Martha Stewart’s Banana Bread
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed bananas
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter, sugar, and eggs. Combine the dry ingredients and add to the butter mixture. Blend well. Add the bananas, sour cream, and vanilla. Stir well. Stir in the nuts if using. Pour into a well greased loaf pan. Bake for 55-60 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes then turn onto a rack to cool. Slice and enjoy!
Next time I may add toasted nuts and Nutella.
Ice cream... In the summer of 2002, when I worked at the Belgian Warmblood breeding farm, I bought an ice cream maker. I used it ONCE to make pumpkin custard that didn't set well (I think I rushed it and didn't let the base cool long enough). When I moved back home, it was put in the garage attic and then went missing. I was at my Uncle Roy's house last weekend and saw a familiar box... sure enough, written on top... "Ice cream maker". I found it! Almost 10 years later...
Of course, there was no manual. But, Rival still makes the same model, so the manual was easily found online. I didn't like their chocolate recipe and found another and modified it a bit. This recipe is based on Scoop Adventure's Sinful Chocolate Ice Cream, a dark chocolate recipe. I did not have dutch process cocoa, so used regular cocoa powder because that's what I had on hand. So here is my Lindt Chocolate ice cream recipe:
Lindt Chocolate Ice Cream
2 1/4 cups heavy cream
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1 3.5 oz 70% Dark Chocolate Lindt Excellence Bar, chopped
1 3.5 oz Lindt Bittersweet Chocolate Bar, chopped
1 cup 2% milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
(Scoop Adventure's directions) Combine the cream, cocoa powder, sugar and salt in a large saucepan. Whisk to combine. Heat the mixture, continuing to whisk frequently, until the mixture comes to a full boil (it will start to foam up). Remove saucepan from heat and whisk in the chocolate until it is completely melted. Whisk in the milk and vanilla. Pour the mixture into a blender (or use an immersion blender) and blend for 30 seconds, until very smooth.
Transfer ice cream mixture to a medium bowl. Place in the refrigerator and chill the mixture thoroughly (at least 4 hours or overnight). Once chilled, pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Place plastic or parchment over ice cream (to prevent ice crystals) and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.
In the maker:
Right out of the maker:
After being in the freezer for a few hours:
This combo is quite good, not overwhelmingly sweet, a bit darker than milk chocolate, but not overbearing. It has Connor's and Jon's stamp of approval! I will be trying quite a few recipes from Scoop Adventures. She has cookies n cream, chocolate peanut butter, Nutella and a nice honey I'd like to try!
