Banana cake with peanut butter chips

Combining bananas and peanut butter chips in a cake is a bit gluttonous.

I did it anyway! I love banana cakes, and peanut butter too! There's no reason why I should suffer by leaving any of them out.

The cake is tender, moist, and full of flavor. Each bite is bursting with peanut butter banana goodness.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup (190 g) all purpose flour
2/3 cup (135 g) sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 small/medium ripe bananas, mashed
1 large egg
1/2 cup (110 g) unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk
1 cup peanut butter chips, as well as more for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease your cake pan.

Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. In a separate medium bowl, mix the mashed bananas, egg, butter, vanilla extract and milk. Stir the banana mixture into the dry ingredients just until combined (do not overmix). Stir in peanut butter chips.

Pour the mixture in the pan. Sprinkle extra peanut butter chips on top, if desired.
Bake for about 32 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center is free of crumbs. Cool on a wire rack.

Cake aux bananes et aux pépites de beurre de cacahuètes

Ingrédients

190 g de farine

135 g de sucre

1 1/2 càc de levure chimique

1/4 càc de sel

3 bananes, écrasées

1 œuf

110 g de beurre, fondu

1 càc d'extrait de vanille

1/4 verre de lait

1 verre de pépites de beurre de cacahuètes + une poignée pour la décoration

Préchauffez le four à 180ºC. Beurrez votre moule.

Mélangez la farine, le sucre, la levure et le sel dans un grand bol. Dans un autre bol, mélangez les bananes écrasées, l'œuf, le beurre fondu, l'extrait de vanille et le lait. Ajoutez cette préparation à celle de la farine. Ajoutez les pépites.

Versez la préparation dans le moule. Saupoudrez de pépites. Enfournez 32 mn ou jusqu'à ce qu'un cure-dent inséré en ressorte propre. Laissez refroidir.

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Apple flognarde

Apple flognarde is nothing more than a clafoutis. In some regions in France, the traditional french dessert – clafoutis is referred to as flognarde. The flognarde is usually made with apples or pears.

This dessert is so simple - just a sweet batter poured over a layer of apple chunks and baked in the oven. You can eat this dish as a hot pudding, or a cold dessert. 

Ingredients (serves 6):
3 apples (Reine de Reinette)
3 large eggs
1 ½ cups (350 ml) milk
½ cup (90 g) sugar
½ cup + 1 tbsp (70 g) flour
2 tbsp vegetable oil (or any neutral oil)

Preheat the oven at 400ºF (200ºC).

Peel and core the apples then cut into chunks.

Grease the tart tins with butter and sprinkle some flour. Place them on a baking sheet. Divide the apple chunks evenly between the tartlet tins.

Gently heat the milk until warm. In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs until blended and foamy. Add the sugar, flour, oil and whisk until smooth. Gradually whisk in the warm milk.

Using a ladle, carefully pour the liquid batter over the apple chunks in the tins, filling up to the rim.

Bake for 30 – 45 minutes until the flognarde is puffed and golden.

Flognarde aux pommes

Ingrédients (6 personnes):

3 pommes (Reine de Reinette)

3 œufs

350 ml de lait

90 g de sucre

70 g de farine

2 càs d'huile neutre

Faites préchauffer le four à 200ºC.

Pelez et coupez les pommes en morceaux. Beurrez et farinez les moules et déposez les pommes.

Faites chauffer le lait. Dans un saladier, cassez les oeufs. Battez-les au fouet. Ajoutez le sucre, la farine, l’huile, puis le lait qu’on a légèrement tiédi.

À l'aide d'une louche, versez la préparation dans les tartelettes à hauteur.

Faites cuire de 30 à 45 min, afin que la flognarde gonfle et dore.

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Chocolate chip cake

It’s fall now. I wait for this season the whole year long, wait for the air that smells crisp and the leaves that turn vibrant pinks. I also wait for that season to start baking! I love to bake. Luckily, I woke up early on Sunday morning to bake a Chocolate Chip Cake. We were so busy the whole day we forgot to take a break to have a slice. When we came in for the night, we were thrilled to see the cake sitting on our kitchen table.
This cake is light, fluffy, and has a tunnel of chocolate chips inside. The sprinkle of some chocolate chips makes the cake sparkle and gives it a nice crunchy top.

