Peanut Butter Banana Breakfast Pudding

It's not really any big news anymore- it is very (VERY) cold here in Boston.  Yesterday I believe our high temperatures were around 11 degrees...brrrrr.  Yesterday was definitely our coldest day, however the last few haven't been too much better.  So, on Sunday morning after dragging myself to the gym, I wanted a hot breakfast.  I wanted a hot, cozy, comforting breakfast that would make me feel energized and ready for the rest of the day.  I looked around my kitchen and spied a long over ripe banana.  Knowing that I would never eat it as it was, and pulling inspiration from a recent Top Chef Masters episode I had watched, I decided to make a quick and easy banana pudding for breakfast. 

I heated a small sauce pan over medium heat and then added the banana (whole 'cause I'm crazy like that) to the pot, and then added about a 1/4 cup skim milk.  I whisked the banana and the milk together, and then added a teaspoon of vanilla, a teaspoon of honey, and a big spoonful of peanut butter (mmmm peanut butter!).  More whisking, and soon the lumps of banana were gone, and a warm "pudding" closer consistency to soup had formed.  I topped it off with a great trail mix from Trader Joe's containing almonds, and dried cranberries, raisins, golden raisins, and blueberries.

The result?  Tasty- though a little sweet.  I didn't take into account how sweet bananas get after sitting around for a while, so the addition of the honey was probably not needed.  Otherwise though, this was deliciously filling, and spread a wonderful warm feeling through my chilled body.  One for the books when my bananas are (way) past their prime!

Sugar Donut Muffins

I remember learning several things very clearly from when I was little- the Golden Rule of course sticks out, "look with your eyes not with your hands" was another good one, and then of course "actions speak louder than words" was huge. Today, I often find that when I want to express gratitude, sympathy, excitement, or apologetic feelings, I often do so with a gesture rather than just words. More often then not, this includes food-I'm sure there is no surprise there.

Over the past few weeks my mother has been assisting me with a rather large project, and I wanted to express my gratitude beyond the simple "Thank yous" I was saying. Now my mother enjoys a good donut now and then. We always stopped for them on our way to my college as the perfect morning road trip food, and it has been a lovely tradition ever since. Throughout last week I kept thinking how nice it would be to cook up a batch of donuts as a surprise for her, however the idea of frying them just made me stop in my tracks. So, of course, I reached out to the folks at Chowhound.com for some assistance. Though I caused a bit of a debate with my quandary for non fried donuts, I was also sent the link to these little bites of heaven known as Sugar Donut Muffins- recipe found here courtesy of Baking Bites.

These "muffins" are baked, but incredibly dense and with the flavor and internal texture of a "real" cake donut. Of course they don't have those lovely fried slightly crispy edges, but is that why we eat donuts? I think not. They are enjoyed for their lovely consistency, their heavenly flavor....and perhaps even the sugary sweetness of their dip in sugar.

The recipe itself was amazingly easy. Simple instructions to combine sugar and egg, and blend until light in color:
Then the instructions lead you through whisking together the dry ingredients and adding them to the sugar and egg combination. Once those are fully blended its a simple addition of the wet ingredients-vegetable oil, milk and vanilla extract. The batter that is created is incredibly thick, and I noted as I began to spoon the mix into the muffin pans- it has a consistency almost of glue. It was quite a batter.

They went into the oven for about 18 minutes, or until the tester tooth pick came out clean. This took the full 18 minutes for me. In the mean time though, I melted some butter, and placed sugar in a bowl for rolling purposes once they were done baking.

Now the recipe did not say to allow the muffins to cool prior to painting them with butter, and rolling them in simple granulated sugar- so I did not. They were a bit hot to touch, but I worked quickly and got all 10 of the muffins painted with butter, rolled in sugar and set out on wax paper relatively quickly. A few minutes later-and these were ready for eating.

What a treat! These had that wonderful thicker than cake like consistency, the wonderful nutty flavor of nutmeg that is so wonderful and delicious, the crunch of the granulated sugar, and just a pillowy softness. These were 100% delicious, and declared by my mother as a complete success- a great substitute for the fried cake donuts.

These were so simple to make, I will definitely be making them again, and may even add some jam surprise to the middle for an extra special treat!

Breakfast- Buttermilk Pancakes, Orange/Earl Grey Syrup, Canadian Bacon and Fruit

One thing about winter in Boston...it gets COLD. Normally I'm one of those freaks who loves the cold, I wait for snow, I get excited for piling on layers of clothes, etc, but sometimes its just too cold. This weekend was one of those times. Yesterday temps fell into the teens (ok probably into the twenties but it felt cold) so I decided to hibernate all day. I went out once during the day to pick up some necessities and then spent the rest of the day inside my warm apartment.

To start off the day right, I decided to make pancakes for brunch since I would not be venturing to any of the great eateries around me. I found a recipe for buttermilk pancakes on line, did a quick inventory in my head and found that I had everything I needed, at least I thought I did. As I began mixing and measuring, I slowly realized that it was not Baking Powder I had at all- but Baking Soda...now I know that I have the powder somewhere but I could not find it for the life of me. Anyway-in a rash move, I decided to sub in the soda for the powder, and carried on.

As a bit of a chemistry lesson (which I hated in high school for the record), Baking Soda and Baking Powder both act in place of yeast giving "rise" to breads etc when a quicker method is needed. The main difference, at least that my very un chemistry minded brain can find, seems to be that Baking Soda needs a bit more of an acid to aid in its reaction then Baking Powder. So, from what I can gather, to give rise to the product, either can assist, though make sure that your adding a bit more acid (lemon juice, buttermilk, cocoa) with your Baking Soda if your recipe calls for Baking Powder. Unfortunately, I did not learn this little fact until after I made my pancakes. No matter- onward I went.

To compliment the pancakes I heated a small amount of good syrup in a sauce pan with grated orange rind, and a few pinches of loose leaf Earl Grey Tea, to give it a fun and different flavor. Then I "grilled" a couple of pieces of Canadian bacon in my very favorite, well used cast iron grill pan, and finally I sliced up a plum and an orange for a small fruit salad.

The pancakes were fine- flat, but still tasty. Luckily they were buttermilk pancakes to begin with so there was a small amount of acid in the mix anyway. I could have use a bit more to give them that great cake like consistency, but they tasted great just as they were. The syrup was delicious. Very light hints of orange and the smokey beauty of earl grey floated through it. Had I had a better idea of how it would turn out- I would have allowed the syrup to simmer longer to create a really nice flavor. I topped the pancakes with a small dollop of Marscapone cheese that I had on hand for a dessert that Id made earlier in the week, and the addition made the breakfast very decadent.

The bacon was ok. I have issues with Canadian Bacon, the type that I bought was thin, and therefore when cooked was incredibly dry. Does anyone else have this issue? I cannot figure out how to make it a bit more palatable.

All in all, breakfast tasted delicious. I wish that the pancakes had been a bit more cake like, but they had great flavor and consistency as they are. Honestly- I can see transforming this recipe into a nice base for a savory meal as well. The syrup was my shining star. I really love making small changes to old standbys to make something new and great- this one was absolutely fantastic.

I am not one for making breakfast too much, but I do have a craving for it now!