Chia Peanut Banana Bread Scones

All hail 3 day weekends! I hope you had a safe and fun Memorial weekend!  I wouldn't characterize myself as patriotic, but I do have boundless respect for those who have passed.  Thank you for putting it on the line and may your sacrifice not be in vain. Let there be peace.

While most scrambles to the beach, we posted up dog-sitting in Southern  VA. It's for family friends and besides... it's dog-sitting! Her name is Mimi and she's a 14 year old long haired dachshund. I love it when she bustles around on those quick, tiny paws! You can tell she's only giving us that second-hand loving though. Her attention fades away slowly and her eyes return to the front door, waiting for mom and pops to come home. 

Then we have our little testament to man's "best friend"... that's right. We brought Autumn with us for the weekend. It just didn't seem right to leave her at home when we are just an hour down the road. The only mistake we made was swinging by my brother's house. He locked up his kitty but you can't lock up the scent. Autumn slid right back into her old, defensive ways- hissing and swatting at EVERYTHING. She even went Wolverine on my hand as I tried to give her treats. In short. This confirms our conspiracy she was once a secret agent for hire and old habits die hard.

 

Fortunately, things calmed down once we reached Stafford. The weekend was incredibly relaxing and heart warming. We took a 2 hour hike Prince William Forest Park. Danced at the local gym. Visited my bro. Watched movies including Let the Bullets Fly and Underworld Awakening. Baked some healthy cinnamon buns for Mike's parents. Chilled with our boy David and his family who were conveniently around the corner. Autumn was a little angel and slept blissfully on my chest every night.



The best part, aside from being with Mike, was sleeping. Usually I have a hard time falling asleep. My body may be weary but my brain is restless or my legs are ancey. It's very frustrating and runs in the family. I have to be physically exhausted to fall asleep before 1am, hence the need to do cardio every other day. For some magical reason though, that guest bed put me right to peaceful slumber.

To tie us through the week, I made these Chia Peanut Banana Scones. These are not your traditional scones because they are not loaded up with sugar. They are based on The Kitchn's version. I simply used what was available in our kitchen at the time, like Greek yogurt, peanuts, and chia seeds. It's a very easy recipe and next time I'll use flax seed as well! Instead of all-purpose, whole wheat flour is incorporated for additional nutrition. The glaze is from a previous banana bread recipe. This is a breakfast scone you can much without the guilt.

Chia Peanut Banana Bread Scones
modified from The Kitchn

2 very ripe bananas (about 8 oz or 1 cup once mashed)
2-4 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons chia seeds
1/2 cup (4 oz) plain greek yogurt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
4 tablespoons (1 1/2 oz) cane sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons (2 oz) unsalted butter
1/2 cup chopped peanuts or almonds (optional)
1 tablespoon flaxseed (optional)

1/3 cup confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons peanut butter
2 tablespoons milk

Mash the bananas, chia seeds, and then add enough milk to make one total cup (if necessary). Stir in the yogurt and set aside.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Cut the butter into several pieces. Work it into the dry ingredients using a fork, pastry cutter, or your finger tips until there are no pieces of butter larger than a pea.

Pour the banana-yogurt mixture into the bowl with the flour and stir just enough to incorporate all of the flour. Fold in the peanuts, if using. This will make a fairly wet dough.

Line a dinner plate with a piece of wax paper and turn the dough out on top. Pat it into a disk about 1-inch thick and cover with another piece of wax paper. Freeze the scone dough for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Peel off the top layer of wax paper and invert the scones onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Peel off the second layer of wax paper. Slice the scones into eight wedges and pull them apart a little to give them some room to expand. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the scones are firm to the touch and turning golden-brown on the edges. Cool completely and cut apart any scones that baked together with a sharp knife.

Chocolate Chunk Coconut Pancakes with Bananas and Smashed Raspberries

Smashed Raspberry Chocolate Chunk pancakes. They seduced me the moment I laid eyes on them. They're by Joy the Baker, what a surprise, and screamed awesome. By Sunday, I knew exactly what to do with the left over raspberries. It was time.

Gazing into the fridge, I decided to put my own teensie twist on these luscious pancakes. There was no buttermilk, a ton of ripening bananas (a batch of banana scones are baking right now), and leftover unsweetened coconut milk. Sounded like magic in the making.

 

I substituted the 1 cup of buttermilk with half reduced coconut milk and soured milk (milk + cream of tartar). While the pancakes sizzled, I topped them with slices of banana. This is a great trick because they nestle into the batter and when you flip them, they become slightly caramelized and browned. Add just a handful of chocolate chips- you don't want to make it sickeningly sweet for breakfast.

The result was heavenly. The pancakes were light and soft, not super big and fluffy. The batter was slightly sweet and I loved the gentle flavor of real coconut, not some form of extract. You simply cannot go wrong with fresh banana and coconut! The occasional pocket of chocolate was a gooey surprise.

And the coolest part is you don't need syrup! That's where the raspberries come in. Don't sprinkle them on top- that would be too easy. Smash them in a bowl! You'll be surprised how much juice comes out. Add some in between the pancakes as you stack them on the plate. It will be a delicious hot mess of fruit.

Fruity pancakes on the back porch with pristine weather. Mike made delicious egg scramble with veggies. Autumn got to splay out and work on her tan. What a perfect Sunday!

Chocolate Chunk Coconut Pancakes with Bananas and Smashed Raspberries

slightly modified from Joy the Baker

makes about 10-12 small pancakes, serves 2-3

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash of ground cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk, reduced to 1/2 cup
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
a small handful of dark chocolate chunks (optional)
1 banana, thinly sliced
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
butter for skillet

In a small sauce pan, bring coconut milk to boil. Lower to a simmer and let it cook till reduced to 1 cup, about 15 minutes.  Set aside and let it cool down to room temperature.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon . Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together milk and cream of tartar. Let sit for about 5 minutes. Whisk in melted butter, egg, cooled reduced coconut milk, and vanilla extract.

