May 2011

Something Sweet {Chocolate Banana Ice Cream}

by Lisa on May 31, 2011

Hello, readers! My apologies for my absence over the weekend–we had a wonderful 3 days filled with to do lists, friends, food and fun, all of which kept me away from my computer most of the time! I hope you had a great weekend and are ready to get back into the swing of things with The Splattered Apron. Here we go….

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If ice cream doesn’t mean summer, I don’t know what does. Growing up, my parents would take my sister and I out for an ice cream treat so often that maybe I can’t call it a treat. And I love them for it. Since Memorial Day is the official start of summer, I wanted to share an ice cream recipe with you.

I’ve always been a vanilla kind of girl. At Dairy Queen, I ordered a vanilla cone dipped in chocolate {or sometimes strawberry}. As my taste has matured I branched out to chocolate ice cream with banana. Specifically combined as a milkshake.

My husband has always been amazing, but since I became pregnant, he’s been even more indulgent. It’s pretty routine for us to go out for milkshakes or ice cream whenever I feel like it. But with the Kitchenaid ice cream maker attachment, we don’t always have to go out. Instead, I took my favorite milkshake flavor and turned it into ice cream.

{Chocolate Banana Ice Cream}

Ingredients

1 cup 1% milk
1 cup heavy cream
3 frozen bananas {or 3 fresh, ripe bananas}
4 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons chocolate syrup {added after taking the picture}
6 squares dark chocolate {76 grams or 2.6 oz.}, chopped
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Method

Prep the ingredients {and don’t mind my belly in blue hovering in the picture!}

Combine all ingredients except for the dark chocolate in a blender, including the chocolate syrup, that was a late addition to the party.

If you use frozen bananas, the consistency will be quite thick. If you use fresh, it will be thinner. The only difference this makes is in how long the ice cream churns.

Follow your ice cream maker’s instructions, but if you’re using a mixer like mine, turn it on to the lowest setting, stir, and pour the mixture from the blender into the ice cream maker. Then add the dark chocolate.

Because I used frozen bananas, the ice cream churned for 5 minutes or less before it was done. If you use fresh bananas, it will probably be closer to 8-10 minutes.

Scoop the ice cream into an air tight container and freeze for 3 hours or overnight.

I like to let the ice cream soften a little in the refrigerator before serving it so it has a smooth and creamy consistency.

The banana flavor is very prominent and strikes a delicious balance with the chocolate.

The chunks of dark chocolate mixed throughout provide a good contrast in texture.

Overall, this recipe is a win.

{In case you can’t tell, I splurged and invested in a new camera this weekend! I am having so much fun using it and can’t wait to be able to take pictures of our baby girl.}

Eat ice cream during the summer. It’s a good idea.

Enjoy!

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On Pregnancy {Part 1}

by Lisa on May 28, 2011

Pregnancy has been an experience unlike anything I ever expected. I am beyond grateful to be able to carry my child and cannot wait to meet her and get to know her personality. There are other fantastic bloggers that are also pregnant right now and instead of writing anything on my blog, I’ve been leaving novel-length comments on their posts. Since I seem to have a lot to say, I thought I would write about my experience with pregnancy over the next few weeks. I hope you’ll indulge me! And not to worry, there will still be plenty of recipes coming your way.

For today, I wanted to share some photos from a shoot we did this week with Lindsay of LinDC Photography. Lindsay just started her business and has such an amazing eye for photography. If you have any need for portraits in the DC area, get in touch with Lindsay, you will be very happy with the results. Just look at mine!

We met up with Lindsay at Bon Air Memorial Rose Garden in Arlington. I had no idea it even existed—it is a gorgeous park! I am sure we will take our baby girl there for picnics and the playground as she gets older.

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Quick & Easy {Israeli Couscous Spring Salad}

by Lisa on May 26, 2011

Have you tried Israeli couscous? I happened to pick up a box of it at Trader Joe’s a couple of years ago and absolutely loved it. I created this dish from what was in my refrigerator and growing in our container garden at that time. I liked it so much that I keep making it over and over again. The best part about this recipe is that you can really customize it anyway you’d like. To give the couscous more flavor, cook it in stock instead of water. Change the vegetables and herbs for what’s in season. Try different oils and vinegars. The possibilities are endless!

{Israeli Couscous Spring Salad}

Ingredients

1 box Israeli couscous
2 cups cremini mushrooms, chopped
2 tablespoons plus 1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
Approximately 2.5 cups grape tomatoes, quartered
1.5 cups basil, chiffonade
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
salt
pepper

Method

First, prep your ingredients:

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a sauté pan and a tablespoon in a saucepan.

