BANANA SNACKING CAKE WITH CASHEW COCONUT CREAM

It hasn't completely sunk in, but the holidays are paving their way. The tree lots are popping up, we've got our Thanksgiving assignments and little white lights are slowing starting to line the houses in our neighborhood. I've got tubs of peppermint ice cream (my absolute favorite) in the freezer and there is a blooming white poinsettia on the porch. I just began to feel taken by the sentiment of this time of year in craving more time with friends and family, reflecting on the past year with thanks. Days pass and then you look back at a years time and so much has happened. So much! I know I have a ton to be thankful for. The big things like a kind and funny husband, a supportive family (two of them now!) a great place to live and good food. But the little things are not lost on me either. I just hope we all take the time to soak it all in.

This snack cake is my last non-festive treat before I jump into the holiday dishes with two feet. You don't get much less festive than banana cakes this time of year, but I couldn't help myself. I'm now ready to burn out on pumpkin and peppermint with the rest of you. I've been having a thing with almond meal lately, as I appreciate the flavor, extra protein and the crumbly texture in my baked goods. Because it is gluten free, I am careful when I use it exclusively, to make sure everything stays together. Anyway, notes below!

It's a tasty little snack, a perfect compliment to afternoon coffee, but personally, a distraction to keep Hugh out of my peppermint ice cream.

BANANA SNACKING CAKE WITH CASHEW COCONUT CREAM // Makes one 8x8 cake

The cream frosting is from So Good and Tasty via My New Roots

You could use sweetened coconut if that is what you have on hand, just know your cake will be a bit sweeter. I gathered a tip from Kamran's recent post, and think it's perfect for baked goods with almond meal. I pull it out a tad early and cover it with a dishtowel to hold the steam in and it keeps it moist. He leaves his cake covered for 8 hours, I felt mine was good after an hour. Lastly, I have found that nut meals dry out quicker, so keep it air tight and it should last you 2-3 days. They have a great, well priced almond meal at Trader Joe's.

If you have a nut allergy, you can use completely all-purpose flour, or a gluten-free all purpose flour.

3 medium, extra brown bananas

1/2 cup extra virgin coconut oil, warmed to a liquid

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup almond meal

1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (or 1/3 cup coconut flour for GF)

1/2 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut (or walnut pieces or chocolate chips)

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon, or pumpkin pie spice

Cashew Cream

1/2 cup raw cashews, soaking in water for an hour, up to overnight

1/2 cup coconut milk

2 Tbsp. honey or maple

squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350'.

In a large mixing bowl, smash the bananas really well, breaking down the chunks. Add the oil, eggs, vanilla and mix. Stir in the almond meal, flour, coconut (or chocolate chips), baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar and spice.

Grease an 8x8 glass baking pan or line it with parchment paper. Pour in the mix and spread it evenly. Sprinkle a little extra sugar over the top. Bake on the middle rack for about 30 minutes. Being sure the center is set.

Allow it to cool.

For the cream, drain the cashews and put them in a food processor or blender with the coconut milk, honey and lemon juice. Process until completely smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary. It will have a bit of texture to it. The cream will keep in the fridge for about a week.

I prefer to add a bit of the cream to each piece as eaten, not frost the whole cake. Finish with a sprinkle of cinnamon.

CARAMELIZED CAULIFLOWER SOUP

I had a nice big head of cauliflower in the fridge, knowing it would make for a nice soup or a puree of some sort, something easy. I'm partial to roasting most vegetables this time of year, and there is something about the crusty edges and nutty taste of a roasted cauliflower floret that certainly shames any past habits of steaming. The high heat of the oven brings out the natural sugars in the vegetable and rounds them out, caramelizing them with charming flecks of brown, hence the color of my soup.

There are two ways to go with a cauliflower soup, depending how rich you want it. While the rainy days passed, I scribbled notes of browned butter, a bit of cream, maybe some shaved grano padano cheese on top. Then we went to San Francisco for a few days, and ate some pretty wonderful food, so I decided to scale back that decadence just a bit. I'm all for those ingredients in moderation, but my favorite jeans were feeling snug, so here we are with a broth base and I don't feel like I'm missing too much. If you want more richness, replace some of the broth with cream and dress it up with cheese or browned butter as you wish. Even after a good run in the food processor, there is some texture to this soup, so enjoy it for what it is.

In other news, we've been married a year this Sunday, so that's really exciting. Time flies when you're trying to figure out how to make a book together. I love, love. Like really love it.

CARAMELIZED CAULIFLOWER SOUP // Serves 4

I was eating some leftovers today and was thinking that if you halved the broth, this would make a nice puree underneath your protein of choice - sort of a nice alternative to mashed potatoes. Just a thought.

