Banana Lavendar Cake

Oh my gosh, I just made this amazing cake and I want to share it with you guys! You should all try it because it really is AMAZING!



Banana Lavender Cake

YUMMY!!!! and even though i hate the word... SO MOIST!


pre-heat oven on bake at 325, grease and flour a 9x13 pan



Wet Ingredients - throw 'em in a bowl and mix 'em up

3 cups over ripe, mashed bananas

1 1/2 cup plain chunky applesauce

5 eggs

1/4 vegetable oil

1 cube of butter @ room temperature

1/4 cup cream

1 table spoon vanilla extract

2 table spoons honey



Dry ingredients - throw 'em in a bowl and mix 'em together

31/2 cups cake flour

2 cups white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

2 teaspoons Baking Soda

1/2 tablespoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

3 teaspoon lavender finely ground

1/4 cup toasted almond slivers (optional, not pictured)



combine wet and dry ingredients. pour into greased pan.



Bake @ 325 for 50 minutes - 1 hour



Serve with honey or cream cheese frosting and a sprinkle of toasted almonds (not pictured)!



ENJOY!!!

Poor Man Fajitas...

Alright, so i completely understand that fajitas are relatively inexpensive to make in the first place but this was a last second innovation. I was at work with my guys (I work with the developmentally disable) and steak was on the menu. There were no side dishes planned, no starches, no veggies, nada... just steak on the menu. We had 30 minutes to eat and get out the door and needed to think quick. Luckily the guys had left the steak on the counter to thaw from being to far back in the fridge, so it was at room temperature, which is always key when planning a good steak!

We salted and peppered the steak liberally. Turn the frying pan on high and got ready to sear the hell out of that nice 16 oz strip steak.

While we waited for the pan to heat up before throwing the steak on I started to look through the cabinets, the fridge, the freezer just to see what we had. There was instant rice, BLAH. There were potato gems, yuck! There was week old salad... stinky! and then there was frozen organic corn, my eyebrows perked up, pleasantly surprised. Then I went back to the cupboards. There was a can of diced tomatoes, and a can of black beans. Instantly I knew... Dinner was going to be amazing!

The pan was hot, we threw on the steak. That initial sizzle always excites me!

We popped open the can of tomatoes, the can of black beans and then measure out a cup and a half of frozen corn.

The steak had seared on both sides for about 5 minutes each. I poured on the tomatoes, poured on the drained can of black beans and dropped in the corn and one diced onion, ALL IN THE SAME PAN!

I sprinkled it all with about 2 tablespoons of garlic powder and about the same amount of seasoned pepper. I dripped a couple teaspoons of green Tabasco mixed it all together and let it marry over the steak. The aroma was toxic... I was salivating. I turned the heat down to medium.

After the salsa was pretty well married I took out the steak to rest for a couple minutes while the other ingredients reduced some. I sliced the steak up in thin easily served 1/4 inch thick strips and served the whole goodness with lightly toasted 6" corn tortillas

AMAZING! and it all only took about 15 minutes to make and served 6 easily!

Hope you enjoy it.

My sweet & spicy thai style salsa

three peeled and diced english cucumbers,
1 half diced red onion,
1/2 cup of celantro,
2 diced red peppers,
2 jalepenos,
1 drained can of mandarin oranges sliced in half,
1 tablespoon of diced ginger,
3 tablespoons of sweet chilli sauce,
a splash or three of pure OJ,
soy sauce to taste,
dry red pepper flakes (the kind... you put on pizza)

and enjoy!!

This is a fairly chunky recipe but if like it smoother throw it in the blender for a couple spins.

Raspberry Ginger Pork Roast

This I made on a whim and it was DELICIOUS, though dry... if any of you have any ideas to keep it moist help me out! BUT it did make an exceptional sandwich the next day with some mayo and dijon mustard.

