Heidi's Banana Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

I had leftover Vanilla Buttercream frosting from birthday cupcakes I made and some ripe bananas that needed to be used. Thought “Why not” make a four layered banana cake using my banana bread recipe. ( I used four bananas instead of three in each batch). This cake turned out so delicious and was simple to make. Here’s the frosting recipe and optional to use some candied nuts (pecans). Both of these recipes you can find here on my website. To make it easier for you I’ve added the links. HERE for banana bread recipe (omit the chocolate chips). For the candied nuts. HERE .

Use Four 9x9 round baking pans. My banana bread recipe will make two rounds. Make sure to fill each pan equally. Bake four cakes to stack. Cool the cakes completely before frosting each layer and the outside of the entire cake. Chop up your candied nuts ( I used pecans) and scatter on top and press randomly around the outside of cake. Enjoy!

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks unsalted Butter, room temperature

• 5 cups Powdered Sugar

• 1 1/2 Teaspoon Real Vanilla Extract

• 5-6 Tablespoon Heavy Cream or Whole milk

Directions:

• Using an electric mixer beat the soft butter until soft and creamy state.

• Slowly add the powdered sugar. Periodically stop and scrap the sides using a spatula.

• After butter and powdered sugar are completely mixed add the vanilla and the milk. Mix all together and smooth.

• Ready to frost your cake!

• Frosting can be refrigerated up to 4 days for later use. Bring to room temperature before using.

  *I doubled the recipe sometimes to have frosting ready for another baking project.

Story Behind Me, The Rancher & Rocky Mountain Oysters

Covid times has brought many positive things in my life. One of them are my daily walks. And after 24 years of living in Corral de Tierra area I have finally met most of our neighbors along my walking route.

One of the people is a Rancher named Scott. Here are a few things that come to mind about connecting with Scott, He has been so kind. During spring time I collected feathers when he saw that I was collecting them he gave me a few special ones that he found on his ranch. Also when he saw the article in ‘In The Loop magazine of my “Bay Leaf Wreath Making” Scott asked if I needed anymore bay leafs that there were a few trees way up on his property, of course I said Yes! Scott gave me a beautiful bushel of bay leafs which I used as Christmas gifts attaching a recipe “How to make Bay Leaf Tea”.

So this brings us up to now, Scott asked if I wanted to try Calf fries/Rocky Mountain Oysters, again, I said yes! When the calves are being branded the testicles are cut off and saved in a bucket of water to prepare and eat later. They are a delicacy, other names are cowboy caviar, prairie oysters, swinging beef and calf fries. I was so excited because if you know me I’m a adventurous eater and will try most anything. So the following day I took my four mile walk to pick up the goods and had the privilege to take a quick video of Scott to explain how he makes these morsels of goodness that he and the cowboys after branding make to eat. Watch the video and enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 10-20 calf fries

• 1 stick of butter, use 1/2 stick if only 10 calf fries

• 1 cup flour, use 1/2 if only 10 calf fries

• Seasoning of choose, pepper, salt, garlic powder, I used Kinder’s The Blend (Salt, pepper & Garlic)

• 12 inch Skillet, I used cast iron

• 1 ziplock bag or paper bag, to shake n bake the calf fries in

Directions:

• Heat stove top on medium high heat, adding butter to melt.

• Add Flour and seasoning to your bag, then add the calf fries and shake to coat each one.

• Place in hot skillet, As the calf fries cook they will plump up, take a sharp knife and cut a slit in each of them (this will allow the inside meat to pop out)

• Continue to saute in the butter for 15 minutes, add more seasoning to them.

• Remove from the pan and enjoy only eating the meat, discard the outside cover aka grissel , save for a dog treat.

• Optional: You can remove the grissel outside of the calf fries prior to cooking which makes it easier and consistent with the coating of the seasoned flour to stick on the entire calf fries.

Heidi's Pork Schnitzel

Pork Schnitzel are one of our favorite family meals to eat. This pork is so tender and tasty, pounded out to perfection made with seasoned panko or breadcrumbs. Delicious to eat cold or hot. Either way these schnitzels are a hit. Squeeze fresh lemon on top to give each piece a bright note. Serve your dish up with adding a seasonal veggie, mashed potatoes on the side and top your schnitzel with a homemade aioli or hollandaise sauce. It is endless how many ways you can serve this scrumptious piece of meat. Be creative & enjoy!

