plums in the icebox

strawberry banana cakebread

I set out to make banana bread, but this ended up so incredibly, amazingly, wonderfully moist that I decided to call it a cakebread instead. Because it's kind of like a cake! Get it? Cakebread! Because it's sort of a bread but it's also sort of a cake. 

Of course, one of the factors that contributed to this cakebread being so moist was that I incorporated strawberry preserves into the recipe. I knew I wanted to make banana bread, but I also wanted something a little more interesting than plain old banana bread. Strawberries and bananas always go well together, thus, strawberry banana bread (or, little did I know, cakebread. Have I beaten the cakebread thing to death yet? No? Cakebread.)I didn't blend the preserves up very well because I was hoping for some sticky oozy ribbons of strawberry throughout the bread and that's exactly what I got. Exhibit A:

Yummmmmm.

This recipe is gluten-free, but it's based off of my old-standby banana bread recipe that contains gluten. So that means you can use the same amount of GF flour as you can regular gluteny flour.

Strawberry Banana Cakebread

makes 1 loaf

total time: 1 hour 15 minutesish

total hands on time: 15 minutes

What you'll need:

1 3/4 cups GF all-purpose flour mix (I used Arrowhead Mills)

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup sugar

pinch of salt

2 eggs

1/2 cup applesauce

3 ripe bananas, mashed (I don't mash mine completely because I like some thicker banana parts mixed in)

3/4 cup strawberry preserves or jam

What you'll do:

1. Preheat oven to 350

2.In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients and mix well.

3. Mash bananas an

4. Whisk eggs with sugar.

5. Add egg mixture to the wet ingredients and mix well.

6. Combine dry ingredients with wet ingredients and mix very well, making sure all dry parts are totally incorporated. It is a VERY thick and sticky batter.

7. Pour into a pan and bake for about 45 minutes to an hour. Mine took closer to an hour.

I'm not terrific at vegan baking, but I think this recipe would still turn out if you omitted the eggs. Any vegan bakers want to weigh in?

It's also a very sweet bread, so I bet you could even omit the 1/4 cup of sugar I used. 

as you can see there in the corner, I actually made two loaves

I'm eager to try this again using different kinds of jams or preserves. Such a simple addition to the banana bread batter, but so delicious.

 

national poetry month edition of eats and reads

Here is a special National Poetry Month edition of EATS and READS. It's pretty heavy on the poetry-related reads, including a bunch of links to poems I like.

And, because I feel these EATS and READS posts need some kind of visual accompaniment, here's a picture from when I attempted to make candied violets and they didn't turn out that well so I didn't blog them.

EATS:

Follow along with my friend (and writer featured in Writers Eat) Christopher Newgent as he embarks on a meal planning adventure. 

Foodieism as Youth Culture via NY Magazine

Fascinating review of Gustavo Arellano's new book, Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America via Slate

A unicorn cookbook was found at the British Library. A UNICORN cookbook!

All you need to know about icing, frosting, and glaze via CakeSpy

Good dessert recipes for one or two people via The Kitchn

READS:

What does tension mean, in poetry?

Yucca Mountain by Aubrie Martin in Sink Review

Say When by Sophie Klahr in PANK

Every Cupcake is an Act of Violence by Matt L. Rohrer in GlitterPony

I Don't Burn by Kevin Young in A Public Space

I have done a very half-assed NaPoWriMo this year (I've written maybe 12 poems so far for the month), but go check out Maureen Thorson's thoughful prompts if you want to write a poem but are feeling stuck. 

Different poets (part 1, part 2) answer the question "What kind of poems do you write?" via The Poetry Foundation's Harriet Blog

Also, my collection of poems, PRETTY TILT, has been released! It's available on my publisher's website and was just released on Amazon, too!

I went on a very mini reading tour last week and read in NYC with lovely Birds of Lace authors Rohin Guha, Niina Pollari, Jason Helm, and with Birds of Lace editor, poet, and my friend, Gina Abelkop. Gina, who you might remember from her Writers Eat post, just had a book of poems, DARLING BEASTLETTES, come out with Apostrophe Books. Gina and I also read in DC with Joe Hall and Eugene Cross. Then we hopped a plane and read in Durham, NC with Kate Zambreno (who put us up in her airy, gorgeous house, fed us a delicious vegan breakfast and has the cutest puppy ever).

you should eat this: spike seasoning mix

Welcome to the latest installment in a very intermittent series of posts where I share food products I enjoy (and that I think you should eat). 

My latest obsession is Spike Original Seasoning. On a whim, I picked up a jar of this stuff at my local organic grocery store and I am totally hooked on it now. It's just the perfect all-purpose seasoning mix, and it's "natural" and "gourmet" to boot. According to the company's website, there are 39 different herbs, spices and veggies blended up in here, including salt, cayenne, parsley, tarragon, curry, dill and kelp. The kelp and curry are a surprise to me because all I know is that this seasoning blend makes every dish I cook with it taste amazing. Plus I like the bold name of Spike, you know? Seriously! Give it a try.

plums elsewhere

I have a regular weekly recipe gig with my Eat of the Moment column on Hello Giggles (today's recipe is a zingy springy green pea and edamame dip), but I've been cooking elsewhere around the web, too. Here are some links, if you're interested!

Asparagus and Chopped Egg Salad for The Chalkboard, a web magazine dedicated to living a healthy lifestyle.

Chia Seed Banana Yogurt Parfait for The Chalkboard

Community Grains is a California company that offers local, completely whole grain products like pastas, beans, and polentas. I really believe in the philosophy of their company, so I was so happy when they asked me to develop some recipes with their beans!

