Going bananas!

My humblest apologies.  I know it has been a long time since I posted last.  You see, I have been going bananas - for bananas.  Bananas fried in rice paper, that is.

Its super-easy to make and if I tried to tell you how delicious it all is you would think I'm spewing the most ludicrous hyperbole ever invented.  And that's not hyperbole.

Instead, make it yourself and try it and then tell me if I'm going overboard!

It takes about 10-15 minutes, depending on how many you make.

Here are the instructions (and sorry that the pictures aren't great; I've been using my mobile device a lot lately):

1) Peel some bananas.  If they're big, cut them into quarters.



2) Put some brown sugar into a deep plate with some warm water.  Place a sheet of rice paper into the sugary, warm water for about 30 seconds (or until the rice paper is pliable but not fragile).



3)  When the rice paper is ready, wrap your banana like you might a burrito.  Tuck in those ends!


They should look like this when you're done.


4) Heat up some oil (I use corn oil).  Get it good and hot.  You don't want to try frying your wrapped bananas until the oil is ready.  When it is, fry!  You might want to use a splatter guard since there might be a bit of water on your wrapped bananas and hot oil and water don't like each other.

The frying doesn't take long - and you don't want it to, otherwise your bananas will get too mushy.



5) When your wrapped bananas are nice and crispy, place them on a paper towel or other clean, absorbent surface.


6) You can sprinkle all sorts of things on top.  Cinnamon, cocoa, icing sugar, maple syrup... the opportunities abound!  My favourite is just a touch of maple syrup and icing sugar.



7)  Enjoy!

Salade Moosoise

It's hot here. It's so hot, that I've started to lose my appetite. I love to eat, so I hate losing my appetite. Fortunately, the hardworking staff at Michael's Meanderings are culinary geniuses and have developed a new recipe that is both filling, healthy, and cooly refreshing.

The recipe is based on a salade nicoise, but with a northern twist.  Here's the recipe for the newest and greatest salad sensation to hit the blogosphere, the Salade Moosoise.

Dressing (for two)

6   Pickled sweet onions (quartered)

1/4 cup Lemon juice

3/4 cup Olive oil

1 tsp Thyme (dried)

1 tsp Oregano (dried)

6 Fresh basil leaves

1 tbsp Dijon mustard (prepared)

Salt and pepper

The Salad (for one)

3 Pickled spicy green beans (cut into halves)

1 Celery stalk (small, sliced length-wise)

1/2 Carrot (small, shaved with potato peeler)

2 Pickled beet slices (large, sliced length-wise)

1 Egg (hard-boiled, sliced or quartered)

1/2 can Tuna

1 Moose sausage (cooked, then cooled, and sliced)

1 Bowl full of garden-fresh lettuce (butter-crunch or romaine)

Put lettuce into large bowl or onto place.  Place other ingredients on top, keeping ingredients in little groups.  Drizzle dressing on top of the vegetables and tuna.  Sprinkle salt and pepper on the egg and tuna, to taste.

Enjoy!

Recipe: Bannock-on-a-stick

Bannock recipes are like fingerprints:  Everybody's got their own and no two are alike.  If you travel in bannock-making circles, you've probably noticed that everyone who makes bannock claims that they have the best bannock recipe - but that they can't make it as good as their mother or grandmother does/did. 

Last week, I promised to share my recipe for bannock-on-a-stick.  I'm not sharing this recipe to compete with all those best bannock recipes out there; I'm sharing it because I think the act of making bannock is worth sharing, whether it's baked or deep-fried or cooked in a cast-iron pan, open to the fire.  I have many fond memories of sitting around the campfire with family and friends and even complete strangers, engaged in the most social form of bannock-making: bannock-on-a-stick.  

The recipe is simple enough.  I got it from my Mum.  The execution, however, can be challenging, especially if you're not used to cooking over a fire.  For this reason, I've included some tips, gleaned from a lifetime of bannock-on-a-stick-making memories (both triumphs and tragedies) that will help you make that perfect, deliciously golden tube of bannock...

Recipe

-Makes about ten servings. Halve the recipe for smaller groups:

- 3 cups flour

- dash salt

- 1 tsp baking powder

- 2 tbsp lard or Crisco (canola or corn oil can be used as a substitute)

- water

-Before leaving on your trip, mix dry ingredients and the lard (or oil) in a large Ziplock-style bag (double bagged) or sealable container.  Do not add water.

Making the Stick

- Select a piece of straight, dry, wood, about the thickness of your thumb or slightly thicker.  Your stick should be about an arm's length long.

- Using a sharp knife, shave off 8-10" of bark at one end of the stick.  The stick does not need to be pointed.

Tip: Don't use green wood. It will give your bannock a bitter taste.

Mixing the Bannock Mix with Water

- Gradually add water to the dry ingredients.  Mix with your hands or a stick or whatever you've got that's clean and handy.  Your dough should be slightly sticky, so it will adhere to itself and the stick.  Be careful, though.  If you add too much water, your dough will droop off the stick when you cook it.

Tip: If this is your fist time making bannock-on-a-stick, I recommend that you bring the bannock mix in re-sealable bags, but also bring a container for mixing water into the dry ingredients.  Reserve some of the bannock mix in case you accidentally add too much water.  As you become more comfortable with the amount of water to be added, you can keep your hands clean during the mixing by mixing the dough directly in the bag (if you intend to use the whole amount of bannock mix).

Putting the Dough on the Stick
- Take some dough, about the size of 1-2 golfballs, and wrap/twist around it the stick.  Twisting it around the stick helps to keep the dough from splitting along the seam (and falling off) as it cooks.

- If you want your bannock to cook quickly, apply the dough thinly.  If you have a little more patience and want your bannock more bread-like, use more dough and wrap it a little thicker.

Tip:  You can "wash" the dough off your hands by vigorously rubbing them together.  The dough will dry up and fall off.  It's best to do this over the fire so the little dough bits don't attract animals.

Cooking the Bannock over the Fire

- Build a small campfire.  Please use appropriate safety measures.  You don't need big pieces of wood; wrist-sized pieces of wood will give you better coals faster than big logs will.  

- Be patient.  Cooking your bannock over flames will blacken the outside of your bannock and will leave the inside doughy.  Instead, wait until a good bed of coals has been made and cook your bannock over the coals, rotating your stick as needed.

Tip:  If you want an efficient and contained fire that won't leave a fire scar, I highly recommend the Liard Firebox.

Removing the Bannock from the Stick

-If your bannock is golden brown and you think it had cooked right through, it's time to remove it from the stick.  Be careful, because it will be hot! (I know that's kind of obvious, but you'd be surprised how many people forget that...)

- If your bannock slides easily off the stick, it's cooked through.  If it wants to cling to the stick, the inside is still doughy and it needs to cook longer.

Tip:  Slice along the length of your cooked bannock with a knife and tuck some of your favourite jam into the hole for an extra-tasty treat.

One Final Thing

- Ensure your fire is completely extinguished before leaving the site.

- Remove all food and garbage, even if it's not yours.

- ENJOY!