Ingredients: (May vary with the amount of pork you have)

• Use 1/2 Boneless Pork Loin, (Costco uncut ) or thin pre cut pork. Wrap and freeze other half of pork.

• 1 cup Cornstarch, more if needed.

• 3-4 eggs, Make egg wash with 1 teaspoon of water, beat together.

• 2 cups Panko or Season Bread Crumbs, more if needed ( sometimes I mix both together).

• Seasonings; To taste, black pepper, Kinders lemon pepper, garlic powder, dried parsley or basil & Sea salt to dust after frying.

• Avocado oil

Direction:

• Prepare your prepping station; 3 large shallow dishes, 1-Egg Wash, 2-Cornstarch, 3-Seasoned Panko & or Breadcrumbs.

• Prep 3 baking sheets covering with foil, 1 to use after cutting and pounding pork, 2nd for after coating your pork and the 3rd foil covered baking sheet lined with paper towels, use this one after done frying pork meat.

• I use the Large Costco Boneless Pork Loin (Best bang for your bucks) (scroll to bottom of page for image), cut in half. Wrap and freeze 1/2. Using the other half of pork loin cut off and discard any extra fat. Thinly cut slices of pork (I use an electric knife).

• In between plastic wrap put each slice of pork and pound gently to make thin.

• Set on baking sheet until you have pounded all of the pork out.

• Time to coat pork, start with dipping both sides in cornstarch, egg wash and coat evenly in Panko. Set each piece on baking sheet.

• In a large frying pan add a shallow amount of avocado oil, heat on medium high until hot and lower temperature to medium add pieces of pork frying approximately 2-3 minutes on each side, each side should be crispy and golden brown, remove when brown then dust with a little sea salt after removing and setting on baking sheet. After each fry session use a slotted spatula to remove excessive breadcrumbs from frying pan. Add more oil if needed. Repeat until all pieces are cooked.

• Serve family style or individually with whatever sides you choose, Enjoy!

• If your not serving right away cool pork completely and put in sealed container and refrigerate up to 3 days.

Heidi's Plum Crumble

Summer is here and our Plum trees are packed with the most juiciest and tastiest sweet balls of goodness! I had to come up with another use for them so here’s my Plum Crumble recipe. The crumble topping is very much the same as my plum cake recipe but two very different desserts. Enjoy!

Ingredients for Base: Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Prepare and set aside an 8x8 square baking dish, generously butter (using unsalted butter) the entire inside.

• 1 package Graham Crackers, Crushed

• 1/3 cup unsalted Butter

• Handful of Brown Sugar

  Direction:

• In a medium size bowl add crushed graham crackers and butter, hand mix together and pour into buttered baking dish, fill bottom and a little on the side pressing down to make a crust. Sprinkle the brown sugar on top of crust and run your finger to spread out smoothly. Set aside.

Second Step:

9 large Plums. Wash, cut in half to remove pit, cutting each then set on paper towel, this helps drain the extra moisture from plums. Set aside.

Ingredients for Crumble Topping:

• 1/3 cup unsalted Butter

• 1/2 cup of Oats, (add another 1/4 cup if you like more oats)

• 3 TBSP Brown Sugar

• 3 TBSP White Sugar

• Pinch Nutmeg

• 1/4 Tsp Cinnamon

• 1/8 Tsp Sea Salt

Directions:

• In a medium bowl mix all ingredients using your hands, it should become crumbly in texture.

• Assembling time! On top of the graham cracker crust place each plum side by side filling the entire bottom of baking dish, pour crumble topping on top of plums and wipe away crumble from each plum so you can see them.

• Bake 35-45 minutes, top will be bubbly. As your plum crumble cools it will set. While warm use a knife to release the edges from dish. Cool completely before cutting.

• Ready to serve. Refrigerate if not eating right away. Keeps up to 4 days.

• Optional: Heat cut pieces in microwave and top with vanilla ice cream or whip cream. I love this plum crumble cold with or without ice cream or whip cream. Enjoy!

Heidi's Cauliflower Steaks

When I want a hearty dish that’s pretty healthy I love making my cauliflower steaks. Perfect on its own or as a side to serve with whatever else you plan on serving for brunch, lunch or dinner. It’s delicious and simple to make and a sure crowd pleaser. Today I just made a few because with the rest of the cauliflower I decided to make cauliflower & carrot soup to serve alongside with my Cauli-steaks. Just double recipe if making more.

