Chocolate Yogurt Bread

A few days ago @DanaLShrager (@JewishCooking Facebook group) asked for ideas — other than hamantashen — about what might make good mishloach manot for Purim. My suggestions included muffins, quickbreads and other homemade food goodies.

Like this chocolate bread. It’s rich and tender because it’s made with yogurt. It’s also easy to prepare and can be wrapped nicely to give away as a gift. You can add raisins or chopped nuts, or even leave out the chips. For sure, it’s a winner for Purim or any time.

Chocolate Yogurt Bread

• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate

• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1-1/4 cups sugar

• 1/3 cup vegetable shortening

• 2 large eggs

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1-1/2 cups plain yogurt

• 1/2 cup chocolate chips, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9”x5” loaf pan. Melt the chocolate and set it aside to cool. Mix the flour, baking soda and salt together and set it aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer set at medium, cream the sugar and shortening together. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat the mixture until it is smooth and creamy. Add the flour mixture, alternating with the yogurt. Stir in the chocolate and mix until ingredients are well blended. Stir in the chips, if used. Pour the batter into the loaf pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then invert onto a rack to cool completely. Makes one bread

Banana Bread with Orange Marmalade

Before Mother’s Day I bought the usual 16 tons of fruit my family consumes over a weekend, including several bananas.

But, as things happened, Covid called off the visit and I was left with 16 tons of fruit, including several bananas.

I used up the bananas in a couple of banana breads, including this one, to which I added orange marmalade. The marmalade added a nice tangy flavor and also a lovely, tender texture. Have a slice with creamy sweet butter for a real treat!

Banana Bread with Orange Marmalade

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 1/2 cup orange marmalade

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil

• 2 large eggs

• 3 medium very ripe bananas

• 1/4 cup orange juice

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9”x5”x3” loaf pan. Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt into a bowl and set it aside. Beat the sugar, marmalade and vegetable oil in a mixer (or with a handheld mixer and bowl) set at medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Mash the bananas and add them to the sugar mixture. Beat thoroughly until the ingredients are well blended. Add the flour mixture and beat for 1-2 minutes to blend the ingredients thoroughly. Stir in the juice and vanilla extract. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the bread in the pan 15 minutes. Remove the bread from the pan and let it cool on a cake rack.

Makes one bread serving 8-10

Banana Bread with Nuts and Raisins

My cousins are coming for our usual new year’s weekend.

What a grand way to end a terrible year.

We are all triple vaxxed and tested (negative).

This, to me, is thrilling enough.

We will watch Britbox murder mysteries — we all love them and there are some new goodies available.

We will eat and drink!

Last week I posted one of the desserts — M’hencha — that we will have (on New Year’s Eve when my sister-in-law and brother also come).

For dinner one night we will have Azerbaijani Plov, a fabulous melange of rice, dried fruit and meat (I am making it with lamb).

New year’s Eve is always an hors d’oeuvre fest. We space it out during the day, so we eat a few hors d’oeuvre at a time and wait for the next round.

So, I will serve Hot Dog en Croute and Almond Chicken Nuggets (plus olives, pickled beets and such).

Later, I will serve gougeres, Romanian Cheese Turnovers, cheese with Pepper Jam and a few other things.

During the weekend there’s breakfast of course, which consists of smoked fish and bagels for a couple of days.

During the day we also might find ourselves a bit peckish because I don’t serve lunch. We just “pick.”

This year, one of the pickings is going to be this Banana Bread. Which is terrific with tea or coffee. Ir’s good plain or spread with cream cheese. It’s even a good choice for dessert along with some ice cream. It’s a good nibble while watching the new series of Dalgliesh or rewatching Shetland.

We intend to have a good time.

Happy, healthy 2022 to all!

Banana Bread with Nuts and Raisins

• 1/4 cup butter

• 1/4 cup coconut oil

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 2/3 cup sugar

• 2 large eggs

• 3 medium very ripe bananas, mashed

• 1/3 cup yogurt

• 1 teaspoon vanilla 

• 1/2 cup chopped toasted nuts

• 1/2 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9”x5”x3” loaf pan. Melt the butter and coconut oil in a saucepan over low heat, set aside. Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon into a bowl and set it aside. Beat the sugar and melted butter/coconut oil mixture with a handheld or electric mixer set at medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until the mixture is well blended. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the bananas and beat the mixture to blend the ingredients thoroughly. Add the flour mixture, stirring only enough to blend in the dry ingredients. Add the yogurt, vanilla extract, nuts and raisins and stir them in. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for one hour or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the bread in the pan 15 minutes, then invert onto a cake rack to cool completely.

