Swept Out the Door

That's what I'm doing with the last hours of 2013...sweeping it right out the door, like the non-stop dust that accumulates on every surface of my apartment.  I get it that Los Angeles is essentially a desert, but enough with the dust.  No amount of Swiffering rids me of it.

The proverbial 'last straw' that made me want this year to end happened this morning while I was cleaning out the cats' litter box.  I clipped the edge of the box with the container of cat litter, causing a wave of litter to fly up into the air and into my eye.  Special.  Precious.  One benefit of wearing contacts is that most of the litter stuck to my contacts.  One downside is that I had to throw them away...and they were a fresh pair that I just put in a couple of days ago.

It's been a year of just scraping by, constant worry and anxiety, and a lot of rough nights with too much tossing and turning and too little sleep.  I know I don't bring that crap into this blog and that's because this isn't the environment for it.  This is my space to not think about everything else for a few minutes.  This is the space to enjoy good food, recipes, and maybe bad jokes.  Or my version of them.

So...back to food.  Do me a favour and don't go back a year to see what I wrote about because this is pretty similar.  Well...there is ricotta involved.  Last night, I found myself turning on the oven at 10:30pm with a craving for something crunchy and thinking about the pita I had cut up for pita chips.  That's when the craving had to be filled.  Pita chips are very popular these days, from Stacey's to Waleeds.  But if you are so inclined, make your own.  They're ridiculously easy, you can make whatever variety you want, and they are inexpensive.  I can buy two bags of pita at my local grocers for 80 cents.  Yes, less than a dollar for a dozen pita.

You can go the healthy route, making them with cooking spray or tip them a little over the indulgent side and drizzle them with olive oil.  If you want to go really, REALLY indulgent, you can deep fry them.  That's what I love about Waleeds pita chips.  But since we're on the cusp of the new year, with good intentions, resolutions to be healthier, eat better, et al...let's stick with an option on the healthier end of the scale.

Whatever your evening brings...popping open the bubbly, dressing to the nines and dancing the night away, or spending the night in and watching the ball drop in Times Square...here's to a healthy, prosperous, and joy-filled 2014!


Pita Chips
Makes a lot

6 pita rounds
Non-stick cooking spray
Salt, pepper, garlic powder, cinnamon, sugar (You get the idea...whatever strikes your fancy)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet (or two) with parchment.  Set aside.  Cut up pita rounds into wedges, as large or small as you like.  Split pieces, laying them in a single layer on the cookie sheets.  Spray pita lightly with non-stick cooking spray and sprinkle with whatever strikes your tastebuds.  I love black pepper, garlic powder, Jane's Crazy Mix-Up salt, onion powder, and sumac.  Not all at the same time, but I'll typically use two or three at once.  

Bakes for 15-20 minutes or until chips start to turn golden brown.  Depending upon your oven, it could take a little less or a little longer.  Remove from oven and let cool.  

Note:  Sometimes I drizzle pita with olive oil before baking.  A little goes a long way.

Little Pockets of Joy

Sometimes I get an idea in my head and let it fester for a few days.  Sometimes I get a thought in my head and let it fester for a few days.  The thoughts can bring on a whole lot of anxiety and tension.  The ideas usually lead me into the kitchen and baking.   I don't have to tell you that I'd much rather have ideas running through my head than the latter.

It was those ideas (and honestly, an overripe banana or two) that led me to this cake.  Cake wasn't the first thing I thought of baking.  I considered a pie, but I'm not really a pie girl.  Maybe it's because I haven't made a whole lot of them, but pie just doesn't excite me.  I don't wake up in the middle of the night and think, 'all will be right in the world if only I had pie.'  I don't really wake up in the middle of the night craving cake either, but I do have a hard time resisting cake when I know it's around.  And if there's buttercream frosting involved...well...all hell could conceivably break loose.

