Tag Archives: bread

Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze

Just about every January or February, right when I think I might snap from the cold winter weather, I find myself driving to the nearest candle store to buy the biggest coconut candle I can find. The scent of coconut takes me to back to summertime when it was warm and suntan lotion filled the air. It’s something I do to try to trick my brain into thinking it’s not so cold out. Well, we are in Spring now and the temperature outside is 80 one day and 30 the next so when I went to Target the other day, I didn’t realize until I got home that nearly everything I bought had coconut involved somehow: coffee creamer, air freshener, instant iced tea, chocolate, and coffee (see my Instagram picture of this collection here). Obsessed with coconut much? Well, it just seemed like an appropriate time to breakout the actual coconut and make this Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze.

Sweetened coconut flakes are mixed with basic banana bread batter, which is made with low-fat yogurt and pumped up with some dark rum. A little extra sprinkling of coconut tops the batter which is then baked until golden brown. Once cooled slightly, the bread is given a little extra sweetness with a simple lime juice/powdered sugar glaze which adds a whole other layer of flavor. I almost left off the glaze because the bread was so perfectly beautiful without it but I’m glad I added it. The citrus flavor really complements the coconut making this a real island-y banana bread. Coconut is one of those things that people either love or hate. I don’t think I could live without it.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk. Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add banana, yogurt, rum, and vanilla; beat until blended.

Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist. Stir in 1/2 cup coconut.

Spoon batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon coconut. Bake at 350°F for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan.

Combine powdered sugar and juice, stirring with a whisk; drizzle over warm bread. Cool completely on wire rack.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions:

Whole-wheat flour for half of the white flour

Overall Rating: Love It

Source: Cooking Light magazine

Zucchini Mini Muffins

With zucchini being in abundance this summer and almost always on sale, why not pick up an extra squash the next time you are at the store and consider putting it in some bread? Never had zucchini in bread? You don’t know what you’re missing. Zucchini bread was just as common in my house growing up as banana bread and it shocks be when people have never tried it before. I once had a friend cringe at the thought of zucchini bread that you would have thought I was suggesting liver in bread. But honestly, if you at all like banana bread, or even carrot cake, you must give zucchini bread a try. When I had an extra zucchini in my fridge, I remembered I had this recipe for Zucchini Mini Muffins which makes for a quick bite for breakfast in the morning.

Shredded zucchini is added to a light quick bread batter accent by the flavor of allspice. The result is fluffy bite-sized muffins which could easily be enjoyed as a quick breakfast or even as an after dinner snack. And if you are able to eat just one, there is zero guilt involved. Never considered zucchini bread, let alone zucchini muffins, before? Definitely try this. And since muffins freeze well, make a batch of these and throw them in the freezer. Pop a few in your bag before you run out the door and microwave for a few seconds and your breakfast is ready. Who would have thought that adding vegetable to a muffin could be so good?

The ingredients:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and allspice in a large bowl.

Combine zucchini, oil, butter, vanilla, milk and egg in a small bowl; stir with a whisk.

Add zucchini mixture to flour mixture, stirring batter just until combined.

Divide batter evenly among 24 miniature muffin cups coated with cooking spray.

Bake at 400°F for 10 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of muffins comes out clean.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions: None

Overall Rating: Love It

Source: Cooking Light magazine

Pico de Gallo Bruschetta

July has been one hot month for us in the Northeast and now that the humidity has broken (at least temporarily), maybe I’ll actually start using my stove or oven again. On really hot days, when you can’t get your thermostat to get any cooler than 80 degrees, sometimes you want to do as little moving around as possible. On days like that, I have to find something light to eat and this Pico de Gallo Bruschetta seemed like a good bet.

Crusty baguette slices are toasted and lightly covered with cheese before being topped with fresh tomatoes, red onion, jalapeno, basil and lime juice. The result is a light and summery bite that seems perfect for a warm night. Although you have to turn the oven on briefly to toast the bread, it’ll be worth it in the end but honestly, you could just scoop this cool tomato mixture right on untoasted bread. Do whatever you feel like, just stay cool doing it!