Banana Cake with Amaretto & Kahlua Cream Cheese Frosting

Let’s be honest, over ripened, brown bananas can look quite pathetic when sitting next to their plump, yellow counterparts in the fruit bowl. We take pity on them for a few days as we graze by the fruit bowl contemplating their purpose and wondering what to do with them: not quite wanting to eat them but not quite wanting to throw them away…poor things. We toss around the idea of yet another banana bread, but let out a discouraged sigh at its monotony. Until, low and behold, an epiphany! How about using them in a cake with a unique frosting for your sister-in-law’s birthday!?

This cake is, of course, white flour and sugar-free. A combination of oat and barley flours provide the base, agave nectar sweetens the cake, and crushed bananas add moisture and density (and not to mention a to-dye-for banana taste!).

The frosting, sigh, the frosting… is a luscious mix of cream cheese with equal parts amaretto and kahlua. After adding a dusting of almond pieces for added garnish and crunch, is there anything tastier than this?

I used a cake recipe from Baking with Agave Nectar, so I will not post the recipe. I also adapted the what-was-supposed-to-be rum cream cheese frosting to my creation of this amaretto and kahlua frosting. Unfortunately, I relied on my apparently not-so- reliable memory to record the measurements; therefore, I can merely supply a vague idea of what I did…

Lesson learned. I'll write everything down next time!

Banana Cake with Amaretto & Kahlua Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream Cheese Frosting:
6 Tbsp Butter
12oz cream cheese
¾ c agave nectar
1 tsp almond extract
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ tbsp amaretto
1 ½ tbsp kahlua

Using a hand mixer, cream the butter and cream cheese. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until a nice, white fluffy frosting forms (about 2-3 min). Taste and add any ingredients that I may have forgotten :-). (I also may or may not have added the juice of 1/2 lemon...)

Banana Cake:
From Baking with Agave Nectar

Quinoa Pasta with Sautéed Spinach and Portobello Mushroom

This colorful pasta dish is so simple to prepare yet different enough to keep your palate amused. Quinoa pasta provides a serving of whole grains as well as protein. Aside from being known for its iron content, spinach is also a good source of Vitamins A and C as well as dietary fiber. Unfortunately, the nutritional content of Portobello mushrooms is not as well known as that of spinach and quinoa. Each medium-large Portobello mushroom cap contains about 3g of protein and 2g fiber. Even more important, Portobello mushrooms are an excellent source of niacin and good sources of potassium and selenium. Niacin, which is also known as Vitamin B3, assists in the functioning of the digestive system, skin and nerves. Research shows that selenium may be helpful in preventing cancer, maintaining a healthy blood sugar level and also retarding the effects of diabetes. And if that is not enough, Portobello mushrooms are just plain yummy!

Quinoa Pasta with Sautéed Spinach and Portobello Mushroom
Serves 1

2oz quinoa pasta
1 Portobello mushroom cap
2 generous handfuls of fresh spinach
About 1tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Bell pepper flakes (optional)
Parmesan cheese (optional)
Balsamic vinegar (optional)
Salt and pepper

Bring a pot of water to a boil, lightly salt it and cook the quinoa pasta according to the instructions on the box (usually about 6-10min). Drain and set aside when finished.

While the pasta is cooking, lightly dust off the Portobello mushroom cap with a paper towel and cut into small chunks. Lightly coat the bottom of a pan with olive oil and stir in the mushroom chunks until they are all coated with oil. Add the spinach and sauté over medium heat for about 7-10 minutes or until the mushrooms are slightly browned and the spinach slightly wilted. If you are cooking over a higher heat, you may want to add the spinach when the mushrooms are almost done, to prevent over-cooking.

Stir the pasta into the pan with the mushroom and spinach to lightly coat with oil and add some salt and pepper to taste.

I suggest pouring just a touch of balsamic vinegar over the dish as well as some freshly grated cheese and bell pepper flakes. Depending on how much olive oil you used in the pan, you may also want to sprinkle a bit more over the finished dish.

Introducing Ayurveda

One of my favorite things about the food blogging community is the millions of diverse, talented individuals, creating, cooking and photographing food, simply for the love of food and its art. Let’s face it, most of us do not have cookbooks, are not certified master chefs, and are not photographers, but we create delicious recipes, record our kitchen adventures, and capture its beauty on film, because we love it. It’s almost a shame how many wonderful food bloggers exist who will not make a living just from blogging; but that is also the beauty of this hobby: we don’t care because we love food and we love food as art.

When looking for new blogs to read, I am often attracted to the holistic-organic-Ayurvedic-yogic-food for living and a better mind and spirit-type blogs. These are bloggers who enjoy learning the ancient ways of eating and medicine, while adapting them to their hectic and modern daily life. Honestly speaking, yogis are often a wonderful eccentric bunch: we eat things like seaweed, we are tea obsessed, we know what tryphala is, we chant, we compare neti pot techniques, and we openly discuss our digestion. I therefore, love finding fellow yogis whose food blogs revolve around an Ayurvedic/Yogic lifestyle.

I usually do not endorse blogs that I love, simply because of their sheer volume; however, thanks to one of my favorites, Rice of Life, I was happy to find an informative, honest, and down right well written blog, Fran’s House of Ayuveda. If you are interested in Ayurveda or yoga, this is one of the best blogs that I’ve seen devoted to such a subject. If you are new to Ayurveda, it is also a great blog to introduce you and to get you hooked on this healthy way of life.