I really love baking, especially when it starts to get a little bit rainy and cold. There’s something about having the heat of the oven warm your living space, and the aromas of freshly baked goods spreading through the apartment…

First up, I tried out the Barefoot Contessa’s Buttermilk Cheese Biscuits recipe from the cookbook Back to Basics. I found a copy of the recipe online here so you can check it out as well.

I really loved this recipe. The biscuits came out flaky, cheesy, and savoury. I will admit I was only slightly disappointed, because the best cheese biscuits I have EVER had were at this little bed and breakfast at Apex Mountain. Maybe it was the snowboarding that made them taste better… I don’t know. I think I will play around with this recipe a bit to get it tasting exactly how I remember them. Or maybe I’ll call up the B&B and see if I can get a cheat sheet

These are SO good when they just come out of the oven. They actually keep really nice in the fridge for a few days as well and you can heat them up in a toaster oven or the microwave when you are ready to eat.

In other baking news, I have fallen in love with a new banana bread recipe I have been working on. I originally found it in one of my mom’s cookbooks when I was younger, and have adapted it over the years in university and so on. This is the most recent iteration Try it out and let me know what you think!

The Most Absolutely Delicious and Moist Banana Bread Recipe

3 or 4 extremely ripe bananas (over-ripe)
1 stick of butter at room temperature (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup regular sugar
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons real Vanilla extract (I like Madagascar Bourbon vanilla)
1.5 cups cake flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 heaping teaspoon salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon (Cinnamon is really good for you, so I use a bit more, but you can use less if you don’t like it very much)
1 cup good quality dark chocolate wafers
3/4 cup of toasted walnuts, chopped (Just toast them gently at 350 degrees F for about 8-10 minutes)

1. Cream the room temperature butter with a mixer. Add in the sugar. Mix in the eggs one at a time.

2. Using a wooden spoon, mash the bananas until mushy and relatively smooth. Add the lemon juice, vanilla, and the bananas into the first bowl (with the butter) and beat. This is Bowl A.

3. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt into a separate bowl. Make sure they are mixed well. This is Bowl B.

4. Mix some flour into the chocolate wafers and walnuts in a separate small bowl. This is Bowl C.

5. Mix Bowl A and Bowl B together gently, until smooth. Do not overmix. Then using a spatula, fold Bowl C into the mixture.

6. Grease a bread pan with butter if you have one, or you can use a casserole dish, and gently fold the batter into the pan. Bake for one hour (or until done with the toothpick test) at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Let it rest before cutting! Don’t make the same mistake I did and let your boyfriend get into it too early!

I really loved the way this banana bread turned out. It was crispy on the outside but sooo incredibly moist on the inside.

Does anyone have any of their favourite recipes to share? I’d love to hear some if you have any so I can try them out!

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In others news, it’s the first game of the regular season tonight for our beloved Canucks! Canucks vs. Flames tonight. Should be absolutely incredible.  Check it out on CBC… I can’t wait!