3 lb center cut & tied pork roast
½ lb medium diced lardons or ½ lb thick cut bacon
3 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
4 Tb fresh diced and peeled ginger
1 ½ red onion
2 cups button mushrooms
½ cup sugar
¼ olive oil
Salt
Fresh ground green peppercorns

Prepare you roast well in advance; lightly salt and pepper the full cut of meat tie and let reach room temperature (about an hour). While waiting prepare your raspberries and onions, using a fine cut, slice the red onion from crown to root on a mandolin. Peel your ginger root and do a fine a dice. Wash and dry the raspberries assuring not to add too much water to the mix. Slice mushrooms from top to base. Combine sliced onions, raspberries, ginger, mushrooms and lardons (if lardons not used dice thick cut bacon to substitute). Separately combine olive oil and sugar. Lightly combine all ingredients.

In a slow cook, coat the roast (now at room temperature) with the mixture, place the remainder of the mixture around the roast, salt and pepper to preference, and loosely cover with aluminum foil. Cook for 4-6 hours. To preserve moisture leave the roast covered, allow to cool in the slow cooker until ready to serve.

tarte paysanne

It's so easy it's ridiculous!

1 pie crust
3 cups sliced peaches
2 cups mixed berries
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons corn starch
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon crushed lavender blossoms
1/4 cup flour
1 egg yolk

Take your pre-made or home made pie crust roll it out on to a heavily floured pizza pan. It should be about 12" accross.

Combine all dry ingredients in one bowl. In a separate bowl combine all the fruit making sure that all excess juices have been drained off before adding your dry ingredients. Then lightly combine all ingredients.

Lightly crimp up the ends of your pie crust pour in combined ingredients making a mound no larger than 8 inches across. Fold up edges of pie crust as seen in the photo and lightly dust the crust with the egg yolk and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake in a preheated oven at 375F for about 40 minutes. Let cool before serving. Goes great with some vanilla bean ice cream.

ENJOY!!

the other two cookies recipes as Alton taught us...

The Thin Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

Recipe Summary
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 2 1/2 dozen cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
2 ounces milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Hardware:
Ice cream scooper (#20 disher, to be exact)
Parchment paper
Baking sheets
Mixer

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda in a mixing bowl. Combine the egg, milk, and vanilla and bring to room temperature in another bowl.
Cream the butter in the mixer's work bowl, starting on low speed to soften the butter. Add the sugars. Increase the speed, and cream the mixture until light and fluffy. Reduce the speed and add the egg mixture slowly. Increase the speed and mix until well combined.
Slowly add the flour mixture, scraping the sides of the bowl until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. Scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for more even browning.
Remove the cookies from the pans immediately. Once cooled, store in an airtight container.


The Puffy Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

Recipe Summary
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 2 1/2 dozen cookies

1 cup butter-flavored shortening
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Hardware:
Ice cream scooper (#20 disher, to be exact)
Parchment paper
Baking sheets
Mixer

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine the shortening, sugar, and brown sugar in the mixer's work bowl, and cream until light and fluffy. In the meantime, sift together the cake flour, salt, and baking powder and set aside.
Add the eggs 1 at a time to the creamed mixture. Then add vanilla. Increase the speed until thoroughly incorporated.
With the mixer set to low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the shortening and combine well. Stir in the chocolate chips. Chill the dough. Scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 per sheet. Bake for 13 minutes or until golden brown and puffy, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. Cool and store in an airtight-container.

Cranberry Almond Chews

This recipe is adapted by me from one of my TV cooking heroes, Mr. Alton Brown of good eats on the food network. It's such a tasty recipe and makes me very happy. My changes are italicized.

Recipe Summary
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 14 minutes
Yield: 2 1/2 dozen cookies

2 sticks unsalted margarine
2 cups bread flour
1/4 cup Almond flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons heavy cream
¾ teaspoons vanilla extract
¾ teaspoons almond extract
2 cups dried cranberries
1 cup almond slivers
Hardware:
Ice cream scooper (#20 disher, to be exact)
Parchment paper
Baking sheets
Mixer

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.
Pour the melted butter in the mixer's work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons heavy cream and vanilla & almond extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the dried cranberries.
Chill the dough, then scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Sprinkle tops of scooped out cookies with a few almond slivers. Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.