Somehow I also got to thinking about a banana cake my mom used to make when I was growing up.  I know it was from a box.  Betty Crocker.  Duncan Hines.  I don't remember which one.  I don't even know if they still make it.  But I used to love it.  I loved how light the texture was.  That texture is why I went for a cake instead of the usual banana bread.  I have nothing against banana bread...but it's not cake.

I also couldn't leave well enough alone and make just a plain banana cake.  While, no doubt, it would be great on its own, I had to add something.  The obvious answer would be chocolate chips.  The not so obvious answer was cinnamon chips.  YES.  Cinnamon chips.  These little beauties are fantastic.  You can find them at King Arthur Flour.  I'm sure there are other companies that make them.  Look for them.

The most amazing part about these chips is what happens when you bake them into a cake.  I like to imagine them exploding like little fireworks in the oven.  They burst (or melt) and create these little pockets of air in the cake, completely coated in cinnamon.  I like to call them 'little pockets of joy.'  You end up biting into this airy, light cake riddled with cinnamon and laced with banana.

Now keep in mind that I am a huge fan of both bananas and cinnamon.  I consider this to be pretty close to heaven on a plate.  I am the girl who eats a banana every day and loads her French toast with cinnamon in both the batter and sprinkled on top.  That said...there is cinnamon in triplicate in this cake.  Cinnamon chips, an additional 1/2 teaspoon in the mix, and a dusting of cinnamon and confectioners' sugar.  There are different cinnamons out in the world.  Currently, I'm loving Saigon cinnamon.

Banana Cinnamon Chip Cake
Makes 1 9-inch layer

1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg, room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup cinnamon chips
2 bananas, mashed
2 tbsp milk
Cinnamon and confectioners' sugar, for sprinkling

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 9-inch cake pan with parchment or grease and flour the pan.  In a small bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and cinnamon.  Set aside.  In a medium bowl, cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.  Add the egg and vanilla, beating to combine.   

Alternate adding the flour mixture and the mashed bananas to the creamed butter.  Fold in cinnamon chips.  Add milk and stir well to combine.  Pour batter into lined cake pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or  until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.  

Let cool in pan for 10 minutes before plating, or leave in cake pan.  Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar or a combination of confectioners' sugar and cinnamon.  

The Bounty

Between reading other blogs and hearing from friends, the typical Summer bounty of zucchini a-plenty seems to be starting.  I, on the other hand, actually have to buy it at the grocery store.  The upside?  Zucchini is pretty inexpensive.  Mind you, if there is anyone out there who lives nearby and you have an abundance of zucchini on your hands, don't hesitate to give me a call.  I would be happy to take it off your hands.

Usually I'll make zucchini-walnut cake, but this time around I wanted to throw in some chocolate.  I've seen recipes for zucchini-chocolate cake before and I figured it was time to give it a go myself.  I found an excellent recipe for Zucchini Muffins on the Simply Recipes blog/site.  As I've mentioned before, I love a recipe where you can easily swap out ingredients to suit your taste.  This one did not let me down.

Consider it...once you've had grilled zucchini, zucchini fritters, zucchini chips, and zucchini quesadillas you'll still want these muffins.  Honestly, they have chocolate in them...how could you not?

Zucchini-Chocolate Chip Muffins
(Adapted from the Zucchini Muffins Recipe on Simply Recipes.com)
Makes 6 [actually, 7...but it was half-sized]


1 1/2 cups grated zucchini
1/3 cup melted unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Pinch of salt


Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line muffin pan with liners or grease with a little butter.  Melt butter and set aside.  In a large bowl, combine sugar, egg, and vanilla.  Mix well.  Add grated zucchini and butter.  Stir to combine.  In a small bowl, add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg.  Mix dry ingredients then add gradually to wet ingredients.  Add chocolate chips and stir until all the ingredients are combined.  Spoon into muffin pan, so each well is nearly full.  Bake for 25-30 minutes until tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Let cool for 5 minutes in pan before removing and finish cooling on cooling rack.  

My baking time was closer to the 30 minute mark.