Brown Butter Banana Strawberry Bread

Can I tell you something about me? This has exactly nothing to do with bananas or butter or bread. Feel free to roll your eyes and skip ahead, if necessary.

I used to be a worrier. Like a professional worrier. I would worry like it was my job to worry, like I was getting paid mad/crazy/rich person dollars to worry. I wasnt. I was broke. That fact, in itself, made me worry.

I thought that worry would save me from every possible pain in the world. I thought worry would prepare me for bad things, disappointing things, and crazy unforeseeable things. If I worried about it it either wouldnt happen or Id be prepared for it.

Well let me tell you: worry is no preparation. It took me years.. YEARS, people. years, to figure out that worry is just wasted energy.

Lets be real. I still worry about things. Its human nature. We have big brains Im pretty sure a small portion of them are built to worry.

I worry about earthquakes in the middle of the night when Im wearing no bra, my ugliest possible t-shirt, and the most embarrassing pair of panties a girl has ever owned. What if theres an earthquake, and my house falls down, and I have to retreat to my neighbors house in this hideous outfit? Those thoughts usually lead me to find a reasonable pair of pajama pants and I slip on a sports bra. See? Worrier.

But Im changed my expectations. Instead of worry about the worst, I try to expect the best.

Seriously what would my day look like if I expected great things instead of disastrous things? Ill tell you its ! looks a heck of a lot better. It feels better too. I can drink more coffee without completely spazzing out. Less worry frees me up to jump around in the world, and be silly, and thankful, and wear mint green nail polish, and write pen pal letters, and tell people I love them.

I still worry about earthquakes. Those are scary. But I also expect and welcome not just the good but the great.

(What? Wait Im not talking about trashy reality television? No. I know. Its weird.)

Do you remember when the strawberry/banana combo really hit its stride? I think it was some time in the mid 90s in the Snapple era, that the strawberry/banana craze really got going. I blame smoothies.

But well, theres something undeniably good going on here.

Lets not fight it.

Wait. Remember the Snapple lady? That whole thing was always weird, right?

Lets get down to the real deal. Bread.

This is banana bread. This is banana bread made exactly 17.845 times more delicious with the addition of browned butter and finely diced strawberries.

Brown butter adds depth, nuttiness, and downright deliciousness. The strawberries help this banana bread feel pretty and celebrate the season. The bread is much more banana flavored than strawberry flavored, but the bits of strawberry add sweet! little surprise strawberry flavor bits. I especially love how the strawberries on top get roasted during baking. Slice them super thin so they dont weigh down the rise of the bread or get too watery.

Sweet bread. Its comforting, simple, and delicious. If you wanted to slather a warm slice with butter or cream cheese well, Id consider you a friend.

I cant cook without these shoes. Its just a thing I have.

And in completely unrelated news these sunglasses look uh-mazing on Alison. Major.

Brown Butter Banana Strawberry Bread

makes 1 95-inch loaf

inspired by The Amateur Gourmet

Print this Recipe!

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and browned to just over 1/2 cup of butter

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup plain yogurt (any fat content) or buttermilk

1 1/4 cup mashed banana (from about 3 medium bananas)

1/2 cup diced strawberries plus 1 strawberry very thinly sliced, for topping

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 95-inch loaf pan and set aside.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Butter will begin t! o foam a nd crackle as it melts. When the crackling subsides, the butter will begin to brown. Swirl the pan as the butter cooks. When the butter browns and begins to smell nutty, remove the pan from the flame and transfer the butter to a small bowl. Taking the butter out of the hot saucepan will stop the butter from overcooking and burning. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, vanilla extract, and yogurt or buttermilk. Whisk in the mashed bananas. When butter has cooled, whisk in the browned butter.

Add the wet ingredients, all at once to the dry ingredients. Fold together, making sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl to reveal any hidden pockets of flour. Fold in the diced strawberries. Fold together ingredients, but try not to over stir.

Spoon batter into prepared pan and top with thinly sliced strawberries. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to rest in the pan for 15 minutes, before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Bread will last 4 days, well wrapped at room temperature. This loaf also freezes well.

Sundown 2011

At Sundown 2011, I'd recorded a personal best timing in the 21 km category. I must admit that this would have been impossible if not for the wider roads (as compared to Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2010 at Sentosa) and the relatively flat route. The Deaf One's sound advice on pacing was a great help too.

