A couple of weekends ago, Kevin and I went to a chocolate and beer tasting at the Taza Chocolate factory store in Somerville . The event was put on by Taza Chocolate and Drink Craft Beer, and featured four beer and chocolate tastings, as well as many chocolate samples along the way. The event was open to the public, and all proceeds went to The Greater Boston Food Bank –  I found it a pretty great way to spend a Saturday afternoon, drinking beer, eating chocolate, and giving to charity all in one. After we’d made our way through all of the samples, we picked up a few key pieces of Taza merchandise, including a tin of chocolate covered cocoa nibs, and a bottle of their Chocolate Extract. I wanted to bake with the cocoa nibs right away, so I set out to find the perfect recipe.

The cocoa nibs have a really interesting, unique flavor, and so I wanted to pick a recipe that would showcase their flavor and not overpower it. I picked this recipe, because I love cocoa brownies, and it seemed like a good vehicle for the cocoa nibs.

The brownies are beautiful, in addition to being completely delicious. To create the delicate crust on top, you bring the sugar and butter to a near-boil before mixing all of the ingredients together, and I love the consistency contrast the crust provides. Inside the brownies are chewy and moist, and laden with lots of extra dark chocolate chips and dark chocolate covered cocoa nibs. All of the cocoa powder in the batter makes the flavor extra chocolate-y and pure, which I love love love. You can tell from the super dark color that these are a chocolate lover’s dream!

We devoured the brownies straight out of the oven, and for many happy nights afterwards. I had been craving brownies for weeks, so these were a welcome addition to our household. They keep at room temperature for a couple of days, but are also great heated up, and would do well in the freezer. Since we had just purchased the chocolate extract I added that to the brownies with some vanilla, and removed the espresso powder, but I would love to try these brownies again just as the recipe is written. It’s definitely a keeper!

Do you have a go-to brownie recipe?

Yummy-Nib Brownies 
adapted slightly from King Arthur Flour

1 cup unsalted butter
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cup cocoa powder (darker will give a richer flavor)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups (12-oz bag) chocolate chips (I used Guittard Bittersweet Chips)
1/2 cups cocoa nibs (I used chocolate covered Taza Cocoa Nibs)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 9″ x 13″ pan with parchment paper so it comes up each of the shorter sides (butter the two other sides)

1) Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the sugar and heat until the mixture is just about to boil. This will give the brownies a crispy top crust. Transfer to a mixing bowl and cool slightly. (If you don’t let it cool enough, the chocolate chips will melt when you add them later!)

2) With a wooden spoon, stir in the cocoa, salt, baking powder and vanilla. Add the eggs one by one, beating until smooth and shiny. Add the flour, mix gently until it’s almost completely incorporated. Add the chips and the cocoa nibs until combined.

3) Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 28-30 minutes. Brownies are done when the top is firm and slightly puffed and set on the edges, and a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pan completely before cutting.

Related posts:

1. Outrageous Oreo Brownies
2. Port Ganache-Glazed Brownies with Dried Cherries
3. Cheesecake Brownies

One thing I am grateful for is to live with someone who has a great creative mind when talking about food. I would not have guessed when I started dating Kevin that he would be the muse to my baking. Since I started my new job with much longer days, he’s been making dinner for us pretty much every evening, and I’m always pleasantly surprised at what I come home to eat! A lot of the times when I’m in the kitchen baking I have a plan and a recipe and I’m armed and ready, but there are times when I need an idea or some inspiration, and he comes to the rescue. It’s a pretty great quality, and pretty useful too – you have him to thank for these incredible pancakes!

Last Saturday he requested lemon ricotta pancakes for breakfast Sunday, which is typically our lazy day, so that seemed like a great idea. We even had most of the ingredients on hand, which is a rarity, but I think it means these pancakes were meant to be. Kevin picked up some fresh blueberries and blackberries Sunday morning, and we got to work.

I’ve made lemon ricotta pancakes before, but not like these. Typically I find ricotta weighs the batter down, and makes the pancakes flat and dense, but these were ultra-puffy and not too dense at all. They are almost more cake-like in texture, but still awfully moist. The berry sauce that accompanies them is really flavorful and vibrant, and not too sweet which I enjoyed. You can of course make the syrup as sweet as you’d like, but there’s something rather refreshing about a big stack of pancakes that’s got loads of flavor, but doesn’t feel heavy sitting in your belly.

