Fruit Kabobs

For Easter, my mom made us a special treat -- fruit kabobs that you self assemble from this adorable watermelon fruit basket!  

It was a fun afternoon treat to enjoy the skewers filled with a variety of fresh fruit.  Something different for a change -- would be a hit at a party or even for a fun snack with kids (or adults who happen to be big kids).  

Fruit Kabobs

Pineapple

Kiwi

Grapes

Cantaloup balls

Strawberry

Watermelon

Other fruit as desired

Wooden skewers

Dice all the fruit into large 1-2 inch cubes.  Strawberries and grapes likely don't need any other prep than to be taken off of the stems and for strawberries, removing the tops.  

Place all the fruit in a large bowl.  If desired, carve out a basket from a personal-sized watermelon.  Then, allow each person to build their own kabob.  

Serve fresh and enjoy!

Linked to: What's on Your Plate, Works for Me Wednesday

Raspberry Blueberry Banana Muffins

A simple, fantastic breakfast (or afternoon snack).

Bananas.

Raspberries.

Blueberries.

Applesauce.

Whole Wheat Flour.

Honey.  

The list of goodness in these muffins just grows and grows.  Hope you enjoy them too.  

Raspberry Blueberry Banana Muffins - Inspired by Bake for Happy Kids

1 C white whole wheat flour
1 C whole wheat flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 C honey
1 medium overripe banana, mashed
2 eggs
1/4 C applesauce
1/2 C milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 C blueberries
1 C raspberries

Begin by combining the flours, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

Mash up the banana.

Add to the mashed banana, the applesauce, eggs, milk and vanilla.  Stir well.

Mix the moist ingredients together with the dry ones.

Then, stir in the berries.

Scoop into lightly greased muffin tins; fill 2/3 of the way full.

Bake at 350 for 20-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, and muffins are lightly browned on the top.

Makes 12 muffins + 1 mini loaf

Linked to: Made from Scratch Tuesday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Muffin Monday, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Mouthwatering Monday, Your Recipe, My Kitchen

Fruit Dip

This is my sister's favorite dip.  It's not very "healthy" for you... but, it's a treat.  It's excellent with any kind of fruit you can think of -- but really good with strawberries, kiwi and apples!

Fruit Dip - Mom

1 jar (15 oz) marshmallow cream
1 pkg. (8oz) cream cheese

Whip these two ingredients together and refrigerate.

Yep, it's that easy.

:)

Enjoy!

Gluten-Free Banana Bread

About 2 years ago, my MIL was diagnosed with celiac. This means she can't have any wheat (or barley), and dairy. While she'd been dairy-free for years, going wheat free has been an adventure. One recipe she shared with me while visiting for Christmas was for this gluten-free banana bread.

Doesn't it look wonderful?!
My MIL makes this bread often, and enjoys it for breakfast.



Gluten Free Banana Bread - From my MIL

2 C gluten-free flour mix*
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
1/8 tsp. salt
1 stick unsalted butter (try replacing 1/4 with apple sauce)
1 C sugar (you can use brown sugar and reduce to 3/4 C)
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas; peeled and mashed

*My MIL buys GF flour in bulk --



So this is what we used in the banana bread.

First, combine the flour, soda, salt and xanthan gum in a large bowl. Mix well.



Meanwhile, using a mixer, cream together butter (or margarine/shortening in my MIL's case) and sugar.



Add eggs, one at a time.

While the egg/sugar mixture mixes... mash up the bananas.



Add the bananas to the sugar blend.



Then, mix in the GF flour blend.



Pour batter into one greased 9x5 bread pan, or into 2 smaller loaf pans.



Bake at 350 for 1 hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean.



This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays.

