Banana Bread & Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Comfort food is always appreciated but more so when you aren't feeling well. That usually means a nice homemade bread and homemade soup here.


Banana Bread
This is the banana bread recipe I have been using almost from the time we were wed. It is a nice breakfast, desert or snack bread just perfect for using up a couple of well ripened bananas. While the original recipe calls for white flour, I've made a few modifications. Whole wheat flour gives good results so be sure to read the notes section for this recipe.
Banana Bread
source: unknown but TNT using modifications in notes section after the recipe

1 3/4 c flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/3 c shortening
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 c mashed bananas

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs, beating after each one. And bananas and blend. Add flour mixture a bit at a time blending after each addition. Pour into a well greased loaf pan and bake at 350ºF (325ºF, convection) for 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centre is clean.

My notes: I use whole wheat flour, Member's Mark® Organic Sugar and add 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract.

There is nothing like homemade chicken noodle soup when you are feeling under the weather or suffering from a cold. It is packed full of nutrition and it's soothing warmth will have you feeling fit as a fiddle in no time. My homemade chicken noodle soup is made from scratch and like most of my soups there is no set recipe. The list of ingredients for the most part remains the same as does the method as it it meant to pack in a lot of nutrition. This soup does freeze nicely even with the noodles added. If you want to can this soup do not add the noodles. Essentially this soup is made in two steps. Note, I use a 15 or 20 quart stock pot depending on how much soup I want to make. Once the noodles are cooked, that will leave about two or three inches headspace in the pot.


Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

While this method looks complicated it really isn't. What you end up with is a wonderful homemade chicken noodle soup that will sooth both the spirit and body. Make enough to last you until you are feeling a better as it will keep a few days in the fridge. For little ones, instead of using broad egg noodles try alphabet noodles. It will be a big hit and make them feel very pampered!


Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
recipe by Garden Gnome

Stage 1:
2 - 4 chicken legs with backs attached
1 medium unpeeled onion, washed with both ends cut off
2 stalks celery, washed with ends lightly trimmed, cut into 2 inch pieces
1/2 celery heart, washed with end removed (about 4 small stalks with leaves)
2 large carrots, washed, unpeeled, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 parsnip, washed, unpeeled, cut into 2 inch pieces
two pinches coarse sea salt
water to cover

Bring these ingredients to a boil, reduce to simmer and allow to simmer and hour or more. Cool then defatted. Remove the vegetables and meat and place on burner for stock to reheat. Remove the skin from the chicken and cut the meat from the bone. Cut meat into bite size pieces and return to stock. Place the bones and vegetables (optional) into a smaller sauce pan with just enough water to cover and bring to a rolling boil. Strain. Add this liquid to your stock. Repeat if desired or add one quart of homemade stock from your freezer or canning shelf to the chicken stock and meat.

Stage 2:
2 green onions, washed and sliced thinnly (or one medium onion, chopped fine)
fresh ground pepper to taste
a pinch of coarse sea salt to taste
3 - 4 splashes of Maggi (see note!)
1 package broad egg noodles
fresh or frozen chives, chopped

Add all the ingredients tasting stock except the noodles and chives as you go. Adjust any seasoning then bring the stock and meat to a boil and stir in the noodles. I just estimate so some batches will take the full package of noodles while others won't. When noodles are cooked, ladle into soup bowls. Garnish with a dash of Maggi, a bit of fresh grated pepper and a sprinkling of chopped chives.

My Notes: Maggi contains both peanut and corn protein so do not use this if you or anyone in your family is allergic to these products. Instead substitute your favourite soy sauce. I like Kikkoman but other soy sauces will work fine. It might sound like there is a lot of onions in this soup but really their is not. The first onion adds a nice flavour, nutrients and natural colour to the stock. The second addition adds flavour and colour.

Bean Sprouts

I woke this morning feeling positively aweful with a horrid sore throat. I must have picked up a virus during our recent holidays so while this entry was already written on bean sprouts, watch for tomorrow's entry on homemade chicken noodle soup. A batch is in the workings and I might chase that down with a nice hot toddy then snuggle into bed for the rest of the night!

Bean sprouts are nutritious, low in calories and add extra punch to breads, salads, sandwichs and side dishes. Sprouting beans is very easy with minimal equipment and space needed. I generally have a couple of containers on the go.

