinch of sugar. It was quite yummy if I don't say so myself, and I know I just did!
BBQ Flat Chicken Tacos for Two
Yield: Makes 4 flat tacos
These are so simple to make and incredibly delicious. I like to serve them with a lime dressed coleslaw on the side.
ingredients:
For the sauce:
- 120g tomato ketchup (1/2 cup)
- 1 TBS soft light brown sugar
- 1 TBS apple cider vinegar
- 1 TBS Worcestershire Sauce
- 1/2 TBS Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp green Tabasco sauce
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp rubbed dry oregano
- salt and black pepper to taste
You will also need:
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, poached and shredded
- 4 (6-inch) soft flour tortillas
- 120g grated four cheese blend
- 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
- any garnishes as desired (lettuce, chopped tomatoes, spring onions, sour cream, etc.)
instructions:
How to cook BBQ Flat Chicken Tacos for Two
- Mix all of the ingredients for the sauce in a microwave safe beaker. Microwave on medium for about 3 minutes, stirring every minute. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Have ready a large baking sheet that will hold all of the tacos in one layer, or two smaller baking sheets.
- Turn on a gas burner if you have gas and using a pair of tongs, toast the tortilas on both sides and then place them in a single layer on the baking sheet.
- Shred the chicken into the bowl and then add enough of the sauce mixture to moisten well, or to your taste. Divide the chicken mixture between the four toasted tortillas. Divide the cheese and sprinkle one fourth of it on top of each taco. Sprinkle with the chopped red onions.
- Bake in the heated oven until the chicken is hot and the cheese has melted. Sit back and enjoy with your favourite toppings.
Oh boy but these were some good. I was quite full up after eating two one and a half of them. When I think of how much I used to be able to eat when I was younger I am quite amazed. Somewhere along the way my appetite has drastically changed.
We used to be able to eat a pizza in the evening for a snack or a box of Kraft dinner, and this was after having had a full dinner earlier on. Mind you back then we didn't go to bed until gone midnight most nights and nowadays we are all tucked in by 9 o'clock at the latest! I guess we have officially become old fogies!
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