Well, tomorrow is shaping up to be an exciting day.  The women’s ministry at our church is hosting “Ladies in the Word.” Not only will it be a full day of fellowship and Bible study, it offers yet another opportunity for me to conquer my fears.  How is that?  Well, I get to brave the traffic on the Belt Parkway all by myself.  To boot, I will work on my highly undeveloped parallel parking skills — on both the Queens and Brooklyn side! I grew up riding the subways, and taking taxis. City driving and parallel parking are brand new experiences.

I hope to get there by 8am to help set-up with a handful of other women. I’ll also bring a couple of goodies.  I’m a working gal so words like “quick” and “easy” mean a lot on a Friday night.  My breads are not the most beautiful things in the world, but they ARE good.  Now, just a heads-up, the recipes I’m about to share are SUPER top-secret so please don’t tell anyone where you got it.  And if you DO tell someone, make sure to tell THEM not to tell anyone. (“Horton Hears a Who,” anyone?)

So, here you go. This first is a recipe that I’ve shared here before.  It’s one of those no-fail, go-to recipes that every baker should have hidden in their stash.

Christina’s SUPER Top Secret Banana Chocolate Chip Bread Recipe
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoon oil
2 eggs
1 cup banana (2 medium ripe)
Cream all together

2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Mix in separate bowl. Gradually add to wet mixture above.

1/2 cup of chocolate chips — fold in last.

Bake in loaf pan at 350 degrees for 50-60 mins or until toothpick comes out clean.

The next is a new recipe that someone passed on to me.  Once again, quick and easy wins the day!  And by the way, for both of these I made a simple glaze — and I mean simple! Completely optional of course, but glaze recipes are below if you are up to it. I could have drizzled the glaze in much more aesthetically pleasing manner, but it’s late and these breads will be served sliced anyway.  No one’s gonna see them like this but you!

Christina’s SUPER Top Secret Lemon Blueberry Bread Recipe
1 cup sour cream
1 cup white sugar
3 large eggs
zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup oil
1 and 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (divided as per below)
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 and 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

In a large bowl, stir the sour cream, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and oil. Set the wet ingredients aside.

Gently mix 1 tablespoon of flour and blueberries together and set it aside.

In a separate  bowl, whisk the 1 and 1/2 cups of flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the dry to the wet mixture until smooth.  Fold in blueberries last.

Bake in loaf pan at 350 degrees for 50 – 55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Optional Glaze Recipes: 
Quick Vanilla Glaze:  Mix 1 cup of confectioners sugar, 2 tablespoons of milk, 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla.  Tada!

Quick Lemon Glaze:  Mix 1 cup of confectioners sugar, 2 1/2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Vuala!

So, there you have it! Quick, easy, and delicious! I hope you have a beautiful day tomorrow and if you remember, pray for me as I conquer my fear of city driving and parallel parking!

Ok, so right off the bat I am compelled to tell you there is nothing spiritual about this post. Of course, for the Christian everything is spiritual but the subject of this post is plainly fish and chips. Though I haven’t been able to watch much, the London 2012 Olympics has me thinking about my friends across the pond – you know who you are 😉 and with that, some good old-fashioned English cooking.

Last August, my long-time friend Sheila and I took a recreational class at a well-known culinary institute here in NYC.  On the agenda were several traditional English foods, not the least of which was – you got it, fish and chips!

Regarded by many to be a venerable British institution, there isn’t much that can compare to a properly made meal of fish and chips! In fact, Winston Churchill once referred to the combination as “the good companions”. Traditionally wrapped in newspaper, fish and chips became the meal of the working class with its cheap ingredients and unmatched ability to warm the tummy on a cold day!

Below are two great videos on our topic. The first is a delightful little documentary of sorts that provides an entertaining yet informative historic overview. If you like learning about the intersection of food and culture, you will appreciate this one! The second is largely instructional but it too includes an introduction that, at least for me, is a little reminiscent of old-school Coney Island. In this video you will learn how to make fish and chips as good as any “chippy” shop in the UK! And as you will see, it’s all in the technique!

But before you watch the videos, here are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure — just to prove that I actually did take the class!

This is the HOT oil boiling at 375 degrees. Frying, by the way, is a science. For example, each time something is thrown into the pot, the temperature drops. Once removed you must wait for the temperature to rise before you can add the next batch.

Here is the fried fish. As you can see, there is an unopened jar of mayonnaise.  The plan was to make the tartar from scratch but we only used vinegar.  Sadly I don’t have a photo of the chippy’s. Being behind schedule  meant taking pictures made it’s way to the bottom of our culinary priority list.

And here is the Shepherds Pie. Did you know that Shepherds Pie is made with ground lamb while Cottage Pie is made with ground beef?

 

My inclination right now is to say, “Buon Appetito” but instead, how ’bout “Cheers, mate! ” 🙂 Here’s to setting aside one night in the near future to enjoy a homemade meal of fish and chips!