Ingredients:

• 6 Sliced Cauliflower, cut 1/2 inch thick

• 1/2 cup Cornstarch

• 1 cup Panko (can use seasoned breadcrumbs)

• 1 Tbls Lemon Pepper

• 1 Egg, beaten

• 1/4 cup Avocado oil

Direction:

• Set up assembly line of cornstarch, egg, Panko with seasoning.

• Wash, cut and dry your cauliflower, set on paper towel also place on top to absorb all moisture.

• Dredge first in cornstarch, then egg and panko.

• Set on baking sheet after coating each cauli-steak, when ready heat oil to cook cauli-steaks in skillet.

• In a large skillet on medium high heat, pour in olive oil, heat up to hot then turn down heat to medium. (drop a little piece of cauliflower scrap in oil if it sizzle it’s ready).

• Do not crowd your cauliflower, place in skillet cook approx. 2-3 minutes on each side. Until golden brown.

• Remove and place on a baking sheet lined with foil and paper towel to drain oil.

• You can eat hot or cold. If preparing earlier then planning to serve right away. Let the cauli-steaks cool completely and cover with paper towel and plastic wrap and refrigerate. To reheat place in oven for a flashbake and to make crispy again. Using a baking sheet covered with foil spray with cooking spray bake for 15 minutes on preheated oven 450 degree.

• Enjoy!

Heidi's Sourdough Herb Rolls

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cup Flour

• 1 cup of warm Water

• 3 Tsp dry yeast (add to warm water and add the sugar) whisk well and let it get to bubbly stage this means its active.

• 3/4 cup active sourdough Starter ( you can buy live starter (online) or make your own, many recipes online, takes several days to do but once you have it you’ll have as long as you take care and feed your started)Mine was a gift from my neighbor Pam & we call her “Baby Sally”

• 1 Tbls Sugar

• 1 1/2 Tsp Sea salt

• 3 Tbls Dry Herbs, Herbs de Provence

• 1 Egg, egg wash

• Optional: Sesame seeds

Instructions:

• In a large mixing bowl mix all ingredients together with a spoon, let rest 15 minutes.

• Using dough hook knead for 5 minutes.

• In a medium size bowl (I use Stainless steel) lightly coat with olive oil, place dough inside and cover loosely with plastic wrap. DO NOT have oven heated. Place bowl in oven, let rise for 2 hours, remove from oven and fold dough a few times, keeping inside of the same bowl, cover and rise for 1 more hour best to rise another 2 hours.

• Prepare a flat baking sheet (no edges) with a piece of parchment paper that is cut to size of your baking stone. Place baking stone in oven.

• Remove your dough from oven. Turn on oven to 450 degrees, heat for 40 minutes

• While oven is heating up your baking stone, make your dough balls not over kneading, place on parchment paper covered baking sheet, inch or so apart. (try to finish within 10 min or less to let dough settle for final rise)

• Whisk egg together making egg wash and brush on top of your dough balls and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.

• Let dough rest while oven is heating.

• After 40 minutes carefully slide the parchment paper on hot baking stone.

• Bake 18 minutes then turn down oven to 375 degrees bake another 8 minutes.

• Take out the rolls by sliding back on your flat baking sheet and place on a cooling rack, sliding the baking sheet away. This is just to make it easier for transferring rolls.

• Wait if you can for 20 minutes and enjoy!

• The rolls are soft in the middle and crusty on the outside best served on the same day of baking. Store in a ziplock. The rolls soften on the outside the next day, so crust is softer but still delicious. I like toasting my roll.

  Yields: 8 Large Rolls

• Variety of ways to make rolls; Add fresh garlic pieces, jalapenos & cheddar cheese or just omit herbs to make plain rolls with different toppings; Sesame seeds, Poppy seeds, Coarse Sea salt, Everything but the Bagel seasoning blend from Trader Joes, Get creative and make and bake what your pallet is screaming for. Enjoy!

• Request from me

Take pictures and send to me with a short description of what type of roll you created and baked.

Thank you.

Two Bean Salad with Tarragon & Oregano

Thank you Ralph and Cynthia for sharing your “Two Bean Salad with Tarragon & Oregano,” and recipe with my husband Nick and I. Ralph and Cynthia hand delivered this delicious bean salad to us. It came in a mason jar packed full of herbs & zesty tasting bean salad. Still sheltering in place we all met at our gate with our masks and gloves on to receive this awesome gift. Great as a side dish or appetizer served in mini cups. Enjoy!

