Restoration Place

Banana Split Muffins

I first tasted delicious Banana Split Muffins at my friend Denice's years ago, in my long-ago Ohio days. She always made the best homemade bread and other baked goodies (and still does, plus lots of other great food). I had completely forgotten about the muffins until recently, when she linked to her recipe (a slightly modified version of her friend's) on Facebook.

With children looking over my shoulder at the recipe and begging to give it a try, overripe bananas on the kitchen counter, and just barely enough maraschino cherries in the fridge, we gave it a whirl. We liked the results.

When the muffins came out of the oven, the children immediately requested Tea and Reading, since we had the "goods" to go with it. Doesn't take much to convince me to delay kitchen clean-up and laundry for Tea and Reading. 

When we made the muffins, we didn't have mini chocolate chips, but we were able to substitute Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips, which Maggie immediately volunteered to chop into small pieces. I know why she volunteered. Those things are addictive!

The recipe also calls for mayonnaise, but don't be put off by this. There was absolutely no flavor of mayonnaise in the muffins, only sweet, moist goodness. I added a teaspoon of vanilla, which isn't in the original recipe. Just seemed like it would be a good addition. Next time, I think I'll add some fresh, chopped pineapple. And quadruple the recipe. 

Thanks again, Denice!

Orange Cream Popsicles

These orange cream popsicles take me right back to the hot summer of 1974 when I would sprint barefoot down the hot, bubbly, black asphalt on Elmcrest drive to the ice cream truck to buy a creamy, icy treat.

I discovered the recipe in my new favorite cookbook, Williams-Sonoma Family Meals: Creating Traditions in the Kitchen:

 

I can't share the exact (sorry) recipe from Family Meals that I used to make the Orange Cream Popsicles, but I can provide you with a link to a similar one below.

I combined high-quality vanilla ice cream with frozen orange juice concentrate in my stand mixer, poured it into this 8.5 x 11 (inches) glass pan lined with plastic wrap, froze it overnight, and sliced it into 10 rectangular popsicles, more than enough for my crew and friends:

After lifting each popsicle out of the pan, I inserted wooden popsicle sticks (also known as craft sticks) into the bottom of each one:

They melted very quickly in the 80 degree F heat, so it was lick fast or plop it into a bowl and use a spoon:

 

Here's a version to try, sans the egg (which is mysteriously mentioned in the instructions, but not in the list of ingredients): Homemade Orange Creamsicle.

Next time I make these, I'll skip lining the glass baking dish with plastic wrap and cover the dish with foil instead.

Banana Pudding

During my May lull I'm going to be doing more of my favorite things. One of those things is to try out new recipes and to make lots of our traditional favorites. Banana Pudding is at the top of the favorite dessert list.

I grew up eating Banana Pudding made by my Kentucky grandma, Momma. I used to always use her recipe, which I hastily scratched out on a piece of scrap paper when she verbally shared it with me in her kitchen years ago. But now I use the Joy of Cooking version, which tastes just the same to me. When I double the recipe, there's more than enough for everyone in my family that evening and plenty left over for a snack the next day.

***recipe removed to comply with copyright***

The photos above show last night's Banana Pudding, which--just to remind you--is the above recipe doubled. I didn't have enough vanilla wafers (only had one box, not two), barely had enough cornstarch (the boys keep using the cornstarch for experiments), and didn't have a carton of whipping cream to make the usual homemade whipping cream (used the spray can version which I happened to have on hand). But what I did have turned out a yummy pudding. The children were begging to have it for breakfast this morning!

Waffles for Breakfast

We've rediscovered waffles. Honestly, the children have been asking me for waffles for weeks and I've begged off. Most mornings we have a cooked breakfast; breakfast cereal is reserved as a just-before-bedtime snack around here.

So why not waffles? It's because I hate cleaning the waffle machine, so I usually wipe it off quickly after making waffles and shove it away, and then when I retrieve it to make waffles the next time, it doesn't look very clean. A-hem. And I don't feel like cleaning it to make a batch. So I don't make the waffles.

Begging won out this morning and I cleaned the waffle maker. We topped the waffles with butter, maple syrup, whipped cream, and a dusting of nutmeg. This is winter morning eating. They were eaten with orange juice and Sugar Cookie Sleigh ride tea.

Here's the recipe:

2 cups flour (I use a combination of white unbleached and something else--spelt, wheat, or a whole-grain mixture)

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 eggs, separated (use only the yolks)

1 1/2 cups whole milk

5 tablespoons melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla (or cinnamon or whatever flavoring)

Toss-ins as desired such as chocolate chips, bananas, chopped nuts

Mix the liquids and dry ingredients in separate bowls, then combine. Ladle into into well-oiled waffle iron sections.

The recipe is a modified version of one I found in the Southern food section at About.com.

Old-Fashioned Chocolate Pudding

Ben has been asking me to make chocolate pudding for weeks. I finally felt too bad to say, "Not right now, sweetheart, but soon!" for the 25th time, so yesterday I just did it.

The recipe comes from The Joy of Cooking, so it's not a gourmet version, but boy, it's the real thing!

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Old-Fashioned Chocolate Pudding

4 Servings

Have ready a 3-cup bowl or mold or four 5-to-6-ounce cups or ramekins. If unmolding the pudding, oil the small molds.

