Thursday Morning Muffins.

I just looked at the date of my last post and almost fell out of my chair.  APRIL 29TH? And now it is the middle of JUNE? What has happened?  I guess when I look back, quite a bit has happened.  Let me tell you.
I finished up my master's degree. No, I'm not done with school yet, nor am I am school psychologist, I have two more years of school left...but I'm making progress.
I started working as a barista at a local coffee shop; I am enjoying learning about the art of making coffee and sometimes wonder why I don't work as a barista full time. Don't worry Mom, I'm not quitting school.
I watched T run a PR in the Madison Half Marathon (1:14:39) and couldn't have been more excited for him.
I canoed down the black river and survived an encounter with a water snake.
I completed one of my summer courses, one more to go.
I competed in my first triathlon of the season last weekend and was thrilled to race with some good friends.
So, here we are,in the middle of June.  I guess it is time for a post.

This morning started off with a 4.5 mile run in the sunshine and my legs actually felt great, which was surprising, as I have been struggling to get into a good running rhythm lately.  After my run,  C came over and we made muffins.  You all know how I feel about muffins- if you don't, read THIS POST and you will soon know how picky I am about my muffins.  Thank goodness C is a true friend and wasn't upset with the recipe I picked.  I was thrilled that it contained whole grains, flax, fruit, veggies, was low fat and low sugar, however, of course I had to make some changes to make this recipe even better. Oh, I must not forget the BEST PART of these muffins.   I was able to use some of the homemade whole wheat flour that a dear friend Rae made and gave me as a gift.  I have the best friends ever.

Homemade whole wheat flour from Rae

We whipped these up while catching up over a warm cup of coffee.  Let's just say I am really enjoying this week off in between my summer classes....and look forward to having the remainder of my summers off as a school psychologist.


Healthy Apple Cinnamon Wheat Bran Muffins (adapted from kneadtocook.com)

3/4 c unbleached, all purpose flour
3/4 c of whole wheat flour
3/4 c of flaxseed meal
3/4 c of wheat bran
3/4 c of brown sugar
2 tsp of baking soda
1 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of salt
2.5 tsp of ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp nutmeg
3/4 c of almond milk (you can use low or non fat milk as well)
2 eggs, room temperature

1 1/4 tsp of vanilla extract
1/2 c of Non Fat apple cinnamon flavored Chobani  Greek Yogurt
2  c of shredded carrots
1 shredded apple
1/2 c of chopped walnuts 

Crumble Topping:
1 TBSP brown sugar
1 TBSP oats
1/2 TBSP cold butter
Mix together using a pastry cutter or a fork to get a crumbly mixture

Preheat oven to 350.  Line your muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.  In a large bowl, combine the flours, wheat bran, flaxseed, baking soda, baking powder, salt, spices and brown sugar.   Then add eggs, milk, vanilla and Chobani.   Add the carrots, apples and walnuts, stirring just until combine.   Scoop the mixture into your muffin pans, 3/4 of the way filled and top with crumble mixture. Bake for 20-22 minutes for regular sized muffins.  Insert toothpick and if it comes out clean, they’re done.  If not, bake for an additional 2-3 minutes and repeat the toothpick test.  Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes and then serve.  

Homework? I think I'll bake a cake instead.

Sunday was a fantastic day.  It began with my first bike ride of the season, a 24 mile ride with a group of 8 people from the Triathlon Club.  It was a bit chilly cruising along at 20 MPH in the 52 degree weather and I will definitely be investing in a long sleeve cycling jersey this week.  Despite the chilly temperature, it was SO nice to get outside and ride-I reached my tipping point this week in cycling class and just cannot ride inside anymore this season.  After my ride, I spent the day doing homework at my favorite coffee shop.  I returned home and really just did not want to do more homework. The sun was shinning, buds were forming in the trees outside my window and I felt like celebrating.  What did I do? I baked a wholesome carrot cake and wrote a blog post. This cake is in loaf form-perfect for small households like mine. Baking this cake was definitely one of the best choices I have made lately.

