Hot
Hot. Hot. Hottie, Hot, Hot.*!#@ Hot.
I know it is July, so this is to be expected, but it sure puts a crimp in my baking style. A couple of summers ago, it was so hot that I decided to forgo all attempts at baking or any oven usage at all. That method left us desperate for all things baked by the time cooler weather rolled around, however.
Since then I have been more creative at making the most of oven time inspired by a few simple principles: 1. Shortest oven times possible; 2. Shortest time spent near oven; 3. Make the best use of nighttime; 4. Revival of the Summer kitchen - outside.
What follows are a few suggestions based on these principles - and please share your own ideas in the comments!
Summer Baking Tips and Ideas
- Instead of thick-crust pizza, make multiple pans of thin crust at the same time for shorter baking times.
- Cookie bars. Have a favorite cookie recipe? Make it as a bar, spreading it into a pan (I always grease pan first. A little shortening will not cause you to have a heart attack.)
- Spread it out. If you usually make something in one size pan, try a larger, flatter one, or a cookie sheet. This is the trick for Spinach Artichoke dip, plus the cheese gets a little crusty just like I like it!
- Crock pots and toasters can help you heat up only the space you need.
- Take it out! Plug that crockpot in outside on the porch and keep the heat all the way out! Or when hot things come out of the oven, leave them to cool in the shade outside (covered with a thin cotton towel to protect from critters). Set up tv trays on the back porch and move your hot dishes (with a lid of course!) outside to serve from.
- Make it in muffins. This works for the standard items like cakes or even cookie batter, but meatloaf muffins and any casserole you can think of does wonderfully well in muffin format, too.
Summer-Style Banana Oat Bread
So, for your summer pleasure, I would like to share my delicious recipe for Summer-Style Banana Oat Bread. This recipe "Winters" by baking for an hour in two loaf pans. Yes, an hour with the oven on in the middle of July when the temps are 100° ? Yeah, I don't think so. So I spread it out into muffins and a large dish and shazam! 20 minutes.Something else that gives this recipe a special touch is the orange blossom water. This little ingredient gives just the right hint of exotic to an already yummy treat.
“Where do I get orange blossom water?”
You’ll want to look for this wherever international foods are sold. It is the magic ingredient to real Belgian crêpes and can be used to add a gentle fruity hint to many Mediterranean and North African foods. And once you have a bottle there are many creative uses for it, like crêpes, Victorian martinis (add several drops with gin and vermouth), Ramos gin fiz, Crème brulée, as an herbal fragrance to whipped cream, meringues, buttercream frosting, pie crust, tiramisu, other sweet things, try it in your coffee or espresso or hot tea (Thank-you Tunisia!). The possibilities are vast!
If you really must, substitute each 1/2 tsp orange blossom water with1 to 2 drops orange oil plus water to make 1/2 tsp OR 2 to 3 tsp orange liqueur such as Triple Sec.
In the recipe which follows, you could deprive yourself completely and splash in a little water or skim milk instead. But be prepared for the consequences:
| Wha?? No Orange Blossom Water? |
| How could you do this to me? |
| No! I can't go on! |
| Don't make me invoke Clause 374 of the Shadow Proclamation. (theft of an artefact of great cultural value legitimises the use of lethal force to ensure the artefact’s recovery) |
Happy Hot Baking, Y'all!
Summer-Style Banana Oat Bread
Makes 12 muffins and a 1 1/2 inch x 9x13 loaf.
Easy to halve
if you only want one or the other.
 |
| Banana Breads are like a Pro-Life movement for bananas, since only Yellow bananas are permitted to live in this house. |
Ingredients
1 cup shortening2 cup white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cup all-purpose flour
2 cup quick or whole oats
2 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
4 cups mashed bananas
4 teaspoon orange blossom water
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a
12-cup muffin tin with paper cups and grease and flour one 9x13 inch glass
baking dish and set aside. 2. Stir together the dry ingredients and set aside: flour, oatmeal, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and pecans.
3. In a mixer, cream together the shortening and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla, beat until fluffy.
4. Add dry ingredients. Layer on the bananas and pour in the orange blossom water. Mix until just blended.
5. Ladle 1/2 cup per muffin tin, then pour the rest into prepared dish. Put both into the oven at the same time. Bake for 15-18 minutes for the muffins (until evenly golden) and another 5 minutes for the dish. Let each set for five minutes in pan and then carefully remove to finish cooling. Sometimes it can be difficult to get the large loaf out of the dish without the bread breaking. Make sure you grease and flour the pan. I also recommend cutting it in half and using a large spatula or two to assist.
