Kat of All Trades

I learned a very important lesson on Saturday: do not go weed in the backyard alone! It is entirely too depressing. I got out there and tackled the garden bed and its surrounding area first, and that was awesome. The dill, rhubarb, and cucumbers are starting to strut their stuff, which pleased me greatly. I can’t wait to see what they look like after these few days of rain!

After weeding the bed and taking some photos, I made the unfortunate mistake of looking at the rest of the yard. D’oh! Yes, it still looks a million times better before it did when we started; however, all of the areas that we’ve weeded have the same evil weed still going strong.

I hate this guy. I call it the red asparagus tree. We’re still not entirely certain what type of weed it is – I initially thought it was a type of spurge, but now that the leaves are growing, I’m not so sure – but it. is. EVIL. It’s got an extensive, woody root system, so when you pull it, even if you go deep, you’re not getting out all of the roots. It oozes some milky sap, and then a week or two later, you start seeing more of the pink/red, asparagus-esque shoots. I’ve seen a few woody stems with six or eight tiny red sprouts popping up, taunting my inability to conquer, ready to take over the yard.

Suffice to say, seeing more and more of it pop up was kind of a downer. I shuffled back to the apartment, seeking comfort in the form of chocolate.

Enter what you’ve been waiting to see: something to use up those rapidly browning bananas and satisfying your chocolate comfort needs. I cut back on the sugar from the original recipe to balance the sweet bananas and the fact that I used sweetened cocoa. I also added some wheat flour so I can more easily pretend it’s a breakfast food and not entirely unhealthy. Eat up!

Chocoholic Banana Bread (adapted from Nigella Lawson’s How to Be a Domestic Goddess)

1/2 c white flour
1/2 c whole wheat flour
2 tbsp sweetened cocoa (I used Ghirardelli Sweet Ground Chocolate and Cocoa)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c unsalted butter, melted
1/3 c sugar
2 large eggs
2 large, ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 c chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter and flour a 9×5-inch loaf pan, or line it with parchment paper.

Combine flours, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium-sized bowl; set aside. In a large bowl, beat the melted butter and sugar until blended. Add the eggs one at a time, then the mashed bananas. Stir in chocolate chips and vanilla extract. Finally, add the flour mixture, a third at a time, stirring well after each addition.

Pour batter into loaf pan and bake in the middle of the oven for about an hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

There’s been lots of baking happening this week, more than any other homemaking activity. Some of it has been for business; some has used up leftover produce and dairy; and all of it has been for pleasure.

Baking is really fun for me because it’s generally relatively quick for me to throw something together, and then we have tasty treats to last for a few days. I’m really looking forward to having all kinds of fresh farmer’s market fruit in the summer, but for now there are apples and dried fruit and chocolate chips, so I’m getting by.

Apple and rhubarb is one of my favorite combinations, and I think it’s a great transition from a fall and winter full of apples into spring flavors. I have a variety of pie and pastry cookbooks that I often use as inspiration; this recipe was for straight-up rhubarb pie, and I adjusted and tweaked and came up with what you see above. There’s apple and rhubarb and lemon and honey and…YUM. I think I’d like to try making and canning some apple-rhubarb jam or jelly. Y/Y?

The pie bites were free at MoCCA Festival this past weekend if you bought a pie comic from my lovely friend Tea. She is a purveyor of adorable things and draws awesome comics. The full-size pie went with me to my knitting group. I had a few apples that were at the end of their days, and rhubarb that had been hanging out in my freezer for a while. It was time to use them for a delicious cause.

One thing to note about recent pies: I’m officially obsessed with my pastry blender. I thought I made an awesome pie crust before, and I’m certain it’s gotten better since the holidays. The one change I’ve made is using a pastry blender, which was a Christmas gift from my cousins. I’m in love.

Then there are smitten kitchen’s dreamy cream scones, which are one of my current obsessions. I make them with dried cranberries or chocolate chips, though I’m going to try make them with tea leaves soon. One of my coworkers made Earl Grey shortbread cookies recently, and since then I can’t stop thinking about tea scones.

Last but not least, a quick and tasty treat that I threw together for a coworker’s goodbye potluck. I wanted to whip up a gluten-free and sugar-free batch so that I could bring some to my book club as well. I actually whisked the eggs whites and salt into a meringue by hand rather than using a mixer, and oh man, did that make me feel badass! I want to develop my whisking muscles!

One thing worth noting is that these definitely tasted better after being in the fridge overnight. I’d recommend making them at least a few hours before you’d like to serve them so that they have time to chill.

Coconut Macaroons (recipe adapted from Elana’s Pantry)

6 egg whites
1/4 tsp finely ground sea salt
1/2 c agave nectar
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 tbsp almond extract
2-1/4 c shredded coconut
1 c coconut flakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. (Trust me, you’ll want to use the parchment, or these guys will stick!)

Whisk egg whites and salt until stiff. Fold in remaining ingredients until well combined.

Using a tablespoon, drop balls of dough about an inch onto the parchment-line cookie sheet. Pinch each macaroon at the top.

Bake until lightly brown, about 12-17 minutes.

Makes 20-24 depending on size.