…gone to the abacos, bahamas
I will be away for a while… to Elbow Cay, Abacos, Bahamas. Will be back soon, I am meant to be flying home today as well, but plans have changed. 
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Comments(13)…my love affair with banana bread
Who does not love bananas…. and banana bread? I grew up in the tropics with our house surrounded with bananas and coconuts. We were lucky to have lived outside the city where we had the great outdoors and all the exotic fruits around us, thus my love affair of bananas and anything related to it.On March Food Wine magazine, a recipe for Old Fashioned Banana Cake caught my eye. On this issue the recipe is from the Big Sugar Bakeshop in LA. Something to bookmark for my future visit in LA. This recipe is a Ritter family heirloom and has been handed down for generations.
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1tsp baking soda
- pinch of salt
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large ripe bananas mashed
- confectioner’s sugar
- Preheat oven to 350F (180C)
- Butter and flour the loaf pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the 1 1/4 cups of flour with the baking soda and salt.
- In another bowl, whisk the eggs with the oil, sugar and mashed bananas.
- Stir the banana mixture into the dry ingredients.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake in centre of oven for about 50mins, until the bread is golden and a toothpick inserted in the centre of the loaf comes out clean.
- Transfer the pan to a rack and let cool for 15 mins then turn bread onto rack and let cool completely.
- Dust the top with confectioner’s sugar, cut into slices and serve.
On this recipe I used a brown sugar and lessened the actual amount. The bread is not too dark, perhaps the banana were not overripe. But then I still feel something is missing. The recipe is good except that when I think of banana bread I conjure it with exotic spices. There are few recipes of my favourite cakes, desserts which I carry with me on my Filofax.One is Banana bread recipe I found on a book called 1001 Muffins and Bread Recipe. I have used this recipe so many times but I always tweak it. I may add more nutmeg. Instead of the original quantity of milk , I add orange juice. I add walnuts or grated coconuts.
- 2 ½ cup flour
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- ½ cup flake coconuts or walnuts
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 3 over riped bananas
- ¼ cup milk
Prepare as above.Let it cool, cake tastes better the next day when the flavour has settled well.
when one craves Schwarzwälderkirschtorte
I have few missed calls on my Greek phone the other day.
It turned out to be Lisa one of the Swiss ladies I know who co-owns the cafe at the Goethe Institut in Athens. Goethe Institut is where one needs to go to learn about German culture, politics, arts and language. It is also the place I go when I crave for some Swiss and German food. I studied my very basic Deutsch there, Deutsch als Fremdsprache. German as a foreign language. No I do not need German for my work; Italian and French would be the best choice… I just wanted to learn the language so I can communicate with my ex Swiss family.The irony of this though is even if I mastered the language, it still would not have been the German spoken in the household of my ex-Swiss family. They speak Schwyzerdutsch, a form of a German dialect spoken in Switzerland. I never finished the course, I had to leave Athens but I did understand the concept of the grammar structure and could not go hungry when am in Switzerland. I could actually read the menu in German and babble in basic Deutsch.German language I admit is not easy to learn as far my experience goes, it would have been better if I stayed in Zurich or elsewhere to learn it and speak it daily. That’s how I mastered the Greek language anyway. 
I may not have learned the language well but I learned about German food there long before I visited Germany. Not just German food, Swiss as well since Lisa is from Appenzell and the Elizabeth who co-owns the place is from Liechtenstein. The rest of the team are either from Germany or Switzerland.When I was home last January for 3 days, I went straight to Goethe to say hello to the staff and to eat, wishing at the same time Lisa had my favourite Swiss dessert, the Engadiner Nusstorte (caramel walnut pastry). The main door to the foyer was shut! I found out that the foyer caught fire and they were hoping it will re-open by April. But as I spoke with Lisa she said the cafe will not be ready till September. So when I go home this April, there will be no Swiss nor German food for me. Well unless I start reading and testing on my Betty Bossi cookbooks. 
Food at Goethe is fresh and homey. I love their salad bar, I normally have pesto dressing or the Swiss yoghurt dressing. Then there are some wurst to choose from and Lisa’s menu changes every day. She sometimes offer Greek food but I don’t go there for that. The price by the way is cheap, a real good bargain when Athens is just getting so expensive these days. Then there are selection of desserts you don’t get in Greek cafes.
Yes, desserts like the classic schwarzwalderkirschtorte rather famously known as black forest cake , linzertorte , the Austrian sarcher torte and of course the Swiss Engadinetorte (its pretty much similar to pecan pie but with a pastry on the top). Does this show my weakness for baked goods? The place is very simple, a school canteen affair but its airy, sunny and every now and then there are exhibitions on German arts and architectures. If you know German there are newspapers and magazines to read. If you are learning the language the ladies there are the best to practise with. Last time I was there I ordered Leberkäs mit Kartoffelsalat (german potato salad which is sour).Just after placing my order, Lisa asked, Shalimar mit Senf? Ja bitte….
