Tag Archives: desserts

sweet & savory plantains

Plantains Sweet & Savory

Ryan and I have had plantains on a weekly basis since moving to NY. They’re kind of a big deal here, at least for us. I don’t think I ate plantains even annually back in Florida.

And they were a labor of love, which are my favorite things to cook. A few weeks ago I tried and disastrously failed at cooking plantain chips from green plantains that never turned yellow. I tried again and decided to wait longer. The riper the plantain is the sweeter it gets. It took about three or four weeks for these to turn black.

black plantains

I moved twice and took these guys with me. That’s commitment.

On a side note, I was also the new girl who brought rotted fruit into the apartment. The concern was, “maybe you shouldn’t leave them on top of the toaster oven.”

But the embarrassment and the patience paid off. These were incredibly delicious and way cheaper than purchasing them at a restaurant.

How to:

Pour a thin layer of oil in a skillet over medium heat.

Slice the plantains about one inch thick. Place them in the skillet, making sure not to crowd them. Cook them until they’re brown on one side (2 or 3 minutes) and then flip.

To drain the excess oil, place the plantains on a plate covered with a paper towel. Begin eating them as you wait for the others to cook.

plantains on plate

I also got a little fancy and decided to batter some.

plantain batter

Sweet Battered Plantains

ingredients:
1/2 cup flour
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
1/4 cup water 

Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together the egg and water. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until they’re well combined.

Dip the raw plantains in the the batter. Place them in the oiled skillet and cook until the batter is golden and puffy, about 5 minutes. You may need a bit more oil for the battered plantains. When they’re done you can roll them in regular or powdered sugar for an extra sweet treat!

Yep, gooey and delicious. I was tempted to dip them in maple syrup. Will you try for me?

avocado pie

avocado pie

Let’s just get right into why this is amazing:

It’s no bake!

Right? You know how exciting that is.

Also, it’s made with avocados. So, you can act like you have superior tastes and like this is a healthy pie. (It’s not.)

And it’s made in a blender. (Is that better or worse than a hand mixer? I can’t decide.)

avocado

I found this recipe over at How About Orange. It’s originally from the California Avocado Commission.

Ingredients:
2 avocados, peeled
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
graham cracker pie crust

 Instructions:
I just plopped everything in the blender and let it rip until the engine almost burnt out. Looking back, the recipe says to blend the avocado and lemon juice first, then add the condensed milk last, after the avocado is well-blended. Maybe that’s why mine came out looking like funfetti. Or because the blender isn’t the best. Whatever it was, I just went with it. Sometimes baking is about the mistakes.

avocado pie

Pour the mixture into a pre-made graham pie crust (I’m not above it), and refrigerate for at least an hour.

 The taste? Sort of like key lime pie. Or at least you’re tricked into thinking you’re about to eat key lime pie, because it’s so green. It’s a little creamier and definitely has a hint of avocado. I served it with whipped cream.

the weekender 3/23/2012

rusted antique cars

Yay! It’s here again. I’m so happy this weekend is here. I’ve been on vacation for the past three weekends. Ryan and I went to New York for my birthday (no pictures, sorry), and spent the last weekend at a beach house with some friends. On our way back we stopped at this antique car graveyard outside of Tallahassee. I snapped some photos and placed them on my flickr.

This weekend I’m only doing two things: I’m getting a massage (!), and watching the last episode of Battlestar Galatica (!!!). Last episode ever. What am I going to do with my life? I’m going to need the massage just to calm down from the tumultuous after-effects. Besides that, I’ll be vegging out. Here are a few links from around the internet.

Ryan is making this tofu and cauliflower fried “rice” for dinner tonight. I can’t wait.

Thin Mint and Bailey’s Chocolate Float – Holy cow! Just in time for Girl Scout Season.

Also, slow cooker chocolate and nutella bread pudding is a complete win. I need more reasons to use my slow cooker.

This Saul Steinberg photograph is so fun to look at.

This has been quite a week for foxes. First, this fox pillow d.i.y., this starry fox drawing, and then this story about domestic foxes.

And in case you can’t make it down to the amazon Rainforest this weekend, don’t worry. Google did it for you. They’ve added street view to parts of the Amazon river! So cool! I love technology.

What are you doing this weekend?

small desserts

tiny cupcakes
Did you happen to catch the New York Times story about small desserts? What do you think? Are they just a weird craze? Or are you sick of trying to eat mega-sized cookies and cupcakes? Sometimes all I need is just one bite to satisfy my cravings.

Also, I started following this Flickr filled all sorts of with tiny foods. [It's also the source of that image.]

And if you’re really into adorable, miniature things…

5 minute chocolate cake: this is going to ruin my life

Whenever I’m craving something sweet and chocolate, it’s usually too much effort to actually obtain and the desire passes.

Not anymore. Thanks to Marisa over at New Dress a Day.

Despite having an awesome DIY and recycled fashion site, this girl can whip up a delicious microwavable chocolate cake in 5 minutes. Click on the link above for the recipe.