banana bread | Chatty Cha

I’ve mentioned before I enjoy the food blog PaleOMG. Juli, the blogger, is young, down-to-earth, often hilarious and sometimes a bit neurotic. She seems to pretty much have her s*it together at the ripe old age of 26, having been through the types of food issues that so many women have, and being willing to share her story. It took me most of my life to realize this in myself, and I’m still struggling. Also, her recipes are good, with her Almost-5-Ingredient-Pizza-Pie being among my favorites.

Anyway, she co-wrote a cookbook, The Paleo Kitchen, with fellow blogger Civilized Caveman, who I’ve read, but I enjoy less.

So, they have this cookbook. AND they were coming to Seattle in support of said cookbook. To not just any bookstore, but the independent bookstore that’s a couple miles from our house, Ravenna Third Place Books. The one the kid and I have been frequenting on a regular basis this year. So, I really felt like I should be there. Not only did I decide to go, but I was going to BUY the book AT the bookstore, and not on Amazon like I normally would. You see, I had recently finished this book about Amazon (borrowed form the library, but read on my beloved Kindle), and it kind of turned me off on supporting Amazon. So in solidarity to my indie bookstore (I bought the last couple of Harry Potters there, even showed up at midnight to pick my copy up), I bought The Paleo Kitchen there, for full price. That plus some books for the kid and a Theo chocolate bar (it’s hard to find that Chai Tea flavor. Third Place is one of the few places that carry it, so I can’t help but buy a bar when I’m there, you know, for just in case.) and I was out 50 bucks. Gulp. Supporting the indies, I kept muttering to myself.

Anyway, I showed up, got great parking, bought the book, took the kid to dinner in the back at Vios (there is a restaurant, IN the bookstore. They serve Greek-inspired food. And espresso. And gelato. This place is my dream. Oh, and there is a pub downstairs, but that’s another story of another time). By the time we were done with dinner the front of the store was packed for the author presentation. I ended up hanging with the kiddo in the kids section, and just listening to them speak. It was kind of cool, because readers often feel like they know a blogger personally, especially one like Juli, who seems to share a lot more than just food tips and recipes. That was kind of neato. Not neato? The lame questions that were asked.

What I loved that George said was about substitutions. It irritates me when, right after Juli or George have posted a recipe, the comments start popping up … “I love this recipe for Slivered Almond-Almond Flour cookies, but I’m allergic to Almonds. Do you have a substitution idea?” Here’s an idea, if you’re allergic, then find another recipe! Anyway, George basically said, if we say to use coconut flour, it’s because it’s the best ingredient for the recipe. If you tell me you made the recipe but swapped in one thing for another and it didn’t work out, it’s because you didn’t make the recipe. It’s like, yes, they MUST get annoyed with all those questions, and his statement there kind of made me thing. YES! So annoying.

People kept asking a variation of “What’s your dream food, your favorite cheat, etc etc” Poor authors sort of kept saying the same thing over and over … I kind of wanted to tell the crowd of chicks (it was, like 95% women. just a sprinkling of males in the crowd) … IT’S A LIFESTYLE. They don’t miss that stuff because they’ve made a lifestyle decision.

Well, anyway. I can yell all I want, but I’m just like those girls, I suppose. Deciding to chow down on one last doughnut before starting another bout of clean eating (tomorrow, I swear!) I’m heading into dangerous territory where my poor eating habits are beginning to affect my workouts, and my overall well-being. But I love those darn sweets. Did you not read that sentence where I bought a chocolate bar at a bookstore? Don’t judge, okay. And just because it’s paleo doesn’t mean it’s not high-calorie. It’s just a different kind of calorie.

So. Clean eating starts tomorrow. Which means less paleo-izing to satisfy a sweet tooth.

So I best be testing out these recipes today, right! Here are a few pics of the first two recipes I tried from this cookbook. They are both dessert/sweets (see paragraph above). It’s been a little warm, and I’ve been a lot lazy, but the pulled pork is next on my list to try. Until then, have a look-see:

Cinnamon Chocolate Swirl Banana Bread from The Paleo Kitchen

Cinnamon Chocolate Swirl Banana Bread. I didn’t swirl the topping enough. but it was yummy regardless. This is one of those few instances where I’m not going to say something about being disappointed with the paleo-version of a dish. This one, was pretty close to the real thing.. Not too eggy, as paleo breads can be. The banana bread was probably the best paleo bread I’ve made … could have been sweeter but I ran out of bananas.

