Orange-Banana-Walnut Coffee Cake

This is my adaptation of a banana bread my daughter made recently. Hers was only bananas, and she felt it was too dry, but I loved it! So, naturally, I made a couple substitutions and some additions. Preheat your oven to 350° Spray an 8"-9" square glass pan with oil. Hers was baked in little loaf pans, but my pans are too big for that, so -baked in a square (or round) pan- It's A Coffee Cake!

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk these together:

1-1/3c all purpose flour

2/3c corn flour

1t baking soda

1/2t salt

1T cinnamon

2T ground chia and flax seeds

In a large mixing bowl, mash and whisk together these ingredients:

2 lg. pasture-raised eggs
4oz. avocado oil
1T Mexican vanilla
1c brown sugar
1/2c golden raisins
3 lg. ripe bananas
1c chopped walnuts
zest of 1 lg. orange

Add the dry ingredients to the big bowl, about half at a time. Combine just until everything is mixed together with no dry patches. Pour this into the prepared pan, top with cinnamon sugar.

Bake until it passes the toothpick test, about 50 minutes. Cool completely before loosening the edges and cutting into squares. This turned out great! Nice for breakfast, a snack, or dessert. . .Lin

Apple-Raisin-Pecan Whole Grain Muffins

This recipe is about 50% bigger than what I usually make. It yielded 24 muffins and 2 loaves of muffin bread. Preheat your oven to 350°, oil and flour 2 loaf pans. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium size bowl.

2c unbleached all purpose flour

1c whole wheat flour

1c corn flour

4T ground chia and flax seeds

2-3T pumpkin pie spice

1-1/2t each: salt, baking powder, baking soda

In a bigger bowl combine the following:

1c whole milk Greek yogurt

1/2c sour cream

1c coconut milk

3/4c olive oil

3T Mexican vanilla 

4 lg. pasture raised eggs

1-1/2c coconut sugar -or- light brown sugar

3 packed cups of chopped, unpeeled apples

1-1/2c chopped pecans

1c golden raisins

Add the flour mixture to everything in the big bowl, stirring and scraping the bowl until everything is well mixed. 

Put big spoonfuls of the batter in paper-lined muffin tins. Sprinkle the tops with cinnamon spiced turbinado sugar and bake for 20 minutes. 

Divide the remaining batter equally between the two prepared loaf pans. Sprinkle both with the spiced sugar and bake for 30 minutes or until the centers bounce back when touched. Cool throughly before removing from the pans or slicing. . .Lin

Easy No-Kneed Whole Wheat Bread

Whisk together in a big glass bowl:

2c whole wheat flour

1c all purpose flour

2T ground chia and flax seeds

1½t Himalayan pink salt

Stir and dissolve the following:
1½t active dry yeast
¼c dark brown sugar
1½c very warm water

Dough after 8 hours in a warm place

Pour the liquid into the big bowl with the dry ingredients. Mix well with a heavy wooden spoon. Cover the bowl and put in a warm place for 8-12 hours.

Turn the dough out onto a well-floured countertop. It will be very loose and sticky. Flour your hands and move the dough, folding it in half, adding flour to keep it from sticking. Do this for a couple minutes then put into a big bowl lined with parchment paper.

Preheat the oven to 425° also preheating the top and bottom of an oven safe large casserole or dutch oven. When the oven is ready, transfer the dough and parchment paper to the preheated container. Cover and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes to crisp and brown the top. Cool before slicing.

This turned out great. I'll be trying rye and other grains in the near future. . .Lin

Crookneck Squash Harvest Bread and Muffins

1c corn FLOUR - not cornmeal

2c all purpose flour

2T ground chia + flax seeds

2T pumpkin pie spice

1t each: salt, baking powder, baking soda

Whisk all the dry ingredients together in a big bowl.

Roasted Winter Crookneck Squash:

My daughter and I grew this one, and the similarly colored Butternut squash, in our little First Year Backyard Garden at her house. I'll probably save the Butternut for soup. I picked up the Red Kuri squash at the Farmer's Market and I'm not sure what that'll become.

For this recipe, I washed the crookneck squash, cit it into a few pieces, scooped out the seeds, then brushed all the cut and inside areas with EVOO and seasoned with Penzeys Smoky 4/S seasoned salt and pepper. Roasted, cut sides down on a parchment lined baking sheet at 375° for 45 minutes then flipped and basted it and baked it for an additional 15 at 400°.

Cool, peel, then weigh out what you need. Serve the rest as a vegetable side dish for dinner, or scrape away the seasoning and mash it up and mix it with your pet's dry food. It's so good for them!

3/4c craisins

1c light olive oil

3 lg. pasture-raised eggs

1# roasted peeled crookneck squash

1c chopped pecans or walnuts

1c organic cane sugar

1/2c coconut sugar

1T dark Mexican Vanilla

Mash the squash with a fork and add all the other ingredients in this group. When well combined, let stand until the oven is preheated to 350°. Line a baking pan with parchment paper and use piper liners in a 1 dozen regular size muffin pan. When the oven is hot and the pans are prepped, Add the squash mixture to the dry ingredients in the big bowl, working quickly, stir and combine well. Pour the batter in the pan and fill the muffin cups. Sprinkle everything with turbinado sugar combined with pumpkin pie spice. 

