Kitchen Products

A friend of mine makes the best Banana Bread that is great with coffee, served warm with butter or just eaten as a snack. I asked her for the recipe and told her that I wanted to share it with others.  Well, here it is.

 Susie’s Fantastic Homemade Banana Bread

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup melted margarine or butter

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

3 Tablespoons milk

2 Tablespoons vinegar

1 teaspoon baking soda

3  very ripe bananas

1 cup walnuts or pecans (optional)

2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix sugars, margarine, salt, vanilla & eggs together.  In separate small bowl mix milk, vinegar & baking soda (will foam up).  Mix all these items together. Then mash and add bananas and nuts to your batter.  Slowly add flour a little bit at a time until all the batter is moist. 

Pour into nonstick loaf pan or into lightly greased loaf pan.  Depending on how hot your oven gets bake from 50 min. - 1 hr. Done when you test it with toothpick and it comes out clean.  Do not over bake.  Let stand to cool for at least 30 mins., then slice and enjoy!  It’s the best I’ve ever had!

Cast iron cookware has been around for centuries dating back to ancient China. Cast iron is known for being able to absorb and retain heat better than most cooking materials which makes it excellent for roasting and slow cooking. This is also why a cast iron dutch oven is a great addition to your kitchen. The meal choices that can be prepared in a dutch oven are almost endless. Stews, chili, roasts and whole chicken or duck normally come to mind when thinking of using a dutch oven. There are so many other items that are great when prepared in a cast iron dutch oven such as pasta dishes, homemade breads, casseroles, cornbread, gumbo and more. The cast iron dutch oven can be used to brown the meat, prior to adding the other ingredients, then cook the entire dish and finish in the oven, if needed. It is truely the one pan for the whole meal.

A disadvantage of cast iron is the fact that it rusts easily and must be seasoned regularly. This is where enameled cast iron cookware can make it very easy to use everyday. The porcelain enamel finish on the ColorCast Cast Iron Dutch Oven prevents it from rusting and is easily seasoned. Just a little cooking oil wiped on the porcelain interior does the job. The finish also prevents the taste of the food from being affected by the cast iron. And clean-up is a snap compared with traditional black cast iron. This is the original nonstick pan. Try new recipes in this user-friendly cast iron dutch oven and have some fun. Oh yeah, in these busy days that we all have it is easy to turn down the heat and keep the food ready to eat later, like after the soccer game!!