Culinary Agoge

Tomorrow is my cousin’s college graduation. I have family in town and I’m looking forward to seeing them. Getting up for any major event and getting everyone coordinated is always a challenge, let alone getting everyone fed and out the door on time. Banana bread is something I’ve wanted to make for a while and something told me that the overripe bananas would be headed to the trash soon if I did not put them to good use.

I found some recipes online, and given the fact that I had not made banana bread before, went for a recipe with a lot of comments from site visitors.

Bananas are not as uniform is size as some other fruits. I happened to have some smaller ones that weren’t quite enough for the recipe. I opted to proceed forward anyway knowing that I could learn from my mistakes if any. I got out my ingredients and pre-heated the oven.

My First Banana Bread: Ingredients

As the recipe instructed, I combined my dry ingredients in one bowl and attempted to cream my wet ingredients together with a hand mixer. This was the first time I had used my stand mixer even though I bought it 4 years ago when I moved into my apt, another reminder that cooking has only recently become a big part of my life. The hand mixer created quite a mess. Even on the lowest setting, my wet ingredients went everywhere. I definitely am saving up for a stand mixer.

My First Banana Bread: The Dry Stuff

My First Banana Bread: The Wet Stuff

Once the wet ingredients were fairly mixed together, I folded them into my dry ingredients. The batter was not as moist as I thought it would be and I started to wonder if I should add more liquid of some sort to compensate for my lack of bananas. I opted to not alter the recipe since I would have nothing to compare my results to if I made it again.

My First Banana Bread: All Mixed Up

After everything was combined, I placed my batter into my bread tin and smoothed it out with my spoon.

My First Banana Bread: In The Bread Pan

The recipe called for 60 to 65 minutes of baking time, so I set my timer and hoped for the best. At 60 minutes, I used a knife to check if the bread was ready and fully cooked through and decided to pull it out of the oven and place it on a cooling rack.

My First Banana Bread: Baked

I sliced the bread immediately and once cool, placed it into plastic bags for transport. It tasted really good, but think it could have benefited from some more moisture. Baking is supposed to be precise and I’ll be sure to measure my ingredients the next time around.

I’ve never made pancake batter before. Yes it’s true, I have never made my own batter. I’ve mixed together pre-made batter from Bisquick, but I’ve never actually made pancake batter myself which anyone who has knows makes wholly different pancakes.

I did some searching online and found a recipe for buttermilk pancakes . It seemed simple enough and included ingredients I had on hand. After reading it through I realized that it would make too many pancakes so I cut the recipe in half. I whisked my dry ingredients together first, and then whisked in the wet ingredients until well-combined. I also decided to use a teaspoon of vanilla extract for some extra flavor since I like it a lot and enjoy the subtle accent it provides.

Buttermilk Pancake Batter

I used my heavy iron pan for cooking which unfortunately only fits one pancake on it at a time.  After buttering the pan, I used a ladle to place a measured amount of batter on the pan each time.

Buttermilk Pancake

After the dough started to bubble and the sides became visibly solid, I flipped the pancakes over to finish cooking for about a minute.

Buttermilk Pancake

These pancakes were not as firm or sweet as the Bisquick ones that I am used to making. Also they take on a much darker color when cooked. I plated them in a stack and put some maple syup on top. The fluffiness was a different experience and they were very enjoyable. I’m really happy to have another simple recipe under my belt and will look forward to more mornings enjoying buttermilk pancakes at home.