Yields: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

• 3 green onions  

• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar  

• 3 garlic clove,  finely chopped

• 1 tablespoon dried oregano or 2 tablespoons fresh 

• 1 tablespoon dried tarragon or 2 tablespoons fresh

• 1 teaspoon sea salt 

• 1 1⁄4 teaspoons freshly ground pepper - I never measure out my pepper. I just grind my pepper grinder a few times and call it a day or to taste, I like more

• 1(15-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

• 1(15-ounce) can red kidney beans,  drained and rinsed

• 1⁄3-1⁄2 cup extra-virgin olive oil - The recipe calls for ½ cup  I use 1/3 cup but add more as we eat the beans.

• 2-3 tablespoons red wine vinegar - This is also a preference thing as well. If you like red wine vinegar  then use 3 tablespoons.

Direction:

• Wash and finely chop the green onions and finely chop the garlic. If you're using fresh herbs, then wash and chop them up. Drain and rinse the garbanzo and kidney beans.

• Add in the garbanzo beans, kidney beans, olive oil, and vinegar.

• Combine the onions, sugar, garic, oregano, tarragon, salt and pepper in a large bowl an d mix to combine.

• Add in the garbanzo beans, kidney beans, olive oil, and vinegar.

• Toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour. The salad is best if it’s made a couple hours to even a day ahead as it allows the flavors to meld.

• This salad will keep well for at least a couple weeks. Sometimes I just add the dressing to a green salad leaving out the beans. When I do that I add more olive oil and/or vinegar and punch up the dressing with more seasonings to taste.

Heidi makes Linda Housel Lemon Meringue Pie

Thank you Linda for sharing your delicious lemon meringue pie recipe with me and now I get the privilege to share it with all of my foodie friends. Here are some of my helpful hints. Have lemons squeezed and zested, eggs separated, get all your ingredients out and ready to use. The process is time sensitive and being organized will make things easier to be successful. Let the pie cool at room temperature then place in the refrigerator to set pie filling completely before cutting. This lemon meringue pie is delicious, Enjoy!

Linda- “one thing I have found is if you have Meyers lemons you have to adjust the sugar because Meyers lemons come from China and are a cross between Mandarin oranges, therefore, a little less sugar .”

 Linda Housel  Lemon Meringue Pie (My Original)

Yields 1,  1, 9-inch pie

Ingredients

Filling:

4 egg yolks (save whites for meringue)

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/3 cups sugar

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/3 cup flour

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon lemon zest, grated

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 pre-baked pie crust (store-bought or homemade)

Meringue:

4 egg whites, room temperature

3 tablespoons sugar

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions

Preheat oven to 375º F and arrange oven rack to the middle of oven.

Beat eggs yolks together in a medium bowl (save egg whites for meringue). Set the bowl aside.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine water, sugar, flour and salt, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

Boil for 1 minute, then slowly add hot mixture to egg yolks while whisking continuously. (This tempers the yolks and keeps them from cooking once you put them back on the heat.)

Once you’ve added at least half of your hot mixture to the yolks, return mixture (and remaining yolks) to the stove, on low, continuing to whisk vigorously.

Cook for 1 more minute.

Remove from heat again and add butter, lemon juice and zest. Mix thoroughly and pour into (cooled) pie shell.

For meringue: beat egg whites and cream of tartar on high speed until soft peaks form.

Slowly add sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. 1-2 minutes.

Spread meringue onto pie filling while it’s still hot and make sure to spread it out to the outer edges of the crust to “seal” the topping.

Place in oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until top is golden brown.

Let cool completely before serving.

Delicious and Simples experience at "The Butter House"

I found a new place for a great breakfast, brunch & lunch. I have visited the Butter House a few times now, just to make sure it was consistent with what they pumped out. Their quality and prompt services did impress me. They have a variety of choices to pick from so make sure you go hungry, I give The Butter House two thumbs up!
The Butter House is a friendly, brightly decorated place that serves hearty dishes. So far off the menu I have ordered their TBH Benedict, Spicy Jalapeño Burger, The Queen Marciana's Hand Rolled Lumpia, Fried Chicken and Waffles, I have had a taste from my honeys plate of the THB Breakfast Sandwich. Seriously, all of these dishes were perfectly prepared and delicious. To compliment anything you order and is a must try! The Butter House House makes a Lavender Simple Syrup, it's super yummy, just a tiny splash goes along way. Add to your water or bubbles (mimosa). I'm told that the Homemade Cinnamon Roll sales out fast and to come early to experience one. Make sure you bring a friend to share because it is as big as my face! Let the Butter House owner Benny & Susan Mosqueda know that Delicious & Simple sent you.  Happy Eating! 

