Banana Pancakes

This is just the best banana pancakes recipe:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/20334/banana-pancakes-i/

However, as written the batter comes out a little runny, so I add a 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour, which also adds some extra fiber.

Made it today for Clint's birthday breakfast.  Awesome with jam or fresh fruit!

Persimmon Bread

A friend brought persimmons to our Christmas party.  I wasn't sure what to do with them, so I decided to try to find a bread recipe.  This James Beard is incredible, ya'll!  I used Southern Comfort for the whisky, with pecans (didn't bother to toast them) and golden raisins.  Heaven!

http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2005/11/persimmon-bread/

Big Max Attacks

Our new cat, Max, took a while to grow on us.  He is definitely not a ridiculously cuddly teddy bear like Freddie---he purrs so softly it's hard to tell if he is purring at all, he is very tetchy about being picked up or touchy on his belly, and his default expression is grumpy.  However, he has gotten increasingly affectionate, especially liking to hang out with Clint and Ian, and likes to follow us from room to room upstairs.  Tonight we realized that he has also gone from being threatened by Freddie to seeing himself as Freddie's protector.

Freddie had to go back to the vet today (looks like he should be all right with some treatment, which is more than we can say for our Christmas budget).  One of the procedures he needed was an enema, and needless to say the vet's office did not clean him up very well afterwards.  Since he likes to sleep in the master bed, the two of us had to give him a bath tonight, which he did not appreciate after the hard day he's had today.  He fought like a wildcat, with much screaming and yowling.  While this was going on Max heard the noise and curiously peeked his head into the bathroom.  We laughed and said to each other, "No way Max is coming in here!  He doesn't want to be next."  

But a few minutes later there was a flash of white fur, and Max had run into the bathroom and was attacking my leg, batting me like a boxer with his front paws!  I shooed him out gently and shut the door.  We finished Freddie's bath and wrapped him in a towel, and Max came and sat nearby keeping an eye on things.  I've never seen anything like that---I really think Max was trying to protect Freddie and considering that they are two adult male cats who didn't grow up together, weren't friendly when they first met, and have only started to tolerate each other within the past months or so, that seems quite remarkable.  Not at all what you expect from "selfish" cats.

Pork Carnitas

3-4 lb boneless pork loin
2 cups chicken broth
1 can tomatoes and chilis
1 small onion, sliced
4 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp lime juice
1/2 tsp orange extract
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Place all ingredients in roaster pan in 325 degree oven and cook until tender enough to shred (about 3 1/2 to 4 hours).  Serve with flour tortillas, guacamole, and salsa

Breakfast bars

1 cup softened butter

2 cups light brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cups flour

2 cups steel cut oats

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 sup sliced almonds

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cream butter and sugar using mixer, then beat in vanilla and eggs.  Mix flour, salt, and baking soda in separate bowl, then gradually stir into the batter mixture.  Mix in the oats; then mix in the rest of the ingredients.  Spread onto a greased cookie sheet with a spatula.  Cook for 20-23 minutes or until crisp and starting to brown slightly.  Cool and then cut into bars.

Pimento Cheese

You could do this for sandwiches (and we do), but it is also so good sometimes we just spread it on crackers.

3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 4-oz jar pimientos
1/2 cup mayo
1/4 cup cream cheese
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp onion powder
dash of pepper

Drain the liquid from the jar of pimientos and discard it and then chop the pimientos finely. Mix pimientos with cheese.  Mix in mayo, cream cheese, and Worcestershire sauce, then the dry ingredients.  Mix until all dry ingredients are dissolved, then chill for 1 hour or overnight.

Fun with Pumpkin

The day before Halloween I went to the grocery store to buy a pumpkin to carve and couldn't find one except the giant display one.  I asked the produce manager, and he said, "We're all out.  But I'll sell you the display one for $10."  So that is how we ended up with a 50 lb pumpkin.

I was afraid to take on the mammoth task of carving it, so Clint just painted a goofy Jack-o-lantern face on it with non-toxic paints from his face-painting kit.  I usually take the seeds out of our Jack-lanterns when we carve them and we roast pumpkin seeds, and once in a while I will use the meat for a pumpkin pie, but this year I did not want to let all of that pumpkin go to waste.  So this weekend Clint dragged Big Bertha inside for me and I proceeded to make pumpkin puree.

I actually had to use a tree pruning saw to cut it open it was so tough (yes, that is me looking none-too-glamorous in my sweats, tee, and favorite baseball cap).  When I saw how thick the walls of the pumpkin were, I was very glad we had painted it rather than tried to carve it, since it was about three inches thick!

I cut the pumpkin into good-sized chunks and steamed it on the stove until it was tender and then removed the skin.

Next I pureed the pumpkin with a potato masher.  I went ahead and froze some for later (good for pumpkin pies).

I made some pumpkin soup, which turned out to taste sort of like creamed corn.  I also decided I would try making pumpkin bread, since I like other fruit and veggie breads (banana, zucchini, applesauce...)  I used the recipe for the pumpkin bread that Bobby Flay uses in his pumpkin bread pudding.  I did add some pecans to it as well (I just love pecans!)

So not a bad weekend's work.  However, I have to confess that that big old 50 pounder got the best of me---I ended up throwing over 3/4 of it away.  Still glad some of it went to use, though!