Breads and Biscuits Archives

Whole Wheat Banana Bread with Coconut Sugar

September 21, 2016 By Karen

Hello friends. It’s been a while. The entire summer passed by and I took a little break from the website. As I am sure you can all relate, there are periods when life seems fuller and busier than others, and you just have to make a choice about how to spend your time. I’ve been trying to figure out why I stepped away from this, and I don’t have a very novel answer. I simply prioritized other things. Spending time with my kids, sleeping more, reading, getting out and being in nature instead of in front of a computer. Oh, and of course there’s that thing called work. We went to Colorado at the end of August though, and it was just what I needed to recharge. Lots of family time and hiking, and appreciating the grandeur of The Rockies. They were incredible, and helped put things into perspective.Another reason that I stepped away was that my shoulder decided to go crazy for a few months. Physical therapy three times a week all summer and the order to rest it as much as possible meant over a month of no cooking at all, because I couldn’t chop anything, lift my arm to reach the dishes, or move a heavy pot. So yeah, I was a little off my game. When you can’t go to your happy place (the kitchen for me) because it hurts, changes have to happen. That said, I still was mostly able to feed my family during that time from the chest freezer that was stocked in my basement and which now is pretty depleted. It just goes to show that planning ahead is always smart. Of course that means now it’s time to fill it up again!

And this Whole Wheat Banana Bread with Coconut Sugar is a great addition to any freezer. Or a lunch a box, or the paper towel you grab as you rush out the door so that you can eat it in the car on your way to wherever, or on a fancy plate for company. It also packs nicely for a plane ride to India apparently, since it is what my in-laws always ask me to make them whenever they visit. (Did I tell you they moved? They moved. I’m a bit heartbroken that they’re down in Virginia now, but they’re loving it there.) So I baked a loaf for them to take on their last trip and it was reported that it travels well. It’s a sturdy little cake. Because you use coconut sugar instead of regular, and whole wheat flour, it is a bit denser than a typical banana bread, and has a lower profile. Really, it doesn’t rise as high. I feel this makes it heartier and more satisfying, so I find this a plus. Bananas are sweet enough, so the added coconut sugar is minimal, and you don’t get that cloying sweetness that some banana breads have. And it’s refined sugar free, which is always a good thing, and something I have written about before. (Baked Eggs with Sautéed Mushrooms anyone? Or Sesame Date Granola?)

It’s a one bowl quick bread, you can prep it in under 10 minutes, and it’s a perfect way to use up any over-ripe bananas you have lingering in your fruit bowl or hanging out in your freezer. (Do you have a massive collection of bananas in your freezer? Because I do. Here’s a great smoothie recipe you can use for them.) It’s a healthier choice than most, and I feel good about making it and serving it to those I love. I hope you give it a try, and if you do, please let me know what you think!

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Life Lessons and Julia Child’s Crepes

April 25, 2016 By Karen

I try to teach my kids that it’s okay to fail. That we all struggle, we all make mistakes, but the important thing is trying our best. It’s easy to say, right? The obvious lesson. Teaching by example is ideal, but let’s be honest, this is one instance where being the model feels pretty lousy. At least when it comes to the big things. The ones we really care about.

I’ll spare you all the details, but there was something recently that didn’t go my way. I put my whole self into it, and my kids got to watch me working towards a goal. It wasn’t something I “had to do,” just something that I wanted to do. But I took it seriously, and really did give it my all. When I found out that I failed, I was crushed. I was angry, and sad, and disappointed, and embarrassed. A whole mess of emotions that while appropriate for the situation, were still painfully uncomfortable.

But here’s the thing: as a parent, I couldn’t hide these feelings from my boys. I didn’t want to. Of course, I tried to display them in a way that wouldn’t overwhelm them, but I believe in being honest about how I feel. Not always putting on that pretty face and smiling through the nonsense. Yes, there’s a time and a place for that, but it isn’t in my own home. It doesn’t help anyone. So when I got the news, I took deep breaths and collected myself as best I could. But my older guy, all of 9 years, took one look at me and said, “Mom, what’s wrong?” When I told him, and the tears filled my eyes, he immediately came over to rub my back, and say, “That’s okay. You did your best. That’s what matters, right? You’re not going to give up, are you?” Those few words from him helped put everything in perspective. While I had failed one thing, I clearly had succeeded in something else. I have managed to impart a very important set of values to my kid, and to see it reflected back at me filled my heart with joy. Compassion, love, support, and a belief in perseverance, even when it’s hard. That’s definitely a win.