Makes one loaf. 

Lemon Blueberry Bread

My cousins are coming for New Years! All is well. We have all quarantined and isolated and done what we had to, tested and so on. We are all set!

So — we will have our usual, long New Year sleepover celebration.

For us, New Year’s Eve is an hors d’oeuvre fest. I wrote about that last week.

But then life goes on with the usual meals. We usually have a late breakfast, mid-afternoon snack and then dinner.

Breakfast — smoked salmon, whitefish, bagels, pickled herring. You know the drill.

After a couple of days it gets to be a bit overkill, so breakfast boils down to eggs. Period. With some sort of bread. Usually quick bread. Usually lemon. Frequently with blueberries.

Here’s this year’s version:

Lemon Blueberry Tea Bread

• 6 tablespoons butter or margarine

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 2 large eggs

• 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup milk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-1/2” x 4-1/2” x2-1/2” or  9" x 5" x 3" loaf pan. In the bowl of a mixer set at medium speed, beat the butter and sugar together for 1-2 minutes or until the mixture is well blended. Add the eggs and lemon peel and blend them in thoroughly. Mix the flour with the baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Mix the milk and vanilla extract. Add the dry ingredients in thirds alternating with the milk mixture and beat to blend ingredients thoroughly. Fold in the blueberries. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 40-50 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the bread in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a cake rack to cool completely.

Make one bread

Zucchini Bread

When we were first married, Ed promised me 50 years. That was in 1969. We were young and 50 years seemed like a REALLY REALLY long time.

Grandparent stuff.

But here we are. A few months short of 50.

Wasn’t it yesterday that I fit into that long white dress?

We wanted to celebrate with two other couples, all close friends, who are also at 50.

But we didn’t want to have a big party. Not even an intimate dinner party for six. Although those are lovely, it seemed like the same-old, same-old. 50 years deserved something special.

So we decided to have a 150th Anniversary Afternoon Tea.

It was festive, fun and celebratory.

We started with champagne and tea sandwiches.

Then: scones, clotted cream and jams.

Finally, dessert: several kinds of cookies, Lemon Buttermilk Cake, Pumpkin Spice Cake and this: Zucchini Bread, (made with zucchinis from my garden!).

Just us 6. It was a good day.

We all talked about how amazing it is at how quickly 50 years go by.

Zucchini Bread

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 3/4 cup brown sugar

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 2 large eggs

• 1/2 cup applesauce

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 cups grated fresh zucchini

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9”x5”x3” loaf pan. Place the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl and whisk the ingredients until they are evenly distributed. Place the brown sugar, sugar, eggs, applesauce and vanilla extract in the bowl of an electric mixer (or use a hand mixer) and beat at medium speed for 2-3 minutes, until thoroughly blended. Add the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Fold in the zucchini. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Invert the muffins onto the rack to cool completely.

Makes one loaf

Banana Bread with Cherries

This summer's cherries have been especially delicious. I've been buying (and eating) tons of them.

So, when I had to think of what to do with the usual leftover bananas, I decided to use some in a new version of Banana Bread. I also added some orange (peel and juice) -- just a hint to bring out the best in both of the fruits.

Pitting cherries can be a real drag. But there's an easy way to do it and you don't even have to buy a cherry pitter. Look here.

Banana BREAD with cherries

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh orange peel
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 3 medium very ripe bananas
• 1/3 cup orange juice 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup cut up fresh cherries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9”x5”x3” loaf pan. Mix the flour, orange peel, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set it aside. Beat the sugar and vegetable oil with a handheld or electric mixer set at medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until the mixture is well blended. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Mash the bananas and add them to the sugar mixture. Beat thoroughly until the ingredients are well blended. Add the flour mixture and beat for 1-2 minutes to blend the ingredients thoroughly. Stir in the juice and vanilla extract. Fold in the cherries. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 1 hour or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the bread in the pan 15 minutes. Remove the bread from the pan and let it cool on a cake rack.

 Makes one bread serving 10-12

Carrot Bread with Raisins for Rosh Hashanah

Somehow Labor Day is over and the food thoughts in my head go straight from tomato salad and grilled chicken to pumpkin soup and baked apples. 

Of course there's still time to enjoy the last of the summer fruits and vegetables, still time for outdoor-cooked grilled, marinated steak. 

But I'm thinking forward. It's almost a new season and -- yikes! -- the High Holiday season is only two weeks away.

Which leads toady's food thoughts to: carrots, because carrots are traditional during Rosh Hashanah. I usually cook them in soup -- one version or another. But last year I decided to experiment with a few recipes for carrot quick bread.

This is the one we like best. It's moist and sweet, so it can be dessert, and because it is parve, it is a good choice after a traditional holiday meat meal.

But also makes a good snack either by itself or smeared with cream cheese (softened is best and maybe even mixed with some lemon juice).

CARROT BREAD(P)

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1-1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
• 1-1/2 cups grated carrots
• 1/2 cup golden raisins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-1/2”x4-1/2” loaf pan. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg into a bowl. Set aside. Beat the brown sugar, white sugar and vegetable oil in the bowl of an electric mixer set at medium speed for 2-3 minutes, or until well blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in the lemon juice and peel. Add the dry ingredients and blend them into the egg mixture. Fold in the carrots and raisins. Pour the batter into the loaf pan. Bake for about 50 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a rack to cool completely. 

Makes one loaf  

Ah! Summer Blueberries!

It's impossible to lose weight during the summer. Not when there is so much glorious fruit around and it tastes so good just out-of-hand but SO SO delicious in crisps, pies, muffins, galettes and quickbreads.

Like this blueberry bread. Spiked with orange.

A nice snack all by itself. Sliced for sandwiches smeared with cream cheese. Dessert when topped with ice cream.

Blueberry Bread

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh orange peel
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9”x5” loaf pan. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, orange peel and vanilla powder together into a bowl. Add the coconut oil in chunks and cut it into the dry ingredients with your fingers or a pastry blender. If you use an electric mixer, set it at low-medium speed. In a second bowl, beat the egg and orange juice together until well blended (if you use vanilla extract, add it here). Add to the flour mixture and stir to blend ingredients. Fold in the blueberries. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Makes one loaf

I think I could make banana bread in my sleep.

Because I make banana bread so often it's like watching "Dave" for the umpteenth time. I know exactly what's coming next. I know what to expect. I like it.

I always buy bananas and then no one eats them except for maybe on a rare occasion, and then the bananas get brown and then no one eats them ever and I don't want to throw them out.

So, banana bread.

Also, banana bread baking in the oven smells wonderful.

Here's my latest version (I do make a different one each time!). I love how lovely the streusel top looks. Sets it apart from any old banana bread.

Banana Streusel Bread

Streusel:

• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter, margarine or coconut oil

Bread:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 3 medium very ripe bananas
• 1/4 cup fruit juice such as mango, orange or apple
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9”x5”x3” loaf pan.

Make the streusel: mix the brown sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl. Add the butter and work it in with fingers or a knife until mixture is crumbly. Set it aside.

Make the bread: Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a bowl and set it aside. Beat the sugar and vegetable oil with a handheld or electric mixer set at medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Mash the bananas and add them to the sugar mixture. Beat thoroughly until the ingredients are well blended. Add the flour mixture and beat for 1-2 minutes to blend the ingredients thoroughly. Stir in the juice and vanilla extract. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Scatter the streusel on top. Bake for 1 hour or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the bread in the pan 15 minutes. Remove the bread from the pan and let it cool on a cake rack.

 Makes one bread serving 10-12

Banana Bread with Oats and Coconut

In case you haven’t heard and/or did not see the greeting cards in your local store, today is National Banana Bread Day.

Well, that may be a big deal for some, but, as anyone who reads this blog knows, I bake banana bread more frequently than anything else and I have so many recipes that I’ve lost count of them, because I make a new version almost every time. 

I always buy too many bananas and then they get soft and no one wants to eat them so I make banana bread because I can’t bear to throw food away.

And the ironic thing about all this is that I am allergic to bananas, so I can’t eat them OR the bread. I love that fragrance though. Everyone else gets to enjoy the rest.

The version here includes coconut, coconut oil and quick oats, so it’s sweet, even though I’ve cut down on the sugar somewhat. And the oats help make it really tender.

Happy National Banana Bread Day.

Banana Bread with Oats and Coconut

2 cups flour

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

1/2 cup grated coconut

2 teaspoons baking soda

1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup Earth Balance buttery spread (or shortening)

1-1/3 cups sugar

4 large very ripe bananas, mashed

4 large eggs, slightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch (8-cup) bundt pan. Mix the flour, oats, coconut, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together in a bowl. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the coconut oil, Earth Balance and sugar at medium speed until well blended, about one minute. Add the bananas and blend them in thoroughly. Add the eggs and beat the ingredients well. Add the flour mixture and beat until batter is well blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 55-60 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove to a cake rack to cool completely.

Makes one bread, serving 16-18