My last meal before the run was a pack of mixed rice (with sweet and sour pork, and some greens) at 3 pm to carbo-load ahead of the 8 pm run. By the time I'd crossed the finish line, I was famished. The smiling attendants handed each finisher a medal, a can of 100 Plus, a bottle of mineral water and a banana. It was one of the tastiest bananas I'd ever eaten - the usual Del Monte-sized kind that you can get anywhere, only sweetened with a sense of accomplishment and pride. One banana was obviously insufficient. Not five, even. Then came the announcement of free candy floss and popcorn for all runners. I opted for the popcorn, despite the queue. It was very, very good. How good? Popcorn good - crunchy, caramel sweet, buttery, aromatic. It puts those soft, overpriced cinema ones to shame. I'm inclined to place Garrett's next to the cinemas' but I've only had it once, so....anyway, Sundown 2011's popcorn rocked.

Post race activities were aplenty, mostly involved food, naturally. I liked the performing bands that night too and must have stayed for a good 5 songs before boarding the shuttle bus back home, which was delayed for 30 mins. Traffic was congested as half marathoners began departing from the venue. Had I known earlier, I would have just chilled and stayed to watch the most talked-about (and unfortunate) match between Bara and the Red Devils.

I reached home around 1 am, did my laundry and decided to have a quiet celebration of my achievement with a bowl of Prime Taste la mian laksa endorsed by Olivia Ong. I'm not much of a! laksa ( or Olivia Ong) fan but this is one of the very few instant noodles that's sold in individual packs (no more buying in bulk as I'm trying to reduce my instant noodle intake) and inexpensive. Predictably bland, I added whatever I could find in the fridge - a bag of coriander and an egg. They were definitely not taste enhancers but at least the stomach's filled at 4 am.

Simply Cooking: Daikon with Five Spice Bean curd and Gluten

According to Chinese medicine, if you have acne on your cheeks on forehead, it is advisable to eat "cooling" foods such as bitter melon, winter melon and of course, radish. Daikon has a notorious reputation in Chinese medicine. My mom always advise us to refrain from eating too much of radish. Say, if you're taking ginseng powder, an invigorating herb, in the morning and you take radish in the afternoon, you are literally negating the effects of the ginseng powder.

These days, I've been eating more radish. Partly, is due to my skin. Another reason? I find radish very irresistible. Some people hate it because it has a very "greenish" smell. However, if you stick with this recipe, you will cook it again and again! TRUST ME. ;)

Recipe: Daikon radish, five spice Beancurd and gluten (Serves 3)

Ingredients:

A:
-50ml of water
-1 tablespoon of chicken bouillon powder
-1 tablespoon of LKK premium oyster sauce
-1 dash of Chinese rice wine

B:
-4 pieces of gluten (round), soaked in warm water for 30 minutes, drain from water
-1 packet of five spice beancurd, cut into 1 cm by 1cm cubes
-5 piece of dried shitake mushroom and 2 pieces of dried cloud ear fungus, soaked in hot water for 2 hours, drain from water. Cut fungus into tiny bits after soaking.
-1 large daikon radish, skin peeled, cut into 2 cm lengths

C:
-A pinch of pepper

Instructions:

1. In a medium sized pot, add in ingredients A. Bring to boil
2. Add in ingredients B. Let it cook on medium-low heat for 20 minutes
3. Finish off with a pinch of pepper. Serve with rice


Easy no? To make it even easier, you can skip the beancurd, shitake mushrooms, and cloud ear fungus. :)

fudge popsicles

I have a tremendous crush on Matt Armendariz. Its awkward, I know. Im married, hes married; I have a kid, he has dog children. Its okay, my husband knows. He took a picture of Matt with his shirt half off a couple years ago, so I think were even. Fortunately for those who are now reading this uncomfortably at home, hoping this conversation ends quickly, my crush is more of a talent crush: Matt is a former graphic designer and art director and currently a food photographer, author and the man behind the Matt Bites blog. His photography is amazing, all natural light and unfussy, but what I find more addictive than anything else is his outlook, his energy for life. Its hard to spend 5 minutes with him without getting hooked on his enthusiasm for family, good friends, great food and a life well lived with lots of travel to far-flung places. Seriously, he even went to Avery Island, Louisiana to learn how Tabasco is made. And didnt take my husband with him. Alex is almost over it.

And now he is a cookbook author too. [Amusingly, I think Matt and I signed our cookbook deals the same week except his book is in my hands right now and my book i! s ... OH LOOK! Manhattanhenge! Did you catch it?] On A Stick! yes, in which every recipe is speared or skewered or threaded on a handheld food device is truly an exaltation of summer. Its State Fairs and street fairs, frozen beach treats and the stuff picnics and backyard barbecues are made of: skewered salads, grilled marinated kebabs, melon with spices and fried pickles. Even unfathomable things get adorably impaled, like fried chicken and waffles, meatballs and spaghetti, potato chips (!) oh, and pizza too. Its lighthearted, but theres no skimping on the cooking: coconut shrimp, Chinese meatballs, pork belly and sweet and sour lollipops. Are you drooling yet?