The recipe calls for blueberries in the sauce, though we used a combination of blueberries and blackberries and the flavor was great – the perfect balance of sweet and tart. I added a bit of maple syrup to my big stack o pancakes, just for some extra sugah (just a bit!), and we had some crispy, salty bacon to accompany the sweet and fruity dish. Sunday morning breakfast at it’s best!

What’s your favorite way to start a lazy weekend morning?

Related posts:

1. Multigrain Yogurt Pancakes with Blueberries
2. Strawberry Lemon Ricotta Muffins
3. Blueberry Zucchini Pancakes with Lime

It’s not often that I find free moments during the day to sit and unwind with a book. I make list after list of recommendations and books that have caught my eye at one time or another, “to-read” lists for someday in the future when I hope time slows down a little. I dream of the books I’ll read, of the places they’ll take me, the emotions they’ll stir, and the characters I’ll meet and fall in love with as the pages go by. Reading is a therapeutic and transformative experience, and while I don’t get to enjoy it often, I thoroughly enjoy it when I can.

Recently I was lucky enough to receive an advanced copy of  Charlotte Au Chocolat: Memories of a Restaurant Girlhood by Charlotte Silver, which forced me to carve out some quiet time for myself to get through it. For days I’ve brought it with me on my new commute to and from work, and it has filled my time with delicious reminiscing of days gone by, filled with food and wonder in the eyes of a little girl.

The author’s name is Charlotte, after the dessert Charlotte Au Chocolate which was popular in her mother’s restaurant growing up – and also the title of this book. I was delighted to dive into the book, for it’s close association with food and my favorite city (Cambridge particularly), and I fully expected a light, flirty and fun book with whimsical memories of food at Upstairs on the Pudding (now referred to as Upstairs on the Square). What I found instead was something much different, a pervasive tone of melancholy and a feeling that the author never lets you get inside her head to know her true feelings.

I found this book compelling and  thought provoking, for as you travel through the memories of Charlotte’s girlhood, you never get more than a glimpse inside her child’s mind. She leads a very solitary young life, and she shares thoughts more than feelings, along with fantastic descriptions of food, fashion and place. The memoir is written with great detail, and paints many vivid pictures inside your head of all the characters and the lives they lead.

This is a quick read, and certainly will touch those familiar with our local area in a personal way that I imagine you’ll really enjoy. If you’re looking for some new reading material, Charlotte Au Chocolat comes out today! You can find it here.

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Chocolate. My all-time favorite food, and favorite baking ingredient (only second to butter)… the word excites so many senses. Chocolate bark, chocolate bars, chocolate chips, cocoa powder, cocoa butter, cacao beans, cocoa nibs, I’ll take it any way I can get it. I hear the mention of chocolate and I feel giddy with excitement. Chocolate is my first love, and while not my only one, I still find it to be completely perfect, and delicious in it’s perfection. Especially the extra dark, extra bitter variety — can’t go wrong there. So it’s with a great proclamation of love that I bring you this, the masterpiece to end all chocolate masterpieces, DOUBLE CHOCOLATE FUDGE cupcakes.

In all honesty, these aren’t the absolute best cupcakes I’ve ever made, but they are stinking delicious for how simple they are. The frosting involves throwing a bunch of ingredients into a mixer for a couple of minutes, giving it a whirl, and letting it cool before you stick your fingers spatula in to decorate. The cupcakes are about as easy as that – I halved the original recipe but neglected to halve the amount of eggs (smooth operator over here), and while the batter was like water when it went into the oven, the cupcakes still came out fantastic! Everyone who tried these loved them, for their lighter than air texture, and the serious fudgyness of the frosting. The frosting tastes like your basic chocolate fudge, only gooier and spreadable. So good. And I don’t even like fudge.

Can you tell I’m feeling fiesty today? Something about the day of love – must bring out my wild side. Today I’m going to spend my day getting wild with lots of research and excel spreadsheets… but if you have the opportunity, go wild with these cupcakes. Or treat someone today. You both deserve it!

