I've always eaten banana bread but NEVER made it! My first foray into banana bread was in Maui, Hawaii. We were driving the Road to Hana and one of the pit stops was at a banana bread shack. There were a variety of types, each one I'm sure delicious - we were foolish to only buy one loaf! Since then, I've had it in staff rooms and given it to me by a student - who had added chocolate chips and it was to DIE for!
When I saw this recipe for Ultimate Pecan Banana Bread in Anna Jones' A Modern Way To Cook, I knew I wanted to make it - even if only to relive the relaxing sounds of the sea in Hawaii, with the added benefits of chocolate!
Yay or Nay: YAY!
These were delicious and moreish! I kept going back for more and knowing that they were a healthier alternative - I most definitely would make these again. As I was unsure of how much I would like them (plus not having enough ripe bananas) I made half the amount and baked this recipe in a muffin pan instead of a loaf pan - I mean, does it even matter when it was as yummy as it was?!
I can't recall when I first came across lamingtons, it wasn't when I travelled to Sydney, it wasn't when I made friends with Aussies nor was it when it was Australia Day! It kind of came into my consciousness and then I saw them in unlikely spots like browsing through London's Borough Market. What's not to like, coconut, chocolate icing and a victoria sponge-like inside!
When I last went back to London, I somehow craved these as a co-worker (an Aussie) posted her home-made lamingtons on facebook. After searching all the local artisan/farmer's markets I found a version at Crosstown Donuts, however they were in donut form as opposed to the traditional squares - either way it was delicious!
Donna Hay is an Australian a cookbook author and I came across her books years ago so I know I can rely on her for simple, straight forward recipes.
Yay or Nay: Nay
So much time spent but not much in return!! I was so disappointed in this recipe as so many things did not turn out how I expected. I only halved some ingredients yet it yielded waaaay less or waaay more than I needed. The batter was anemic looking, the icing was too runny, the coconut messy and complicated and the mess! The MESS! Not worth making again, I will be buying them instead or do without them unless I really really really want them.
I've been actively trying to cut refined sugar out of my diet for the last week, it has been a gradual thing and when things pop up e.g. birthdays (note: my own!) it's hard to say no. Or rude especially when someone has baked you a cake for the occasion! Side effects have been some headaches but that could be hayfever or just plain stress!
So protein bites or raw balls or whatever you call 'em are a great option especially if you work out or juggling two jobs and can't find the time to make/bring a healthy snack. I scoured the net for easy, no fuss and minimal ingredients to make mine and these Cacao Coconut Cashew Balls seem like a great place to start!
Yay or Nay: Yay
I must admit I made two versions of these and the bottom two pictures are from a prior batch I made with different ingredients. The first set are for this post; the only difference was the one prior had almond butter and almonds in them and the other (current batch) had soaked dates. Essentially the idea is the same, put all the dry ingredients together and whizz, then add the oil, water and dates. The cashew batch were definitely wetter for soaking the dates and harder to roll when the time came. The other recipe was actually better for rolling but both taste amazing!
A bit of a late post as the combo of Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year swept me along. In preparation I took a bunch of pictures that I could use when things calmed down. I spotted the Chocolate Coconut Pecan Pie recipe in the November issue of the magazine and it looked like a good thing to bring to a family gathering. I love anything coconut tasting and I figured you can't go wrong with chocolate in a pie right?
Yay or Nay: Yay
Pretty easy like the recipe and it tasted gooooooood! I did make some minor adjustments to the recipe as it asked for 1 cup of corn syrup and I just couldn't make myself buy that much sugar so I just put a squeeze of some leftover pancake syrup in, however I did keep the brown sugar amount the same.
