What will the future bring? [Peanut Butter and Jelly Granola Bars]

When I was at my previous job, I was burnt out. I woke up dreading work and felt sick all the time. I never seem to get better. I finally decided to leave for my own mental and physical health. I was counting down the days and fantasizing about my new beginning.

That new beginning wasn't as glamorous as I thought. I was expecting to suddenly know what I wanted to do. I thought jobs would suddenly fall into my lap. I thought I would just know where to go next. None of my questions were answered and I felt stressed from the unknown.

I kept asking myself, "Where do I go next?" "What do I want to do?" Eventually, I had small meltdown and cried and cried. Surprisingly, the tears helped clear my mind. I decided to take a step back and take some courses at community college to explore. I found a part time job to cover my basic needs and pay for classes. Hopefully from this point on, I'll find some clarity.

Since I am in the low-income bracket, I have been more money conscious especially on the amount I spend on food. I was stoked when I discovered Leanne Brown's Eat Well on $4/day. Good and Cheap. She wrote a free cookbook with recipes for cheap, simple, seasonal, and tasty snacks and dishes. You can download the cookbook from her website above. The first recipe I tried was her Peanut Butter and Jelly Granola Bars. They are easy to make and portable. I have been bringing them with me to my morning classes. The peanut butter flavor is subtle and it is lightly sweetened from the jelly.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Granola Bars
from Leanne Brown

Makes 12 granola bars (162 calories per serving)

3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup (128g) all natural peanut butter
1/2 cup (152g) jelly or jam
1/4 cup hot water
1/4 tsp salt

1. Preheat over to 350°F. Line a 9x9 baking dish with parchment paper. 
2. In a medium sized pot, add peanut better, 1/4 cup (76g) jelly, hot water, and salt. Stir over low heat until smooth and all the ingredients are incorporated.
3. Remove from heat and pour in 3 cups of rolled oats. Mix well. 
4. Spread evenly in the baking dish. Smear the top of the oats with the rest of the jelly.
5. Bake for 25 - 28 minutes. It is finished when the edges are brown and crispy.
6. Allow it to cool in the baking dish. When cooled, cut into 12 equal pieces and store in an air tight container.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcake/Chocolate Muffins

Basic Pumpkin Cupcakes
from Sally's Baking Addiction

Makes 14 cupcakes

1 3/4 cups (220g) all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 heaping tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp pumpkin spice
1/2 cup (100g) dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup (227g) pumpkin puree
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cupcake pan with liners.
2. In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin spice until combined. 
3. In another bowl, whisk brown sugar and eggs until combined. Add in pumpkin puree, oil, milk, and vanilla extract until combined. 
4. Pour the wet into the dry ingredients and stir until just mixed. DO NOT OVERMIX.
5. Divide batter evenly into 14 cups. Bake for 18 - 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Notes:

1. To make mini cupcakes, bake for 11 minutes.
2. To make chocolate chip pumpkin muffins, fold in 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips.
3. To frost the cupcakes, use my ginger cream cheese frosting. 

Classic Waffles

Parmesan waffles with a side salad.

Classic Waffles
adapted from All Recipes

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 TBSP white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups warm milk
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Mix flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar in a large bowl. Preheat waffle iron.
2. In another bowl, beat eggs. Stir in milk, butter, and vanilla extract. Pour the milk into flour mixture. Beat until blended. It is okay if the batter is clumpy.
3. Lightly grease waffle iron. Ladle in batter and cook until golden. 

Notes

• It is not a very sweet or salty batter so the waffles can be made savory or sweet depending how on you choose to top it.
• The waffle is fluffy and light. However, it is not very crispy.
• Freeze leftovers in a ziploc bag for future snacks.

Delicious, but Ugly Series #1 [Caramelized Rum Bananas and Peanut Butter Toast]

I have come to the conclusion that making food look sexy is not one of my talents. It's no surprise that I have improved since the beginning, but making food look good is tough. I struggle to figure out what I want and often times, I don't KNOW what I want when I photograph a dish. All I know is that the dish tastes good and I want to document the recipe.

Sadly, on some days, my food looks more awful than usual. Thus, this debut: Delicious, but Ugly Series, which begins with Caramelized Rum Bananas and Peanut Butter Toast.

Delicious, but Ugly #1: Rum Bananas, Peanut Butter, and Toast

Caramelized Rum Bananas and Peanut Butter Toast
Serves 1

Ingredients
3 to 4 slices of sourdough baguette
peanut butter
1 TBSP of turbinado sugar
1/2 a banana, cut into thick slices
2 to 3 TBSP dark rum, to taste
cinnamon, optional

Directions

1. Toast sliced sourdough baguette in toaster/toaster oven.
2. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle 1/2 TBSP of sugar in pan and add bananas-- flat side down.
3. When sugar is bubbling and color is showing on banana (check by flipping a slice over), sprinkle the rest of the sugar and flip the rest of the bananas over to caramelize the other side. 
4. When sugar is bubbling again and bananas are caramelized, add the rum (Be careful, the rum will sizzle violently.) and swirl the liquid around in the pan. Once it has stopped sizzling, turn off the heat and coat bananas in the sauce.
5. Take the warmed slices of bread from toaster, spread with peanut butter, and top with the bananas. Optional: Sprinkle with cinnamon. Enjoy~

- SimplyPiee

Banana Cake (Updated version 3.0)

the frozen raspberries make my cake look sickly.