Add the dry ingredients, all at once to the wet ingredients. Whisk to combine. If there are a few lumps in the mixture, that’s totally fine. Stir in chocolate chips. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes while the skillet heats.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Place a heat-proof plate in the oven to help keep cooked pancakes warm.

Over medium-low heat, add about 1/2 tablespoon of butter to the non-stick skillet. Add 2 tablespoon of batter to the pan for each pancake. Add a few slices of banana on top, I did about 3 per pancake. Cook until browned, flip once and cook on the other side until golden brown and cooked through. Place cooked pancakes on the plate in the oven until all of the pancakes are cooked and ready to serve.

To serve, smash raspberries in a small bowl. Place a few smashed raspberries on a plate. Top with three or four small pancakes and more raspberries. Serve warm.

Vegan White Bean Sweet Potato Burger

Staples are meals that are ingrained into a family's culture. Growing up, I could predict dinner fairly accurately. We didn't stray far from the play book: boiled eggs and potatoes, sardine  frittata, roasted ribs and peppers, black eyed peas with onion and codfish, vegetable soup, etc. Exotic meals meant hunan chicken and pizza. Sunday lunch after church was Olive Garden, Silver Diner, or Red Lobster. Frisky, no? As Mike and I grow together, we are trying to figure out our own staples.

These White Bean and Sweet Potato burgers made the list the moment they came out of the oven. I have made this recipe at least 3 times now and each time it's a win. We were so impressed, I even made them for his mother!

The combination of ingredients surprised me. It's drained white beans, a roasted sweet potato, tahini, lemon-pepper seasoning, dash of whole wheat flour, panko, and maple syrup. What the hell? Look I don't know how this all comes together, but it just does. Believe me. We added cayenne pepper and crushed red pepper since we love things with heat. If you cannot find cannelloni beans, substitute with any white bean. I found them for 75cents a can at Harris Teeter!

Note: cook the sweet potato a day-ahead! Wrap it in aluminum foil and back at 375 for an hour to an hour and half, until the skin peels off easily.

You can pan fry the burgers or bake them. We opted to bake them at 350 for 20 minutes (don't flip) in order to keep it healthy. I added extra panko to the mix to thicken, about 1/2 cup. It should still be sticky and moist, but you should still be able to roll it into a ball. Then, I coated it in some more panko crumbs to give it a little breading. Place the ball onto some parchment paper and flatten with your hand into a circle. Ready to bake!

And don't be stingy on the dressings. We used red onions, mixed lettuce, and fresh avacodo. I stuck with some spicy brown mustard while Mike used a little bbq sauce. Seriously, I cannot think of anything that couldn't be paired with this burger. 

Eating healthy never tasted so good!

For the recipe, check out kblog's Happy Healthy Life! It has a ton of great recipes and they're all vegan.

PS. If you're looking for hella cute curtains, these are on sale at Urban Outfitters. I bought them at full price and am now cussing like a sailor. They're light and breezy. Very calming and sweet.

Mike's Oreo Birthday Cake

Hooray for being a cougar! I'm teasing but it's true. The boyfriend is a little younger... 1 year and 8 months to be exact. It's not a significant difference but we still like to joke about it. He tricked me because of his scruff and the mature way he carries himself. Then we exchanged email addys and I groaned seeing the last 2 digits of his birth year.  Love is love. For Halloween, he may dress up as a pool boy and I'll dress up like a desperate house wife with cat ears. Get it? Booooo!

Long story short. Happy Birthday amor! It was a joyous occasion celebrated with friends and family. We got down like we usually do with laughter, food, bachata, video games, and hugs. You can see his love and kindness reflected in the people that come together. His existent makes this world a better place. You're the best, babe!

I have vowed to make a new version of an Oreo Cake for his birthday every year and thus this divine Chocolate Cake with Oreo Frosting from Baker's Royale was born. It's chocolate cake coated in crumbled oreo buttercream, topped with rich ganache.

The cake was incredible. Yet another win for David Lebovtiz! I wanted it be special, so this was the first time using Valrhona French Chocolate. Holy sweet mother of jesus. Pricey? Maybe a touch. It's no Hershey's. Worth it? Yes. A million times yes. I used the 66% cocoa, Caraibe chocolate and had a difficult time not eating it from the bag. There is such a difference when using quality ingredients. If you're local, you can find a wide variety of Valrhona chocolates at La Cuisine in Old Town Alexandria and the staff is very helpful.

The one thing I didn't care for was the frosting. It was too buttery for my taste  and I kept adding crumbled oreo bits. That's just me- don't let it deter you.

As part of his gift, we stayed one night at the Shenandoah Crossing resort in Gordonsville, VA. It's not even 2 hours away from Northern VA! What caught my eye was the crazy lodging accommodations. This over-sized tee-pee tent is called a yurt. It is shaped in a circle with the only private room being the bathroom. We had a full-sized kitchen, living room, and bedroom all in one shared space.

The resort specializes in horse back riding and has it's own farm. We wandered aimlessly on a path that took us to a lake covered in lily pads; stumbled upon a picturesque tree swing; bought fresh chicken eggs; and enjoyed the peaceful vistas.

And of course. I wanted a piece of the farm life. 

I don't think the feeling was mutual. 

We hope to come back sometime with a group of friends to take full advantage of the facility. Our second day was cut short due to rainy weather which was fine by us. It was nice to spend the afternoon in our own home, unwinding, and playing chess with Autumn.

And remember, go to Baker's Royale for this recipe!