P.S. Please excuse the blue cupcake wrappers on Valentine’s Day – I’m not clueless, I just made these for a boy’s baby shower and happened to share them with you on the day of PINK and RED. I told you, smooth operator. I’ve got a brain like no one else’s. So just go make these and stop judging! You will thank me later.

Oh, and Happy Valentine’s Day!!!

Chocolate Cupcakes

adapted from Cookies and Cups
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder (you can also use regular cocoa powder)
3 cups all purpose flour
3 cups granulated sugar
1 Tbsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 1/2 cups warm water
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners.

1) In your stand mixer sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder together. Add in the sugar and salt.

2) With your mixer on low speed add eggs, one at a time and then the vanilla, water, vegetable oil and buttermilk. Mix on medium for 2 minutes until combined.

3) Fill liners 2/3 full and bake for 20 minutes until set. Remove from pan immediately and cool on wire rack.

Easy Fudge Frosting
Ingredients
1 cup butter, room temperature
2/3 cup boiling water
1 cup Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder, sifted *you can use regular cocoa powder if you prefer
8 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Directions

1) In a mixer combine all ingredients and over low speed for 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium and beat for 1 minute until smooth.

2) Let frosting cool for 15-20 minutes before you frost cake or cupcakes.

Related posts:

1. Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Milk Chocolate Buttercream
2. Double Chocolate Velvet Cake
3. Double Fudge Oreo Chunk Cookies

Cookies are a great dessert. Simple to make, entirely portable, perfectly sized, and always delicious. I’ve been making cookies for as long as I can remember – in fact, they were probably the first thing I ever made. I’ve always had a soft sport for chewy oatmeal cookies, and plain old chocolate chip cookies. Individually they are always fantastic, but putting them together makes pretty much the most perfect cookie combination I can imagine. There’s just something about the way it feels to bite into an oatmeal cookie that is crispy and crunchy and chewy all at the same time, studded with bittersweet chocolate and sweet dried fruit. It’s a euphoric experience!

I’m admittedly a big fan of the recipe on the lid of the Quaker Oats containers for oatmeal raisin cookies – those cookies are insanely delicious. With raisins alone, or some chocolate chips added to the mix – there’s almost nothing better. Who knew?! But when I made these cookies, there wasn’t a Quaker Oats container in sight, so I went for something new and different, and was glad I did.

I’ll take my oatmeal cookies almost any way – I like them plain, with raisins, with cranberries, with walnuts, with chocolate… and especially with all of those things combined. It’s like a flavor party in your mouth! The cranberries in these cookies happened almost accidentally, since we didn’t have raisins, but I loved the flavor they lent – tart and sweet, a fun play on the bitter chocolate. Since I can’t ever get enough chocolate, I added some chocolate chips in lieu of nuts, and that worked great. I’ve been known to make a chocolate chip raisin oatmeal cookie most commonly, and while that is a serious favorite, these were great for a change.

The cinnamon in the cookies adds a lovely hint of spice, and brings a certain warmth to the cookie like only it can do. I found that straight out of the oven, the cinnamon flavor was more prominent, but once the cookies cooled a bit it was harder to detect. I think it’s a really nice touch here.

These cookies were gone in a snap – somehow eating cookies with oats in them always makes me feel like doubling my intake is completely acceptable… I never said I had good logic in baking (and consumption). I substituted a bit of whole wheat flour to the recipe, which I always do in oatmeal cookies because I find little taste difference, so why not add some nutrition?

These cookies should please pretty much anyone, they are so buttery and delicious, and so cozy, if you can imagine a dessert being that way. Who could say no to something that looks like this?! They’re especially fun because you can add whatever flavorings tickle your fancy, so they can always be personalized for a specific taste or preference. And the best thing about oatmeal cookies? They feel like coming home to me. Home, SWEET, home.

Thick, Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) butter, softened
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup dried cranberries (or raisins)
3/4 cup chocolate chips, chopped (optional, could also use walnuts)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

1) In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth and fluffy. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. Stir this into the creamed butter mixture. Stir in the oats, cranberries and chocolate chips, if using.

2) At this point you can either chill the dough for a bit in the fridge and then scoop it, or scoop the cookies onto a sheet and chill the whole tray before baking. Chilling the cookies makes for a chewier, thicker end result, but if you can’t wait you can also go ahead and bake them right away. I chilled my dough for about 30-45 minutes.

