Harvest Cookies

Inspiration

Not much to say about how these came about, other than I was craving cookies that were just a little different. These are soft and chewy, with tart dried berries and sweet chocolate chips. And oats make them breakfast-worthy!

Harvest Cookies

1/2 lb. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1-1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 banana, mashed
2 cups old-fashioned oats
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. backing powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup dried berries*
1 cup chocolate chips **

Place racks in the upper third of the over and preheat to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl with electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add egg and mashed banana, and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Add oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, and mix with a spoon. Add berries and chocolate chips and mix again.

Drop batter by heaping tablespoons 1-1/2 inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake for 10-13 minute, turning/switching sheets half way through, until golden brown. Cookies will be soft. Let stand on baking sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool. Makes about 30 cookies.

* I used Welch's Dried Berry Medley with cherries, blueberries, cranberries, and golden raisins.
** I used Nestle Mini Morsels so there would be little bits of chocolate throughout rather than big chocolate chips.

Bananas for Zin

Clockwise from top left: Souvenir wine glass; me sipping something-or-other;
my patio Princess lilies; wine glass and festival flyer.

Today Chris and I went to the ZinFest Wine Festival at Lodi Lake. I found out about this event a few months ago and had been looking forward to going for quite a while, simply because it was something new and I got a killer deal on the tickets. We arrived about half an hour after the opening, which I think was perfect. It was hot, being Lodi in the summertime so it was somewhere in the 90°s F, but we were on the lake and there was ample shade to help keep us cool.

After parking in the lot we walked to the entrance, rather than wait for the shuttle where we would just be riding pressed up against other sweaty people. There are very few people I want to be that intimate with, and the ten minute walk was probably just as fast with the added benefit of getting a little exercise. Then our IDs were checked, a little further down we handed over our tickets and they stamped our hand with a little red smiley face indicating we were of drinking age, then a bit more further down they slapped an orange wristband on us, I think it was for re-entry if we left. Another short walk and we were handed a souvenir glass and program, then a small loaf of bread to help soak up the wine that would soon be in our bellies. After the intricate entry procedures we were free to roam.

There were fifty local wineries present, pouring more than 250 different wines. I wonder if anyone tried them all? Or at least every winery? I ended up trying less than ten, but honestly I cannot recall how many. The standout wine from what I tasted was the Gnekow Family Winery Old Vine Zin: it was incredibly mellow and smooth. There were also a number of local restaurant booths with food, some arts and crafts (though far fewer than I would have expected), live music, and a few roaming entertainers. Some people came ready for the day with picnic blankets, camp chairs, and I even saw a tent. We ended up staying a few hours overall before heading back to the car; I can only sip so much wine in one afternoon.

On our way home we stopped off in Tracy for lunch at The Olive Garden, to use up an ancient gift card that I think my parents gave us at least five years ago. It was a predictably bland meal: Chris said his lasagna tasted like Chef Boyardee, and my fettuccine Alfredo was passable. But free food always tastes better, we were hungry, and the service was actually quite good. The rest of the day has been spent relaxing, with a quick BBQ on the patio for Chris' steak and my double-stuffed wasabi "baked" potatoes. Its been very nice sitting here, playing on the computer with a Midori sour in my other hand, a dog or two at my feet, and enjoying the warm night. Everyone should be this lucky.

* * * * *

The other night I had an insatiable craving for banana bread. My mom makes a great one, and I have her recipe, but I wanted to try something a little different so I opened my copy of How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman. With a few adjustments based on what I had on hand, I came up with this, and it was good.

Peek-a-boo, little chocolate chips!

Banana Bread with Macadamia Nuts and Chocolate Chips
adapted from "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian"

8 tablespoons (1 stick butter), plus more for pan
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons half-and-half cream
1/4 chopped macadamia nuts
1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan.

Mix the dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl and with a hand mixer, cream the butter and beat in the eggs and bananas (I didn't bother pre-mashing my bananas; I added them whole here and used the beaters to mash them). Stir this mixture into the dry ingredients just enough to combine; lumps are okay. If your batter seems a bit too dry, like mine did, add the half-and-half at this point. Gently stir in the nuts and chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for about 45 minutes, until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out mostly clean. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes before removing the bread from the pan.

Enjoy slathered with melty butter and a good cup of coffee. I've had a thick slice of this for breakfast for a few days now. Its great to start off the day with chocolate!

* * * * *

I think I'm about ready to curl up in bed with my newest read - The Lunatic Cafe, the fourth installment of Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series - and perhaps a slice of pie.

What, you don't eat pie in bed?

Doesn't Play Well With Others

Gretel wedged herself in between Mac and me on the couch the other night.