  

Spelt Flour Carrot Cake (www.anjasfood4thought.com)
3/4 cup whole wheat or whole spelt floour
1/4 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup boiling water
1/4 cup butter, roughly chopped
1/3 cup palm sugar (substitute: 1/3 cup brown sugar mixed with 2 tablespoons molasses)
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup coarse grated carrots
1/3 cup chopped almonds or walnuts
Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 cup cream cheese
3 tablespoons maple syrup
Directions:
Preheat oven to 175C/375F. Line medium-sized loaf pan with parchment paper.In a medium bowl, cover oats with boiling water. Place the butter on top of the oat water mixture so it will melt. Let stand for about 10 minutes to soak.In another bowl, combine flour salt and baking powder. Set aside. Whisk the eggs lightly, then add the palm sugar and beat until mixture is fluffy. Add the egg mixture to the oat mixture and stir until combined. Now combine wet and dry ingredients. Fold in grated carrots and chopped almonds. Transfer batter to prepared loaf tin. Bake for 40 minutes or until bakje tester comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then take out. Let cool completetely on wire racks. Just before serving, combine cream cheese and maple syrup until smooth. Apply frosting evenly on top of the cake. 
NOTE: As I was mixing up this cake batter, I came to the realization that it was missing something.  I quickly realized that carrot cakes normally have spices in them and this recipe did not. I quickly sampled the batter and knew I wanted to add spices, as I love spices.  I added a few teaspoons of cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg and allspice, along with a teaspoon of vanilla. 

And it goes like this.

Remember me telling you about the killer omelettes my dad made for me on weekend mornings when I was growing up?  Well, my Mother also had a tradition of making something on weekends: scones and a pot of coffee.  I think each culinary choice accurately depicts their personalities.  Scones make for a lovely morning-they are so delicate and remind me of both my Mother and my time abroad in Europe.  I could not ask for much more. My mom's scones are one of her signature creations and whenever I make scones, I simply follow her recipe (adjusting the choice of dried fruit, nuts or chocolate is encouraged).  The result is a warm, crumbly-but-never-dried-out, four inch piece of heaven that emerges from the oven in the form of a scone.  If I were to make any recipe other than the traditional one, I would almost feel as if I were betraying  someone or something. I usually love experimenting and trying new recipes, but I have remained loyal to the same scone recipe. And then something changed.
Last weekend, I stepped out of my little scone box and tried something new! Can you believe it?  We need to get something straight. This was not because I was tired of my Mom's recipe or because I had made a bad batch.The truth is, someone put in a request for a particular flavor of scones: cherry with an orange glaze.  I did not want to try to modify my mom's recipe, because, in my book that would have been major recipe betrayal, and we wouldn't want that.  I searched high and low for a new recipe that still fell somewhere along the lines of healthy.  I ended up making cranberry orange scones, not quite cherry-orange, but close enough, right?  In addition to trying this new recipe, I did something else very odd.  I baked the scones in the evening so they would be fresh on Monday morning for the special delivery.  The orange zest filled my kitchen with a delightfully fresh scent and left me yearning for summer.  I did not have any orange juice on hand, so I simply made my own, using fresh oranges and my citrus reamer. Although this batch of scones wasn't for me...I would be lying if I said I didn't sample one.  The scones had a slightly different texture than my mom's, but were scrumptious.  I have already added the recipe to my collection.

Cranberry Orange Scones (Taste of Home)

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 10 teaspoons sugar, divided
• 1 tablespoon grated orange peel
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 cup cold butter
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup half-and-half cream
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon milk

• GLAZE (optional):
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar 
• 1 tablespoon orange juice 

In a large bowl, combine the flour, 7 teaspoons sugar, orange peel, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs; set aside. In a small bowl, combine the cranberries, orange juice, cream and egg. Add to flour mixture and stir until a soft dough forms.
On a floured surface, gently knead 6-8 times. Pat dough into an 8-in. circle. Cut into 10 wedges. Separate wedges and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Brush with milk; sprinkle with remaining sugar.
Bake at 400° for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack.
Combine glaze ingredients if desired; drizzle over scones.

*When I made the glaze, I used more orange juice and only a few table spoons of sugar.  The scones are already sweet, so I didn't top the scones with glaze.  I put it in a bowl so the consumer could add it if desired.  It kept in the fridge for a few days.

What's on my mind? cake.

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about cake.  On Monday, I spent a good part of my morning searching for a bundt cake recipe and continued this search in the evening.  The search continued the next day. There are many other things I could be doing with my time, such as reading the 3 history books due next week or researching the history of preschool in the United States for my 15 page paper.  Instead, researching countless cake recipes has become my priority. And to be honest, I am okay with this. How many times are you a second semester senior in college? Once. And I'm going to celebrate this time by making bundt cake. I think I need to find more things to celebrate by making cake, birthdays just aren't enough.  I have never made a bundt cake during my 22 years of life, but the bundt pan I received from Pat around Christmas was looking awfully lonely on the shelf. I didn't know exactly what type of bundt cake I wanted to bake and was slightly overwhelmed as I came across hundreds of different recipes-chocolate, apple spice, lemon blueberry, vanilla bean with yogurt...I knew the perfect recipe when I saw it: chocolate stout bundt cake.
When I went to the store to purchase a single bottle of stout, I was not successful in finding any single bottles of Guinness.  After a bit of searching, I came across a coffee stout crafted by the New Glarus Brewery.  I couldn't have asked for a better beer to put in a chocolate cake.