Ingredients: 

225 g (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
200 g (1 cup) sugar 

1 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs, at room temperature
240 g (2 cups) all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt

200 g (7 0z) chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Grease a 24 cm (9 1/2 inch) spring pan.

Beat butter and sugar together until very fluffy and white, about 4 minutes. Mix in the eggs slowly, one egg at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla extract.

In another bowl sift together flour, salt and baking powder. Add the flour mixture slowly to the egg mixture. Don't over mix. Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula. Leave a handful for decoration.

Pour batter in the pan and level the top. Sprinkle the handful of the remaining chocolate chips. Bake for about 35 min or until a tooth pick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Gâteau aux pépites de chocolat

Ingrédients: 

225 g de beurre à température ambiante
200g de sucre

1 càc d'extrait de vanille
4 œufs, à température ambiante
240g de farine
1 càc de levure chimique
une pincée de sel

200 g de pépites de chocolat 

Préchauffez le four à 180ºC. Beurrez un moule de 24 cm.

Battez le beurre avec le sucre environ 4 mn. Ajoutez les œufs, un à un en battant après chaque ajoût. Ajoutez l'extrait de vanille.

Dans un saladier, tamisez la farine, le sel et la levure chimique. Ajoutez le mélange aux œufs et mélangez délicatement. Ajoutez les pépites de chocolat. Réservez une poignée pour la déco.

Versez la préparation dans le moule. Décorez des pépites restantes. Enfournez 35 mn ou jusqu'à ce qu'un cure-dent inséré ressorte propre.

Servez avec une boule de glace à la vanille.

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Dawood Basha - Lebanese meatballs in tomato sauce

A small slice of land wedged on the edge of Asia, Lebanon sits on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It's a really tiny country, roughly the size of "Ile de France".  Lebanon had once been called (the self-proclaimed) Switzerland and Paris of the East.

It is said that the one thing that unites all Lebanese is the love of eating. Lebanese cuisine is abundant and generous, stemming from the tradition of preparing food with love and providing family and friends with much more than could possibly be consumed. A traditional Lebanese meal has many small courses, starting with a mezze (the Lebanese version of antipasti), a selection of small portions of dips, pickles, salads and khibbitz (Arabic bread). The main course is usually grilled meats, accompanied by bread, spiced rice and any remaining mezze. Dessert may entail a selection of sweets including baklava, and other variations of filo pastry combined with nuts and sweet honey-style syrup. To complete a meal, Turkish style black coffee is served.

This dish gets its name from the Ottoman pasha Dawood who governed Lebanon in the 18th century.

The dish is easy to make, tender, melt-in-your-mouth meatballs with a simple tomato sauce over rice, is irresistibly good.

Ingredients (serves 6):

For the sauce:
3 medium onions, sliced
2 garlic cloves
3 tbsp olive oil
1 can (400g - 15oz) of crushed tomato
1 tsp pomegranate molasses
1 cup water

For the meatballs:
2 lbs (1kg) finely minced lean meat
1 medium onion, peeled and grated
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp ground allspice
1 dash ground cinnamon
a handful of toasted pine nuts

Mix meat well with grated onion, salt, cinnamon, and allspice. Divide meat into 1 inch diameter balls.

Heat some oil in a skillet and saute the onions and a dash of salt on moderate heat until soft and brown. Set aside.

In the same skillet, saute the meatballs on both sides until browned and cooked. Add the sliced onions, the crushed tomato, the pomegranate molasses and the water. Simmer for about 20 minutes until the liquid is reduced.

Serve on a bed of rice and garnish with toasted pine nuts.

Daoud Bacha - Boulettes de viande libanaises à la sauce tomate

Ingrédients (6 personnes):

Pour la sauce:

3 oignons, émincés

2 gousses d'ail

3 càs d'huile d'olive

1 boîte (400g) de tomate pelée

1 càc de mélasse de grenade

235 ml (1 tasse) d'eau 

Pour les boulettes:

1kg de viande finement hachée

1 oignon, pelé et râpé

1 càs de sel

1 càc de mélange 4 épices

1 pincée de cannelle

une poignée de pignons de pin toastés

Mélangez la viande avec l'oignon râpé, le sel, le mélange 4 épices et la cannelle. Formez des boulettes.