I took the dogs to the dog park after work today, and Mac is really pushing my buttons. Between being spoiled over the holiday vacation by having someone around almost constantly and getting whatever he wanted at my parents' house, and being in a fun teenage-phase of development, he's been such a pill. Then he turns those big brown eyes on me and I completely melt. Sigh.

So, I took the dogs to the dog park and as soon as we're in Mac high-tails it over to a couple playing with a toy football with their dog. And he wants that football. Nothing will stop him, which makes him very, very annoying. I don't want to be that dog owner, so I leash him up and drag him away. He manages to tear the leash from my hands twice! Now I'm yelling at him, in a dog park full of people and their well-mannered dogs. Great, I've become that other dog owner. Time to implement some hard core training and NILIF with this guy who has become too big for his britches. And reclaim my sanity.

I was chatting with another person at the park who asked about my Wonder Twins, since they are a very odd duo. After a few minutes of is that your dog? how old? he's very cute! blah blah blah, she whips out, "So are those really your dogs, or are they family dogs?" Umm... "Well, my husband and I own them, so I guess that makes them family dogs." Seriously, I'm not 16! For Pete's sake I'm nearly 30! I know, I know, take it as a compliment and at least I'll look young when I'm old, but really! And Chris recently got carded buying a video game because you have to be 17 or have a parent buy it for you. Perennial teenagers... one day I'll buy liquor without having my driver's license scrutinized. Or see an R-rated movie without ID.

This week's Barefoot Bloggers recipe comes from Karen of Something Sweet by Karen (she has some very nice photos on her blog!). Karen chose Banana Sour Cream Pancakes, and I love breakfast!


I halved the recipe since Chris isn't a breakfast eater, and ended up with 6 pancakes. I usually mash the banana and add it to the dough, but in this recipe you sprinkle diced bananas over the batter in the pan. I liked how they lightly caramelized when you flipped the pancakes. However, mine didn't cook all the way through. They were dense and the sour cream made them moist. I put the pancakes in packs of two in my freezer, so I can pop them in the oven on broil in the mornings for a quick breakfast. The pancakes were good, but not great.

We got some new elements for our fish tank recently: A giant palm tree and a tiki hut. And since the fish don't get much face time around here...

Fishy Cabana

The blue cichlid is named F***er, since he's a mean fish and killed all the other cichlids. There's also a Chinese algae eater. Together they're known as The Fish Sticks. Can you find the algae eater in the picture above? Let's take a closer look...

Why, hello there!

I've put the Cable-Down Raglan on hold for a while. I'm just not feeling it right now and have other goals, namely the Cable Comfort Throw.

Yarny Coziness

The color is very off in this picture, its a dusty blue in person, Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in Denim. This is supposed to be a gift knit, if I finish in time; we will see. I'm sure it will be very warm and cozy, since I've knit two blankets with this yarn already.

That's all for now. I'm off to make a strong hot toddy and put myself in bed, to see if I can't shake this cold that kept me up all night. Or just hit the good ol' bottle of NyQuil. Its always fun to develop a cough the day after you do a lot of abdominal exercises when you just took a couple weeks off from exercising.

* cough * OUCH * cough * OUCH * cough * OUCH!

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

No, I didn't try to burn my house down, but we have a bunch of wildfires burning in California right now. While they aren't near our home, we have had a lot of smoke in the area and that familiar smell of fire in the air. Luckily its cooling off after a hot weekend, so hopefully the firefighters get some help.

We had a nice weekend. I took the dogs swimming on Friday afternoon, as I usually do. It was around 100 degrees but I spent most of the time in the water as well as the pups, so it was very nice. Saturday I went to a high school graduation in Berkeley, and I took Ayla to run on the golf course in the evening. She's starting to understand how to play with other dogs (thank you Mac!). We met what I think was a Catahoula and after some initial posturing, she started play bowing and jumping around with him. Ayla ran her fool head off too, though I of course kept her off the greens.

Sunday Chris and I spent a lazy morning torturing Ayla and Mac:

Ayla dusting off her 4th of July attire

Mac wearing Ayla's "Wanna be Doberman" shirt. It fits! He's big!

Group Shot

And Again

Mac left the shirt alone once I had it on him, but he kept trying to take Ayla's hat off. Maybe he thought it was too embarrassing?

After we tried their patience to the limits (and Mac fell asleep) we went out to lunch at El Balazo where we had Bob's Burrito, one of their vegetarian specialties. It was very tasty, and I enjoyed watching Chris sweat eating the jalapeno and onion relish. Then we walked over to the Cold Stone Creamery and shared a banana ice cream with chocolate chips (yum!). After lunch and dessert we went to see The Incredible Hulk. It was pretty good. I think Edward Norton is a very good actor, and of course Liv Tyler is just gorgeous. The movie was well done, and leagues better than the previous Hulk from 2003. There are a lot of good summer movies coming out, so we'll be going often I think.