Next thing I knew, I was spending a beautiful spring afternoon baking a bundt cake that contained chocolate and stout.  To begin, you heat the required amount of stout and butter on the stove, which makes a very aromatic, foamy mixture.  Then you realize that the recipe doesn't call for the entire bottle of beer, so you enjoy the remaining beer as the sun pours in through your kitchen window.  And then you realize that there is nothing you would rather be doing on a Wednesday, then baking a chocolate bundt cake, drinking a beer and listening to Jack Johnson.  Somethings just work out perfectly.

Back to the cake...its a fairly simple recipe.  I made a few changes to the recipe: I
added 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips to the batter; of course this was in addition to the chips in the ganache.  It just didn't seem right not to add some chocolate bits to the batter.  I also had to bake the cake for much longer than suggested, as it was still batter-like after only 35 minutes.  The cake stayed in the over for about 55 minutes.  Lastly, I didn't add instant coffee granules to the ganache because I did not have any on hand.  No loss there-it was heavenly.  The ganache added to the presentation of the cake- it dripped down the sides just a tiny bit until it hardened.  Oh, what a beautiful first bundt cake experience this was.

 

 

  

Chocolate Stout Cake (from smittenkitchen.com)
Adapted from the Barrington Brewery in Great Barrington, MA via Bon Appetit
.
1 cup stout (such as Guinness)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
6 ounces good semisweet chocolate chips
6 tablespoons heavy cream
3/4 teaspoon instant coffee granules
Cake prep:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter or spray a bundt pan well; make sure you get in all of the nooks and crannies. (Some people even go so far as to brush the inside of their bundt pans with melted butter–you cannot be too careful!). Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Transfer cake to rack; cool completely in the pan, then turn cake out onto rack for drizzling ganache. For the ganache, melt the chocolate, heavy cream, and coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally. Drizzle over the top of cooled cake.

***You can always leave the cake in the pan longer than 10 mintues before inverting onto a cake plate.  This will reduce the chances that the cake will stick to the pan.

Worth the wait

Sometimes, waiting around can be a difficult task for me to handle.  Quite often, I am some one who thrives on efficiency.  Spending most of a Saturday morning waiting around for this cinnamon raisin swirl bread to rise was definitely worth the wait. I found the recipe on a blog that I have been reading frequently, called Cate's World Kitchen. She is an avid runner, enjoys photography, and loves to spend time in the kitchen.  I sincerely enjoy reading her entries and couldn't resist making this bread when I stumbled upon it.  After mixing the ingredients and kneading the dough, you must wait for it to rise.  After pounding it down and forming a loaf, you must wait for it to rise, again.  You also must wait for it to bake in the oven and for it to cool in the pan before removing it.  The recipe says you must wait for the bread to be completely cooled before cutting into it, but by this time, we were tired of waiting and ate it warm. 
I will be the first to admit that I have had some major mishaps in the kitchen over the last few weeks.  From blowing up a glass jar of maple syrup to melting a bear shaped honey container into a pan on the stove to spilling red curry sauce all over my favorite shirt, I have had my series of disasters.  While making this bread, I had a minor mishap, thank goodness it only had a small effect on the finished product.  I am going to tell you what I learned about yeast so you do not make the same mistake that I did.  As for blowing up syrup and turning a teddy bear full of honey into a volcano, well, just don't let me in your kitchen.  Here's what happened: I emptied the packets of yeast into a large baking bowl and poured the warm milk on top of the granules.  The yeast clumped together and didn't start to activate like yeast should.  I immediately called the baking emergency hot line (my Mama) and she quickly told me that the warm liquid should be poured into the bowl first, adding the yeast on top of the warm milk. Each granule of yeast must be exposed to the warm liquid (in this case, milk) in order to activate and not clump.  In an attempt to rescue the yeast, I stirred it using a fork to break up the clumps. Eventually, began to foam.  The bread didn't rise quite as much as I would have liked, but was still darn good.   I know yeast scared some people, but please, don't let it.  It's not a scary as you might think. This bread will be made again, no question about it.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread (Cate's World Kitchen)
2 tablespoons dry active yeast
1 teaspoon granulated sugar + 1/4 cup
3/4 cup warm milk (not hot)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons agave or maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 1/4 cups bread flour, plus additional for rolling
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
2/3 cup raisins
Combine the warm milk, yeast, and 1 tsp sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Let stand 5 minutes, then stir in 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, salt, butter, vanilla, agave, and egg and mix well. Add the flours gradually, then mix with the dough hook on medium speed for 10 minutes.
Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for about an hour and a half.
Roll the dough out to a rectangle about 10″ by 20.”
Combine 1 tsp cinnamon, the brown sugar, and the raisins in a small bowl. Spread evenly over the dough then roll up and pinch the ends closed. Put in a greased loaf pan, cover, and let rise for about 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake the bread for 40-45 minutes, until golden brown on top. Cool in the pan for about 20 minutes, then turn out of the pan and cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