Jump ahead a few months, and I’ve come up with a much easier and pain free example of teaching my kids about failure, and what might go with it. I doubt it will surprise you that it took place in the kitchen, but as fate would have it, it wasn’t my own kitchen this time. Last week was spring break and instead of sunshine and beaches that the two words typically conjure up, we went the opposite route and rented a home in the Catskills, where it mostly rained and we cuddled up by the fire with books, board games, coloring, and even our cat. (Yes, we have somehow become people who travel with our cat…go figure.) I’d come prepared to bake, traveling with my own recipe collection, as well as canisters of flour, sugar, chocolate chips and a scale. (Doesn’t everyone go on vacation with their own cooking scale? I’m not the only one, am I??? Okay, so I might be. But I’m okay with that. Maybe that’s why you’re all here reading this, right? Because I’m that person?) Anyway, you can imagine how thrilled I was to arrive to the house to find a shelf filled with cookbooks and food memoirs right as you walk through the door. It’s like I found my only little piece of heaven….

Donna Hay’s Beef, Guinness and Mushroom Pie

March 17, 2016 By Karen

Last St. Patrick’s Day, I shared a quick and healthy green smoothie, and wrote about my brother Brian, who would have been 46 today. This year, in honor of both Pi Day on Monday, and St. Patrick’s Day, I feel obligated to share Donna Hay’s Beef, Guinness and Mushroom Pie with you all. I have been sitting on this since November, and that’s just ridiculous, since there are so many reasons to make this savory pot pie as soon as you can. (Donna Hay, by the way, is Australia’s version of Martha Stewart, but younger, minus the crafts and the jail time, and I will be writing more about her, and our Donna Hay themed cooking club in my next post.) From one of my new favorite cookbooks, it uses a method for the pastry crust that I’ve never heard of before, but is so much simpler that the traditional cold butter version. It’s a hot water pastry that actually melts the butter with water before stirring it into the flour, which results in a kinder dough. It comes together quickly, is sturdy enough to hold up to a hearty filling, yet still flakes. If you’re intimidated by the idea of making a pie, then this is your crust!!! (Or skip it, buy a pre-made shell from the store, and everyone will still love you for making whatever you stick inside of it. I promise. But to be honest, this is totally worth the extra 10-15 minutes of your life.)

But here’s the thing, you’ll want to get started on cooking your brisket first, because this is not a 30 minute meal. Trimming your meat, cubing it, browning it, and finally braising it is time consuming. It’s the type of activity that you can do while listening to a good story though. (I’m currently enjoying this audio book if you’re looking for something entertaining, which is soon going to be a TV series.) And in its own way, it makes for a relaxing time in the kitchen….

Top 10 Healthy Breakfasts on Tasty Oasis

February 29, 2016 By Karen

Toasted Oatmeal with Flax and Chia Seeds

“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,” said Piglet at last, “what’s the first thing you say to yourself?”

“What’s for breakfast?” said Pooh. “What do you say, Piglet?”

“I say, I wonder what’s going to happen exciting today?” said Piglet.

Pooh nodded thoughtfully. “It’s the same thing,” he said.

― A.A. Milne

People always say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but so often it’s tempting to skip it or just grab something boring (and unhealthy) on our way out the door or as we head to work. I’m guilty of it, and almost always regret it as a wasted opportunity. You all know I am a bit obsessed with good food, so to have empty, flavorless calories as my foundation for the day is ultimately disappointing. Over time, I have learned that with a little prep work, I can be stocked with options for quick and easy breakfasts that I can feel good about eating and serving to my family. The photos and links here are my favorite Top 10 Healthy Breakfasts on Tasty Oasis. Some, like the Toasted Oatmeal with Flax and Chia Seeds, the Coconut Maple Granola, the Sesame Date Granola, the Chocolate Pumpkin Nut and Seed Butter and the Applesauce with Vanilla and Cinnamon are all things you can make ahead of time (meaning over your weekend.) The Healthy Green Smoothie with Spinach, Kale and Banana and the Healthy Homemade Chocolate Milk take well under five minutes to throw in the blender so you can drink on the run. And if you’ve got a spare 20 minutes (or less) or planning for a weekend breakfast, Martha Stewart’s Buttermilk Pancakes, Dorie Greenspan’s Maple-Cornmeal Biscuits, and Tasty Oasis’s very own Cardamom Almond Matzo Brei are all worth the extra time. Every one of these recipes is easy, and many of them are refined sugar-free, gluten-free and even vegan.