Combine in a medium heavy saucepan:

1 3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped                                                        1/8 teaspoon salt

Heat over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate is melted. Mix together until smooth:

3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup milk

Stir slowly into the hot milk mixture. Stirring constantly, heat over medium heat until the mixture just comes to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low, stirring briskly, bring to a simmer, and continue to cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in:

1 teaspoon vanilla

**I tripled the recipe to make sure there was a large portion for all six of us, plus some left over.

Enjoy!

Brown Sugar & Spice Cutout Cookies

Inspired by As We Walk's Pumpkin Butterscotch Cookies, but lacking both the pumpkin and butterscotch chips, we made Brown Sugar & Spice Cutout Cookies instead.

Making cookies here is always--ahem--more than I expect. This time there was much examination of the various ingredients with the hand-held microscope, way too much flour and brown sugar on the floor (in which the dogs delighted, and the children kept slipping), and cookie dough on the ceiling, but the results were wonderful!

  

 

 

We doubled the recipe and added in two teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice. The cookies taste like a mild gingerbread cookie. We had planned to make frosting, but over the course of a couple days they all got eaten up during tea and and reading time before we could get to it. Maybe next time.

Friday Snow Brunch

When the children woke up this morning and saw a couple of inches of snow we declared a "snow morning" instead of our regular routine and they immediately got ready and went out to play.

There was enough fresh, clean snow on the slide of the play set to make snow ice cream (can you believe we haven't made it yet this winter?) and so when they were done playing, we assembled our Friday brunch. The menu: vanilla snow ice cream, hot chocolate with marshmallow fluff or whipped cream and sprinkles, and chocolate-macadamia nut biscotti.

Preparing to make the snow ice cream:

Snow Ice Cream

5 cups clean snow
1 cup evaporated milk or whole milk
1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla

Cream together the milk, sugar and vanilla, then slowly mix into snow. Beat or stir until thoroughly mixed.

Here we're ready to dig in and listen to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe:

And for family who may be reading this post...

Tortilla Soup

This time of year I make a big pot of tortilla soup every couple of weeks and freeze whatever is leftover. Reheated soup is delicious!

Tortilla Soup

1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 quart chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
1 28 ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
4 cups chopped chicken, optional
1 10 ounce package frozen sweet corn
2 4 ounce diced green chile peppers
1 15.5 ounce can black beans
3 tablespoons butter or olive oil

In a large pot (such as a 5 quart Dutch oven) saute in butter or olive oil the onion, garlic, and cumin for about 5 minutes or until tender. Add broth, undrained tomatoes, chicken corn, beans, and undrained chile peppers. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste. Top with garnish such as sour cream, chopped cilantro and shredded Monterey Jack cheese. Pass the hot sauce for the bold. Serve with tortilla chips.

Soft & Buttery Christmas Sugar Cookies

These are our very favorite Christmas sugar cookies. The recipe was shared with me by my dear Texas friend. These are soft, yummy melt-in-the-mouth cookies because confectioner's sugar replaces granulated in the recipe. Real buttery, too. Definitely not the cardboard-hard ones we've been so used to eating all these years. We're finally getting around to making them today as some of us haven't been feeling very well the last couple of days. And nobody wants to be left out of making special cookies!

Sugar Cookies
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 1/2 cups all purpose or whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
granulated sugar for sprinkling

Mix powdered sugar, butter, egg, vanilla and almond extract. Mix in flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Heat oven to 375 F. Divide dough into halves. Roll each half 3/16 of an inch thick. Cut into shapes. Sprinkle granulated sugar. Bake until edges are light brown, 7-8 minutes. Makes 5 dozen 2-inch cookies. Note: I always double the recipe and I roll the dough thicker than 3/16 of an inch thick.

Now, off to make a couple batches with the children. I'll post some photos later.

Eggless Eggnog...Thanks to Five in a Row

Not that we don't enjoy the traditional egg version, but this is so very good and fun to make. I was first introduced to eggless eggnog through the fun Five in a Row curriculum; specifically the Five in a Row Holiday: Through the Seasons book. (The book appears to be out of print; perhaps it will be made available in an e-book version like their other books and curriculum guides.)

As a newish mother of a two-year-old and a baby, living in Texas far from family and close friends--too far to easily gather together for holidays--I was searching for ways to create our own family traditions. Books like those offered through Five in a Row helped tremendously, for they provided ideas for family-friendly activities and recipes which I wasn't able to create on my own.**please see note below**

Of course I can't share the original Five in a Row Holiday: Through the Seasons eggless eggnog recipe here, but I can share a different version of it, and it's the version I now prefer to use:

Eggless Eggnog
1 3.5 ounce package instant French vanilla pudding
1 1/2 quarts whole milk
2 1/2 teaspoons rum flavored extract
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

In a large bowl combine the pudding mix with 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, two cups of milk, and following package directions, allow to chill for 5 minutes. Stir into the pudding mixture the rum flavoring and nutmeg, then slowly mix in the remaining 4 cups of milk until the mixture is a thick but drinkable consistency. Chill until ready to serve. Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with nutmeg. Makes 8-6 ounce servings.

My oldest is now 10 and each year as we're making our Thanksgiving plans she reminds me, "Don't forget the eggless eggnog, Mom!" Thanks, Five in a Row, for contributing to our simple but meaningful family traditions.

**Note: Though at the time my oldest at the age of 2 wasn't old enough for Five in a Row I had already begun to acquire the wonderful picture books that are used in the curriculum and was reading them to her regularly. We did however enjoy the age-appropriate Before Five in a Row which is the reading and activity guide for 2 to 4 year olds.

UPDATE: Dawn has kindly informed me that Five in a Row Holiday: Through the Seasons is available in digital format here.