More Muffin Madness

I should start this post out with a few updates on my life, as many new things have evolved in the past few days.  First and foremost, I have officially been accepted to graduate school and will be attending the University of Wisconsin La Crosse for the next 3 years to obtain my Education Specialist degree in School Psychology!  I am still in disbelief as I type those words, it hasn't really hit me yet.  UWL is one of the most rigorous and challenging programs around and I will leave the program extremely prepared for a career as a school psych.  I feel blessed to have the privilege to attend such a renowned program and work with the excellent faculty here!  Secondly, I am taking a trip out to Portland and Seattle next week for spring break. I have a pretty awesome travel companion and I know the west coast will provide us with a much needed adventure. I probably won't be posting during break- but will have plenty to say when I arrive home.  I haven't traveled anywhere since Ireland and I can't wait to "get the heck outta dodge."   Once you get the travel bug, it never really goes away... Stay tuned for pictures and stories!

Now on to what most of you came here to read about...food.
I'm sure many of you read my post about muffins back in December; if you didn't and you want some background on my take on muffins- read it.  I had been on a bit of a muffin hiatus for the past few weeks.  I'm not sure if this was due to a lack of time to bake or if deep down  I know when I make a batch of muffins, they disappear too quickly for my own good.  I decided to end the lack of muffins in my life and made a batch of classic banana chocolate chip muffins.  These were devoured by myself and my friends, so quickly that I made a second batch of muffins a few days later, only they were pumpkin cranberry the second time around.  Oh wait.  They were supposed to be pumpkin cranberry, but as usual, I didn't exactly follow the recipe and made them into pumpkin-apple-pecan-cranberry.  Despite my ability to follow a recipe, these were equally delicious as the banana chocolate chip muffins and didn't last long.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins-fresh out of the oven

Banana Muffins (From our family recipe box)

3-4 bananas, mashed

½ cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup oil

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1½ cup flour

Optional ingredients: mini chocolate chips, chopped nuts, etc…

1. Mix mashed bananas, sugar, egg and oil together in a medium bowl. 
2. In a separate large bowl, mix together baking soda, baking powder, salt and flour.  
3.Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until moistened, being careful not to overstir!   
4. Pour into greased muffin tins and bake 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees.

5. Let cool for a few minutes before removing muffins from tins. Continue to cool muffins on a wire rack.

Low Fat Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins (Adapted from the Gundersen Lutheran Heart Health Cookbook)

1 ¼ cup whole wheat flour

1 cup cake flour

1 ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

2 large eggs

1 ½ cup sugar

1 ¾ cup pumpkin (1- 15 oz. can)

½ cup apple sauce

1 cup cranberries

***Note- I used 1/2 cup dried cranberries, 1/2 cup diced apple n place of the 1 cup of cranberries.  I also added 1/4 cup chopped pecans.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Combine dry ingredients.  In separate bowl, mix pumpkin, applesauce, eggs.  Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and fold in cranberries.  Pour into greased muffin tins.

Bake for 18-20 minutes. Makes 18 muffins.

Give em a chance....