3) The cookies should be two inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake them for 10 to 12 minutes, taking them out when golden around the edges but still a little undercooked-looking in the middle. Let them sit on the hot baking sheet for five minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool.

Related posts:

1. Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies – Chunky Lola’s
2. PB Oatmeal Choco-Chip Cookies, and a Happy Thanksgiving
3. Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

A couple of months back, I was contacted by Eversave to write a restaurant review for their website. I was excited for the offer, but it took me quite some time to actually get around to it! After much delay, I finally took advantage of the generous offer when I saw the Snappy Sushi deal pop up last week. With the restaurant being within walking distance of my apartment, and my serious love for sushi, I thought it was the perfect opportunity. Earlier this week Kevin and I met up after my first day at the new job, and hashed out all that happened over some delightfully delicious sushi.

One thing about Snappy Sushi that is a major selling point for me is that they make all of their sushi with brown rice. I really do love sushi, but I don’t love the idea of filling up with refined white rice, so when I found out that they use brown rice only, I was thrilled. I didn’t find the rice to be any different from regular sushi rice, I just found myself feeling a lot better eating it!

We were both started when we arrived, so we ordered the Seaweed Salad to start and then three rolls to share. While we waited for the food to arrive, I snapped a few quick photos of the interior of the restaurant, which is sparsely decorated with beautiful orchids and cherry blossoms, as well as a few large lighting pieces. The whole vibe is very laid back and relaxing, and it’s a nice place to sit and unwind.

Seaweed salad is a favorite of ours, something we always order when it’s available, but often I find the serving is a lot smaller than I’d anticipated or hoped for. I was quite pleased to see that the Snappy Sushi serving was generous, and accompanied by a pile of fresh mixed greens and cherry tomatoes topped with a refreshing ginger dressing. It was very fresh and very delicious. You might notice I had several bites before snapping this photo… it was so good I forgot to do my blog business first!

The three rolls we ordered were the Spicy Crispy Scallop Roll (scallop, avocado, cucumber, green leaf, crunchy tempura bits, and flying fish roe with spicy mayo), the Mamemaki Roll (tuna, salmon, avocado, cucumber, and green leaf, wrapped in a soy sheet sprinkled with sesame seeds, dressed with edamame-yuzu sauce) and the Boston Lobster Roll (avocado, cucumber, and green leaf rolled together, and dressed with chopped lobster meat mixed with red onion and flying fish roe in wasabi-butter sauce). They were all fantastic! The scallop roll was a bit spicier than I’d normally like, but the flavors were so good I kept going back for more. The Mamemaki roll seemed the “leanest” to me… like I could have eaten a couple servings myself and felt like I was being really healthy. But it was also really flavorful, and incredibly fresh. The Boston Lobster roll was definitely an indulgence, but a worthwhile one. The lobster and onion mixture which topped the veggie-filled roll was super savory, salty and succulent. I could have had an entire plate just of that.

Sometimes it’s my worry that if a restaurant is on a deals site then the business is struggling, or the product simply isn’t up to par. But in this particular situation, I don’t know why Snappy Sushi isn’t busy every night. The service was prompt and friendly, they had a good variety of beer and some tasty wine, and the food was all really good. Without a doubt, I’d go back in an instant.

If you’re looking for a sushi fix, be sure to check out Snappy Sushi on Newbury or in Davis Square.

And of course, don’t forget to sign up for daily deal offers from Eversave!

Disclaimer: This voucher was provided to me free of charge by Eversave, however all views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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A couple of weekends ago after I accepted a job offer for my new job (TODAY is my first day!!!), Kevin and I went out to celebrate. I’d heard little of Saloon prior to our visit, but enough to know that we needed to check it out. The speak-easy themed bar is located directly underneath Foundry on Elm in Davis Square, and features an extensive whiskey menu, with a focus on “brown liquors.” I’m more of a gin and tequila kind of girl, but I was excited to see what they had to offer.The decor reminds me of an old gentleman’s club (or what one would be like in my mind, anyway), with dark wood paneling everywhere, and no windows due to it’s underground location. There is a large u-shaped bar that fills up the main dining area, and both high and low tables fill the rest of the space. The whole mood of the decor and the low-lighting really play of the speak-easy feel – as do the bartenders’ suspenders, slicked back hair and handlebar mustaches. It’s quite the place – and that’s before you even get to the menu!