1 Head Cauliflower (about 3 lbs.)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 tsp. Fresh Grated Nutmeg

Salt and Pepper

Broth//

2 tsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Large Shallot, chopped

1 Clove Garlic, chopped

3 Cups Low Sodium Vegetable Broth

1 tsp. Dried Thyme

1 Tbsp. White Balsamic Vinegar

Toppings//

1 tsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Cup Fresh Torn Bread, roughly 1'' pieces

Ground Pepper

1/2 Cup Toasted Hazelnuts, Chopped

Fresh Thyme Leaves

Shaved Parmesan, optional

Preheat the oven to 450'.

Cut the cauliflower into florets and spread them on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle the fresh nutmeg and a hefty pinch of salt and pepper and toss everything to coat. Bake on the middle rack for about 35-45 minutes, tossing the cauliflower halfway through, until they are fully roasted and you see a good amount of brown edges. There is a pretty wide grace period here. Remove to cool.

While the cauliflower roasts, start the broth. Heat the oil in a saucepan and saute the shallots and garlic for about 5 minutes to soften. Add the vegetable broth, dried thyme and vinegar and warm through.

When the cauliflower is cool to touch, add it and the broth mixture to a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Taste for salt and pepper. If you want more contrast, add a bit more vinegar. Add it back to the saucepan to keep warm.

To make the croutons, heat the remaining oil in a small pan, add the torn bread and a pinch of ground pepper and stir it around for 5-8 minutes until crisp and the edges are browned.

Serve each portion with a few croutons, chopped hazelnuts and a pinch of fresh thyme leaves and shaved parmesan, if using.

THOUGHTS

Without question, this book manuscript has been the most challenging thing I have ever done. Ever.

I remember leaving my old job desperate for a project that would push me and presently, I see my prayers answered about tenfold. I've watched my self, my marriage, and both mine and Hugh's work grow and improve these past ten months. I'm not even out of the woods yet, and I am filled with emotions over what an experience this has been so far.

I've studied dozens of cookbooks, poured over the photography, the writing style, and how they are composed overall. It seemed simple enough, given ample time, to make a collection of how I cook during the week, for friends, and for family on occasion. It's never fancy, typically on the lighter side, produce focused, and now, because of Hugh's influence, a second thought is given to the aesthetics of the plate. At the start, I imagined I would cook and write and just transcribe what I know. Turns out there is more to it. We seem to have learned the hard way - learned by doing, actually. We're currently going back to the first few recipes written and pictures taken and bringing them on par with where we are now (we haven't "figured it out", but the big picture is looking less nebulous than it did in January). Improvement or not, I have to be honest with you lovely people, those of you who have so kindly encouraged me, and convinced me that I AM capable of this. It is extremely difficult to explain a process that is creative and spontaneous for me, and treat it as something concrete and specific. I want to share this with people, but a list of directions seems cold compared to how I feel about simple, wholesome food. This is my art. The books I've admired, and thought I could use as reference, became useless when I realized how personal writing a cookbook is.

When I consider the permanence of print, the self doubt becomes sort of paralyzing. We crave affirmation, and by we I do mean all of us, but females especially. We crave for people to tell us that they like us, that we are good at something. A 'regular' job, if you will, usually consists of someone above you setting a standard and giving direction day in and day out, while you also have others around you with constant feedback. It is really nice to work at home is stretchy yoga pants, but I miss that. Maybe I love the braised white bean recipe in the book, but what if other people don't like them? Gasp! Then what?? Hugh assured me this is the demon of a creative person (something I actually never considered myself, to be honest), that we set a high standard, a great expectation for our work, but the means to reach or even exceed that standard is always a challenge. I must rest in the fact that it is simply not possible to please everyone. It's not possible to make a book full of recipes that everyone will like and that is going to be alright. I knew going into this that the project was bigger than what I felt capable of, and I still feel that way, but participating would be the only way I would grow. I wanted to be pushed, but that doesn't mean I have not had a considerable amount of breakdowns.

I'm about a week away from turning in a gigantic word document and already feel the weight of responsibility lifting from me. Not in the sense that it is being passed to someone else, but that I know I have done my best and at this point, my art is making its way out there.

These are not thoughts of complaint, believe me, I am grateful. I am merely trying to write the fear out of my head.

Ah. Deep breaths.

I don't have a recipe for you, seriously, I can not talk about food for awhile, but I wanted to include just a few pictures from my phone of the mess and process we've been up to. Sidenote, that baby is not ours, she is our niece, and we are trying to kidnap her.