Banana Bread

banana Here is a very simple banana bread recipe that turns out wonderfully moist and relies more on the natural favour from the banana rather than adding a bunch of other ingredients, like cinnamon and nuts. It is delicious straight out of the oven, when it cooled slightly but still warm. I usually love butter on my banana bread but this is delicious without it and oh so bananary, ok not an actual word but the best one to describe this.

Ingredients
banana2
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
3-4 bananas, ripe, mashed
2 eggs, well beaten
1 1/4 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees farenheit.

2. In large bowl, cream together sugar and butter.

3. Add bananas and eggs.

4. Sift the cake flour, salt, and baking soda together three times. Blend together the banana mixture and the flour mixture, being careful not to overmix.

5. Bake in greased and floured loafpan for 45-50 minutes.

Enjoy!!

All photos taken by me unless otherwise stated.

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Sesame Encrusted Chicken Breasts With Ginger-soy Sauce

sesamechicken2jpg This is a wonderful chicken recipe that is so flavourful and the sauce is so yummy. You can serve this delicious dish with with vegetables and rice or a couscous. I chose to serve ours over an Asian inspired couscous for a lovely and a little bit of a lighter meal than rice. I know both are packed with carbs I just feel that couscous is less starchy and therefore feel a lot better after eating this than rice. I will also make a note that when browning the breast on the stove top be it gas or electric please pay attention as the sesame seeds burn quite quickly and you do not want that, hence finishing them in the oven.

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken breast
salt and black pepper
1 cup sesame seeds
1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Sauce

1 teaspoon vegetable oil
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped gingerroot
1/2 cup wine, mirin (or any good rice wine)
1 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons Asian chili sauce
1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1 teaspoon fresh basil, chopped
soy sauce

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350*F. For the chicken breasts, season chicken with salt and pepper.

2. In a small bowl, mix sesame seeds and chile flakes and then dredge the chicken breasts in the mixture to coat them.

3. Heat vegetable oil in a large saute pan until smoking hot. Add chicken breasts and brown each side well, about 2 minutes per side.

4. Remove chicken from pan and transfer to a baking pan. Bake for another 15-20 minutes until the chicken breasts are just cooked through. Times will vary depending on oven temp and size of breast.

Sauce

1. While the chicken breasts are baking, heat veg. oil in the same pan you removed them from. Add the garlic and gingerroot and saute until you can smell the aroma, 1 to 2 minutes over high heat.

2. Add mirin wine and boil over high heat until reduced by half, 2 to 3 minutes.

3. Add chicken stock and boil over high heat to reduce a bit, 2 to 3 minutes.

4. Add hoisin sauce and chile sauce to saute pan and bring to a boil. Season with sesame oil, basil, and soy sauce.

Serve chicken breasts over steamed rice or couscous.

Serve half of the sauce over the chicken and the remainder on the side. This will not be a very thick sauce; it is meant to be thin and light.

Serves 4

Très Délicieux

All photos taken by me unless otherwise stated.

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