For more information and menu go to their website HERE

The Butter House
1760 Fremont Blvd
Seaside, Ca 93955
831-394-2887

How to Prep and Steam Homemade Tamales and a few more Tips

Annually a group of us get together to make homemade tamales. We now call ourselves the Tamale Girls aka TG’s. We started this in 2018. Felicia our friend is the lead in this since she is well versed in how to make tamales, she has been making these with her family all her life. So I thought to share a few helpful hints that we all learned from Felicia with you.

Prepping and Steaming your Tamales:

• First thing get a deep enough pot with lid.

• Put a bowl or veggie colander upside down in the center of pot and surround the edges with foil.

• Fill bottom with water. Make sure to check periodically that the water hasn’t evaporated. Add more water to prevent this if needed.

• Stand your tamales upright putting the sealed end on the bottom, you can stack on top of eachother if you have an abundance tamales made.

• Cover the tamales with a damp 100% cotton cloth/towel.

• Turn stove top on to high heat. Place lid on top. Steam for one hour maybe longer if you have bigger tamales.

Assembling Tamales:

• Soak your corn husk in warm water minimum of 30 minutes. Using a paper towel dry off before adding Masa.

• Using a spoon or spatula Prep all the husk with masa. Smear a thin layer of masa leaving 1 -2 inch clean on top and bottom of corn husk but be sure to spread masa on the rest of the corn husk spreading to the side edges.

• When you have made a pile of your masa prepped corn husk it’s time to fill with your meat. You can use pork, chicken, beef even do a sweet version be creative with your tamales.

• Make your own masa or buy it already made from your favorite Mexican Market.

Here’s the recipe for the filling: (Recipe Food network)

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 3-inch pieces

• Kosher salt

• 1 onion, quartered

• 4 sprigs fresh thyme or 2 teaspoons dried thyme

• 2 teaspoons dried oregano (preferably Mexican)

• 2 bay leaves

• 12 black peppercorns

• 2 teaspoons ground cumin

• 1/3 cup plus 1/2 teaspoon chili powder

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons sugar

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Put the pork in a deep saucepan and cover with cold water (about 6 cups). Add 2 teaspoons salt, the onion, thyme, oregano, bay leaves and peppercorns; cover and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the pork is tender, 1 hour, 30 minutes to 2 hours. Transfer the pork to a plate and shred. Strain and reserve the cooking liquid; keep warm.

Combine pork, with cumin, 1/3 chili powder, the garlic, flour, sugar, vegetable oil and 1 cup of the reserved cooking liquid in a large skillet. Bring to a simmer over medium heat; cook stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 25 minutes.

Your ready to fill your corn husk that have been prepared with the masa!

For full recipe go to Foodnetwork.com (Pork Tamales)

GSR 2019 Tastes of Summer Celebration

What a wonderful treat to be invited to this delectable and fun food event hosted by Grand Sierra Resorts, featuring their chefs and wines from many different regions. In fact they were pouring one of the wines from our neck of the woods, Carmel Road Wines, Monterey Ca. My husband Nick and I were able to bring our foodie friends Dennis and Lynn. This was the first time Gsr presented at this scale a interactive culinary experience. They had tasting tables all around the ballroom with wine to compliment each dish. The food stations included; Asian Cold Noodle Salad paired with Carmel Road, Riesling, Monterey, Street Tacos-Al Pastor & Shrimp, wine: Matanzas Creek, Sauvignon Blanc, Sonoma, Surf n Turf Kebabs, wine: Freemark Abbey Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa, Pasta Action Station, wine: Alcance Chardonnay, Tenuta L’illuminata Dolcetto d’ Alba, Italy, Assorted Dessert Station, wine: Arrowood Late Harvest Riesling, Sonoma, Mixologist Station, Diplomatico Planas Extra Anejo Blanco & Diplomatico Mantuano Extra Anejo, Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream, wine: Benvolio Prosecco, Italy. If that’s not enough two full bars were also set up. Chefs were on stage doing demos of some of the plates featured, you could see up close or watch on the large screens set up. It was very clear and impressive. We loved the experience and hope this is something GRS will do again!

Here’s just a few images of this fabulous venue.