Kayleigh's Dinner

Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread

This was my first time baking on my own with yeast. I was nervous, I was scared, I was convinced I would end up with a cinnamon swirl rock instead of bread. Luckily, all my fears were unfounded as this bread turned out AMAZING. So good. The recipe comes from Sweet Pea’s Kitchen. I decided to bake it on the first cold gloomy day of the semester up here in Berkeley; perfect weather for making cinnamon deliciousness! Making this bread is sort of an all day thing, you have to let rise, then punch it and roll it, then let it rise again, then bake it! But I must say that it is worth it. I recommend eating this bread warm or toasted with a little bit of cream cheese! It is exquisite. Now that I have wetted my palate for baking with yeast, I think I will be on a bread kick for the next few weeks!

Chairman Bao Bun Truck

Damn, this stuff was good. Off the Grid in North Berkeley is quickly becoming my absolute favorite way to spend a wednesday evening. This week, Andrew and I sampled food from Chairman Bao, Senor Sisig, and Skylite Snowballs. We started off at the Chairman and both got the pork belly bao, it was definitely one of the best things I have ate in a long time. The bun was soft and chewy, the pork belly was tender and slightly crispy and the pickled daikon was the perfect garnish to lighten it up and leave a refreshing taste in your mouth. Then we went to Senor Sisig, which is a Filipino fusion truck. I got the Sisig fries, which is a version of irish nachos and they did not disappoint! I could barely finish the them! The toppings were plentiful and rich. Homemade cheese sauce, guacamole, sour cream, pork and sriracha. Nom. For dessert Andrew and I split a strawberry snow cone with marshmallow topping! They make all of their syrups from scratch and it actually tasted like a real strawberry. It was so refreshing and the perfect thing to finish off our Off the Grid dinner! 

Its Barbecue Time!

For my mom’s birthday I went all out classic bbq! Barbecue chicken with homemade root beer barbecue sauce, delicious eggy potato salad, strawberry spinach salad and fresh strawberry lemonade. It’s strawberry season here in California and my grandpa had brought a big flat of them over from the local strawberry stand! They were sweet, juicy, and delicious! 

For the chicken I used roughly these recipes from Bon Appetit. I didn’t make the mop for the chicken but I did use the spice rub. I baked the chicken in a covered baking dish until it was almost done then basted it with barbecue sauce and finished it off on the grill. This kept the chicken moist and tender but still had the smoky flavor from the grill. It was a big hit among my family!

The potato salad also came from Bon Appetit. I followed the recipe almost perfectly except for that instead of using 5 hard boiled egg yolks, I used 4 whole hardboiled eggs. My mom said it was the best potato salad she has had in a long time! 

The strawberry spinach salad was really simple and gave a nice sweet and fresh contrast to the potato salad. I used one bag of spinach, a couple handfuls of fresh sliced strawberries, some candied pecans, and Trader Joe’s raspberry vinaigrette. 

Now for the lemonade! I am lucky that my grandpa has about 7 citrus trees in his back yard and 2 of them are lemon trees. The lemons that come off of them are so sweet and juicy that it is hard to believe they are the same thing you buy at the supermarket. They make the best lemonade I have ever made! I start by making a simple syrup out of 1 and 1/2 cup sugar and 2 cups water on the stove. While that is dissolving, I cut and juice the lemons. You need about two cups of juice. After that you want to mash about 3/4 cup of strawberries and mix the strawberry mush in with the lemon juice. Add the simple syrup and add water to your desired level of lemony-ness (I usually do between 6 and 8 cups). Add some lemon slices for garnish and voila! You have some delicious lemonade!

Chocolate Almond Banana Vegan Ice Cream

This stuff is good. Like really good. Now don’t get me wrong, I love ice cream but I lack an ice cream maker in my life (hopefully I can fix that soon) and this is the perfect way to get your ice cream fix with a few simple ingredients! Did I mention its healthy too? I realize there are some ethical problems with bananas and the treatment of banana farm workers in South America, so it isn’t completely guilt free but its still nice to bypass dairy sometimes! (I can do without milk and butter but I don’t think I can ever cut cheese and ice cream from my diet, its too good.) Anyways, enough of all this food justice talk, let me tell you how you can make this deliciousness in your own kitchen.

Ingredients

• 3 bananas (cut into chunks and frozen)
• 1 heaping tablespoon almond butter
• 2 heaping teaspoons of cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• a drizzle of agave nectar (to taste)

Cut up your bananas into chunks and freeze them. Once frozen, add all ingredients to a food processor and blend until its the consistency of soft serve. You can add a little almond or soy milk to make the process go faster if you would like. If you want a firmer ice cream pop it in the freezer for a few hours (I did this) and voila! You have just made ice cream! This recipe makes about 3 servings at 170 calories each. I can’t wait to play around with this recipe more! try adding fruits, jams, coconut, chocolate chips, caramel! Endless possibilities!