Recipe: Banana Cottage Cheese Ice Cream

So I just made banana "ice cream" a few days ago, but we still had more very ripe bananas, and I needed to do something with them. I didn't want to make banana bread,* but since we had some cottage cheese in the house, I figured I would try making another "healthy" ice cream alternative. I found this recipe on the Recipes Green blog, and since I already had all the ingredients, I got to work.

Ingredients

For the basic recipe (Serves 4):

• 2 large ripe bananas (frozen for best texture)
• 1 cup full-fat cottage cheese (or low-fat for lighter version)
• 2-3 tablespoons pure maple syrup or honey (adjust to taste)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch of sea salt
• 2-3 tablespoons milk of choice (if needed for consistency)

Optional add-ins:

• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder (for chocolate version)
• 1/4 cup chopped nuts or seeds
• 1 tablespoon almond butter or peanut butter
• Fresh berries for swirling

Dietary substitutions:

• Vegan: Use cashew-based cottage cheese or silken tofu
• Keto-friendly: Replace maple syrup with stevia or monk fruit sweetener
• Dairy-free: Substitute with coconut cream-based cottage cheese alternative
• Lower sugar: Use only banana sweetness and skip added sweeteners

Directions

1. Prepare the bananas: Slice ripe bananas and freeze them for at least 2 hours or overnight. Tip: The riper the bananas, the sweeter your ice cream will be – don’t be afraid of those brown spots!
2. Blend the base: In a high-speed blender or food processor, combine frozen banana slices and cottage cheese. Pulse initially to break up the bananas, then blend continuously until smooth and creamy.
3. Add flavor elements: Pour in maple syrup, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt. Blend again until fully incorporated. Common mistake to avoid: Don’t over-blend at this stage, or you’ll melt the frozen bananas too much.
4. Adjust consistency: If the mixture is too thick, add milk one tablespoon at a time until you've reach your desired consistency. For a firmer ice cream, keep it thicker.
5. Final touch: Taste and adjust sweetness if needed. For immediate soft-serve consistency, serve right away. For firmer scoops, transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for 1-2 hours.

I think I added too much milk. When I made the previous recipe, the mixture was really hard to blend, so I thought I should add more liquid. I may have also over-stirred the recipe. Maybe heavy cream would have been better. Whatever I did wrong, this ice cream was icy/crunchy and not creamy like the first one. It also didn't help that I microwaved it too long (once frozen, this is VERY hard to scoop), so then I was eating ice cream soup. But I will say that I think this could be a good milkshake as opposed to an ice cream. So not a total failure, but the first recipe definitely came out better.

*I have made SO many banana breads! Here are some of those recipes:

• Double Chocolate Banana Bread
• One-banana Banana Bread
• Eggless Banana Bread
• Cream Cheese Banana Bread
• Easy Banana Bread
• Dark Chocolate Chip Raspberry Banana Bread
• Chai-Spiced Banana Bread
• Banana Peanut Butter Bread
• Strawberry-Banana Bread

Recipe: Banana "Ice Cream"

Years ago, my friend Amanda told me about making "ice cream" that is banana-based, so it's a healthy alternative. I've tried different frozen banana desserts before (like this banana cottage cheese frozen mousse), but I had never actually made this before. So I found this recipe from the Wholesome Farmhouse Recipes blog, and since it touts only using three ingredients, I was definitely IN.

Ingredients

• 3 Large Bananas peeled, sliced, and frozen
• ½ Cup Whole Milk or heavy cream, coconut milk, almond milk (your choice)
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Directions

1. Slice the ripe bananas into small pieces. Arrange the banana slices in a single layer on parchment paper and freeze for a couple of hours until solid.
2. Add the frozen bananas, milk of choice, and vanilla extract to a high-powered blender, blender jar, or mini food processor. Blend the banana mixture until smooth, pausing the blending process to scrape down the sides as needed. A good whirl will help achieve the perfect creamy texture.
3. Freeze for scoops or serve soft. For soft-serve consistency, enjoy immediately. For traditional scoops, transfer the ice cream base to a freezer-safe container or airtight container and freeze for 4-6 hours.

This was VERY easy to make, and I added peanut butter to mine (obvi). The Ninja was having a hard time with the frozen banana slices (which surprised me, because you'd think those are softer than ice cubes). So a couple of times I had to stop the machine and mix things around. But the time I could smell metal (like the metal is having a hard time moving), I just stopped the whole process and let some of the banana chunks remain. I made the ice cream while I was making dinner, so I froze it and tried it the next day as "scoops."