- Goethe Institut
- Omirou 14-16 Athens ( near Panepistimio St by St Dionysious Catholic Church)
…and we shall feast in the English countryside
Post long overdue again, my body finally took a toll after hitting thousands of nautical and air mileage.After the 5 weeks trip cruising the Bahamas, I found myself going through countless times passing the security at Miami, Heathrow, Zurich, Athens Airport and back again. As soon I got back here in Florida, I was hit with a fever and cold and worst was we were staying in a hotel away from the comfort of our own “kitchen” galley I mean.There I was wishing I was home, wrapped with my blanket and making some soup with lots of ginger to mend my health alas… reality was I was working again. Or wishing at least I was back in Perch Hill so Bea can nourish me back with her home cooking. Wishing full thinking indeed I was back in Perch Hill, for one of the greatest joys in my life is sharing home cooked food with friends. What is the greater joy is sharing this love of cooking with a dearest friend whom I see at least once a year or when ever am in UK. Last June, Bea prepared me a birthday feast. 
This time she shared me her place, her love of food with a another “friend” .. say blogger friend whom I never met as well but constantly on communication via email.Bea and met when I was working in UK, while she moved from Hampshire to Bricket Wood then Sussex, while I moved to Oslo, Athens, South of France, Athens in between, with short visits in UK and now in Florida, Bea and I remained in touch. She would send me parcels of organic chocolates, jams whatever good things she finds and share them with me.She knew I was coming for few days, this time she asked me to stay overnight. I know I could not refused this invite and I also know with such stressful 5 weeks trip we did in the Bahamas, staying with her for the night at Perch Hill will soothe my soul.I was not wrong. Not only she welcomed me and Keiko, she also harvested some winter vegetablesfor us to cook. 
Our menu for the night was:
- Kale Bruschetta ( a very interesting recipe to try since I could not imagine kale mixed with capers, lemon, would taste so good on bruschetta)
- Roast Pork stuffed with Orange rinds roasted with Pear and Apples (the original recipe calls for )Winter Salad. ( mustard greens, chicory)
- Carrots and Romanesco Broccoli
- and we finished the dinner with cranberry tart…. sweet , sour and sinful tart.
The cranberry tart was from Sarah Raven’s cookbook and her original recipe has toffee sauce accompany the wicked tart but we settled for creme fraiche. We cooked, ate, talked, drank champagne, wine, we even had the fireplace going but we were happy sitting in the kitchen. And the beautiful darkness of the countryside that smelled so fresh with great company made our night delightful. Barely we realized that it was almost midnight. Bea had work the next day with some volunteers arriving to help her sow bulbs. K and I have photography in our agenda…… 
cranberry tart for 6
- 500 g cranberries fresh or frozen
- juice and zest of 1 orange
- 200 g caster sugar
- 150 g chopped pecan nuts
- 2 small eggs well beaten
- 60g plain flour sifted
- 75 g butter melted
- creme fraiche to serve
- Pre heat the oven to 180C gas mark 4
- Wash the cranberries
- Put them in a non stick pan with the orange juice and zest and cook until they pop about 3 - 4 mins
- Grease a 20cm spring form cake tin and put in the cranberries with half the sugar and the pecans and mix well
- In a bowl, beat the remaining sugar with the egg.
- Add the flour and melted butter to make a smooth batter.
- Pour this over the cranberries in a tin.
- Sprinkle with a copule more sugar and bake for 40-45 mins.
If you want to indulge make some toffee sauce: Toffee Sauce
- 180 g dark brown sugar
- 120 g butter
- 120ml double cream
Heat the sugar butter and cream together until sugar is dissolved and the sauce is bubbling.Take off the heat and serve. (Read more…)
kolouris thessalonikis, greek street food
I did an unexpected trip to Athens and it was so great to be just home even just for few days. But those precious days were spent dashing to the bank, doctor, lawyer and seeing friends. I barely had time to fill my fridge let alone cook. So when hungry around the city I grab Kritsinia. Kritsinia is similar to the Italian breadstick but topped with sesame seeds. You can either choose the size or soft or the crunchy ones. Some bakeries sell polysporo- multi grain. If you find yourself in Athens do grab these bread snacks. more of greek food & culture here:and while surfing the net I tumbled upon a very exciting page: EPIKOURIA…
a parade of winter vegetables
From the Bahamas I was back in Florida, hopped into a plane and now in UK. But life seems to be so hectic (honestly am resting)… am flying to Greece too to tie up the loose end of my married life but I managed to spend time with my friend Bea and met up a fellow blogger as well. What would a Japanese, a Filipina and a Hungarian do… cook, eat & feast… but the story can wait. Here are some winter vegetables at Perch Hill. Can you name them?photo blog updated too:
