Cardamom-Banana-Milkshake

Dear Vinepire,

Sometimes, even classics need a polish up, and today we´re going to do it with the banana milkshake. I remember drinking it in summer so often, that I was not hungry at dinner time afterwards… but I never did it during wintertime. I just want something more spicy during the cold season… and here I found it! http://food52.com/recipes/12698-banana-cardamom-milkshake

I fell so deeply in love with this genius version of my favourite childhood milkshake that I decided to change it a little to fit it into my daily diet. I recommend you to test out the original version (and get addicted) and maybe try out this little recipe of mine.

For 2 portions :

-1 large banana

-1 cup of almond or soy milk

-1 pinch of cardamom, grounded

-1 large pinch of cinnamon

Simply mix it all together in the blender, until smooth ad foamy, and voilà! Because you used plant-based milk, it will be poor in calories and very light, while still melting like a mousse on your tongue. I recommend almond milk because of the rich consistency. To my fellow chocolate lovers I suggest replacing the spice with a good teaspoon of cocoa powder… hmmm. The milkshake is also delicious on ice!

Thank you so much for reading,

Your Vine Vampire

PS : If you want to make your own almond milk, look it up here.

Cinnamon-Banana-Baby

Dear Vinepires,

It´s not a real baby! 😉 This so-called Dutch-Baby pancake is my shortcut to heaven, especially on misty winter mornings… with a drop or two of maple syrup… hmmm… Your worries will melt away and your kids will ask for more! Here is the original recipe : http://spoonful.com/recipes/banana-and-cinnamon-sugar-dutch-baby-pancake

For one pancake, enough for 4 people :

– 1/2 cup flour

– 1/4 cup + 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar

– 1/4 tablespoon salt

– 1 teaspoon cinnamon

– 1 teaspoon vanilla

– 3/4 cup milk

– 3 eggs

– 2 tablespoons butter

– 1 banana in 1/4 inch slices

– Maple syrup for serving

Heat  the oven ( 425°F). In a medium cast iron or non-stick skillet, melt butter over medium heat and set aside. Put the all the ingredients, except for the banana, cinnamon and the sugar in the tablespoon into the blender (you could also use an electric mixer) and blend for about 1 minute, until foamy. Pour the mixture into the pan and top evenly with banana-slices. Combine the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle it over the top. Bake for 20 minutes until golden and puffy and serve warm with maple syrup, voilà!

Enjoy this magical breakfast!

Your Vine Vampire

PS : Let me know in the comments how it worked out, did you add any secret ingredient? Mines are chocolate chips or nuts, chopped, with honey instead of syrup.

Stuffed French Toast (pain perdu)

Dear Vinepire,

I must make a painful confession : I am extremely prejudiced. I just tend to dislike things at first sight, just hearing a pretentious name can give me reason to stay away. This was also, until recently, my relationship with french toast. I mean, just the name… I have never eaten anything of the sort at a french house, and only been served something similar (made of bread and sweet ingredients, all of it soaked in milk) by a Swede… so yeah, no. I just refused to partake in the abuse of the word “french” as a substitute for “decadent”, because really, the final product does look nothing like toast to me!And then I had a revelation in the form of Jamie Oliver. What can I say, this genius is simply made of awesome : bears the name of my Game of Thrones crush (Hear me roar fellow Lannister supporters!) and his family name just reminds me of Oliver Twist… perfection. So after having been taught by this celebrity cook how to bake successfully a meringue (or baiser), a task that I tried to accomplish literally since the first time I tasted it, I knew that only he had the power to make me try what I still called “pain perdu”. Luckily, he posted the recipe on his website (next to a whole bunch of others, as far as I know, all of them just as awesome), so I was good to go! The result : a plate of heaven. So try this out if you love toast, bananas, or even pancakes for that matter. http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/fruit-recipes/stuffed-french-toast

That said, I could not resist to improve the recipe, making it somewhat lighter (you´ll still last until lunch). Here is my adaptation , for one serving :

– 2 slices of toast

– 1 tablespoon of honey

– 1 free-range egg

– 1 knob butter

– 1 small, ripe banana, sliced

– cinnamon

Whip the egg in a flat bowl and soak the toast, it should absorb the mixture completely. Heat a frying pan on medium and add the butter. Smash the banana with a fork. Then, put one slice of your toast into the pan, sprinkle it with cinnamon and cover it in banana (if the banana was too big, now is the time to eat the left overs 😉 ) and sprinkle with cinnamon again, before topping it all with the other slice of toast. Fry each side of the sandwich for about a minute, and once on your plate, cover it with the honey. Because of the heat, it will melt away no matter the consistence, so you are free to use unprocessed honey if you like. Your delicious breakfast is now officially ready! Mind you, the crunchy toast on the outside and the sweet warm goodness inside will probably haunt you until the end of time… but that is a small price to pay for a life filled with pain perdu…

Bon appétit!

Your Vine Vampire

Let me know in the comments how you liked the recipe, what did you change about it, did you find a way to adapt it to your diet? I would love to hear about you vegans and your adaptations!