Banana Bread + Cookies = AWESOME

 !BEHOLD!

You know when you've got those bananas that you really meant to eat with, like, cereal (oh, wait, I virtually never buy cereal) or oatmeal that you've put cocoa powder in with sugar (nommmm) or greek yogurt (double nommm)? And then you forget or you work a lot or something and next thing you know, they are certainly not really eating material and more baking material? So you stick them in the freezer and then forget and then, one day, when you have next to nothing to bake with...you take them out, stick them in a bowl so as they thaw and get so gross looking and suddenly realize you have nothing to bake with?

Yes, I knew you would.

I did this, clearly, but it went very well because as it worked out, I wanted to try my hand at banana bread cookies. Originally planned as banana cookies, but this is what happened and it was damn good. You, too, can make these utterly delicious things that your roommates and friends will devour with the utmost glee.

You will need:

- two totally way too ripe bananas
- one cup flour
- half cup sugar
- 1.5 teaspoons vanilla
- teaspoon baking powder
- a few shakes of salt
- one stick butter, softened
- one tablespoon cocoa powder

Mix the sugar and butter together, add vanilla and mix until completely mixed together. Mix in bananas and stir until well combined.  Blend in cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and flour. You may need more flour/sugar.

Grease a baking sheet and put a spoonful of the dough just like, what, an inch apart? Bake for about ten minutes at 375 F. Remove, put on cooling sheet, burn your mouth on the first one.

Enjoy!

June Daring Cooks - Pate!

 Yes. I know. It should be upside down. Well. It isn't. 

And there is no picture of that, since I traveled like this and then everyone ate it like heathens.

Gosh, heathens must eat so well.

It was amazing, what happened for this month's challenge.

I did it with plenty of time to spare! A vegetarian friend of mine was having a cook-out and I needed something to bring and like lighting striking the Jesus statue on I-75 (too soon?), the idea came, took flame, and was quickly put into action.

Our hostesses this month, Evelyne of Cheap Ethnic Eatz, and Valerie of a The Chocolate Bunny, chose delicious pate with freshly baked bread as their June Daring Cook’s challenge! They’ve provided us with 4 different pate recipes to choose from and are allowing us to go wild with our homemade bread choice.

Now, some of these choices were your standard liver pate, chicken pate, and a seafood pate. I honestly had no intention of touching a liver and so was pretty pleased by the vegetarianism as an excuse. Seriously, though, everyone destroyed this. They loved it. I'm thrilled. There are no photos of it upside down as, well, I said destroyed. I meant destroyed. No joke.

Well played, crew!

Tricolor Vegetable Pâté
Yields one 25 by 12,5 cm (10 by 5 inch) terrine or loaf pan
Line your pan with plastic wrap, overlapping sides.

White Bean Layer
2 x 15-ounce / 900 ml cans cannellini (white kidney beans), rinsed, drained thoroughly
1 tbsp / 15 ml fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp / 15 ml olive oil
1 tbsp / 15 ml minced fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
2 garlic cloves, pressed
Mash beans in large bowl. Add lemon juice, olive oil, oregano and garlic and blend until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread bean mixture evenly on bottom of prepared pan.
 
Red Pepper Layer
7-ounce / 210 ml jar roasted red bell peppers, drained, chopped
3/4 cup / 180 ml crumbled feta cheese (about 4 ounces)


Pesto Layer
2 garlic cloves
1 cup / 240 ml fresh basil leaves
1 cup / 240 ml fresh Italian parsley leaves
1/4 cup / 60 ml toasted pine nuts
3 tbsp / 45 ml olive oil
1/2 cup / 120 ml low-fat ricotta cheese

Mince garlic in processor. Add basil, parsley and pine nuts and mince. With machine running, gradually add oil through feed tube and process until smooth. Mix in ricotta. Spread pesto evenly over red pepper layer.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
To unmold, invert pâté onto serving platter. Peel off plastic wrap from pâté.

I served mine with basil-swirled bread, based off my previously mentioned bread recipe. 
I also bought garlic bread chips and brought those. You know. 'Cause it's the right thing to do. Seriously, though, anything would taste good in this. I'd eat this off of a pinecone.