What I'm about to say may seem very weird to some of you.  Before you judge this recipe (which happens to be one of my favorite, in pre-judging you will not only be offending these brownies, you will also be offending yours truly) give it a try with an open mind.  I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
Last year my Mom came to visit me in La Crosse and like usual, she brought baked goods with her.  She had tried another new brownie recipe and insisted that I sample it.  For those of you who don't know my mother and her history with brownies, I should probably explain to you that my Mom has been on the search for the 'perfect brownie recipe' for years now.  She goes in spurts and looks up new recipes, combines old ones, and invents her own from time to time.  There would be weeks in high school when I would come home from swim practice and each day she had tried a new or modified recipe.  Let me tell you, she was determined to bake the best brownie and I was privileged  to be a member of the sampling team.  Although my Mom was on the quest for the perfect brownie for a few years, we (Kelly, Anne and I) always thought each attempt was delicious.  I think we secretly acted less satisfied with the newest batch just so Mom would try another recipe the next day.   Anyways, when my mom arrived in La Crosse insisting I try her newest brownie recipe, I was not the least bit surprised.  My mom wanted to know what I thought of the latest version and I remember telling her I loved how fudge like and dense the brownie was.  She said "I bet you'll never guess the secret ingredient in these" with a slight smile on her face. I had no clue that these brownies were flour-less and made with black beans.  Yes, you read that correctly. Black bean brownies.  I promise you they are like no brownie you have had before, they are even better.  I have made black bean brownies for a handful of my friends, never telling them what is in the brownies until after the taste test.  They are always shocked when I reveal the secret ingredient.  You cannot taste the beans, which allow the brownies to stay moist and delicious for many days after baking. The beans add a nice bit of protein too!
The recipe is from WholeFoods (second in line to Trader Joes on my list of favorite grocery stores) and is gluten free.  I add a few extra chocolate chips because I don't add the nuts.  I don't know if I have ever told you this before, but I cannot stand nuts in my brownies.  I don't know how or when this started, but I know one thing: I become slightly majorly disappointed when I bite into a brownie and find nuts.  If you ever make me brownies, forget the nuts.
As I have mentioned in many previous posts, I do not have a food processor (yet).  I used my blender and this worked just fine!

Ingredients

1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added black beans, drained and rinsed
3 large eggs
1/3 cup melted butter, more for the baking dish
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons cane sugar
1/2 cup gluten-free semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Butter an 8-inch baking pan. Place the black beans, eggs, melted butter, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla extract and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth. Remove the blade and gently stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Transfer mixture to the prepared pan. Bake the brownies for 30 to 35 minutes, or until just set in the center. Cool before cutting into squares.

Nutrition

Per serving (1 brownie/about 2oz/60g-wt.): 160 calories (80 from fat), 9g total fat, 4g saturated fat, 50mg cholesterol, 35mg sodium, 17g total carbohydrate (2g dietary fiber, 12g sugar), 4g protein

I hate to say I told you so, but they look just like any other brownie...

I only have one picture of the batch of brownies I made last week, they disappeared before I got the chance to take more. Whoops.  Can I make it up to you with a little Van Morrison?  Enjoy the outdated music video AND the hair.

Only get better with time...

I made these cookies almost two weeks ago and just realized I forgot to write about them!  They definitely deserve their very own post, as they have moved onto my top 5 favorite cookie list. If you are a cookie, you know it's a huge feat to make my top 5 cookie list and therefore, I feel compelled to give you the recipe.

I came across these banana chip cookies one afternoon as I was browsing through some recipes on my favorite all-natural cooking blog written by Heidi Swanson on www.101cookbooks.com.  Her blog is filled with information regarding natural cooking and baking alternatives and she provides great advice on how to stock your pantry with wholesome, all natural ingredients.  Not to mention, she is a fabulous photographer.  I hate to admit that I often look at her site and lose total track of time.  This may be why I have resisted the strong urge to buy her cookbook; it would be read more than any of my text books and my grocery bill would quadruple.  I shouldn't even mention the fact that she is currently working on her second cookbook Super Natural Everday...
When I first took these cookies out of the oven, I was a bit disappointed by their lack of flavor (I also felt this way when I sampled the cookie dough prior to baking.  Yes, I always sample dough when I am baking cookies, who doesn't?)  As they cooled, their flavor became better and they were stellar by the next day!  I guess this goes to show, somethings only get better with time....I had never considered cookies to be one of them.

