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Chances are the Pastry Blender is part your cooking arsenal. This hand-held utensil is designed to "cut" firm shortening or butter into small pieces while mixing with flour when making most pastry such as pie crusts, biscuits, and scones. The Pastry Blender is a versatile kitchen tool and has many more other indispensable uses. Here are a few of our favorite ways to use it. Guacamole – mash avocados to make smooth creamy guacamole Banana Nut Bread – mash bananas when baking banana bread Egg Salad - chop hard boiled eggs to get perfectly smooth textured egg salad Potato Salad - quickly and easily cut through potatoes and skins when making potato salad Mashed Cauliflower - mash cauliflower for the many mashed and riced cauliflower recipes Chickpea Salad – mash garbanzo beans for chickpea salad Apple Crisp Topping – chop cold butter into a mixture brown sugar, oats, flour, and cinnamon mixture to create the perfect topping for a perfect crisp topping Jam – evenly chop strawberries and blueberries when making jam Nuts – quickly chop nuts #cooking

This Banana Nut Bread is simple to make and irresistible to eat. We love it because it is moist and has great banana flavor without being overly sweet. It is a family favorite. Get baking. SERVINGS: MAKES ONE 9-BY-5-INCH LOAF INGREDIENTS 3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (3 ounces) 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 3/4 cup sugar 2 large eggs 1/2 cup refined liquid coconut oil 3 medium overripe bananas, mashed (1 1/4 cups) 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE Preheat the oven to 350°. Coat a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Spread the walnuts in a pie pan and toast in the oven for 5 to 8 minutes, or until fragrant; let cool. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour with the baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Whisk to combine. In another bowl, combine the sugar, eggs and oil and beat at high speed until light-colored and creamy; about 3 minutes. Add the mashed bananas and vanilla and beat until smooth. Use a wooden spoon to stir in the dry ingredients. Blend thoroughly and fold in the nuts. (This banana bread is just as good without the nuts. We’ve tried it!) Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the middle of the oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top is springy and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Do not over bake. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning it out onto a rack to cool completely. This recipe is adapted from: Beth Hensperger’s Banana Nut Bread recipe published 1998 #bread #comfortfood #recipe #vegetarian

This appetizer is a family favorite. It is great for fancy-dancy dinner parties or casual backyard get-togethers and everything in between. It is a frequently requested option. Why do we love this dish? Perfect combination of creamy, crunchy, sweet and sour – the whole is definitely better than the sum of its parts Easy to make Ingredients are easy to find in your local grocery store Works as an appetizer any time of year Works as an appetizer before many meals (I would say any, but I can see if you are purest, you might have reservations about serving before any and all dishes) Add a big salad and it is a dinner by itself Goes well with both red or white wine There are three parts to making this recipe – making the crostini, making the apple salsa and then putting it together and broiling just before serving. You can make the crostini and the apple salsa ahead of time and assemble and broil when ready to serve. Ingredients Baguette (to make the crostini) olive oil (split between making the crostini and apple salsa) 1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped (about 2 cups) ½ teaspoon honey 2 Tablespoons of cider vinegar (don’t substitute other vinegar) Dash of salt & pepper 2 Tablespoons finely chopped red pepper (again, keep to the red) 2 Tablespoons finely chopped red onion 2 Tablespoons minced fresh cilantro (has to be fresh, if you really hate cilantro, I guess you could use parsley but I haven’t tried it) 8 – 10 oz. Brie Cheese cut into slices which will go on the crostini (you will have to do the math to figure out how much cheese you need for each crostini. Step One: make the crostini (up to 3 days ahead, store in airtight container) Preheat oven to 400◦ Cut the baguette into thin (1/2”) slices Lightly brush both sides of bread with olive oil Arrange of a single layer on baking sheets Bake about 2 minutes on each side. You want them crispy on the outside, but not all the way through. Let cool. Step Two: make the apple salsa (up to 2 days ahead) In a bowl, mix together the honey, vinegar, 1 teaspoon of olive oil, salt and pepper. Add the apple, red bell pepper, onion, and cilantro and toss together. Step Three: construct and cook Preheat the broiler and put an oven rack 5” below the elements Place the crostini on a baking sheet Top each with a teaspoon of apple salsa Top with a piece of cheese Good luck getting the bread, salsa and cheese ratios to even out - I never can :) Broil for about 5 minutes or until the cheese melts and starts to bubble. Keep an eye on it, when it goes, it goes fast. Serve warm, accept the compliments and gratitude of you family and friends. This recipe is adapted from: Vegetarian Appetizer: simple delicious recipes for easy entertaining by Paulette Mitchell, 2001 Chronical Book, LLC, which see got from The 510, a Minneapolis restaurant – so there you have history of this recipe as we know it. #cooking #bread #appetizer #recipe #vegetarian