Bygone Bicyclist

Long work days (and nights) have kept much of my free time lately. When not working, or sleeping, I seem to be spending my time cooking. Tonight I am spending much of my time doing so; truffles, cookies and pies – oh my! That said, it’s a fantastic night for it. Outside it’s in the low 40s, windy and raining. It may be a white Christmas after all! A few days ago I experimented with an apple pie with blackberries, ginger and cardamom. The crust was exquisite, filling amazing and presentation gorgeous. I don’t think I’ve ever made a pie so perfect before. Since, I’ve decided that to be my Christmas dinner cooking project.

Snow.

Orange Cranberry Cardamom

2.5c flour (I use 2c all purpose and .5c soy flour)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cardamom
1c white sugar
2 eggs (large+, use 3 if they are smaller)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2c butter
1/2 tsp salt
1c dried cranberries
zest of one ripe orange
juice of one ripe orange (or 1/2c orange juice [I've used grapefruit juice once when I forgot to get orange juice, but had zest frozen])
1/2c sour creme (can substitute apple sauce 1:1)

Mix wet, then stir in each cup of flour. Last add baking soda, then cranberries. Don’t overmix. Makes two small loaves. Bake at 300 for ~1 hour. You may need to cover with foil if it is browning too fast. When a toothpick comes out of the center clean, it’s done. Cool on a rack (and do not cut until cooled).

Banana
While a common recipe, I feel mine is fine tuned after making hundreds of loaves.

2.5c flour (I use 2c all purpose and .5c soy flour)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1c white sugar
2 eggs (large+, use 3 if they are smaller)
1 tbsp vanilla
1/2c butter
1/2 tsp salt
2 over-ripened “medium” sized bananas
1/2-1c fresh blueberries
1/2c sour creme (can substitute apple sauce 1:1)
2-3 tbsp milk (I tend to use soy milk) – this is to break up the thickness of the dough

#1) Mix melted butter, sugar, salt, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, sour creme and bananas well.
#2) Add in eggs, mix until thoroughly done (do not overbeat)
#3) Add in flour, mix well.
#4) Add milk, mix
#5) Add baking soda, mix well
#6) Fold in blueberries
#7) Pour into two bread pans. Bake at 300F for ~60 minutes, until toothpick comes out of center clean. You may want to top with foil the last 10 minutes. I bake with glass bread pans, so add 25F if using anything but glass.