Huevos motuleños

I first had this breakfast dish at a lovely restaurant in Santa Fe, NM called Cafe Pascuals.  It is lovely little place and at breakfast time packed from wall to wall, but well worth the trouble to get into.   The friends I went with recommended that I try this and I was so very happy that I did.  It is an incredible dish and so very easy to make.  It is also very flexible and quick to make as well.

It is originally from the southern part of Mexico, as you can see from the ingredients and is named from the town where it originated, Motul.  Here is my take on it.  Enjoy!

For each serving:

1 ripe, but firm banana, peeled halved lengthways, then each half halved again crossways.
1/2 cup cooked, drained and reheated beans, black are traditional but pintos work well too
1 cup green sauce, heated or a heated cooked smooth red sauce
2-3 eggs cooked as desired, fried is traditional
1/2 cup diced ham or cooked pork (optional)
3 heated corn tortillas
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese or crumbled cotija cheese or some grated monterey jack cheese
1/2 cup cooked green peas (optional, I usually leave out but it is traditional)
1/2 cup pico de gallo
1 tbsp. butter

Heat the tortillas in a dry skillet until warm, but still flexible.  Place on serving plate and set aside in a warm place.   Heat the butter in the skillet and gently fry the banana slices until lightly browned on each side, a nonstick skillet is best for this as the sugar in the bananas can make them stick very easily in a regular skillet.   When the bananas are browned assemble your plate:  tortillas, then the heated salsa, scatter the cooked drained beans over the top, then the ham or pork if using, then the eggs, the peas, the pico de gallo, and finally the crumbled cheese, place the fried banana slices around the edges.   I usually don't use the peas, and in place of the pico de gallo, often just smother the whole thing with more green sauce, mainly because I love green sauce!   This is a delicious breakfast dish and easily made as you can have everything except the eggs and bananas prepared ahead of time, just heat, cook the eggs and bananas, assemble and eat.   I like it for lunch and a light supper too.  Pretty healthy as well!

Hummingbird Cake

A true southern classic, very rich, very moist, very addictive.   Enjoy!

Hummingbird cake

3 cups all-pupose flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups salad oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained
2 cups chopped pecans or walnuts, divided
2 cups chopped bananas
Cream cheese frosting (recipe follows)

Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl; add eggs and salad oil, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. Do not beat. Stir in vanilla, pineapple, 1 cup chopped pecans, and bananas. Spoon batter into 3 well-greased and floured 9-inch cakepans. Bake at 350 degrees F. For 25 to 30 minutes; remove from pans, and cool immediately. Spread frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake. Sprinkle with 1 cup chopped pecans.

Yield: one 9-inch layer cake.

Cream Cheese Frosting

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 (16 ounce) packages powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Combine cream cheese and butter; cream until smooth. Add powdered sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla.

Yield: enough for a 3 layer cake.   Can also be made into a sheet cake.  

Bea Drury's Banana Bread

Bananas are a tasty fruit and I love them for eating out of hand or in salads, sometimes even fried, but in my mind the best use you can put a banana to is in banana bread. Nothing better than taking a black skinned, soft luscious dead ripe banana and turning it into a delicious loaf of banana bread. The one I grew up eating is the best in my opinion. It is a bit heavy like most quick breads and it has a very strong, yet not overpowering, banana flavor. My mom got this recipe from family friend and long time neighbor, Bea Drury and it was scrawled on a recipe card that was in Mama's old Betty Crocker Cookbook for as long as I can remember. Here it goes:

1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup white sugar or brown sugar (I personally prefer using dark brown sugar)
2 eggs
3 peeled and mashed bananas
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 3/4 cup flour

Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs and bananas. Stir in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Spoon into a greased and floured loaf pan or you can spoon into greased and floured muffin tins. Bake in a preheated oven set to 350 degrees, about an hour and 20 minutes for the loaf pan or until the top is domed, cracked and a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean. It will be a deep brown color. Allow to cool about 15-20 minutes in the pan before removing to finish cooling on a rack. Don't try slicing until it is completely cooled.

Variations: You can but a butter, flour and sugar streusel topping on the cupcakes before baking. Just cut 1/4 cup butter into 1/3 cup flour and 1/3 cup white sugar, until it make crumbs. Sprinkle on top of the batter in the cupcake tins before baking.

I have also doubled this recipe and baked it in a 9X13 inch cake pan and it turned out great! When I've done that I've also put the streusel topping on it and it made a great coffee cake.

When you make it in a loaf pan, if you want a fancy little thing to serve to guests. Slice the bread in fairly thin slices. Make a cream cheese frosting and spread a bit on one slice of the banana bread, then top with a second slice. Cut into halves or quarters. Quite tasty and pretty too!