Before we could even think about food, we perused the drink menu and each picked a cocktail. I ordered the Saloon Sour, which had gin, green chartreuse, lime, pineapple syrup, and an egg white. I’ve always made a point never to order drinks with raw eggs in them, just because it weirds me out a little, but I decided to go for it this time and it was unbelievable! Easily my favorite drink of the night. I absolutely love gin, so I was excited to see a couple of gin drinks on the menu, and this one was the perfect balance of herbal notes, citrus and fruity sweetness. Absolutely fantastic.

Kevin tried the Corpse Reviver #2 (gin, combier, cocchi, lemon, absinthe), which was also quite delicious. His was a bit stronger, probably due to the inclusion of absinthe, but it was really well balanced and easy to drink. Trouble. We both loved our first round of drinks, and felt like they set the bar pretty high for what was to come.

To start, we ordered the Beer Battered Pickled Peppers, stuffed with Boursin cheese and served with ranch dressing dip. The peppers they used were peppadews, the perfect choice in my opinion for this dish. The batter was really light, the peppers really juicy, and the creamy cheese filling and silky ranch dressing totally made each bite a delight. I was very sad when these were gone, and if our food hadn’t arrived so quickly I might have ordered more.

For the main course, Kevin ordered the Fish & Chips (beer batter fried local haddock, fries and traditional tartar), which I was surprised about because of it’s simplicity, bit it ended up being a great choice. The serving of fish was generous, and again the batter was just perfect. Sometimes I find that beer batter can detract from whatever it’s covering, but this was well seasoned and light enough that the fresh fish was the superstar. The fries were also perfectly crispy and lightly salted. So good.

My meal was incredible – the Bubble & Squeak (roasted sausage, mashed root vegetables, shaved brussels sprouts, winter
leeks, onion gravy). Our waiter told us where the sausage came from (somewhere local), which of course I can’t remember now but I only asked because it was spectacular. It was so juicy and flavorful, and while I’m sure it was bathing in some combination of butter and more butter, it was just such a treat to take each bite. The veggies served along with the sausage were all perfectly cooked, and what I liked about them most was that each flavor was distinguishable. The onion gravy was creamy and slightly sweet, and the leeks added a refreshing but subtle bite. The root veggies were sweet and the brussels sprouts just sort of rounded out the whole dish. Really fantastic!

Right as our meal was coming out, we ordered another round of drinks. This time Kevin tried the Nay Sayer (wheat whiskey, lemon, wheat grass, bitters, ginger beer), something I suggested after having read a few reviews about it. Neither of us had ever had a cocktail with wheatgrass, so it was completely different than anything I’ve ever had, but very refreshing. It was slightly bitter, slightly sweet, slightly spicy, and all around a top-notch libation. My second drink was the Daisey (whiskey, yellow chartreuse, lemon, black currant syrup, soda), which was also good though a bit more sweet than I like. I never drink whiskey because in my mind I have a serious aversion to it, but this drink was so well thought out I actually liked the whiskey flavor! I think the lemon and the currant did a lot to sweeten the drink and soften the whiskey, so the end result was something easy to enjoy.

Overall we were really pleased with this dinner, and definitely want to go back again. The drinks aren’t cheap but the food is incredibly reasonably priced, making this a good stop for just a drink or a full-blown dinner. The service was laid back but attentive, and I loved that the bartenders and waiters all played up their outfits to fit with the speak-easy vibes. Fun night, great food, fantastic cocktails. You should absolutely check it out!

Saloon
255 Elm St.
Somerville, MA 02144
http://saloondavis.com/

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Today is one of those days when I don’t have much to say. Shocking, for me, but it is what it is. Between trying to graciously step out of my current role and starting a new and exciting one Monday, lots of Superbowl meal planning, aiding my best friend in wedding planning antics, Pinterest obsessions (I swear it’s so addicting) and actually trying to get my real work done, my mind just isn’t here. There’s too much going on to think about these brownies, but at least I’ve got pictures and a recipe to do them justice.