I'm always coming back to this recipe, because it can be a breakfast bread, a snack, or even a dessert when paired with vanilla ice cream. It's also flexible and forgiving, which means I can experiment and it usually turns out pretty well. I don't think I've ever followed this recipe to the T. It's always evolving and changing. I'm beginning to find combinations that I truly enjoy.

One of my favorite spins was when I added cream cheese filling. Omg, it was divine. Scrumptions. It was perfect. I made it on a Saturday afternoon before I went off to visit my boo. I stayed over at his place and decided that I would take photos on Sunday when I returned home. I returned home to a clear kitchen table. Yes. My lovely JSB and papa devoured the cake, all 3/4ths of it.

This new rendition wasn't loved by my fellow family members as much. I'm unsure of the reason, but my boo and I enjoyed it immensely. I gave him nearly half of the cake. He loved it especially the oomph from the chocolate chips. To me, this version reflects my growth in the kitchen. I'm adding new textures and elevating flavors compared to previous versions. The cinnamon sugar topping gives the cake a nice crunch when you bite into it and the addition of brown sugar and brown butter adds a subtle complexity to the flavor. Hell, I'm even putting more effort into plating, but I don't think my creative eye is working very well as shown in the photos. I'm trying here!

Man, that frozen raspberry is distracting. >.>

Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Banana Cake
Updated from this recipe

Ingredients
3 TBSP of butter
1/4 cup of brown sugar, packed
2 TBSP cinnamon apple sauce
1 tsp of cinnamon
1 egg
dash of milk
2 1/2 bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup flour
scant 1/4 cup of wheat germ
scant 1/4 cup of flax seed
scant 3/4 cup of rolled oats
1 tsp of baking soda
1/4 tsp of salt
a hand full of chocolate chips

Topping:
1 1/2 TBSP of turbinado sugar
1/2 tsp of cinnamon (yes, I LOVE my cinnamon)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Heat butter in skillet over medium heat. Swirl the butter occasionally. Wait until the butter turns into a brown shade with a nutty aroma, then turn off the heat.
3. Add butter to brown sugar. Mix. Add the applesauce, cinnamon, and egg to the mixture. Mix well.
4. Stir in milk, bananas, and vanilla. Combine.
5. Add in the rest of the ingredients: flour, wheat germ, flax seed, rolled oats, baking soda, and salt. Mix. 
6. Gently fold chocolate chips into mixture.
7. Grease and flour an 8 inch pie/cake pan. Pour mixture in. For topping, combine sugar and cinnamon and evenly distribute it on the surface.
8. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean when the cake is poked.

My attempt at plating with banana ice cream to accompany the cake. Not that pretty, but the ice cream was delish.

Banana Ice Cream

Ingredients
1 frozen banana, slices
1/4 tsp of cinnamon

Directions

1. Prior to freezing the banana, cut it into slices. 
2. Put banana and cinnamon in food processor. Start the processor and eventually the banana will reach an ice cream consistency.

Options for flavoring: chocolate shavings, peanut butter, Nutella...the possibilities are endless!

Sourdough French Toast

I used to love french toast when I was younger. The egg soaked bread pan-fried to perfection and then drenched in butter and syrup. My gawd. Heaven, I tell ya. Then something dreadful occurred. I grew up. French toast ordered at a restaurant was too greasy, too mushy, and way too sweet for my palette. (Side note: why does that always happen? I used to love Kit-Kat, 100 Grand, Milky Way, 3 Musketeers, but as an adult, it's BAD candy-- too sweet, too junky.)

Today, I created the perfect french toast for an adult palette. A french toast that holds it shape, a bit of sourness to cut the sweetness, honey in the egg mixture, and topped with powdered sugar for the right amount of sweetness. My favorite part about my version is the chewy crust from the French bread.

Sourdough French Toast


Ingredients

• 2 to 3 day old sourdough French bread (I used Boudins, 7 inch sandwich roll)
• 1 egg
• 2 TBSP milk
• 1 TBSP Honey
• Butter
• Powdered Sugar

**The batter is enough for half a sandwich roll**

Directions

1. Slice sourdough into thick 1/2 to 3/4 inch slices.
2. Whisk egg and milk together until combined. Tiny pieces of egg whites floating around is okay.
3. Microwave honey for 20 secs and add to egg/milk mixture. Mix honey until dissolved.
4. Have the batter in a shallow dish and dip slices in it. Approximately 5 secs on each side.
5. Heat a non-stick pan. Add butter. To test if the pan is ready, add a bit of batter and see if it sizzles.
6. Gently place slices in pan and allow it to sit undisturbed for 30 secs. Check and see if it's browned. If it isn't, let it sit for 10 more secs and check again. If it's browned, flip it over on the other side and allow it to cook for 30 secs. Check to see if it's browned. If not, allow it to cook longer and check again.
7. Garnish French Toast with raspberries and powdered sugar.

*I hate wasting so I made scrambled eggs with the rest of the batter.*