Banana Chip Cookies (Heidi Swanson)

1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (see head notes)
1/2 cup (toasted) wheat germ
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup natural cane sugar (or brown sugar)
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup banana chips, loosely chopped
1 cup chocolate chips
2/3 cup toasted walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, racks in middle/upper middle. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Whisk together the flour, wheat germ, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, or stand mixer, beat the butter until lightly and fluffy, then beat in the sugar until it is the consistency of a thick frosting. Beat in the eggs one at a time, incorporating each fully before adding the next, and scraping down the sides of the bowl a few times along the way (important!). Stir in the vanilla. Add the reserved flour mix in two increments, stirring/mixing a bit between each addition (but not too much). By hand, stir in the banana chips, chocolate chips and walnuts - mix just until everything is evenly distributed.
Drop 1 heaping tablespoon of dough for each cookie onto the prepared baking sheets 2 inches apart and bake for about 7 - 8 minutes, until barely golden on top and bottom. Resist over baking, they will come out dry and not as tasty. Cook on racks.
Make about 24 cookies.

I must apologize to you once again for these less-than-blog-worthy photos of the cookies that I took on my point and shoot.  I have not picked up my beloved Canon D20 in more than 5 weeks now and that kills me.  I promise with my whole heart that I will get back in the photography game and take better pictures soon.  Even if you don't really care, I DO and I'm disappointed that I have not taken time to engage in one of my favorite activities: taking photographs. I feel as if part of me has been missing over the last month, but don't worry- I'm coming back.

Baking, it's good for your soul

I arrived home from a long workout at the Y this afternoon feeling absolutely exhausted from a 70 minute workout on the bike and a 2,000 yard pool session.  I have been working on my graduate school applications non stop the past few days, I could probably recite my statement of purpose to you from memory.  My point?  I felt a need to spend some time in the kitchen, something that always helps me relax and unwind.  I have been wanting to tackle homemade bread for a while now, but it is something that requires a great deal of time.  I haven't had a chunk of time where I have been around my apartment for the long period of time required for the bread making process, but this afternoon provided the perfect opportunity.  The recipe I used was from the Williams Sonoma Essentials of Baking cookbook that my Mom gave both my sister and I four years ago for Christmas.  This was my very first cookbook and is a wonderful resource to have in any kitchen. I paged through it last night and decided to make Oatmeal-Molasses Bread.  After I began the process, I was not able to leave all afternoon, but let me tell you, it was totally-completely-absolutely-one hundred percent worth it.  I don't know what words to use to describe this bread, so I will stick with out of this world. I just cut into the first loaf and enjoyed a slice that was still slightly warm from the oven.  This bread is moist, dense, and melts in your mouth.  I would be lying if I said I had plans on eating anything other than this bread all weekend. I took a few pictures this afternoon but now that the bread is out of the oven, it is dark outside and I just cannot bare to take a picture of it in anything other than natural day light. I feel as though I would be letting this bread down if I posted a less than beautiful picture of the finished product and heaven forbid, I don't want to do that.

Mixing in the flour

After kneading for 6 minutes-my arms were tired!

The bread, ready to rise in the oiled bowl.

Oatmeal-Molasses Bread (from Williams Sonoma, Essentials of Baking, page 49)
2 1/3 cups water
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats, plus extra for topping the loaves
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup unsulfured molasses
2 packages active dry yeast
5-6 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading
2 teaspoons sea salt

In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil.  Put the oats into a heatproof bowl, and pour the water over the oats.  Add the butter and molasses, and let the mixture cool to warm (105-115 degrees).  In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm oat mixture and let stand for five minutes.  Using a wooden spoon, stir in 3 cups of the flour and the salt, mixing well.  Add the remaining flour as needed to make a soft dough. Using a plastic pastry scraper, scrape the dough out of the bowl onto a floured work surface.  Knead until it is smooth and elastic, dusting the work surface with only enough flour to keep the dough from sticking, 5-7 minutes.  Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to a lightly oiled bowl.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm, darft-free spot until it double in bulk, about 1 hour.
Butter two 9-by-5 inch loaf pans.  Punch down the dough and, using the pastry scraper, scrape it out onto a clean work surface.  Cut it in half with a sharp knife or bench scraper.
For each half, evenly flatten the dough with the heel of your hand.  Roll the top third down onto itself and seal it by pushing it gently with the heel of your hand.  Continue rolling and sealing the dough until you have an oval log.  Place the logs, seam side down, in the prepared laof pans.  Press on them to flatten them evenly into the pans.  Cover loosely with a kitchen towel and let them rise in a warm, draft-free spot until they double in size, about 45-60 mintues.
Position a rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat to 375 degrees.  Mist the tops of the loaves with water.  Sprinkle the tops with a generous handful of oats.  Bake until they are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on top, 40-45 minutes.  Carefully remove the loaves from the pans and let cool completely on wire racks before slicing.