guest blogger: yummy banana turons

Guest Blogger: ChefBliss.com

Wonderfully simple: cut banana, place on loompia or won ton wrapper.

Add sweetener: top picture is agave, above is caramel sauce.

Fry on both sides until crispy and golden brown. I used coconut oil.

Let cool just enough so you don't burn your tongue and Enjoy!

Thank you Tangled Noodle. It was fun and delicious!

Recently Tangled Noodle showed us how to make these, and since they reminded me of a sweet treat I used to eat as a kid in Brazil, I had to try them! I made small ones because we had just finished a big dinner. I made them three ways: 3 with agave (1 had cinnamon), 2 with caramel sauce, 1 with maple syrup. They were very tasty and I would definitely make these again! Maybe next time I will roll them in cinnamon and sugar. So I am thrilled to present this weeks FABULOUS RECIPE award to Tangled Noodle! Thank you for sharing with us!

Enjoy!

chefbliss's fabulous pie crust & apple pie

Lepkugen's Pie Crust:

• 2-1/4 cup flour (I used a combination of 1 3/4 c unbleached white flower and 1/2 cup oat flour)
• 1 cup coconut oil, chilled for 15 minutes
• 1/2 tsp salt, optional
• 1 TB agave (optional: honey)
  
• Ice cold water
• Rice milk (or other milk), optional but highly recommended. It can make all the difference in the texture and workability of the crust.
  

The easiest way to measure coconut oil is to melt it or soften it well, pour into a 1 cup measuring cup and allow to harden. Chill for 15 minutes tops. Using a knife (butter knife should be fine) chop into chunks. Add to flour and salt mixture in a food processor. Pulse to combine. You will see the coconut oil start to break down, but it will not form pea size balls like butter does.

Add ice cold water by tablespoons into the food processor, pulsing after each addition or two. I used a total of 8 TB and 2 TB rice milk, but 10 TB water is fine. For ice cold water: place a few ice cubes in a cup, add cold water. Spoon out the chilled water with a tablespoon measuring spoon. In the middle of adding the water, add 1 tablespoon agave or honey. As soon as your dough forms you are ready. The dough should be moist and pliable.

No refrigeration is necessary. Roll out and use for your pie!

The dough:

The bottom shell:

Apple filling:

Peel, core and chop approximately 10 medium size apples into bite size chunks. Mix with:

• 1 TB orange zest (optional)
• 1/4 cup orange juice (approx. 1/2 orange) (optional)
• 1/4 cup agave
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup corn starch
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp all spice

You may leave out the orange zest, juice or both. Place the top crust on. I like to roll the bottom crust up and pinch them together to give it a rolled/braided look. It's a pie, make it fun. With a knife make roughly four slits in the top crust. Place the pie pan on a baking sheet to catch any drippings (this pie had none). Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Pile them high:

Ready for the oven:

The finished pie:

Notice how the crust is golden brown. With coconut oil you will not experience the burning with the crust as quickly as you would with a butter crust. Also, in my first attempt this day I only used 4 tablespoons of ice cold water, then I put the "finished" dough into the fridge for two hours. I removed it from the fridge but three hours later it was still rather solid from the coconut oil. That is why I don't recommend refrigerating it unless you need to. It's not a necessary step. I went back to the drawing board and came up with the above recipe. The crust was smooth, doughy, pliable, moist and incredibly easy to work with. I used all organic ingredients in this recipe and it's dairy free. And delicious. Enjoy!

slow cooker applesauce

For this batch I peeled and chopped 10 medium to large apples. This time I used the slow cooker on a medium-low setting. Put them in the slow cooker, and let them sit.

After about six hours I stirred and got this:

A nice golden-red color, extremely different from the light-golden color when cooked on the stove. Fabulous texture, soft and almost buttery, but not mushy. We usually like our applesauce "lumpy". This was smooth but not a processed smoothness like store bought and it was fantastic. It was naturally sweet and wonderful. So with my last ten pounds of apples guess what I'm doing?

best banana bread recipe? you decide!

With my last batch of mushy bananas I made the following banana bread. It was good, my step-daughter loved it and that's a good sign. It was moist and almost sticky without being sticky. To be fair I altered the recipe just a smidge, and used one cup all purpose whole wheat flour and a half cup of oat flour. Next time I am going to alter the flours again and see how the results are. But it was yummy!

"Banana Bread

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 large, ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup butter, melted

Grease and flour loaf pans. The original recipe called for two 7 x 3 inch loaf pans but Steph prefers four mini loaf pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, whisk together flour, soda, salt and sugar. Mix in the slightly beaten eggs and mashed bananas. Slowly stir in the melted butter just until incorporated. Pour into prepared pans. Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center. If you use the mini loaf pans, adjust to about 30 minutes. Just take a peek and if the top is starting to brown and looks cooked, try the toothpick to test for doneness. Let cool in pans for 5 minutes then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.

Additional Thoughts:

- Banana size varies drastically. Today I used the largest I have used in the past and the bread was so moist and flavorful. If you have really small bananas, add an extra half.

- What is a ripe banana? Well, I like mine almost all brown with some specs of yellow. Once I used all brown and it smelled a bit like alcohol. I think they were fermenting and on their way to banana liqueur

- Mash bananas well with a potato masher or fork but leave some small chunks. Don’t go all the way to baby food consistency.

- Do NOT over mix this batter. I would not use an electric mixer - just a few circles of the wrist while incorporating the ingredients.

- Do NOT over bake. The moist, banana-y center should be soft and crumbly.

- Let the bread cool completely before storing. The edges and outside will get sticky and icky if you wrap it or put it in a ziploc too soon.

thanks to http://whippedtheblog.com/2008/01/01/my-favorite-banana-bread-recipe/ "