Faites chauffer un peu d'huile dans une sauteuse et faites revenir les oignons émincés avec une pincée de sel à feu moyen jusqu'à coloration. Réservez.

Dans la même sauteuse, faites revenir les boulettes sur les deux côtés jusqu'à ce qu'elles soient bien colorées. Ajoutez les oignons émincés, la boîte de tomate, la mélasse de grenade, et l'eau. Laissez mijoter à feu doux environ 20 minutes jusqu'à rédcution de l'eau.

Servez avec du riz et parsemez de pignons de pin toastés.

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Nectarine Cake

It was definitely a busy summer for me with a flurry of activities. Although I enjoy fall, I am a bit sad that summer days are over. Once again, it is time to bid farewell to hot summer days, lemonade stands, and beach parties. The past few days have been gloomy, chilly, and dark, marking the beginning of fall. Sweat pants and sweaters days are here to stay. Hopefully we will get some Indian summers before we dive into deep freeze.

As we transition into fall, I find myself craving for summer cake. A simple nectarine cake fits the bill as it is quick and easy to prepare. This cake is commonly made with apples but it’s also made with stone fruits like peaches, nectarines, and plums. And as nectarines ripen towards the end of summer, this is one last cake to say goodbye to summer days!

My mother makes the best nectarine cake. Big chunks of nectarine nestle into a moist light cake. The cake gets better the second day, when the nectarines juices seep further into the cake. I love the last taste of summer with these juicy fragrant nectarines, and now that summer has ended, I wanted to use those ripen summer fruits in a cake and savor it with a cup of coffee on those chilly morning days. So here’s one last summer cake… enjoy!

Ingredients: 

3 medium ripe nectarines, cut into cubes
1 cup 1 1/2 Tbsp (250 g) butter, at room temperature
zest of 1 lemon
1 cup (200g) sugar 

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs, at room temperature
2 cups (250 g) flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Grease a 24 cm (9 1/2 inch) spring pan.

Beat butter and sugar together until very fluffy and white, about 4 minutes. Mix in the eggs slowly, one egg at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla and lemon zest.

In another bowl sift together flour, salt and baking powder. Add the flour mixture slowly to the egg mixture. Don't over mix. Fold in nectarines with a spatula.

Pour batter in the pan and level the top. Bake for about 50-60 min or until a tooth pick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Gâteau aux nectarines

Ingrédients: 

3 nectarines mûres de taille moyenne, coupées en cubes
250 g de beurre à température ambiante
zeste d'un citron
200g de sucre

1/4 càc d'extrait de vanille
4 œufs, à température ambiante
250g de farine
1/2 càc de levure chimique
une pincée de sel

Préchauffez le four à 180ºC. Beurrez un moule de 24 cm.

Battez le beurre avec le sucre environ 4 mn. Ajoutez les œufs, un à un en battant après chaque ajoût. Ajoutez l'extrait de vanille et le zeste de citron.

Dans un saladier, tamisez la farine, le sel et la levure chimique. Ajoutez le mélange aux œufs et mélangez délicatement. Ajoutez les nectarines.

Versez la préparation dans le moule. Enfournez 50 à 60 mn ou jusqu'à ce qu'un cure-dent inséré ressorte propre.

Saupoudrez de sucre glace avant de servir.

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Potato & eggplant salad

Eggplants are such a staple in the Mediterranean diet, and even though they're available all year round, I love to eat them in summer. And now, with the summer coming to an end, this is a great recipe if you still have all these garden vegetables on hand. The addition of garlic, coriander and lemon juice brings a bright, warm, citrus flavor to the salad. It's perfect accompanied with meat, fish or chicken... and it can be a light night meal.

Ingredients:
2 medium potatoes, cubed
2 medium eggplants, cubed
1 cup of frozen or fresh green beans
a handful of corandier, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
a pinch of paprika
salt, to taste

In a large skillet, heat some oil and fry the potato cubes. Once browned, set aside.
In the same skillet, fry the eggplant cubes. Set aside.
Finally, fry the green beans and set aside.
Put the fried vegetables in a salad bowl.
In a small bowl, mix the lemon juice, salt, garlic and coriander. Add this mixture to the vegetables and mix slowly. Sprinkle some paprika and serve.

