Food Photo of the Day ~ Chopped Salad

 

I know I have said this before and I am sure that I am not the only one who has, however... salads don't necessarily mean or need to be leafy greens or swimming in dressing. Chopped salad is fresh and refreshingly simple, chopped vegetables, in this case tomatoes, cucumber and green onion, tossed with dill or summer savoury with fresh ground pepper and maybe just a pinch of salt or possibly a squeeze of lemon juice. Allowing the herbs and spices to dress and enhance a more clean flavour by omitting a flood of dressing. Straightforward but succulent and the vegetables burst in their own juicy flavour. An effortless bright and voluptuously glowing mountain of vegetables, that is becoming my preference.   

Strawberry Banana Bread

 

Something comforting can be said about traditional banana bread. While chocolate chips may be the obvious addition so can fruit. With a whole plethora of fruit waiting to heighten its taste and texture; strawberries were my choice and they added such a welcoming sweet tang to this already fragrant loaf. 

Strawberry Banana Bread

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2 cups mashed banana, about 2 large or 4 small/medium bananas

2 cups self raising flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup dark brown sugar 

1/2 cup olive oil

2 large eggs, room temperature

1/3 cup plain Greek or Skyr yoghurt 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup fresh or frozen sliced strawberries

Notes: you can replace the self raising flour with all purpose flour and add 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder. 

Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Grease and flour a 3 lb. (11 x 5 x 3 inch) loaf tin and line the bottom and sides with baking parchment, to ensure easy removal of bread from tin when baked.  

Place peeled bananas in a medium bowl and roughly mash together. Set aside.

Slice fresh strawberries or if you are using frozen place them in a microwavable bowl and use the microwave to gently defrost them.

In a medium bowl add the self raising flour and salt and whisk together. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the brown sugar, olive oil and whisk together until creamy and smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, blending well after each addition. Add the yoghurt, vanilla extract and mashed bananas and using a wooden spoon stir together until well combined. Then add the sliced strawberries to the mixture and gently blend together. 

Fold in the flour mixture, in two additions, and stir until just combine, you do not want to over mix the batter. 

Spoon the batter into the prepared baking tin and bake in the preheated oven for about 60 minutes, check loaf after 30 minutes, if the loaf is browning to quickly on top cover with aluminium foil to prevent over browning, for the remainder of the baking time. 

When done, the middle should be set and a toothpick inserted in the centre should come out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly, about 10 to 15 minutes. Carefully turn loaf out onto the wire rack to finish cooling. Cut into slices and serve with butter. 

 

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies

 

If you're celebrating Cinco de Mayo then these Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies are a scrumptious nod to honour and celebrate the day of Mexican heritage and culture. A crisp and chewy chocolate crackle cookie with a distinctive mellow spicy piquant rich taste. Definitely moreish and you'll want to bake these whether it's Cinco de Mayo or not.  

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies

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1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon chilli powder

3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup cocoa powder 

1/4 cup molasses

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

1 egg, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup to 1/3 cup cinnamon sugar, for rolling

Line a large baking tray or two baking trays with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, cayenne powder and chilli powder. Set aside.

In a large bowl add the melted butter, cocoa powder and molasses and stir until well combined. Add the brown sugar, egg and vanilla extract. Stir until well combined.

Add the flour mixture to the buttery cocoa mixture and stir until combined. Leaving no flour streaks in the mixture. Cover and chill the dough in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes or alternatively lightly flour hands, as the dough is sticky, and roll the cookie dough between hands into balls no larger than a walnut, then roll in the cinnamon sugar and place on a plate lined with waxed paper and chill the dough balls in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. Keeping the remaining cookie dough balls in the refrigerator until ready to bake. 

Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). 

If not pre-rolling, Place the cinnamon sugar in a small bowl. When the 30 minutes of chill time is up, use a cookie scoop, that's a 1 1/2 tablespoon scoop, to portion out the cookie dough, and roll lightly between hands to form a ball. Roll in the sugar to coat then place dough balls on the prepared baking tray, 2 inches apart. Place the bowl with the remaining portion of cookie dough back in the refrigerator until the first set of cookies are baked and are ready to roll and finish baking the rest of the dough.  

Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven. The cookies should puff up and start to crackle on top. Remove the tray from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely. Sprinkle with more sugar, if desired.

Notes: you can replace the cinnamon sugar for rolling with caster sugar instead.