I really liked it! Now it helps that bananas are my favorite fruit. But I thought the creamy texture did mimic that of ice cream pretty well. I also had some Hershey's syrup on top, so that definitely made the whole dessert taste like ice cream! I appreciate having a healthier alternative, and it's simple! And certainly cheaper than investing in a Ninja Creami.

Recipe: Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

I wanted to bake cookies for a friend, and then I had a team retreat coming up, so I figured I had multiple ways to hand out these cookies (so that I don't eat them all!). This recipe was from the Family Cookie Recipes blog, and it looked easy enough.

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup butter softened (1 stick)
• 1 egg
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 box 3.4 oz instant vanilla pudding mix
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp mint extract
• 3 drops blue coloring + 10-15 drops green coloring
• 1½ cups chocolate chips

Directions

1. Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with non-stick cooking spray, set aside.
2. Begin by creaming together the sugar and butter, in a large bowl, until nice and fluffy. Then add in the egg, sour cream and dry pudding mix, stir well to combine.
3. Next, in a separate small bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking soda. After that, incorporate the flour mixture into the butter and pudding mixture and stir until well combined. 
4. Now, add the mint extract and food coloring until desired color is achieved. Lastly, add in the chocolate chips.
5. Drop the cookie dough by the rounded tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes.
6. When done baking, transfer to a cooling rack.
7. Serve fresh and warm, enjoy! 

I didn't have any food coloring, hence why my mint cookies aren't green. But I figure it's probably better for you anyway not to have those chemicals. I used mint chocolate chunks as my "chips," so I did get a little bit of green in there. I only had a family-size pack of pudding, so I used about a third of the powder and then just made pudding with the remainder. 

These cookies are easy to make, and while the dough started to turn into one big clump towards the end, I was easily able to scoop the dough with the tablespoon scoop. They were a big hit, so I might need to make them again. You could easily turn this recipe into many different flavors: vanilla or lemon with white chocolate chips, hazelnut extract with crushed up peanuts... so many combos!

Recipe: Vegan Lemon Olive Oil Cake

The ladies on my street were meeting for book club earlier this week, so I knew I had to bring something. I always like to bring a vegan dessert: lots of people bring dips/hummus with veggies or chips, but I'm known for bringing something sweet (and since one of the ladies is vegan, I want her to be able to enjoy it, too!). I found this recipe on the Rainbow Nourishments blog, so I thought I'd try it.

Ingredients

Vegan Lemon Olive Oil Cake

• 2 ½ cups all-purpose plain flour spoon and leveled (note 1 for gluten-free option)
• 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• Pinch of salt optional
• 1 cup dairy-free milk room temperature (I used soy milk)
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ⅓ cup lemon juice (note 2)
• ~2 tablespoons lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract optional

To decorate (optional, see note 2 for alternatives)

• 1 ½ cups powdered sugar / icing sugar
• 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 cup fresh berries

Instructions

To make the cake:

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line an 8-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
2. Add all the dry ingredients (all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder and salt) to a large bowl. Mix until there are no lumps. Add all the wet ingredients (milk, oil, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla) and mix until just combined.
3. Pour the lemon cake batter into your prepared pan. Smooth the surface if necessary.
4. Bake the cake for 1 hour or until you can insert a toothpick in the center of the cake and there's no wet batter on it. As this is a moist cake, some crumbs on your toothpick are fine. If the surface of your cake is browning too quickly, carefully tent the pan with aluminum foil.
5. Allow the cake to cool in the loaf tin for 10 minutes then let the cake cool on a cooling rack.

To make the icing:

1. Add the lemon juice and sugar to a medium bowl and mix until smooth. Add more lemon juice or non-dairy milk for a thinner icing (like a lemon glaze) or more powdered sugar for a thicker icing.
2. Drizzle the icing over your cooled cake. If desired, top the cake with berries just before serving.
3. Store the cake in an airtight container at room temperature for a day or in the fridge for up to 3 days. The cake can be stored without the icing in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Notes

1. This lemon cake works well with King Arthur's gluten-free measure for measure flour. If using, I suggest baking the cake for 5-10 minutes longer. Other gluten-free flour blends may produce different results.
2. You'll need around 2-3 medium lemons to yield the amount of lemon juice and zest for the recipe.
3. Alternatively, you can enjoy the cake plain, topped with fresh berries or a light dusting of powdered / icing sugar.