Bake the muffins for 15-18 minutes, and the muffin-cake for about 25 minutes until the top springs back when touched or it passes the 'toothpick test.' These are sweet and also a little savory. Serve them for breakfast, with a salad for lunch, with meat and vegetables for dinner, or as a snack.

Mmmm, they're good still slightly warm, with a little butter, and your favorite tea! . .Lin

Banana-Craisin-Pecan Yeast Rolls

2 mashed ripe bananas
1 egg
2T melted butter, coconut oil, or olive oil

In a big glass bowl, mash the bananas and stir in the egg and oil, or melted fat.

1/2c golden raisins or craisins

1/3c ground chia + flax seed

1-2t pumpkin pie spice

1t active dry yeast

1t brown sugar

1/2t salt

1/2c chopped pecans

2c bread flour

In a smaller bowl, stir this group together. Add this to the big glass bowl and combine well, using a heavy wooden spoon or silicone spatula, until all the flour is incorporated, the dough is sticky but pulls away from the bowl a little.

Cover and let rest about 1½-2 hours, in a warm place, until the dough doubles in size. I put mine in the oven with the interior light on.

Fold the dough a little, and poke it to release any air bubbles. Transfer it to a floured surface. I like to use corn flour for this. Move the dough around so the entire ball is covered in flour, pat it down flat and cut it into 9 equal pieces.

Flour the surface again, then shape each piece, pulling, folding, then rolling, into a smaller ball. Put these in a 9" square, non-stick, or oiled glass pan. Cover and let rise again until double in size, about 45 minutes this time.

Bake at 375° for 15-20 minutes and savor the scent in your kitchen.  The rolls are not light and fluffy, they're more heavy and. healthy!

Here's what's left after a few were eaten. One on top, cut, buttered, now just awaiting a sprinkle of spiced sugar, and a quick heating in the microwave. Mmmm...

What a perfect fall day this has been. I worked on other 'house things' while making these rolls, listening to a favorite of mine, Ingrid Michaelson. .😊. .Lin

Cranberry Banana Smoothie

These are so quick to put together and they're packed with great nutrition. Ground seeds, nutrient dense fruit and one of the best sources of calcium and protein in this excellent yogurt. Produced by a caring man who created a company that's doing it right! Perfectly right - Chobani yogurt.

• 1/2 very ripe banana
• 1/2-2/3c frozen cranberries
• 1T ground chia and flax seed
• 3/4c± pineapple juice
• 1t Mexican vanilla
• 3/4c Chobani whole milk plain Greek yogurt

Blend everything together on high. This will get your day off to a great start or give you just the energy boost you need - any time of the day or night. . .Lin

CHOBANI Yogurt - For Health and Humanity

I've had a couple bad days.  My stomach and gut have made their displeasure known. This morning all seemed calm, then I brewed up a pot of really good coffee and all systems began a recoil. I remember enough about molecular biology I've read over the years to know there's good bacteria and bad in our digestive systems. Clearly, the bad was on a rampage. My natural instinct was just to do a 24 hour tea and water fast, but biology won out. I made this smoothie, and now, 2 hours later, things have begun to calm down. Yea! This is always counterintuitive to me since I'm sometimes sensitive to dairy, but it appears that doesn't apply as much to really good quality yogurt. Good Bacteria to the rescue.

Good quality, full fat, plain Greek yogurt is full of good gut enzymes and 'good bacteria' our system need for healthy digestion.  Sickness, too much junk food, alcohol, or even not enough sleep can put everything out of balance. At Aldi's they have a great yogurt I used to buy, but after hearing Hamdi Ulukaya, the CHOBANI founder and CEO tell his story in several interviews, I've vowed to only buy his brand whenever possible. He's a compassionate, caring man who not only loves and treats his employees as equals, he cares about their financial struggles, job satisfaction - and receives the loyalty that brings. He also regularly sends money to relatives, still in his homeland, to help with their expenses and is concerned about making their lives better where they are. He worked hard and now lives his dream.

He's a true American Hero to me. Check this out:  CHOBANI Yogurt's Founder

This goes together SO quick!

• 1 very ripe banana
• 2/3c each: frozen blueberries and frozen dark cherries
• 2/3 - 3/4c CHOBANI whole milk plain Greek yogurt
• 2T ground chia and flax
• 2t Mexican vanilla
• 1-2c pure pineapple juice

Pineapple juice contains bromelian which is a pain and inflammation fighter.  Pineapple-bromelain enzymes also help with digestive upset.  So, I had to blog this to refer to.  Next time I'll follow this, but also add 1t± of ground cinnamon.  Drink up everyone!  Your gut will thank you. . .Lin

Onion-Bacon-Provolone-Stuffed Beef Burgers

1½# ground chuck

1c finely chopped onion

2T tomato paste (in a tube)

4 lg. cloves garlic - minced

1c provolone cheese cubes

½c organic flax-chia blend

½c quick rolled oats

1c bacon crumbles

2 jumbo eggs

1t fresh ground black pepper

2t fresh ground garlic sea salt

Combine all the ingredients, mixing well with a wooden spoon and your hands, in a medium size bowl.  On a long sheet of waxed paper, divide the giant meatball into 8 equal 6 oz. parts and shape into patties.  I fried one and froze the rest.




Heat a little water and an equal part of butter or oil.  When it's sizzling or steaming, add the burger.  Cook, covered, for 3-4 minutes.  Flip and add broccoli florets, re-cover, and cook another 3-4 minutes. . .Lin