Salade d'aubergines et de pommes de terre

Ingrédients:

2 pommes de terre moyennes, coupées en cubes

2 aubergines moyennes, coupées en cubes

1 tasse d'haricots verts, frais ou surgelés

une poignée coriandre, haché

3 gousses d'ail, écrasées

75 ml de jus de citron

60 ml d'huile d'olive

une pincée de paprika

sel, selon goût

Dans une grande poêle, faites chauffer de l'huile et faites frire les cubes de pommes de terre. Réserver.

Dans la même poêle, faites revenir les cubes d'aubergines. Réservez.

Enfin, faites y revenir les haricots verts.

Dans un bol, mélangez le jus de citron avec l'ail écrasé et la coriandre. Salez. Versez sur les légumes frits, et mélangez délicatement. Saupoudrez de paprika et servez.

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Pasta alla Norma

This vegetarian pasta dish originates from Sicily. It was named after Sicilian composer Bellini's hugely successful opera "Norma". Pasta alla Norma is a typical Sicilian dish with eggplants, sweet & ripe tomatoes, ricotta salata, fresh basil, olive oil and pasta. It is usually made with Ricotta Salata cheese, which gives a distinctive original flavor. However, you can substitute it with pecorino or feta, but you know it won't be the same.
Some insist that the pasta must be maccheroni… Well, I used spaghetti (this is what I had in my pantry). A delicious easy dish to enjoy on a weekday night...

2 medium eggplants, cut into cubes
1/2-cup olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 1/2 tsp fresh oregano leaves, chopped or 1/2 tsp dry oregano
6 leaves fresh basil, shredded
1/4 tsp red chili flakes
2 lbs tomatoes, ripe, seeded and chopped or canned Italian tomatoes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup grated ricotta salata or pecorino...
1 lb spaghetti or maccheroni

Sprinkle the eggplant cubes with salt.
Place in colander and let stand for an hour or so.
Place on paper towels to drain.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Brown eggplant cubes on both sides. Set aside.
Alternatively, brush both sides of eggplant cubes with olive oil, place on cookie sheet, bake in a pre-heated 450º F oven for 15 minutes or till nicely browned. Set aside.

Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a pan. Add onion and sauté till golden. Add garlic and sauté for 1 or 2 minutes.
Add the tomato, fresh oregano, red chili flakes and basil. Cook about 10 to 15 minutes at high heat; do not allow sauce to dry out.
While tomato sauce cooks, bring water to a boil. Cook pasta and drain when done. Place in a bowl, pour tomato sauce and eggplant cubes and mix. Sprinkle the cheese and serve.

Pâtes alla norma

2 aubergines, coupées en cubes

120 ml d'huile d'olive

1 oignon, haché

4 gousses d'ail, écrasées

1 1/2 càc d'origan haché ou 1/2 càc d'orgian séché

6 feuilles de basilic, hachées

1/4 càc de piment d'Espelette

1 kg de tomates mûres, épépinées et coupées en dés ou une boite de coulis de tomates

sel et poivre

3/4 tasse de ricotta émiétté ou de pecorino...

500 g spaghetti or maccheroni

Saupoudrez les aubergines avec du sel.

Laissez-les dégorger de sel pendant environ 1 heure.

Placez-les sur du papier absorbant.

Faites chauffer l'huile d'olive dans une sauteuse. Faites frire les aubergines.

Vous pouvez les badigeonner d'huile d'olive et les glisser au four pendant 15 mn à 220ºC.

Faites chauffer 2 càs d'huile d'olive et faites revenir l'oignon, puis l'ail.

Ajoutez les tomates, l'origan, le piment et le basilic, et laissez mijoter 10 à 15 mn.

Faites cuire les pâtes dans de l'eau salée bouillante. Egouttez et placez dans un saladier. Versez la sauce tomate dessus, ajoutez les dés d'aubergines. Mélangez et parsemez de fromage. Servez.

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