This was a very easy recipe to make, especially because I used Duncan Hines lemon icing (which is "accidentally vegan," says the internet). I did forget to line/spray the pan, but luckily because of all the oil in this cake, I was able to get it out without a problem. While my friends at book club were very complimentary of the cake (and even asked for the recipe!), I did not think it was my finest work. I thought the cake was far too dense, which also seemed to make it dry. I wanted to dunk my whole piece in icing instead of just having the drizzle on one part. But I'm happy everyone else liked it! 

*Note: Upon writing this blog post, I realized I had ALREADY MADE THIS RECIPE. Tammy and I had made it together last fall! I seemed to like it more that first time... I wonder went wrong here!

Recipe: Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana Bark

I forgot to take a photo before I cut the bananas in half!

Steve found this recipe on a Crowded Kitchen's Facebook, and he sent me the video knowing this would be right up my alley. We had two over-ripe bananas, so no better time than now to try it out! I just followed the video*, but I couldn't find the written recipe on their blog. I found a similar one from Graciously Nourished, so that is what I have listed here.

Ingredients

• 3 bananas mashed
• ⅓ cup peanut butter
• ½ cup chocolate chips (melted)
• Optional: sea salt or crushed peanuts for sprinkling

Instructions

1. Mash the bananas and spread them out into a ¼-inch thick layer on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Freeze for at least 30 minutes so the bananas become slightly set. 
2. If your peanut butter is not a thin consistency (like natural peanut butter often is), warm it in the microwave in 5-10 second increments until it’s slightly drizzly and smooth. Pour and spread on the banana layer. 
3. Freeze the banana and peanut butter for at least an hour so the peanut butter is set. 
4. Microwave chocolate in 10-second increments, stirring in between until the chocolate is melted. Spread the chocolate on top of the banana and peanut butter layers and sprinkle with your desired toppings. Freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight. 
5. Break the banana bark apart into roughly 2-inch pieces. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months in an airtight container and enjoy frozen!

It doesn't really matter how many bananas you have. I would say one banana makes two dessert servings (2-in pieces?! I don't think so!). And you don't have to measure out the other ingredients, either. You just kind of spread/pour peanut butter and chocolate on top of the bananas, sprinkle toppings as needed, and voilà! 

I like the technique of mashing the bananas between two baking sheets, separated by parchment paper. I recommend just pushing down once. I thought mine were still too thick, so I pressed again, and then the bananas got too thin! I was going to microwave the peanut butter, but I guess there was still part of the metallic paper that covers the peanut butter when you first buy it, so my microwave starting sparking immediately (oops!). So instead I just spread it on the bananas; luckily it's a natural peanut butter with plenty of oil, so that was okay.

I froze that first part and then started melting the chocolate. I used a double-boiler method to be fancy, and I had a bunch of little chocolates from a while back, so I thought I would melt those. This was almost a failure. The chocolate got very clumpy, the opposite of melted! But Steve saved the day by looking up how to fix this, and after adding a couple tablespoons of butter (i.e. fat), the chocolate melted enough so we could pour it over the (now frozen) bananas covered in peanut butter. After adding the chocolate and sprinkling a few peanuts on top, we froze them one last time.

We left these in the freezer for about 24 hours before trying them, although I am sure we could have eaten them that same night. But this stuff is GOOD! The banana defrosts quickly, so it does get a little messy/mushy in your hands. But this is a yummy, "healthy" dessert, and it might be my new go-to recipe for over-ripe bananas!

*Here's the quick YouTube short if you want to watch it!

Recipe: Cuban Oregano Mojo Marinade

Looks just like the picture on the website!

Probably a year ago, my friend Hila gave me a cutting of her Cuban oregano plant. For a while it didn't seem to grow much; I wasn't sure if it would survive re-planting. But after some time, it grew. And it grew BIG. It got to the point that I had two huge stalks of it, and one was drooping down under its own weight. So I cut it off and saved the leaves. After googling some recipes, I found this one from the Jerra's Garden blog for a marinade. Even though I don't normally make my own sauces or marinades (it's so easy just to buy a jar!), I had so much of this oregano that I had to do something with it. And this marinade turned out to be really good!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup fresh Cuban oregano leaves
• 1/4 cup peeled fresh garlic cloves
• 1 sweet yellow onion, peeled and quartered
• 2 cups sour orange juice
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
• 1 cup olive oil or avocado oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp powdered chicken boullion

Directions

1. Gather and prepare all the ingredients. Peel and quarter the onions, juice the fruit (if you are using fresh oranges), and dice the cilantro and oregano (does not need to be too fine because it will be blended).