No-Bake Tropical Escape Cookies. These were tasty, though I wouldn’t trade them for an actual tropical escape. They tended to crumble a bit, though. Had to eat a two-bite treat in one big bite to avoid having them fall apart. I ate a lot of these.

This was the first recipe I tried, and it was super easy, especially when entertaining a little sous chef.

All in all, it’s a good cookbook. I wished each recipe had some additional perspective on what they were thinking/inspired by to create the recipe. It was pretty straight forward in the recipe portion, with bios/paleo info in the beginning. An enjoyable read, and the photos are impressive.

Though I might have been happier had I saved some money buying it on Amazon (No! That’s wrong, keep your moral high ground, aaaaaaaaahhh!)

For my birthday, which isn’t for another two days, the husband took me to Pair. Hooray! At long last. We have been meaning to go since it opened … two or more years ago. Each time we planned to go it just didn’t seem right. Today was right. Beautiful weather all day, with highs in the 70s (The Weather Bug on our desktop is now telling me it’s 80 but I can’t believe it).

The restaurant is closed Sundays and Mondays (thus celebrating the birthday two days early). We arrived soon after it opened at 5 p.m., the first customers of the evening. At first I was a bit embarrased to be the early bird, but as we walked out an hour and a half later, I was glad we arrived when we did, as the restaurant, with room for about 10 tables (including 2 – 3 tables of 6), was packed with a line quickly forming. Pair does not take reservations for parties less than 6, so arriving early will never be an embarrassment for me again.

Pair serves delicate small plates and has a robust wine list to choose from. We both planned to have just one glass, and based on the waitress’ suggestion, I tried the Forgeron (it was a cabernet blend) from Walla Walla. I’m not a wine fanatic, but this one was a great pick. Incredibly smooth. Even the husband was impressed (his palate is a bit more refined than mine, so to me that means a lot).

So, the small plates. We started with a Cambozola Fondue, served with crostini and thinly sliced apple.

Nice surprise here. The cheese was smooth and rich, and just the right temperature (don’t you hate extra hot fondue burning your tongue). A great mix of flavors, the apple and blue cheese (it’s a blue cheese, right? Sure tasted like one).

Next up, Spot Prawn Beignets with a spicy mayo sauce:

Before I could take a photo we were nearly done! Incredibly light and fluffy considering they’ve deep fried the dough. What a fun take on the beignet. What an inventive way to make it their own. I’m getting this one again.

Our next two dishes came together: The evening’s special, Beef Bourguignon with Porcini Gnocchi:

and this greens dish whose name I can’t remember:

The beef dish was cooked to perfection. The husband commented that they must have been cooking that beef all day. It was so tender and smooth. Had there been a bone, the beef would have falled off it. The gnocchi a great complement, not too overpowering, but absorbed the right flavors, of the porcini mushrooms as well as the amazingly cooked beef. The greens dish was also impressive. I’m not used to hazelnuts being sprinkled on my vegetables, but this worked. In addition to a salty pork, tiny currants also decorated the plate, leaving your mouth with a salty-sweet combination to ponder.

Finally, as it was my birthday, I demanded that we should order dessert. A staff favorite was chosen, the Banana Bread Pudding:

Decadent presentation! The pudding was “drizzled” in caramel sauce and topped with vanilla ice cream. Lightly toasted walnuts was the final touch. The familiar taste of banana bread, combined with the texture of a bread pudding made this unique dish a new favorite. “I love toasted walnuts in caramel sauce,” I told the husband, as if I had experienced it before. Perhaps I had but this evening’s dish was created to perfection and made it seem entirely new to me.

I think that was the theme of the evening. Each dish was cooked to perfection. No complaints here.

If you didn’t get the hints throughout this post, we’ll be back at Pair soon enough. I already know a few of the dishes I plan to try: the duck, the potato and cauliflower gratin, and of course the famous mac and cheese.

Chatty Cha

dessert first

Tag Archives: banana bread

Sweet treats from ‘The Paleo Kitchen’

Pair