Mexican Minestrone

Crispy Beans and Greens with Tomatoes

I still have some Community Grains polenta that I'm excited about cooking up into something good. 

And last but not least, I did a guest post for one of my favorite food blogs, Big Girls Small Kitchen, about cleaning out your pantry and spice cabinet for spring. I actually cleaned out my own cabinets while writing the post and, as someone born and raised in Maryland, I was pretty mortified that my Old Bay was TWO YEARS PAST EXPIRATION DATE. Look at the bottoms of your spice jars, guys!

I'm also happy to say that Plums in the Icebox was also Foodista's Food Blog of the Day this past Saturday, April 7th! They featured my roasted grapes recipe. 

I'm a lot more on top of posting this kind of stuff on the PITI Facebook page, so if you're on Facebook, you can "like" it here. 

pretzel-crusted honey mustard chicken breasts

So, I suddenly like mustard. I have a long history of disliking condiments of all kinds, although strangely I will eat my most-hated ones within certain contexts (AHEM deviled eggs, tuna salad). Anyway, I've always really despised mustard, but I recently found myself liking snooty mustard. You know, honey mustard, dijon mustard, those fancier types of mustards. My palate is apparently snobby, because I still hate the squeezy yellow bottle mustard.

This was our Easter dinner. Mustard-dipped, pretzel-coated chicken breasts. Simple, salty, good. I would say "so salty, so good," because that phrase is a weird inside joke from lunch period circa 11th grade (And I'm sitting here cracking up. I still remember. I know you do, too, Emily Berman! Raise the roof, 2001 Towson High lunch table. RAISE. THE. ROOF.), but it wouldn't even be true. These aren't that salty! Depends on the pretzels you use, I guess: I used Glutino pretzel twists, which are my preferred GF pretzel. I can also speak to their deliciousness when dipped in Nutella.

Pretzel-Crusted Honey Mustard Chicken Breasts

adapted from Food and Wine

makes 2-3 chicken breasts

total time: 30-35 minutes

total hands-on time: 10 minutes

What you'll need:

2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 cups pretzels, crushed

1 tbsp rice vinegar

2 tbsp dijon mustard

1 tbsp honey

1/4 cup canola oil

a few healthy shakes of garlic powder, salt and pepper

What you'll do:

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Place the pretzels in a plastic ziploc bag and crush them with a heavt object; I used the bottom of a glass. I liked having some chunkier pieces of pretzel in the mix but if you want a totally uniform crust, you might want to use a blender or a food processor.

3. In a small bowl, whisk vinegar, mustard, oil, honey, salt, pepper and garlic powder until well-combined.

4. Spread the crushed pretzels out on a flat surface: a plate, some tinfoil, a paper towel. Your call.

5. Dip the chicken breasts into the mustard sauce and then coat on both sides with the crushed pretzels. You'll have a little bit of mustard sauce left over...save it!

6. Bake the chicken for about 20-25 minutes. The pretzels will brown a bit.

7. Slice and serve with more mustard sauce on top.

I served the chicken alongside some sugar snap peas sauteed with oil and garlic. It was a satisfyingly crunchy dinner.

white bean & arugula soup

This is the second green soup I've made in a week. 

Last week I made a potato, leek and spinach concotion as kind of a blahhhh it's Sunday evening and I want to make a healthy dinner but I feel kind of lazy so I'll just throw a bunch of stuff that's in the fridge into a pot and call it a soup soup. It turned out so well that I made another one this week, except I used arugula instead of spinach, white beans instead of potato, and onions instead of leeks. It turns out that a starch and a green, combined with other veggies, prove to be a perfect light, healthy spring soup. If you make this, don't feel like you have to adhere closely to the exact ingredients I used: try making this with celery, parsley, kale, chard, etc.

I liked the stronger peppery flavor of the arugula, but it would be good (and nutritionally dense) to use both arugula and spinach in the soup. I'd like to try this again using both beans and potatoes and maybe even some artichoke hearts. Maybe I'll try it next week so I can be three for three on weekly green soups.

Arugula & White Bean Soup

makes 8-10 servings

total time: 30 minutes

total hands-on time: 15-20 min

What you'll need:

couple of tbsps olive oil

1/2 an onion, diced

3-4 cloves garlic

1 can (2 cups) cannellini beans

4 cups vegetable broth

2 cups shredded (or sliced) green cabbage

2 1/2 cups fresh arugula

2 tbsps chopped chives

2 tbsps lemon juice

salt, pepper and other seasonings to taste

What you'll do:

 1. In a large soup pot, saute the onions in the oil until they're soft and translucent. Add the garlic.

2. Then add the cannellini beans, salt, and pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes.

3. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Once the mixture is boiling, turn down to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes, covered.

4. Stir in the cabbage and cook until it's slightly limp, maybe 4-5 minutes. Then stir in the arugula and simmer until arugula is wilted. 

5. Add chives and lemon juice, stir well, then blend soup in a blender or a food processor.You can also use an immersion blender if you have one (I don't and frankly I've been scared of them since the infamous incident where my friend Juliet almost sliced off her finger while using one.) Season with more salt and pepper if you'd like.

 

see my reflection in the spoon? haha

This soup is totally vegan and gluten-free. You can garnish with cheese (feta, like I did, although of course that cancels out the vegan-ness), a dollop of sour cream (ditto for vegan-ness) croutons, or more chives. Or garnish with all of them at once!