Heights Eats

I’ve never really understood why banana bread recipes often call for a full stick of butter. Bananas are a perfect ingredient for creating moist, rich baked goods and custards without a lot of added fat.

I’m also a big fan of putting chocolate chips into most muffins. Some people like putting butter on a muffin, but why bother when you can have slightly melted chocolate instead?

Be sure to bananas that are so overripe that you wouldn’t even think about eating them by themselves. Mine were completely black on the outside.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

3/4 cup all-purpose flour1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or regular whole wheat flour)1/2 tsp. salt1 tsp. baking powder1/2 tsp. baking soda1 cup (8oz.) mashed overripe bananas (about 3 medium)–feel free to go a bit over a cup1/3 cup plain or vanilla yogurt1 egg1/3 — 1/2 cup maple syrup (to taste)3–4 TBs. melted butter (to taste)1 tsp. vanilla1/2 cup (or more) chocolate chips1/3 cup … continue reading

We really can’t say enough good things about the Whole Foods Osteria. We’ve been eating there regularly and have not been disappointed. Any issues with underseasoned food seem to have been worked out, and they serve excellent dishes at very reasonable prices.

Sarah ordered the Shrimp with Broccolini over gnocchi ($9), which featured perfectly cooked shrimp in a very good, mild cheese sauce. I ordered the Lamb Ragu with Butternut Squash over Tagliatelle. The sauce was a little oily, but that was probably just the lamb (which I haven’t had in a while). The tomatoes added a nice zing to the dish, and the combination of ingredients worked really well. And Jonathan always has plenty of good options at the food bar. We’ve convinced him that sweet and sour tofu is actually sweet and sour chicken, and he really likes it.

Anything purchased in the store can be brought over to the Osteria. In addition to the … continue reading

We made our first trip to Sasa Matsu lately. Sasa Matsu is technically an Izakaya, as Michelle of Cleveland Foodie pointed out in her review. This means that it’s a Japanese bar that also serves food. That said, the menu is quite expansive, and we’d definitely need a few more visits to get a full sense of it.

The restuarant is relatively small with a visual emphasis on the bar. The lighting was dim and deep red dominates the color scheme. We had reservations and were seated pretty quickly. It took a while, though, for our order to be taken. Drinks came about 15 mintues into our visit, and the first food didn’t arrive until 50 minutes after we sat down. We’ve heard that the service was pretty quick there; perhaps our experience wasn’t typical. Trying to occupy a 4 1/2 year old in this kind of place for almost an hour was a little challenging. We bought a new … continue reading

After successfully grilling some shrimp lately on my grill pan, it struck me that it might be more useful than I’d previously thought. I’d long ago decided it wasn’t much good for boneless chicken breasts (then again, those aren’t usually much good grilled anyway) and I retired the pan. Steve Raichlen’s Argentinian beef short ribs, though, turned out really well on it:

We’ve really taken to short ribs lately, which we had as part of the grilled sampler on a recent visit to Sasa Matsu. They are about the same price per serving as sirloin but are a lot more tender and flavorful. The recipe for these is really simple. You rub a mixture of equal parts salt, pepper, oregano and hot pepper flakes on both sides of the ribs. Drizzle with some olive oil and press on some finely chopped fresh garlic. Let them sit in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes … continue reading

We made an excellent soup recently that is particularly good in cold and flu season. Supposedly, most of the main ingredients–garlic, ginger, shitake mushrooms, winter squash, kale, cayenne–have immunological benefits and/or very high levels of important vitamins and minerals.

More importantly, though, the soup tastes really good and is very satisfying. The mushrooms, ginger, citrus and miso give it an Asian flavor, not unlike a hot and sour soup with some extra goodies thrown in.

Immunity for the Community with Impunity• 6 cups water and 4 cups vegetable/ chicken stock; alittle miso• 1 TBSP olive oil• 1 yellow onion, diced• 1 head garlic, minced cloves• 2 TBSP fresh ginger, grated• 2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cubed• Half a bunch of kale, finely chopped• 5 pieces sliced dried astragalus root (optional)• 2 cups fresh, sliced shiitake mushrooms• Juice of one lemon or orange• Cayenne to tolerance• Salt and pepper

1. In a soup pot, heat olive oil, sauté garlic, onions,and ginger until … continue reading

Lulu T. (for Trouble) Puppy, our Labrador retriever turns 5 today! In honor of her birthday we wanted to do something fun for her, something more exciting than dog ice cream or another marrow bone. So Ben found a dog birthday cake recipe online that people can eat too. Here it is:

1 cup flour1 tsp baking soda1/4 cup peanut butter1/4 cup vegetable oil1 cup shredded carrots1 tsp. vanilla1/3 cup honey1 egg

Mix flour and baking soda. Add remaining ingredients. Pour into greased 8″ round cake pan and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Let cool.

It is like a carrot cake with peanut butter. Ben also made a yogurt peanut butter frosting to go on top:

1/2 cup strained yogurt (see previous post for recipe) from either plain or vanilla yogurt1/2 tsp. vanilla (1÷4 tsp. if you use vanilla yogurt)2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar (1÷2 cup if you use vanilla yogurt)3 TB. peanut butter

Combine yogurt and vanilla, … continue reading

I made these for the Small Tarts Have Big Hearts contest at the Mini Pie Revolution blog. I have Karyn and Ann of the Mini Pie Revolution to thank for my ability to enter this contest, as they awarded me the mini tart pans I needed in order to make the tarts.

I consciously made this recipe far simpler than my last entry–it’s about as easy as you can get for making a crust, a filling and a garnish. Ironically, these pies took me much longer to perfect than my previous more complicated ones. I based the filling on a lavender frozen yogurt recipe, which is familiar territory for me. I know very little about baked custards and traditional pies, though, and I had a lot to learn before I was able to come up with a tart with a good filling constency and balanced flavor between the components. I’m still not 100% certain on the baking time needed to set the custard, but … continue reading

Monthly Archives: February 2008

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Whole Foods Osteria Redux

Sasa Matsu

Short Ribs and Squash in a Caramel Sauce

Immunity Soup

Happy Birthday Lulu!

Lavender Lime Tarts