Snack Break

Pretty much my favorite breakfast/snack, period.

English muffin--extra toasty, Super crunchy Skippy peanut butter, sliced banana and either Tupelo Honey or Orange Blossom Honey.

Lunch. It's Perfect

This is more a breakfast, but for a fast lunch yesterday, it was divine.
Whole wheat English muffin, toasted.
Chunky peanut butter.
Sliced banana.
All topped with Tupelo Honey.

Warm, gooey, sweet. And totally filling!

Vintage Recipe!

I'm getting caught up on some delayed recipes that I need to post....it wasn't that prolific of a weekend.

Making Banana Bread;
or Making Your Home Smell Like Grandma's Kitchen

Get your batter into a well buttered pan.

Bake until beautiful and fragrant. A toothpick inserted in the center should come up just barely moist, with a few crumbs on the side. Not wet.

A profile shot!

Give yourself some thicker slices, they need to hold up to some beautiful butter and jam.

Banana Tea Bread
from The New York Times Cookbook; Craig Claiborne, 1961

1 3/4 cups sifted flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon (I added this)
1/3 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs, well beaten
1 cup mashed ripe bananas

Preheat oven to 350.

Sift together flour, baking powder and soda, and salt.

Cream the butter, add teh sugar gradually and continue working until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat well. Add the flour mixture alternately with the bananas, a small amount at a time, beating after each addition until smooth.

Pour batter into a buttered bread pan (8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 3) and bak about one hour and ten minutes.

Variations: add 1 cup raisins, 1/2 cup nuts or 1 cup chopped dates.

Channeling my inner Sandra Lee

For our Memorial Day Weekend entertaining, we had a handful of people over who we haven't seen in like a million years. It was great. We went with a delayed Cinco de Mayo party theme. All food with a Latin flair, twist, influence.

I'll get into the other food a wee bit later, but to start us off, how about dessert. A few weeks ago we found ourselves way way way out in the suburbs at the outlet stores. I found a very affordable Trifle Bowl that I had to have. I've never made trifle, so why do I need to the bowl. Well, when you can get a trifle bowl for only $10 it's worth it.

So, our dessert would be trifle...in some variety.

I channeled my inner Sandra Lee and mixed booze and pre-made ingredients to make a delicious Banana & Dulche de Leche Trifle!


Banana & Dulche de Leche Trifle


1 box mix angel food cake-made per instructions (doesn't matter the kind of pan, you'll pull it apart later) or 1 pre-made angel food cake from the bakery!
2 small cans of sweetened condensed milk
4 bananas
1/2 cup Kahlua
1 medium box vanilla pudding mix (made per instructions)
1 small tub whipped cream
Small bit of dark chocolate for shaving/garnish

1) Make the angel food cake and allow to cool completely, tear into pieces about 1 inch square, approximately.

2) Make the pudding mix. You'll want about two cups pudding when done.

3) Make the dulche de leche. Take your two cans of sweetened condensed milk and empty into a glass/pyrex dish. Place the dish in a baking pan and fill with water, to create a water bath to help with the cooking. Cover with aluminum foil. Put into an oven heated to about 400 degrees for approximately 60 minutes. The milk will darken in color (almost a light caramel color) and have an incredibly rich, sweet aroma. Allow to cool completely.

4) Gather your ingredients and start assembly!

All ready!

The dulche de leche! Thick and sweet.

First layers: Angel food cake drizzled with Kahlua.

Next layer: Sliced bananas.

Drizzle the bananas with dulche de leche.

Top with vanilla pudding and whipped topping.

Repeat: Angel food cake, Kahlua, bananas, dulche de leche, pudding, whipped topping. I topped the cake off with more cake, dulche de leche, pudding and whipped topping (didn't have enough bananas for a full third layer.)

Grate dark chocolate over the top!

Lovely layers of sweet gooey deliciousness!

Serving! Eleven of us almost ate the whole thing.

And now the big question. Which is better: the Banana and Dulche de Leche Trifle or the Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding from Paula Deen? I'm going for the trifle, but there was some discussion that the little crunch you get from the cookies in the puddin' makes it better. But the trifle has booze! And dulche de leche!!! I'm going twith Trifle as the winner...doesn't mean I don't LOVE the pudding, but the trifle is tasty good! They are virtually the same and almost interchangable.