Banana and dried cranberry tea cake

I know, I know... Another banana post in less than a month – please bear with me and my full-of-bananas-freezer. :D

This recipe comes from a book a bought several months ago but only recently became addicted to – and with a whole chapter devoted to bananas, I’ll be using it again soon. :D

Banana and dried cranberry tea cake

• 2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
• 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¾ cup (83g) dried cranberries, coarsely chopped if too large
• 8 tablespoons (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons (28g) shortening, room temperature
• 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cups mashed ripe bananas blended with ¼ cup sour cream – I used yogurt

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F. Butter the insides of a 22.5x12.5x7.5cm (9x5x3in) loaf pan* and dust with flour, tapping out the excess.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon onto a medium bowl. In a small bowl, toss the cranberries with 1 teaspoon of the sifted mixture.

Cream butter and shortening in the large bowl of an electric mixer on moderate speed for 2 minutes. Add the granulated sugar and beat for 2 minutes longer. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, blending well after each addition. Blend in the vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl frequently with a rubber spatula to keep the batter even-textured.

On low speed, alternately add the sifted mixture in three additions, with the mashed bananas-sour cream blend in two additions, beginning and ending with the sifted ingredients. Stir in the cranberries. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, mounding it slightly in the center.

Bake the tea cake for 55 minutes or until risen, set and golden and a wooden pick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached to it. Cool the loaf in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes, unmold it onto another rack and cool completely – turn the cake so the top is upwards. Dust with icing sugar.

Let the tea cake mellow for at least 2 hour before slicing it.
Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

* I halved the recipe, used a 8x19x5cm loaf pan and baked the cake for 30 minutes

Makes about 12 slices

Light Hawaiian Banana Bread

My mom has written on this recipe that she first made it in 1996 and that my sister likes it :-) Back then, that meant the recipe was a keeper (my sister was a little picky bird eater when she was young).



I happen to agree that this recipe is very tasty. Light, moist and yummy. Enjoy!




Light Hawaiian Banana Bread - Mom

3/4 C sugar
1 T butter
1/3 C applesauce
3 mashed bananas (about 1 C)
1 egg + 1 egg white
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 C flour*
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda

Cream together sugar, butter, and applesauce. Then, blend in the bananas, eggs and vanilla.



Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda. Fold into the banana bread mixture until just combined.



Then, pour into a grease 9x5 loaf pan (or two smaller ones).



Sprinkle the top with coarse sugar, if desired.

Bake at 350 for 55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center.



Allow to cool for ~5 minutes in the bread pan, and then remove to cool on a wire wrack.





*You can use 1 C whole wheat, 3/4 C white flour

I don't know about you, but I love a crunchy top on my bread... to preserve this wonderful feature, my sister told me to simply wrap the bottom of your loaf in tinfoil, partially up to the top, but leave the top exposed to the air to maintain the crunch :) That's my kitchen tip for today!

This post is also linked to:

• Foodie Friday

Teacup banana puddings

With all this heat, fruit goes ripe in no time – as much as Joao and I love bananas (and eat them on a daily basis) it is impossible to go through a bunch in 2-3 days.

These teacup puddings looked adorable on the magazine – I cannot resist bananas and caramel together – and were also a perfect way to use the egg whites I had left from making ice cream.

Teacup banana pudding

• 1 ½ tablespoons (21g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup (175g) brown sugar, packed
• ¼ cup (60m) water*
• 2 bananas, thinly sliced (lengthwise)
• ½ cup + ½ tablespoon (75g) all purpose flour
• 1 cup + 1 tablespoon (150g) icing sugar
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ¾ cup (75g) almond meal (ground almonds)
• 3 egg whites
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 ½ tablespoons (77g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F; butter well four 1-cup (240ml) capacity ovenproof teacups.

Place the butter (21g), brown sugar and water in a small saucepan over low heat and stir until sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil and cook for 3-4 minutes or until the sauce is syrupy. Set aside.

Place slices of the banana in prepared teacups. Spoon half the sauce over the bananas, place the teacups on a baking tray. Set aside.

Sift the flour, icing sugar and baking powder into a medium bowl and mix in the almond meal. Add the egg whites, vanilla and melted butter and stir to combine. Spoon the mixture over the bananas and bake for 20 minutes or until golden and cooked when tested with a skewer. Invert the puddings onto plates and serve with the remaining sauce.

* next time I make these, I’ll be using cream instead of water to make the caramel – with water, it turned out too dark and too runny

Makes 4