As always, I would love to hear if you’ve made any of these! Please write a comment, share with your friends on Facebook (the button is right at the top,) or pin this post or the specific recipes to come back to them later. If you hover over any image, the pin icon will appear and make it super simple for you. And if you have any favorite recipes of your own, I am always looking for suggestions. Enjoy!

Healthy Green Smoothie with Spinach, Kale and Banana

Coconut Maple Granola

This Sesame Date Granola is a healthy, hearty way to start your day. Gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and vegan, it is packed with a nutty, slightly sweet flavor that has a hint of spice from cinnamon and ginger. It's so easy to make, and is perfect to grab on the go or present for company.

Sesame Date Granola (Gluten-Free, Refined Sugar-Free, Vegan, and All Around Healthy)

Doris Greenspan's Maple-Cornmeal Drop BiscuitMaple-Cornmeal Drop Biscuits from Dorie Greenspan are quick and easy to make, and would be perfect for breakfast, afternoon tea, or in your bread basket next time you have company for dinner. | www.tastyoasis.net

Doris Greenspan’s Maple-Cornmeal Drop Biscuits

Martha Stewart’s Buttermilk Pancakes

This Cardamom Almond Matzoh Brei is an extra flavorful version of Passover french toast. In less than ten minutes you have a healthy, easy breakfast that you'll want to eat all year round.| www.tastyoasis.net

Cardamom Almond Matzo Brei

This Chocolate Pumpkin Nut Butter is a quick and healthy way to start your day. Soaking almonds and cashews overnight makes them easy to blend with your favorite seeds, coconut, cocoa and pumpkin, so you can feel good about eating this slightly sweetened boost of protein on your toast in the morning. Refined sugar-free, vegan and gluten-free, it's full of flavor and will even make a Nutella-craving kid happy. | www.tastyoasis.net

Chocolate Pumpkin Nut and Seed Butter (VEGAN, GLUTEN-FREE, REFINED SUGAR-FREE)

Cocoa Powder and Ice in the Blender for Chocolate Milk

Healthy Homemade Chocolate Milk (Refined Sugar-Free, Gluten-Free)

Homemade Applesauce with Vanilla and Cinnamon is warm and comforting, and so simple to make. | www.tastyoasis.net

Homemade Applesauce with Vanilla and Cinnamon (Refined Sugar-Free, Gluten-Free, Vegan)

Vegan Cornbread Stuffing with Chipotle, Swiss Chard and Sweet Potato

November 22, 2015 By Karen

I’ve promised several friends that I’d share this recipe in time for Thanksgiving prep, so I think I’ve made it in just under the wire! As I mentioned earlier this week in my Spiced Orange Cranberry Sauce post, stuffing is one of my favorite parts of the Thanksgiving meal. I love it so much that we always have two different kinds at our table, ensuring plenty of leftovers. While some get repeated, there are always so many recipes I want to try that I like changing it up every year. A few examples we’ve loved were sourdough stuffing with mushrooms, apples and sage, herb and bacon cornbread stuffing, and even wild rice, fruit and pecan stuffing, which was a bit of a departure for us one year. Last month, while I was searching for a dish to bring to my cooking club for our Vegan theme night, I went directly to one of my favorite food blogs, The First Mess. My friend Felice turned me onto it a year ago, and even though my diet doesn’t skew vegan generally, I want to make everything Laura writes about. The photographs are stunning, and her flavor combinations always excite me. Assigned to a starch dish that night, I new instantly that I wanted to try what she called her sweet potato, chipotle + chard cornbread stuffing. I figured I could use this as an opportunity to audition it for our Thanksgiving dinner, and I am so glad I did! I mostly followed the recipe, but made some slight adjustments in order to double it to fit a 9 x 13 baking dish. (You know me, if I’m going to spend time cooking, I’m going to make sure there’s a large yield to serve for other meals or to freeze!) I also had to find a vegan cornbread recipe to use, because my standard one uses buttermilk (and bacon fat when I’m going all in!) Food52 pulled through for me on that end, and with a few changes there too I had a winner. With this vegan cornbread stuffing you have the sweetness from both the bread and the sweet potatoes, the smoky spicy layer from the chipotles, and a savory earthiness from the leafy green swiss chard. It balances perfectly, stays moist on the inside, but gets slightly crispy on top. I made a large casserole dish to share with friends, but decided to bake two individual ramekins as well for my family to try. The good news? Because I waited for daylight to grab some of the shots, I didn’t actually let my guys eat their stuffing for 5 days after making it! And you know what? It was just as delicious!