I will say this, these “brownies” are fabulous. More like blondies in texture, they are so creamy and sweet, and studded with wonderfully fresh and fruity blueberries. A lovely yet delicate little crust forms on top when they bake, which yields to a chewy interior that tastes only faintly of white chocolate, and more like heaven. Seriously delicious stuff, my friends. I highly recommend making these ASAP… maybe even for your Superbowl celebration this weekend?! They make for a great bite-sized dessert, and are extra cute cut into shapes.

Without further ado, I will let the photos do the talking. Scroll down for the recipe!

Oh… and GO PATS!!!!

White Chocolate and Blueberry Brownies
adapted from Dorie Greenspan: Baking from my Home to Yours
circle shapes inspired by Eat My Cake Now

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line 9 x 9-inch pan with parchment paper.

1) Whisk the flour, ground almonds and salt to combine.

2) Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of lightly simmering water. Add the butter and the chocolate to the bowl, and stir frequently until the ingredients are melted.

3) Add the sugar and whisk to incorporate it, then remove the bowl from the heat. Stir in the vanilla, then add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

4) Sprinkle the dry ingredients over the batter and fold them in until completely incorporated and smooth batter has formed. Add the berries and fold gently to incorporate. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

5) Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cake come out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool to room temperature before removing the brownies from the pan. Cut into squares, or other fun shapes and serve.

Related posts:

1. White Chocolate PB Chocolate Chip Brownies
2. Port Ganache-Glazed Brownies with Dried Cherries
3. Outrageous Oreo Brownies

A couple weekends ago, I did something I’ve never done before. I went out and bought over-ripe bananas for the express purpose of baking with them. Usually my banana-baking pursuits come out of necessity, when there are rotten bananas taking up space on the counter, or too many collected in the freezer and I need to use them up. But this time, I was really craving banana bread, and when I saw heaps of blackening bananas at the supermarket I scooped them right up!

Usually I let my bananas blacken (literally) before using them. What looks like rotting flesh seems to me to make the most fantastically fragrant and tasty banana bread around. Plus, it keeps the final product super moist. The bananas I bought at the store weren’t entirely black, and I did see a small difference in the final product, but overall this banana bread recipe was a great pursuit for me.

Typically I don’t stray from the Flour Bakery Banana Bread recipe. It yields the perfect banana bread – rich and exceedingly tender and moist, extra banana-y, and crunchy from the walnuts. I make that whenever I need something comforting that I can count on not to let me down. But I wanted some new blog content, and I was seeking a change from the ordinary, so I went with this recipe and it was really good!

I made a few changes to this recipe, as I don’t like chocolate in my banana bread, but kept the major components that make it so different from the norm. I love that the recipe uses olive oil as the fat, and adds lemon zest and juice to flavor the batter. I used lots of banana – four bananas plus a 5th that I diced up, and added a nice texture to the final product.

The resulting bread is slightly more savory than you’d expect, though still plenty sweet, and mine was studded with chunks of walnuts to replace the chocolate. I made a glaze using some brown sugar for depth, and really enjoyed the crunchy coating that the lemon glaze produced. Banana bread spiked with lemon is a fantastic idea! We enjoyed this loaf both plain and slathered with butter, as a snack and along with morning coffee. It’s seriously delicious, and more heart healthy with the substitution of olive oil for the butter. I imagine in bundt form, this would be a stunning brunch masterpiece.

Lemony Olive Oil Banana Bread
adapted from Melissa Clark

Bread ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup coarsely chopped bittersweet chocolate (or toasted chopped walnuts, or a combination)
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups mashed, VERY ripe bananas (3 to 4 bananas – I used 4 and added a 5th that was diced)
1/4 cup sour cream or plain, whole milk yogurt
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze ingredients
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
4 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions
1) Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease a 9- by 5- inch loaf pan.

2) In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add the chocolate and/or walnuts and combine well.

3) In a separate bowl, mix together the olive oil, eggs, mashed banana, sour cream, and vanilla. Pour the banana mixture into the flour mixture and fold with a spatula until just combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until dark golden brown and a tester inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean, 50 minutes to 1 hour.

