Steamed banana bread with chocolate pudding

The April 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Esther of The Lilac Kitchen. She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet.

Suet far from a vegan ingredient - I can't even describe it for you because it grosses me out.  But I didn't let that stop me from finding a way to make a super delicious pudding cake!  Instead of baking in the oven, British pudding cake is steamed by placing a heat proof dish in a saucepan of water and covered with a lid.  It was my first time cooking a dessert this way, and it does take a lot of paying attention so that the water doesn't all boil away to nothing. But the result is soo worth it!

I definitely got my chocolate fix from this challenge, and little Preciosa got a nice suprise in her lunch when I gave her some leftovers the next day.

Steamed banana bread with chocolate pudding:

Easter Weekend: Bunnies and Egg Hunts

The Easter Bunny visited our house this weekend!  Our bunny brought healthy treats like raisins and organic animal cookies.  Gordita is two years old now, finally old enough to search and find the hidden treats.  We shared her delight as she gingerly opened each plastic egg to take a peek at what was waiting inside.

After an egg hunt around the house, we joined in the local Easter parade, walking alongside the bagpipe players (or in Gordita's case, riding her tricycle).  The parade ended at the park where we took photos with the Easter bunny.

I baked a big delicious loaf of PPK banana bread in the afternoon, and cooked a huge veggie stirfry with brown rice and spicy peanut sauce for dinner.  It was a yummy happy Easter for us, and I hope it was for you too!