Banana Bread

Banana Bread
I don’t think I have met anyone who doesn’t have a fond memory of his/her Mother’s special banana bread or cake. It seems that we all grew up in homes where our Mother made the ‘best banana bread in the world’. Now either our mothers were all using the same recipe, or there is just something magical about Banana Bread. When Jo-Ann owned the Emerald Bakery in the city, her banana cake became quite famous. It was a covered in Chocolate Ganache & Banana Cream frosting. Yesterday's catering meal was finished off with these beautiful little Banana Cake’s, using Jo-Ann’s ‘best ever’ recipe!



Here is the recipe!

Jo-Ann’s ‘Best Ever’ Banana Cake

1 1/4 c Butter
3 c Sugar
6 Large Eggs
1 tbs Vanilla Extract
4.5 c Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1.5 c Sour Cream
4 c Mashed Bananas
2 tsp Baking Soda

Cream butter and sugar together in a mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs & vanilla and mix until incorporated. Sift together dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Combind sour cream, bananas and baking soda in a separate bowl. Alternate adding banana mixture and dry ingredients to creamed butter, sugar & egg mixture until just combined. Do not overmix.

Spoon into lined muffin tins, about 2/3 full. Bake in a 350 degree pre-heated oven for 10-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Alternately pour into a two 9 inch cake pans and bake for 30-45 minutes. Test for doneness.

Ice with your favourite frosting!

Artichoke and spinach frittata

Spinach and artichokes are in season right now. The spinach and artichoke combo in the following recipe remind me of one of my favourite dips, the hot spinach and artichoke dip, which I can never get enough of.

I started with 2 medium sized artichokes, and I quartered them after picking off the inedible outer petals and peeling their stems. I then removed the fuzzy insides and quickly blanched them before adding them to the frittata. Preparing the fresh artichokes took a bit of work but it was worth it! I ended up with nice large pieces of artichokes that gave the frittata a rustic feel to it and they were definitely tasty! The spinach, feta and dill flavour combo has been one of my favorites for a while now and it worked really well in this frittata and the artichoke took it over the edge making it that much better! Luckily I made enough that I will be enjoying this frittata for breakfasts for the rest of the week.


Artichoke and Spinach Frittata
(makes 4-6 servings)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion (diced)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 (10 ounce) package fresh spinach (roughly chopped, or frozen that is thawed and squeezed of excess liquid)
2 cups artichoke hearts (quartered)
6 eggs
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
salt and pepper to taste
1 handful dill (chopped)
1/2 cup feta (crumbled)



Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a pan.
2. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.
4. Add the spinach and cook until it wilts.
5. Mix the artichokes, eggs, yogurt, salt, pepper, dill, spinach and feta in a bowl.
6. Pour the egg mixture into the pan and cook until the eggs are almost set, about 10-15 minutes.
7. Transfer the pan into a preheated 400F oven and let the eggs finish cooking, about 10-15 minutes.