Banana Coconut Walnut Bread

This is a quick bread which is sweet and nutty and delicious. An easy bread to whip up when pressed for time.

Banana Coconut Walnut Bread

2 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour (or All-Purpose Flour)
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Cinnamon Powder
2/3 cup Sugar
2 large Eggs
1 cup Banana, mashed
1/2 cup Skim Milk (or whole milk, or whatever milk you have on hand)
1/4 cup Coconut Oil (or any oil you have on hand)
1 tsp Vanilla essence
1/2 cup Coconut, shredded
1/4 cup Walnuts (Optional (or) any other nut you have available: almonds, cashewnut, pecans)

Preheat oven to 180 deg C.

Whisk together all the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In another bowl, whisk sugar and eggs until combined. Add the mashed banana, milk, oil and vanilla and whisk until combined.

Add the banana mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Add the coconut and walnuts and stir to combine.

Pour the batter into a 9"x5" loaf pan and bake for 60 minutes. Let cool before removing from pan.

Enjoy.

Other Quick Breads in this blog: Parmesan Walnut Bread, Beautiful Banana Bread, Mango Bread, Banana Chocolate Bread and Honey Bread.

Tomato Pasta

I love pasta. Any shape or form. My favorite kind of pasta is without sauce and tossed with pepperoncino, garlic and a little drizzle of olive oil. I'm not huge on heavy sauces and particularly tend to stay away from the cheesy white sauces.

This is a recipe I bookmarked ages ago from Lolo, and finally got to use it. Finally I found a pasta sauce that I love and it's super easy too. And the pasta isn't drowned in the sauce, it only adds to the flavor.

I made the pasta at home with 50% whole wheat and 50% all-purpose flour, using my recipe.


Tomato Pasta
(original recipe at Vegan YumYum - I made a couple of changes)

1 Large Tomato, cored and chopped
1/4 cup Raw Pine nuts
1 tbsp Pureed Tomato
1/4 cup Water
1 tbsp Olive Oil
4 cloves Garlic, minced
5-6 ounces Pasta (I made a fettuccine-ish shaped pasta)
2-3 tbsp Water

For Garnish: Fresh Ground Pepper, Basil Leaves (torn)

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil. Add the pasta to the boiling water. Cook until al dente, strain and set aside.

Blend the chopped tomato, tomato puree, pine nuts and water (the 1/4 cup) in the blender. Blend well until you get a smooth sauce.

Heat a pan with some olive oil. Add the garlic and saute until slightly browned. Add the mixture from the blender and saute until the raw smell of the tomato is gone (about 3-4 minutes). Add the 2-3 tbsp of water, if necessary, to thin out the sauce.

Add the cooked pasta to the saute pan and toss to coat. Remove from heat. Garnish with fresh black pepper and basil leaves.

This is one of the best pasta sauces I've ever had. It was creamy and delicious. And look at that gorgeous color! Thanks, Lolo!

Now check out what wondrous stuff my fellow marathoners have cooked up in their kitchens:

DK, Siri, Srivalli, Ranji, PJ, Curry Leaf, Medha, Priya, Bhawna, Raaji, Ruchii, Kamala, Roopa, Divya Kudua, Rekha, Divya, Lakshmi, Raaga, Lakshmi, Sripriya and Viji.

Almonds

Every once in a while, I crave the honey roasted nuts found on the street carts in New York City. I remember every time you pass by one of these carts and the smell of the roasting nuts comes wafting by, making you want to stop, close your eyes and breathe it in. If you've never had them, I absolutely recommend them on your next visit there.

Meanwhile, you can try my New York street-cart-style roasted nuts. They came out pretty well, but the nice part was that my entire kitchen and home were left with that great smell! Mmm...


New York Style Roasted Almonds
(original recipe from World on a Plate)

2 cups almonds, blanched, skinned
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
2 tbsp honey
1/2 cup brown sugar (I used Demerara sugar)
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tbsp Oil

Preheat oven to 175 deg C.

Heat a pan with the oil, add the almonds, honey, chilli and cumin powders and sugar.


Stir to coat and continue roasting until the sugar melts and caramelizes.


Spread the almonds on a baking tray.


and pop into the oven for 5-10 minutes until browned and dry.


Take out the tray and let it cool.


Store in an airtight container (if there's any left after "tasting" it!)


This is off to Sia at Monsoon Spice for MBP - Street Food. A great idea and theme, Sia. MBP gets you to try out all those recipes you've bookmarked from other bloggers and discover new ones. MBP is the brainchild of Coffee at the Spice Cafe. This round-up is definitely going to be great!