2. Put all of the ingredients into a blender. The marinade should have a pourable, liquid consistency.

3. Pour over your favorite meat and let it marinate for several hours and even overnight. You can keep the remaining sauce in a mason jar in the fridge for three days or freeze it for future use.

As for the ingredients, I didn't have sour oranges, so I did 2/3 cup of each citrus juice (orange, lemon, and lime). I also didn't have cilantro on hand, so I skipped that part (which is okay, since some people don't like cilantro anyway). I'm not sure if I had quite a quarter cup of fresh garlic; I just used one full clove. And for the chicken boullion, I bought little packets. Supposedly each packet is the same as one cube, and each cube is equal to a teaspoon. But this is NOT true! I poured out the packet into a measuring spoon to check, and it is easily at least two teaspoons. So I just used two packets, since I figured it was better to use too little than to overdo it. 

I used the marinade on chicken thighs. They turned out great!

But despite making all those changes, this sauce came out really well! I thought it tasted great on its own, and it made me think of the ways I could use it: dipping sauce for a hot pretzel, pasta sauce... It seems very versatile and could be used in many ways. And this recipe made A LOT of the marinade, so I was able to take some of it to Hila and show her what her plant gave to me!

Recipe: Vegan Vanilla Cake

Over the weekend, my vegan friend and I met up to do some baking. I found this recipe on the Vegan 8 blog, and since Tammy already had a lot of the vegan ingredients (I don't keep vegan yogurt on hand, for example), it was pretty easy to throw this cake together. 

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups + 2 tablespoons (336g) regular all-purpose flour
• 1 cup + 5 tablespoons (252g) fine granulated white sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon (195g) room temperature canned "lite" coconut milk
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (150g) room temperature dairy-free sweetened vanilla yogurt
• 3 tablespoons (45g) HOT water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons (8g) vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon (5g) apple cider vinegar

Directions

1. Make sure the milk and yogurt are not cold and are room temperature! This is very important because if they are cold from the fridge, your batter will be hard to mix up, making the batter overly thick and cause overmixing to happen, which results in a tough/dense cake. Lighter cakes are the result of room temperature ingredients. 
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray a 9x13 glass pyrex dish with nonstick spray. Wipe off excess oil if too much is sitting on the bottom or in the corners, but be careful not to wipe too much off, otherwise the cake will stick.
3. To a large bowl, add the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt and whisk very well.
4. To a separate bowl, add the coconut milk, yogurt, hot water, vanilla and vinegar. Whisk until smooth.
5. Pour the liquid over the dry ingredients and use a large spoon to gently stir together the batter until moistened and just mixed, making sure to scrape from the bottom. Do not use a whisk, as this will overmix the batter. You want to stir until just mixed and moistened, do not overmix, as this can result in a tough/chewy cake. The batter will be quite thick, this is normal, do not add more liquid. It is okay for the batter to look thick and lumpy, as long as it’s mixed.
6. Pour the batter into the dish and spread out the top evenly into the pan and in the corners. Don’t worry about the top looking perfect, it will magically bake up perfectly and smooth on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes. It is done when a toothpick is clean from the center.
7. Cool completely before frosting. Cover the cake with foil tightly so it stays moist and store the cake at room temperature.

The original recipe really harps on getting a food scale (hence the measurements listed in grams). But neither of us had one (nor do we plan on buying one). Because of this, you have to add some extra tablespoons to some of the ingredients, like the flour and sugar; the way the recipe is written, it seems like you should keep the smaller portions separate for later use, but that is not the case. All the dry ingredients get mixed together, all the wet ingredients get mixed together, and then you put the liquid over the wet (so use a larger bowl for the dry ingredients first!). Very easy to put everything together, and then the baking time is half of what I would normally expect from a cake.

Rather than buying or making icing, we decided to make an icing glaze, which is just confectioners sugar with really any liquid you want (we used rum, vanilla extract, and some vanilla soy milk). Because the cake itself is just a light vanilla flavor, it really picks up whatever flavor you choose for the icing. For us, this cake tastes like RUM. But it's good! The cake itself is a little dense but not stodgy, and it's quite pleasant in its simplicity. We easily could have added fruit or sprinkles to the top of the cake to add a little something-something. Easy enough for a quick vegan cake!