TWD: Banana Bundt Cake

As I’ve come to expect, Dorie’s creation is moist, delicious, sweet, perfect even without icing, blah blah, blah. It’s also easy to make, and produces few dishes to wash. The Other Eater in my Household likes that part, especially.

Banana Bundt

My challenge will be to find reasons why it is ok to eat this for breakfast the rest of the week. I am proud to say that I made it with fat free yogurt rather than sour cream, which is always nice. Also, the cake does have 4 bananas. These offer potassium, fiber, Vitamin C and Vitamin B, (Thanks, Tao of Good Health).  Practically good for me!

What never fails to amaze me is how other TWD bakers move past the excitement of simply having fresh baked good in the house and think creatively.  Confectiona’s Realm added almond extract and apple butter (and considered other stuff) before putting hers in the oven. Prudence Pennywise added maple extract, wheat flour and nuts. And Ezra Poundcake is thinking about peanut butter cream. A hat tip to you all!

You’ll find the recipe for Dorie’s masterpiece at The Food Librarian, where Mary touts all things Bundt.  I kind of agree that I love my bundt pan and the beauty it brings to the table without icing or frosting or in-some-other-way polishing a less-than-perfect dessert. I’m going to have to check out some of the other 10 bundts she’s blogged about this year…

Side Note: While looking for reasons to eat more of this cake, I found that:

  • An average American eats 26 pounds of bananas every year – that’s about 150 bananas.
  • Immigrants arriving at Ellis Island in the early years (1892-1920s) were given bananas to eat. Many had never seen them and didn’t know how to eat them – some ate the whole thing, peel and all.
  • Bananas were introduced to the American public at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, the same expo that introduced Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone.

Can it Really be August?

Every news outlet we have in Chicago reported that July 2009 was the coolest July in 85 years: the average temperature was 70 degrees (five below the normal average) and some parts of the state didn’t have any days above 90 yet this year (Thanks, WBBMRadio).

My vegetables are not happy.

veggies in July

Sure, they are lush and green. But where is the fruit? My cherry red tomatoes? The Giant green peppers I long to stuff with meat and potatoes? The onions I should be using to top burgers fresh from the grill.  I got nuthin’.

My herbs, on the other hand, are thrilled to no end.

PARSLEY!

Anyone have any idea of what I can do with all that parsley?  I’ve been trimming it and throwing it in the compost pile just to keep the sage and chives happy.   The sage is nice on grilled cheese with apples or pears and fontina, and my chives are screaming for pan roasted red potatoes.  But parsley?  I’m at a loss.