Banana Cream Pie

My first encounter with banana cream pie was when I wanted to know if I could buy “banoffee pie” in the US. The answer was no, but we have something similar called banana cream pie. Ok, it does have some similarities, but it’s not exactly the same. The main difference is that banoffee pie has a “toffee” layer instead of the vanilla flavored pastry cream filling.

I’ve never made this because although I love buttery pastry (crust), banana, pastry cream and cream, I just didn’t find it appealing to make.  The pie itself has no redeeming nutritional value, other than there is bananas in it. It is packed full of fat, sugar and more fat.

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Easy Cherry Jam

I have never made jam until a couple of weeks ago. It’s one of those things that kind of scared me a little. Don’t even ask why. I can make croissants, pasta, puff pastry, and I’ve even tried my hand at making har gau, but I had never made jam. I guess, it was more of the canning process that scared me. Oh, and I find putting seasonal fruits into a pan and boiling the smitherines out of them a little bit of a waste.

What motivated me to make this jam was that A. asked me if I knew how to make cherry danishes. I know how to make danish pastry, but I’ve never made the cherry variety. The ones you see in the stores usually have bright red cherries on them, which looks exceedingly artificial. I know I could have just make cherry danishes with cherries and a glaze, but I wanted to use cherry jam. The recipe for this will follow shortly.

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Oatmeal & Raisin Cookies

I think oatmeal and raisin cookies are my favorite. In fact, a close second would be peanut butter, with chocolate chip cookies trailing in third place. I don’t know why. Maybe it is because oatmeal and raisin cookies are a little more nutritional compared to the other two cookies? I mean there is soluble fiber from the oats, and there’s also fruit involved… ok, I’m clutching at straws.

I spotted this recipe from the FAGE website, yes FAGE, you know, the people who create the most amazing Greek yoghurt. I loved it in Europe, and since I can eat dairy again, I love it here in the US too! These cookies are relatively low in fat, as the original recipe boasts, but what the original recipe doesn’t tell you is that they are still packed full of sugar, and around 60 calories per cookie; that’s if you can get 40 cookies from the ingredients. I managed to make 14 cookies from the batch.

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Strawberry, Orange and Banana Smoothie

I know, I know, this smoothie looks really unassuming, but try it, and you will be highly surprised.

This is probably one of the best smoothies I’ve ever wrapped my lips around. I have to thank Hang for this recipe. Ok, it has been played around a little, but the initial idea came from her. I wasn’t overly enthusiastic when she was ranting and raving how delicious this smoothie is until I tried it. It’s now my go-to smoothie. It’s fruity, incredibly strawberry-ish, with just the right amount of sweetness. The banana is barely noticeable, but the orange undertones are present.

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