Run Fast Eat Well

For a while I was keeping on top of using any banana I bought in my morning breakfast smoothie, but this week I ended up with an abundance of over ripe ones ready to be transformed into something delicious! Banana muffins are usually my go-to in this type of situation, but with limited time I opted for making bread.  This recipe is a mashup of two recipes in an old cookbook that I've been using since I was a teenager. It has a good balance of sweetness, but also includes spices to add some depth. Enjoy! Recipe: 1/2 cup butter, softened 1 cup white sugar 2 eggs 1 cup (3-4) mashed bananas 1 tsp vanilla 1 tsp baking soda 1/4 cup milk 1 3/4 cup flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp cinnamon  1/2 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp cloves 1 cup dark chocolate chips Mash bananas in mixer, add in sugar, eggs, vanilla, and butter. Beat well. Add milk, flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Mix until combined. Add chocolate chips. Bake in greased loaf pan for 50 min...

I've always wanted to try making lemon curd, but I thought it was complicated. Turns out it's pretty simple!  1/4 cup sugar 1 large egg 1/3 cup lemon juice 4 Tbsp butter  Whisk the first 3 ingredients in a small saucepan. Heat until boiling and continue to stir for 5 minutes, until it is thick. Pull off the heat source and add butter 1 Tbsp at a time. Store in the refrigerator!

I've recently gotten into making quiche. Mostly because I've given up on making homemade crust and have embraced store-bought! Turns out it's so much easier and actually tastes delicious. Maybe it's just me but I've always struggled to come up with a great pie crust. I used the last of the eggs that I have to make this dish, I guess it'll be time to go to the store for the first time in 3 weeks!  Anyways on to the recipe: 1/2 lb. bulk breakfast sausage 1 small head of broccoli, florets cut into small and thin pieces 4 eggs 3/4 cup half & half 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. black pepper 1/4 tsp. parsley Mix up ingredients and pour into a frozen 9-in pie crust. Bake at 375F for around 45 minutes until golden brown.  I didn't blind bake, which is something you can do to make sure the crust is crispy on the bottom, but so far I haven't had issues with that. Enjoy!

It's a family tradition to make paska for Easter, and although it usually turns out for me, I've had a few go arounds that were not good. Luckily this version turned out great! Ingredients: 1 Tbsp yeast 1/3 cup warm water 1 tsp sugar 1/3 cup butter 1/2 cup sugar 1/3 cup whipping cream 1/3 cup milk 1/2 tsp vanilla 3 eggs, separated into yolks and whites 3 1/2 cups flour Instructions: Dissolve yeast in water and sugar Beat egg whites  Beat together butter, sugar, whipping cream, milk, vanilla and egg yolks Add yeast mixture and 1 cup of flour Fold in beaten egg whites Add coconut extract or lemon if desired Add remaining flour Let rise for 2 hours, until doubled Punch down, let rise 1 hour Form into buns, let rise 1 hour Bake at 350F for 10 minutes Ice and add sprinkles/coconut Enjoy!

What's in a photo? As I look at this blog I'm disappointed to see poor photos of tasty food. As part of having extra time at home due to our current stay home order, I'm working on producing higher quality images of my food. I've always used the excuse that I just don't have time to take a better photo, but really I'm just lazy about it. I snap the photo without thinking about lighting, placement, etc. This isn't going to be easy, but I hope to see improvement in my Instagram and blog photos. On to this beautiful bread that is so easy to make. I mix it before bed and then bake it the next day when I have time. Here's the recipe: 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt 1 tsp active dry yeast 1 1/2 cups warm water (about 110 to 115 degrees F) In a large tupperware bowl add the flour, salt, and yeast. Pour in the warm water and use a fork to mix till a shaggy dough forms. The mixture will be sticky. Cover bowl tightly...

This was the first time as an adult that I had ever bought beets at the store! I made this beet salad for the 4th of July and it was pretty easy to make. For the beets, I Sous Vide them for 3 hours at 185F and then chopped them up. They cooked perfectly, as does everything in the Sous Vide (more about this process in a later post). Recipe: Approximately 5 cups of cooked, chopped beets Drizzle with balsamic vinegar Add crumbled goat cheese Add walnuts (or pistachios)