Livestrong with Banana Bread!

As I surveyed my kitchen after a whirlwind visit from my family, I really wanted to bring something nice to bookclub. We'd just finished 'A homemade life' by Mollie Wizenburg and planned to each bring a dish from it. I realised I had 3 very ripe bananas just waiting to be used in some banana bread.

This also seemed to be a perfect opportunity to work with something yellow for Livestrong Note the cat wandering through my shot!!

This is in honor of many people, especially Jen and Barbara, who is hosting the livestrong taste of yellow.

Cancer is a horrible thing, I like the way livestrong is positive and strong about fighting cancer and moving on with life.

I hope this would be good for someone who is struggling with cancer. It might be a little rich, but the ginger in it may settle the stomach and the bread is very comforting in smell, texture and taste, so definitely good to have around. I like to cut into slices and have a piece ready in a baggie in the freezer ready to pop in the microwave whenever I'm peckish.

There were varying reports on whether the ginger was good or bad, I did use the lovely stuff from King Arthur Flour, so it was probably stronger than other stuff. I used the big choc chips from giradelli, so I thought it paired very nicely. If you're not a fan then it could easily be left out, maybe try walnuts in addition or instead.

This banana bread has similar proportions to my regular low fat banana bread, although I'm definitely a fan of the technique of melting the butter, since one can quickly make this with just a couple of bowls, a whisk and a spoon in a matter of minutes.

We also enjoyed some super delicious butternut soup, I'm not always a fan but the pear and vanilla really cut through the creaminess. There were roasted cauliflowers and the super indulgent corn bread. Everything from the book seems immensely comforting, although not necessarily super rich. We're all looking forward to trying more recipes from it.

Banana Bread with Chocolate and Crystallized Ginger from A Homemade Life

makes 1 loaf

6 tablespoons (3 oz) unsalted butter, melted

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/3 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (around 3)

1/4 cup plain yoghurt

1 tsp vanilla extract

preheat the oven to 350f and grease a 9 x 5 in loaf pan

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
Whisk together the butter, eggs, banana, yoghurt and vanilla.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients with the minimum of stirring, then add the ginger and chocolate, turning a couple of times to mix.

Bake for around 50-60 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Livestrong with Loquats!

For the Livestrong challenge, I made some Loquat Chutney to accompany my curried corn fritters. Please go to winos and foodies to see everyone elses wonderful concoctions!

Thanks so much to my friend Julie-Ann for the enormous bag of Loquats she gave me. They turned into a lovely loquat chutney for a great accompaniment to any curry type of meal, or would probably work really well with a strong cheddar in a sandwich.

I had them with some curry fritters, my usual Thursday night meal when I'm in on my own, I do like savory pancakes for dinner, but Andy really doesnt!



I'm lucky enough that I've never personally been touched by cancer, nor has anyone in my family, but I realise now that I look back that it has affected my life more than I realise. When I was at school, my best friend at school lost her mother to breast cancer, and it was a horrible experience for her. Then when I was 18 a close friend of mine, Elliot Moody, died of Leukemia, one minute he was having some bad headaches, after a few weeks he was in hospital, and then all of a sudden he reacted to the chemotherapy and died. Later in the year another friend's mother got lung cancer.

I now am a cycling addict with Team in Training, and many of the participants have said that it feels really good to get rid of the frustration by actually doing something physical. We train for an endurance event and raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society while doing it. I'll be riding 100 miles around Lake Tahoe in June, then my team will go on to try to complete the Death Ride (Raaagh!) in July.

Loquat Chutney -Adapted from Recipezaar

850g loquats (after removing stones)

2 large pears

1 cup applesauce

300 g dried apricot

100 g gingerroot

4 tablespoons mustard seeds

500 g raw sugar

750 ml cider vinegar

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons crushed chile

Remove tops and tails of loquats, plus seeds and any membranes. Cut into quarters.
Peel pears and cube.
Cut the dried apricots into strips
Crush some of the mustard seeds, leave the rest whole.
Put everything in a big pot and stew for about an hour and a half until the loquats are tender.
Pour into sterilized jars and keep in a cool dark place. Refrigerate when open.

Curry Fritters - enough for dinner and lunch the next day!

1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1/4 cup gram flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup fried onions and garlic
1/2 cup sweetcorn and leftover potatoes
butter/oil for frying

Whisk together the first five ingredients
whisk together the milk and egg
combine the wet and dry, mix together then add onions, garlic etc.
Take 1/4 cup scoops and fry patties in a little butter/oil.