And it turns out it complemented the rest of our vegan cooking club meal as well. We had a fantastic lentil and nut loaf as the main course, which you shoud definitely make, …

Peach, Ricotta and Basil Pizza

August 27, 2015 By Karen

Hello! I know you haven’t seen me here much these last few months, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been in my kitchen. I’ve said it before: it’s my happy place. My oasis. When there’s nonsense going on, I retreat to the place where nothing can go wrong, and where I can get a few minutes of solitude. Okay, maybe you are looking at that last sentence and thinking, “But everything can go wrong in the kitchen!” Sure, flour can be spilled, dough can be too sticky, crust can get burned, but really, is it the end of the world? No. Is it a disaster? Never. Unless you’re slicing a digit and bleeding all over the place, or burning yourself on a hot pan (all things I can proudly say I’ve done, more than once,) mistakes in the kitchen aren’t tragic. So just take a deep breath and embrace the fact that you can be creative, you can feed yourself and people you care about wholesome food, and it’s going to taste damn good in the end. Oh, and that solitude? Sometimes it happens, and pushing dough to the edges of a pan is meditative, and other times I’ve got whining kids cranking out saying they’re hungry, or that their brother was mean. But truthfully, just being in the kitchen calms me down, and my reactions are kinder there.

So what have I been cooking? I’ve made 9 pizzas in the last seven days. Yes, nine. Four had peach, basil and homemade ricotta, two were avocado, corn and basil, a pesto pepperoni and a standard pepperoni, and then one with garlic oil, figs, mozzarella, Maldon sea salt and a splash of balsamic. I just got on a kick, and I can’t seem to stop. Here’s the thing: pizza is really easy. It’s one of those tricks, that once you learn how to do it, you wonder why you never did it before. And you can throw anything you want on top, and most of the time it works. This week, they all worked. And they worked so well that I just kept repeating them.

I’ve been making my own dough for a few years now. I’ve tried tons of recipes, but my all time favorite is from the cookbook and blog, Dinner: A Love Story, by Jenny Rosenstrach. Her recipe is pretty much Jim Lahey’s no-knead dough recipe, and it’s a winner….

Thankful: Dorie Greenspan’s Maple-Cornmeal Drop Biscuits

November 27, 2014 By Karen

Thankful.

Lucky.

Waking up to a kid that calls out, “Mom, can I get up? My tummy is telling me I neeeeeed to dance.”

Finally finishing “The Princess Bride” with my big guy, and around 20 pages before it ends listening to him belly-laugh at the scene of the “mawidge.” Knowing tonight he’ll get to watch the movie for the first time ever, and in the company of his uncle and grandma, the latter who’s been saying to him “Have fun storming the castle” his whole life. Getting to watch it through his seven year old eyes.

Going out to dinner for the umpteenth time in three weeks, thanks to my kitchen being off limits, and not only having the ability to do so, but a great meal with my family, where nobody spilled the water on his lap, or fussed over the order. And having my own belly-laugh over a line my husband said. In public, laughing inappropriately, too loud, tears streaming down my face. And I couldn’t stop.

Health. My own. My kids’. My mom’s. My brother’s. My husband’s. His mom’s. His dad’s. His sister’s. Her husband’s. Their daughter’s. Our friends’.
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