Butterscotch Banana Bread

 College living turns even the smallest of items into prized commodities. Brown bananas, for example. I spied them sitting on Carrie’s shelf in the kitchen and thought: is she going to use them? Is it weird if I ask to take them?

In the end I thought of the starving people all over the world and the injustice that would have occurred had Carrie thrown them away. I was obligated to take them off her hands. And make sweet, rich, banana bread with butterscotch chips.

I used the recipe from the famous Boston bakery, Flour. I have never been to Flour, that is probably some kind of crime at this stage in my Boston life. I found the recipe on foodnetwork.com, made a few adjustments, and whipped it up while wearing my floral house coat and pajamas. 

 I eliminated the crème fraiche, (if I’m in a place where I’m stealing bananas from my roommates, there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell that I’ll have crème fraiche,) and added a cup of butterscotch chips, (…why not?)

The butterscotch chips really did add a lil’ somethin’ somethin’ to this bread. They melted creating little pockets of sweetness in each slice and they caramelized when near the crust. I may start throwing butterscotch chips into other recipes to see what happens.

Butterscotch Banana Bread

Adapted from Flour’s Famous Banana Bread

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup oil

2-3 bananas, very ripe, mashed

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup butterscotch chips

Mix dry ingredients. Beat sugar and eggs until fluffy. Add vanilla, oil and bananas slowly, stirring between additions. Add dry ingredients and mix together. Stir butterscotch chips into the batter. Pour into greased loaf pan. Bake for an hour at 350. 

Foundry on Elm, Somerville

Wednesday evening Davis Square was taken by storm by mah ladiezzz!

Ok, not quite. Mostly Bailey, Sarah, Carrie and I met with some local friends one of whom was just returning from a stay in South America. We met for drinks at Foundry on Elm, which was quite full for a Wednesday evening. They wouldn’t allow us a table because we weren’t ordering dinner, so we waited for some people to leave at the long bar in the center and grabbed some spots. 

 The beer list in extensive and we loved choosing different beers by their goofy names. Sarah tried to order a Pretty Things Fluffy White Rabbit, but they were all out. Apparently this bunny themed brew is all the rage this time of year. She settled on an equally hilarious, “Arrogant Bastard”.

I ordered a German wheat beer with a name ending in “Weissbier”. It was a “cloudy pour with hints of banana and cloves.” And I do have to toot my own horn and say that I am an expert order-er, because on the second round everyone wanted what I had. 

My second choice, a red ale

Another round of wines and beers and we were off to the races. We talked about engagements and bosses and the older girls of the bunch gave us some hints on what we can look forward to in our post-graduation 20s.

I was thankful for their encouraging words, sometimes it seems like little more than a cloudy pour. 

Foundry on Elm

255 Elm Street

Somerville, MA

Playing Outside: Marathon Monday

This year I experienced my second Marathon Monday. Last year was spent party hopping at BU and running up and down Comm Ave with a Dunkin' Donuts cup full of punch. Once in a while I would look over and realize that there was a grueling test of endurance going on. Then back to my punch.
This year was different. My friends who live in Allston invited a bunch of us out to watch the runners in their neighborhood. We were at the perfect spot on Beacon Street. There were lots of people around cheering and being festive, but not enough that the crowds were overwhelming. We were able to stand right up next to the runners and cheer them on by name.
While we may not have been running, we worked pretty hard out there. My friend Bailey made it her personal goal that if she saw any one walking, to yell, dance, fist pump and cheer them on until they started jogging again. 
The weather was perfect. The company was awesome. My voice was hoarse from yelling. And I had such a good time that even with the 2.5 hours we spent on the T the day was completely worth it.

Dave's Fresh Pasta, Somerville

Finding the best thing to put between two slices of bread is a quest that I feel compelled to take on. Joey and I made the attempt at it this weekend at Dave's Fresh Pasta just outside of Davis Square. Dave is selling much, much more than fresh pasta. Out of my many trips to Dave's there have been some consistencies that are characteristic of this neighborhood institution.
1. The people making the sandwiches, slicing the deli meats, or rolling the pasta will always look so much cooler than you.
2. You will spend as much on a sandwich as people spend on steak at Applebee's. (But then you will realize the sandwich is delicious and large enough to last you two meals and all will be well.)
3. You will smell like a sandwich for the rest of the day.
4. You will see many reasons to come back.

If those reasons aren't enough to make you give Dave's a shot, check out these pics of some sandwiches enjoyed by Joey and I on Saturday.

I had the smoky spicy turkey on whole wheat: cracked pepper turkey, smoked mozzarella, dill pickle, chipotle aioli, and smoked tomato mayo.

Joey had the roasted chicken salad, with lettuce, pickles, but no tomatoes, (lame.)

Dave's Fresh Pasta
81 Holland Street
Somerville
(just outside Davis Square)

Pear and Morbier Grilled Cheese

April is National Grilled Cheese month. While that is great and all, it’s kind of like someone telling me that it’s National Oxygen Month: ‘You get to breath air all month long!’ It’s nice, but it’s also something that you hope to be doing all year long.

So ya, I’ll gladly give grilled-cheeses the nod they deserve, but this does NOT mean that the other eleven months of the year should be grilled cheese-free. No, my friends, it does not. 

 At Whole Foods the other day I picked up a new kind of cheese, Morbier, a semi-soft cows milk cheese from France, aged 60 days (60!! Actually, I don’t know what that means…)

In honor of grilled cheese month, and in honor of my stomach that was empty and sad, I made a sandwich using my new cheese.

Materials:

2 slices multi-seed bread

sliced Asian pear

sliced Morbier cheese

I can’t believe it’s not butter

Butter one slice of bread and put it butter side down on a griddle. Lay cheese and pear slices on top. Top with second piece of bread, spread butter on the top of the second piece. Cook until cheese is melting, you may have you keep the heat on low so the bread doesn’t burn. Flip and cook until the other side is brown and toasty. 

This cheese was nice for a grilled cheese sandwich because it melted perfectly, just oozing out with every bite. I could have enjoyed a sharper flavor to accompany the pear. This imperfect pairing will not stop me from trying new cheese with cute packaging and names I don’t understand. I refuse.