Equipment Needed

This is the equipment I use most of the time. While you can buy fancy sprouting containers, it really is not necessary. I simply use a disposable no name brand of container or recycle a sour cream container. A lid is helpful but is not used to seal the container.

My beans of choice to sprout are mung beans. These make for tasty and easy sprouting beans suitable for salads, egg rolls, breads and stir fries. I buy them in bulk from the Bulk Barn and store them in vacuum sealed mason jars for both rodent and insect control.

To start sprouting the beans pour enough beans into the container to cover the bottom. Rinse with filtered water then cover with about an inch of filtered water. I prefer filtered water. Let sit for about three hours then using the lid to prevent the beans from falling out of the container, drain and add a little fresh water. Place the entire container with lid just placed on top but not sealed in a dark cabinet. The next day, pour off any water and add fresh. Repeat this step daily until the beans sprout.

Just Sprouting

When the beans begin sprouting the water requirements change. While you will be able to water once daily, you likely should change the water a couple of times a day. Other than that there is little for you to do. At the first sign of sprouting is a good time to start another container of sprouts for a ready supply. For nice white and tender sprouts be sure to keep them in a dark cabinet. Leave the beans to continue sprouting. Within a day or so the cotlydons (embroyonic leaves) will appear. To keep these pale, be sure to keep your sprouting beans in a dark cabinet away from light.

Almost Ready


The bean sprouts are almost ready to use at this stage. The cotlydons are present and still pale from being in the dark cabinet. The height is about 3 inches. At this stage you can continue keeping the sprouts in a dark cabinet to keep pale or expose them to sunlight to develop the chlorphyll turning the cotlydons green. Use your sprouts when they are about 4 inches long before the second set of leaves appear.

To use sprouts, rinse and toss into salads or bread. Use in stir fries or as a filling for spring rolls or egg rolls.

Superbowl Party Recipies

Today is Superbowl Sunday so that means about 25 guys all giving me their undivided attention, at least when it comes to food and snacks. On the menu is venison chili, homemade buns, crudite tray, cheese tray, mexican layered dip, several snack type items, mulled apple cider, . Since there are a couple of recipes to be posted today, I'll keep the chit chat to a minimum.

Mexican Layered Dip
recipe by: Garden Gnome

2 8 oz packages of cream cheese
1 -2 tbsp miracle whip or mayonnaise
2-3 tbsp taco seasoning
4 - 5 tbsp homemade salsa (or store bought)
1 - tbsp homemade taco hot sauce (recipe in earlier entry)
2 large leaves of lettuce, chopped fine
1/2 small onion, chopped fine
1/2 medium tomato, chopped
8 - 10 olives, sliced (optional)
3/4 c grated cheddar cheese
nacho chips

Mix first two ingredients then add taco seasoning to taste. Spred the mixture evenly in a 8" X 11.5" casserole pan. Spread a thin layer of salsa and taco hot sauce. Layer with lettuce and vegetables. Top with shredded cheese. Serve with nacho chips.

PS. three of the other wives sent similar versions of this dish so we did have a lot! There certainly are a lot of versions of this dish.

Basic White Buns (ATM or Kitchen Aid)
recipe by Garden Gnome
1 2/3 c milk
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp organic honey
2 tsp sea salt
4 1/3 c unbleached flour (+extra 1/3 c if necessary to get right texture)
1 1/2 tsp yeast

Use a breadmaker or mixer to knead the dough. Divide into about 15 balls. Set ball onto a cookie sheet. Cover and allow to rise until doubled. Bake at 400ºF convection heat for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350ºF convection bake until buns are golden brown.

Spiced Apple Cider

1/2 gallon apple cider
1 cinnamon stick
4-6 whole cloves
dash of nutmeg

Put the cider and spices into a medium size slow cooker. Allow to heat until hot then serve. You can put the spices into a cheese cloth bag if you would like but it really isn't necesary.

Note: I'm not sure what it is about hot apple cider but seriously I can only drink one cup without it affecting my vocal cords.