4) Transfer the pan to a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn the loaf out of the pan to cool completely.

5) While the cake is almost cool, prepare the glaze. In a bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and the lemon juice until smooth. Drizzle the glaze on top of the cake, spreading with a spatula to cover.

Related posts:

1. Cream Cheese Banana Bread
2. BBB: Blueberry Banana Bread
3. My all-time favorite: Banana Bread

When I first heard of Foodie Pen pals just one short month ago, I thought it was such a cool idea! I loved having penpals in elementary school; somehow sharing letters with a stranger as if you were friends was such a novel idea to me, and it allowed me to feel connected in places besides my immediate surroundings. Now being a grown up, I still revel at the idea, especially when food is involved! I don’t know anyone who doesn’t enjoy receiving packages in the mail, especially when they’re filled with thoughtful treats from another foodie like me.

This month Katie from Nutrition in a Peanut Shell put together a package of goodies for me, a variety of things that I was really excited about. It seems we have similar tastes, because I was super psyched about everything she included. Along with putting together a package for whomever you’re assigned, you also have to include a personalized note, and in Katie’s she explained everything she’d given me and why. Below you can see all the goods, and I’ll tell you a bit about them.

See what I mean about good stuff? Katie asked me lots of questions about my tastes in food before she assembled my package, and clearly she noticed I gravitate towards the sweeter side of things. My life has been a hectic whirlwind lately, so I haven’t had a chance to use much of this yet, but I plan to put together at least a recipe or two using what she sent me.

The first thing I tried was the vanilla granola, which came from Wegmans, a supermarket I have heard lots about but never visited. I love supermarkets in a weird way, and with far too much fervor, so I’d be pretty psyched to make it to Wegmans someday, but in the meantime I’m glad I got to sample a bit of what they have to offer! I had the granola mixed into some greek yogurt with blueberries and chopped walnuts… pretty delicious!

Also included in the package were two types of nut butters (LOVE!), peanut butter which is of course always fantastic, but also pecan butter which I’ve never tried before. I’m excited for that, and plan to enjoy it with sliced apple or something simple like that, so I can let the pecan buttery goodness shine through.

Katie included some homemade Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola, which was awesome! Totally dangerous as a snack, because you keep wanting more and more, but I loved it. It’s that classic peanut butter and chocolate combo… can’t go wrong! I loved that she included something homemade too.

The last two snacks are both ones I’m looking forward to breaking into. First, the Coconut Cream Pie Larabar, which happens to be one of my very favorite Larabar flavors. I don’t eat Larabars that much, not for any particular reason just because I’m a person of habit and they aren’t part of my current routine, but a few months ago I went on a Larabar eating spree and tried a bunch of different flavors. This was definitely one of my favorites, because it’s really sweet and dessert-like, and felt like a total indulgence as an afternoon snack. I’m looking forward to enjoying this one sometime soon.

Lastly, there’s a pack of organic dark chocolate sandwich cookies, which I can only imagine are just like oreos except only chocolate. I love chocolate! I start a new job next week, so I think during my first few days when I’m feeling the stress of adapting to a new place, I’m definitely going to have to break into the cookies for some soothing chocolate goodness.

Thanks, Katie, for an awesome first month of Foodie Penpals! Can’t wait until next month. If you want to learn more, or would like to participate, check out the information below.

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Lindsay of The Lean Green Bean organizes Foodie Penpals, so in her word’s here’s what it’s all about!

• On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
• You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!
• The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
• You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
• Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.

*Breaking news! This month we’re going to do a trial run for our Canadian friends. I’m still not exactly sure how it will work with shipping costs and stuff for you guys up North, but if you’re willing to give it a try for a month and provide me with some feedback, that would be awesome! Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa. So, I’m going to keep two separate lists and match US w/ US and Canada w/ Canada!

If you’re interested in participating for February, please send  an email to Lindsay at theleangreenbean@gmail.comand include the following information:

• Your full name
• Your email address
• Your blog name/address
• Your twitter handle (if applicable)
• WHETHER YOU ARE A US RESIDENT OR CANADIAN RESIDENT. – this is SUPER important so I can get you on the right list!

** Lindsay will need to hear from you by February 4th as pairings will be emailed on February 5th! **

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