Episode 38: Banana Bread

My brother Clifford makes the best banana bread using a recipe from my mom's falling-apart Better Homes cookbook. It's pretty cute ... enjoy!

Episode 37: Cherry Tunrovers

I made cherry turnovers with my friends on a rainy summer morning when swim practice was cancelled. It's hard to cook in a big group like this, but we had so much fun. This was a really yummy recipe!We followed this Martha Stewart recipe, only we cut our dough into perfect squares so we could fold them over into perfect triangles.

Banana Ghosts

My brother and I made these delicious banana ghosts for breakfast this morning. This recipe is simple and tastes the best if you use good chocolate chips, like Whole Foods' white chocolate chunks.What you need:
1 Banana
1 cup of white chocolate chips or chunks, melted
3-6 dark chocolate chips

What to do:
Cut the banana in half.
Put a skewer on the bottom side of each piece.
Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze all day or over night.
Dip in melted white chocolate. Work quickly because the chocolate hardens as you spread it on the banana.
Melt the dark chocolate pieces and stick them to your ghost for eyes and a nose.
Eat them for breakfast (like we did) or a super yummy mid-day snack!

Episode 36: Cheesy Potato Bake

Ingredients:
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup heavy cream
3 or 4 medium potatoes, sliced and placed in a bowl of water
1 large onion, sliced and cooked in butter
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350

Butter a baking dish.
Spread on a layer of potatoes.
Then spread on some onion.
Add salt and pepper and sprinkle with cheese.
Continue layering, finishing with potatoes.
Beat the egg into the cream and pour it over the top.
Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Bake for about 90 minutes or until golden and bubbling.
Cool slightly and devour.

This is a great after-school snack. Or a yummy dinner with a big salad on the side. Enjoy!!

My Rainbow Cake

My mom made this cake for me to decorate for the spring festival at my school this year. The cake is made with yummy organic ingredients and fresh eggs ... the decorations, not so much. But it was so fun to decorate ... blue icing and candy! Oh how I wish I was getting to eat it instead of some cakewalk winner!

Episode 35: Marzipan from scratch, almost

The marzipan recipe I followed is very simple. All you need are almonds, powdered sugar, vanilla and two egg whites. A good chopper is also helpful. We started out by grinding the almonds in a coffee grinder, but for some reason that stopped grinding and we had to resort to the little chopper. This did not make the almonds as finely ground as they should have been, but it still made a yummy candy. Almost like marzipan.

Episode 34: Chocolate Hearts

Buy high-quality dark chocolate. We used Green & Black's organic chocolate. White and chocolate-mint flavors. It's worth every penny ... it's rich and creamy and melts in your mouth!

Fill plastic molds, available and Michael's or your favorite baking supply store.

Refrigerate or freeze till hardened.

Pop out of molds and serve for lunch, or dessert, or snacks or dessert ... (or dinner) ... or maybe give them as a gift ...

Yummy!

Episode 33: Sweet & Savory Nut Mix

The recipe:
1 cup pecans
1 cup almonds
1 cup walnuts
1/8 maple syrup
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary, thyme and sage
dash of cayenne
salt and pepper to tase

Toss all of the ingredients in a bowl, spread them on a baking sheet, and bake them in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Cool. Enjoy