Add the mushrooms to the sauté pan, season with salt and pepper. Stir the mushrooms occasionally and cook until they release their juices, then remove from the heat. Add the Israeli couscous to the saucepan and brown for 5 minutes.

Bring 1 3/4 cups of water to a boil {I used our electric kettle—it is so fast!}. Slowly add the boiling water to the couscous and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 6 minutes. The box says to simmer for 12 minutes but every time I follow those directions I end up with burned couscous at the bottom of the pot.

Once the couscous is cooked, combine the couscous, tomatoes, mushrooms and basil in a container.

Add the rest of the olive oil, the balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.

I usually like this salad as is, but today I added some feta cheese to it. Because everything’s better with feta!

This salad completely hit the spot. I love balsamic vinegar with fresh tomatoes and meaty mushrooms.

I can neither confirm nor deny, but I may have eaten two full bowls of this for lunch. I may or may not have had a hard time leaving some for lunch tomorrow.

I like to serve this as a side dish with dinner or eat it as lunch.

The nutrition facts below are based on four servings and does not include the feta cheese.

Enjoy!

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Baked {Zucchini Walnut Bread}

by Lisa on May 25, 2011

I have always loved zucchini. I loved it even as a kid and I was kind of a picky eater. I remember my mom would make delicious zucchini pancakes, so when I saw this recipe a few years ago in Food and Wine magazine, I had to give it a try. I’ve altered it slightly to add more zucchini and flaxseed.

This was my donation to Carrots ‘n’ Cake’s blog bake sale a week ago and I am thrilled that this loaf raised $40 for Team for Kids. Melany, I hope you enjoy your bread!

{Zucchini Walnut Bread}

Ingredients

1 cup walnut halves
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup ground flaxseeds or flaxseed meal
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup fat free Greek yogurt
2 cups coarsely grated zucchini {1 large or about 2 small}

Method:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Spread out the walnuts in an even layer on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 8 minutes. Transfer the baking sheet to the freezer to cool.

Prep a 9×4.5 metal loaf pan with butter and flour, then prepare the rest of your ingredients.

Grate the zucchini, chop the walnuts {once they’re cooled} whisk all of the dry ingredients together {flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and ground flaxseeds} in one bowl. In another, combine the wet ingredients {sugar, Greek yogurt, oil and eggs}.

Mix everything together in the largest bowl until it is all evenly combined, then spread in the loaf pan.

Put this in the oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes. When a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, the bread is ready.

Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing it to cool on a rack.

Wrapped tightly in plastic, this loaf will keep for 4 days at room temperature. If it will last that long.

It can also be wrapped tightly in plastic and foil and frozen for up to 1 month.

I didn’t cut into this loaf since I had to send it on its way to North Carolina, but I took this picture when I made this bread last year.

I love that this is packed with nutrition and tastes great. The yogurt keeps the bread moist while the walnuts and flaxseed give it that extra punch of nutty flavor. One loaf doesn’t last more than a few days in our house.

{These nutrition facts are based on getting 14 slices out of this loaf.}

Enjoy!

Do you have a savory ingredient you like to put into baked goods? Share in the comments!

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Quick & Easy {Gnocchi and Sausage}

by Lisa on May 24, 2011

Dinner cannot be fancy every night. On most weeknights, quick and easy is the name of the game. Yesterday on our way back from Annapolis, my friend Ann-Marie mentioned a recipe she used that had gnocchi and sausage in it. I was about to go grocery shopping and that sounded delicious so I picked up some ingredients with that combination in mind. I found a bit of inspiration in this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 package of potato gnocchi
1 tablespoon oil
2 shallots, minced
1/2 pound of Italian sausage, casings removed
2 cups mushrooms, chopped
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes {the ones I have are cut julienne, it’s a good idea to cut them to a uniform size if they come larger}
Arugula, a generous handful
1/4 cup of parmesan cheese {more or less to taste, we used less}
salt and pepper

Method:

First, bring a pot of water to a boil then salt. Add the gnocchi. Once they float to the top cook for 2 more minutes then drain, reserving 1 cup of cooking liquid. At the same time, heat the oil in a large skillet and sauté the shallots.

Once the shallots are translucent, add the sausage. Break into small piece and cook until browned.

Next, add the mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook just until the mushrooms start to release their juices.

Add the arugula and sun dried tomatoes. Cook until the arugula is just wilted, then add the gnocchi to the pan with 1/2 cup of reserved cooking liquid.

Stir in the parmesan cheese and allow to simmer for 1-2 minutes.

Plate and serve. Start to finish, I’d say this dish took 20 minutes. It was the perfect meal for a Monday night.

This was more delicious than I expected it to be. I was afraid it would be a kitchen fail and I’d have to figure out something else to write about tonight. I was pleasantly surprised when both Jeromy and I enjoyed this meal.