Hannah's Bananas has now officially moved to a new home at www.hansbananas.com
Please check in there for the newest recipes and comical stories that accompany them.
Go bananas and start cooking.
Hannah
Monday, March 17, 2014
Monday, March 10, 2014
Turtles Candy Inspired Hamentashen
This weekend I went home to visit and my mom and siblings. Before leaving school I received an urgent text from my mother: "please get lactaid the blue kind- I'm out!"Being a wonderful daughter, I trekked (on by that I mean the store that is on route to my house) to the grocery store to buy her lactose free milk for her dairy hating stomach. As I was handing the casher my single dollar bills (don't get any ideas there...), I noticed one of the bills had "juicy titties" written on it. I could not contain my giggles, although the dewed-eyed cashier girl only gave me a blank stare as if I was insane. I would like to not think where my dollar has been but hope it only continues to make others laugh. After my first grocery store experience, I went back the next day to buy more ingredients for my hamentashen. For those who are unfamiliar, hamentashen are a cookie traditionally eaten on the Jewish holiday of Purim. It represents the triangle-shaped hat the villain, Haman, wore in the story of Purim, where many Jews were almost killed within the Persian kingdom thousands of years ago. While trying to explain this to the children I teach at Hebrew School, one child shouted out, "if he was so bad- why do we have cookies to remind us of him?" Honestly it was a great question that in the moment I could not formulate a good answer to. Reflecting back on the question sometimes we eat our feelings, even if that means eating our hate or dislike for a person, especially one who wore a triangle hat. From my currently Purim- themed kitchen to yours, enjoy your triangle cookies and nosh nosh nosh on some hamentosh...en.
Servings: about 30 hamentashen
Ingredients:
2 cups of flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 cup of sugar
1/4 stick of butter or margarine at room temperature
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of orange zest*
1 teaspoon of orange juice*
Filling ingredients:
3/4 cup of caramel squares melted or caramel sauce
Whole pecans
8 oz of bittersweet or milk chocolate
1 teaspoon of instant coffee granules
*can be also substituted with lemon zest and juice
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Using a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Then slowly add in the eggs and vanilla extract. Next add in the lemon juice and zest.
In a medium sized bowl combine the flour and baking powder. Add this mix to the wet ingredients in batches. The dough will form a ball- if necessary add in more flour.
Melt the caramels according to the packaging, if using caramel squares- otherwise caramel sauce can be used.
On a floured surface, roll out the dough. Using a glass cup, cut the dough into the circles. In the center add in a small spoonful of the caramel. Pinch the sides of the circle and create a triangle. In the center place the pecan. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden.
While the hamentashen are in the oven, n a microwave safe bowl, melt down the chocolate with instant coffee granules. Set aside. Once the hamentashen have cooled, drizzle the chocolate on top of them.
Enjoy and Happy Purim!
Servings: about 30 hamentashen
Ingredients:
2 cups of flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 cup of sugar
1/4 stick of butter or margarine at room temperature
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of orange zest*
1 teaspoon of orange juice*
Filling ingredients:
3/4 cup of caramel squares melted or caramel sauce
Whole pecans
8 oz of bittersweet or milk chocolate
1 teaspoon of instant coffee granules
*can be also substituted with lemon zest and juice
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Using a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Then slowly add in the eggs and vanilla extract. Next add in the lemon juice and zest.
In a medium sized bowl combine the flour and baking powder. Add this mix to the wet ingredients in batches. The dough will form a ball- if necessary add in more flour.
Melt the caramels according to the packaging, if using caramel squares- otherwise caramel sauce can be used.
On a floured surface, roll out the dough. Using a glass cup, cut the dough into the circles. In the center add in a small spoonful of the caramel. Pinch the sides of the circle and create a triangle. In the center place the pecan. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden.
While the hamentashen are in the oven, n a microwave safe bowl, melt down the chocolate with instant coffee granules. Set aside. Once the hamentashen have cooled, drizzle the chocolate on top of them.
Enjoy and Happy Purim!
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Chocolate Chia Banana Bread
Vegan baking round one.
This week I decided to finally commit and cook up a vegan recipe. Of course it was taste tested by my go to vegan friend- and approved. My vegan experience was of course an adventure, but so has been my past week.
At my job at a Hebrew School we tie-dyed with the class. During the project I looked up to see a kid had squirted some of the dye across the table and hit another kid in the face. Sometimes a little extra green polka-dots on your face can't hurt, right? Another odd occurrence of the week was when a fellow classmate proceeded to analyze Bella from Twilight and how she believes she has a mental disorder. Honestly I wasn't sure if the girl was embarrassed to be admitting she so deeply analyzed the story or proud that she had figured out an underlying plot of the book. Although I find myself constantly surrounded my quirky and comical moments, baking up a banana bread seems to normalize the week- until I made it vegan.
From my kitchen to your- enjoy a little quirk and veganism.
Ingredients:
3 ripe mashed bananas
1/2 cup of melted coconut oil
2 tablespoons of chia seeds + extra for sprinkling
1 cup of sugar
2 cups of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of instant coffee granules
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 cup of soy or non-dairy yogurt
1/3 cup of cocoa powder
1/2 cup of non-dairy mini chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl combine the mashed bananas, sugar, vanilla, instant coffee, cocoa powder, and melted coconut oil. Then add in the soy yogurt. Stir well.
Add in the chia seeds and allow the mixture to sit for 1-2 minutes.
In a medium bowl combine the baking soda and flour. Add this mix in batches into the wet ingredients. Once fully incorporated, mix in the mini chocolate chips.
Line a medium sized loaf pan with parchment paper. Pour the batter into the pan. Before putting it into the oven, sprinkle some extra chia seeds on top of the batter. Bake for about 1 hour, until a toothpick comes out clean.
Enjoy!
This week I decided to finally commit and cook up a vegan recipe. Of course it was taste tested by my go to vegan friend- and approved. My vegan experience was of course an adventure, but so has been my past week.
At my job at a Hebrew School we tie-dyed with the class. During the project I looked up to see a kid had squirted some of the dye across the table and hit another kid in the face. Sometimes a little extra green polka-dots on your face can't hurt, right? Another odd occurrence of the week was when a fellow classmate proceeded to analyze Bella from Twilight and how she believes she has a mental disorder. Honestly I wasn't sure if the girl was embarrassed to be admitting she so deeply analyzed the story or proud that she had figured out an underlying plot of the book. Although I find myself constantly surrounded my quirky and comical moments, baking up a banana bread seems to normalize the week- until I made it vegan.
From my kitchen to your- enjoy a little quirk and veganism.
Ingredients:
3 ripe mashed bananas
1/2 cup of melted coconut oil
2 tablespoons of chia seeds + extra for sprinkling
1 cup of sugar
2 cups of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of instant coffee granules
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 cup of soy or non-dairy yogurt
1/3 cup of cocoa powder
1/2 cup of non-dairy mini chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl combine the mashed bananas, sugar, vanilla, instant coffee, cocoa powder, and melted coconut oil. Then add in the soy yogurt. Stir well.
Add in the chia seeds and allow the mixture to sit for 1-2 minutes.
In a medium bowl combine the baking soda and flour. Add this mix in batches into the wet ingredients. Once fully incorporated, mix in the mini chocolate chips.
Line a medium sized loaf pan with parchment paper. Pour the batter into the pan. Before putting it into the oven, sprinkle some extra chia seeds on top of the batter. Bake for about 1 hour, until a toothpick comes out clean.
Enjoy!
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