... Read the rest of fudge popsicles on smittenkitchen.com

smitten kitchen 2006-2011. |permalink to fudge popsicles | 19 comments to date | see more: Chocolate, Ice Cream/Sorbet, Photo, Summer

Sanbanto @ Bangsar

Sanbanto @ Bangsar: Round Two. Earlier entry: May 18.

Tonkatsu _ a 180-gram slab of pork loin coated with breadcrumbs & served with mustard, shredded cabbage & potato salad. Meaty and tasty enough to recommend.

Beer-braised pork with polenta. The zenith of comfort food; succulent flesh, remarkably rich in flavor, wading in groovy gravy and wedded to creamy cornmeal.

Pork burger. The patty, topped with bacon, was tender but unexceptional; what made this mouthwatering was a fat cut of deep-fried mozzarella cheese, oozing with a lava-like flow of searing-hot savoriness to complete the ensemble.

Purple sweet potato soup. Visually alluring and nutritionally beneficial, bearing antioxidants that ar! en't fou nd in regular white potatoes.

Sanbanto's only alcoholic beverage is beer, but feel free to bring your own wine, since the corkage charge is a mere RM20 (which was waived on this visit. Thanks!).

Sanbanto Premium Pork,

Persiaran Ara Kiri, Lucky Garden, Bangsar.

Tel: 03-2201-1301

Sweet & Sour Fish

Sweet and sour fish

One of the most typical Chinese dish, especially in western countries, is sweet and sour pork (gu lao rou) and sweet and sour fish. Gourmets of Chinese food know that if the waitor recommends sweet and sour fish, especially fish slices and not whole fish, the fish is likely to be frozen or not fresh enough for steaming because for the Chinese, fresh fish is live fish. Smothered with sweet and sour sauce, frozen or fish that's not so fresh can be disguised because the taste is diverted to the sauce. If your hosts order steamed fish, you know that the fish is very fresh because only fresh fish can stand up to light steaming with minimal ingredients. That said, sweet and sour dishes are very popular, usually with kids and those with less discerning taste buds. I do enjoy sweet and sour fish once in a while because we eat steamed fish at least once a week and it gets boring.

The fish I ate in Shanghai

This sweet and sour fish is based on a beautiful (in sight and taste) dish I ate in Shanghai last year. I couldn't get the flesh of the fish as elegantly opened like a coral or flower because I wasn't sure if the flesh'll fall apart if I cut it too finely. It was fun though to cook this dish. Put on an 'antique' ceramic plate from my mom, the fish looked restaurant-! worthy, doesn't it? It was delicious too except that I was a little bit disappointed that the salt-water fish didn't have that special flavor found only in those fresh-water fishes of China. Again, in my opinion, sweet and sour fish is more about the fried flavor and the sauce. All-in, still, a delicious and showy dish that is good for festive occasions.

Sweet & Sour Fish
1 whole fish, about 1 kg
salt & white pepper
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 cup cornflour
oil for frying

The Sauce:
1 T white vinegar*
4 T tomato ketchup
3/4 cup diluted chicken stock
2 t sugar, or to taste
1/2 t salt
2 t Worchestershire sauce
2 t cornstarch
--mix above ingredients well and season to taste
1 cup of green peas or diced cucumber, pineapple, cherries, chilies etc for color
1 T toasted pinenuts

* if using canned pineapple, I substitute the water with the water from the can and decrease the sugar to 1 teaspoon.

1. Clean and scale the fish. Wipe dry with paper towels. Remove the fillets (keep the skin on) and feel for the bones with your hands and remove them. Seasonthe fillets and fish skeletonlightly with salt and pepper and massage them with beaten egg white . Turn the fillets flesh-side up and cut diagonal lines 1/2 cm apart deep into the flesh and to the skin but don't cut through. Cut diagonal lines in the opposite direction to make a diamond pattern. Cut the fillets into 4 x 6 cm slices and thoroughly coat the flesh, opening it up and getting all the cut sides. Coat the fish's skeleton and head with cornflour.

2. Heat about 5 cups of oil for deep-frying. When oil begins to smoke, fry the fish's skeleton until golden and arrange ! on an ov al plate. Now fry the fillets in 2 or 3 batches until crispy and golden. For prettier results, open up the flesh neatly so that they spread out. Arrange the fried fillet pieces around the skeleton.

3. Pour all the oil away and add the sauce ingredients and the veggies to the wok or frying pan. For a more classy looking dish, omit the veggies and use pinenuts to garnish. Cook over medium heat until thickened but not too thick. Add some water if it gets too thick. If you want a shiny sheen, add a tablespoon of the oil from frying the fish to the sauce and stir well. Season to taste if necessary. Pour the sauce over the fish and sprinkle pinenuts all over.