After the movie we took the dogs to the elementary school to play. We can play keep-away with the ball for a while, but once Ayla gets the ball its very hard to get it back from her. She likes to run away with it and lie down in the shade, and will run if we come toward her. But while she was hoarding the ball, we ran around having Mac chase us. We've discovered that from a dead stop, he's as fast or faster than us, though we can outlast him. The little guy moves! After we tired the dogs out we came home, did some gardening, and grilled hot dogs (and a tofu pup for me), enjoying the warm evening.

I've made some progress on the Travelling Roses scarf. Here it is three lace repeats in, only ten more to go. The color is truer in this picture than in the previous one I posted:

Travelling Roses Lace Scarf

Finally, I baked up some cookies tonight and am very happy with the results. I adapted the recipe from the back of the bag of Guittard semisweet chocolate chips. These are like little fluffy clouds of banana and chocolate yumminess! And yes, we are on a chocolate and banana kick lately. Does it show?

Chocolate Chip Banana Cookies

2-1/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. banana extract
1 banana, pureed
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl combine flour, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy (I use an electric hand mixer). Beat in eggs and vanilla until smooth. Beat in banana puree. Gradually add the flour mixture until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop by well rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Let rest on cookie sheet for 1-2 minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool. I made about 4 dozen cookies.

Enjoy!

Jello Wrestling

Well, maybe not jello wrestling. But there is wrestling involved. And there is food too.

First up, a few pictures from our trip to Shadow Cliffs last Friday:

Mac hamming it up for the camera

"... Let me tell you 'bout my best friend..."

Mac really swam this time. I tossed a stick out a little, then a little farther, and a little more. All of a sudden he was diving under the water since the stick sank a little, did a turn, and paddled back to shore. I think he surprised even himself, and he wasn't much interested in actual swimming after that. He was very happy to wade though.

Now for the food: We had a going-away party at work today for a coworker so I made a cake. I used Orangette's Banana Cake with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting, but doubled it to make a two-layer cake and added a chocolate ganache filling.

Banana Cake with Chocolate Ganache and Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
adapted from Orangette

For the cake:
2 sticks (8 oz.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1.5 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large egg
1.5 cup puréed very ripe bananas (I used 4 bananas)
0.5 cup sour cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Chocolate ganache:
9 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used Ghiradelli chips)
1 cup heavy cream
1 Tbs dark rum

For the frosting:
6 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
6 Tbs unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup confectioners sugar
6 Tbs well-stirred canned cream of coconut; not coconut milk
2 tsp dark rum
2/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut (optional, I put it on the side to add as desired)

Place a rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly butter or spray a 9-inch round cake pan (I added parchment rounds, then sprayed again), and dust it with flour, shaking out any excess.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar on high speed until pale and fluffy, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as necessary. Add the egg, and beat until well combined. Add the banana purée, sour cream, and vanilla, and beat to combine well. Reduce the speed to low, and add the flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Do not overmix. (Its best to add the flour in thirds or quarters. The batter will be very thick so you'll probably have to mix by hand toward the end.)

Divide the batter equally between the two prepared cake pans, and bake until the top is pale golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20-27 minutes.

Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Run a thin knife around the edge of the pan; then invert the rack over the cake and invert the cake onto the rack to cool completely.

While the cake is cooking or while it cools, make the ganache. In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream until nearly boiling (but do not allow to boil). Pour over the chocolate in a bowl and stir to melt the chocolate and combine. Allow to cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Once cool you can whip the ganache if desired to make it fluffier.

While the cake cools, make the frosting. In a medium bowl, beat together the cream cheese and the butter on medium speed until smooth. Reduce the speed to low; then add the confectioners sugar, cream of coconut, and rum. Mix until combined; then increase the speed to high and beat until light and fluffy, about two minutes.

Even the cake layers by slicing off the domed tops with a large serrated knife in a gentle sawing motion (and save the scraps to snack on!). Place the bottom layer on your plate, pour some ganache in the center and spread outward, stopping about half an inch from the edge of the cake to avoid overspill. I used about half of the ganache to fill the cake (put the rest in the fridge, then use a melon baller to scoop out truffles!). Top with the second layer. Spread frosting around the sides and over the top of the thoroughly cooled cake, and sprinkle evenly with coconut if desired.

One of these days I need to get a proper cake stand or plate, instead of using a dinner plate. I also need an offset spatula to make frosting easier and prettier. My dreams are rather humble. This cake is really tasty and moist, like banana bread. The only leftovers from today was one little piece I brought home for Chris, and he's going to have to share it with me!

Finally, the wrestling portion for today. Here's a video I shot of Ayla and Mac playing bitey-face. You can hear Mac grunting and breathing, but Ayla decided to stay quiet tonight. She'll growl and even bark sometimes when they wrestle, but I guess she was camera shy.



I love having two dogs to wear each other out!