New Kitchen Toys & Sourdough

I'd like to start this entry by thanking Taste of Home for their very flattering comments regarding my cooking blog. This is a real honour for my blog. I have accepted the invitation to include their Meal of the Day search box so please take the time to check them out for recipes and meal ideas. I'd really appreciate it. And to Tast of Home cheers to good cooking!

My husband dragged me shopping yesterday under the pretext of having to buy a new tv for Superbowl Sunday then would put it in our bedroom to replace a smaller model. I'm not even going to go into that issue! The end result was he got the 37" digital LCD tv and I decided to get a couple of kitchen toys since I'll be doing the hosting for the superbowl party. The guys bring snacks but I make the main meal, breads and like to wow them with a few of my snacks. What better way to get the undivided attention of about thirty guys than cooking great food the will love.

One of my new toys is a Kitchen Aid Professional HD mixer. I debated over this purchase for ages and finally said what the heck. My kitchen is spacially challenged so any appliance I can get to do double duty or one that will eliminate one or more appliances is more than welcomed.

I need to buy a new food processor and my handheld mixer needed to be tossed. The breadmachine, while a true workhorse in my kitchen, will likely not last much longer and the last few years it is used to make dough only because I prefer the results of oven baked bread. With this one appliance, the handheld mixer was tossed and the breadmachine has been moved to the backroom. I've checked out the attachments I can get and the one that really looks appealing is the attachment kit that comes with the food grinder. There is also an attachment that would replace the food processor so I am considering that as well. Any attachment I buy will certainly take up a lot less room than the appliance version and since some of the attachments fit right in the bowl for storage, I will be freeing up cupboard space as well.

My other new toy is an Aroma rice maker. My old one was giving up the ghost and believe me as talented as I am with cooking certain things rice is not one of the. We eat a lot of rice so a rice maker is a must!

I have been asked so many times as to how I make sourdough starter. My simple reply is always mix one part water with one part flour. Other starters will add yeast, sugar, milk or any number of a lot of ingredients but this is not traditional starter. The only things you need for a good starter is water, flour and wild yeast. Stir well and set aside until bubbly. Now this picture does not do justice to the bubbly of the starter but it has the consistency of a very thick, foamy milk shake with a lot of bubbles and a nice sour smell. A starter is not ready to use unless you can smell it and it should not be used unless active (bubbling). I used 1 1/2 c of starter for the following loaf and 1/2 c for drying. When your starter is to the right degree of sourness always reserve 1/2 c for drying. This can be used to seed future batches. I ended up taking 2 c of starter from the original so replaced with 1 c flour and 1 c water. Since I really need this starter for Superbowl Sunday, it will be left until early Sunday then fed just before making a couple of loaves. But before that the starter had to be tested. Watch for the recipes made for this big event!

This was my first time using the Kitchen Aid Mixer and I do have to say I'm impressed. This is a small video clip of the dough making process. It was just as fast and efficient as the breadmaker. The nice thing is this appliance can do more than knead dough!



This is the first loaf of bread from the fresh starter. While the crust could be a little darker, for a sour dough french bread it came out just fine. My husband loved coming home to hot bread fresh from the oven. Me, being critical and wanting perfection for Superbowl Sunday, wanted more. The bread essentially came out as it should. However, I would have liked just a bit more of the developement of the sourdough flavour. By Sunday and given the traditional recipes I will use it should be fine. Since this was a test loaf I used an ABM recipe. All I was really interested in was the taste. This recipe does call for the addition of yeast and when making sour dough bread that is almost an insult as it means you do not trust your starter. But this recipe is really fine for getting the taste right before you make a loaf or two using no yeast. I only make the dough in the ABM but this time used the Kitchen Aid mixer. Either way, let the dough rise until doubled, shape then let rise again and bake.

Sour Dough French (ABM)

1 1/2 c sourdough starter
1/2 c water
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 1/2 c unbleached flour
3 tsp dry yeast
1/4 c cornmeal
1/4 c water

Make the dough in ABM without using the last two ingredients. When dough is ready, shape then place on a cookie sheet sprinkled with the cornmeal. Place in pre-heated 400ºF for 30 minutes. Pour the 1/4 c water into a shallow baking pan and place under the cookie sheet. Bake until golden brown or loaf sounds hollow.

Note: This is a French style sour dough bread so the crust is expected to be hard, crispy and crunchy.

Enjoy!