There are lots of banana bread recipes in the world; they all have similar ingredients yet some are better than others. We make banana bread quite often, we love to keep bananas in the house for an easy and healthy snack, but they brown quickly so instead of throwing them away we use them in breads or muffins.

A few years ago my friend Amy gave me a recipe for the most delicious banana bread. I’m definitely glad that I held on to it for so long because I haven’t found another I like more. This recipe is different than most, it calls for yogurt.  The bread turns out to be full, fluffy, and moist. It’s less dense than a lot of other banana breads I have tried.  For fun, we added cardamom powder and cinnamon sugar on top.

2 cups flour
¾ cup sugar
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cardamom powder

3 ripe bananas mashed
¼ cup yogurt
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 Tablespoon butter- melted and cooled
1 ¼ cup walnuts

cinnamon sugar

•Preheat oven to 350°, butter a 9×5 baking pan
•Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl
•Combine Mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, vanilla & butter and fold into dry
•Pour into bread pan and sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top
•Bake for 55-60 minutes

I love soup! Whether it’s creamy, brothy, hardy, vegetable, lentil, or noodle, it most likely is nutritious and delicious. Within the past few years I have discovered just how lovely a hint of lemon can be in a soup. I notice it to be a common element in several of my top choice soups. Lately our local produce markets have had beautiful inexpensive bundles of asparagus available. We have been keeping a fresh stock of it at home and have been enjoying it in many meals. This asparagus lemon soup recipe is a must try; I have been making similar versions of it for a couple of years now and have never been disappointed. I think I’m finally ready to settle on this as the solid recipe, one to share.

2 lbs fresh asparagus (2 bundles)
5 cloves garlic crushed
¼ teaspoon asafoetida
4 cups vegetable broth divided

2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons salt
pepper to taste (about ½ teaspoon)

2 cups soy milk
1 cup yogurt
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

grated parmesan cheese and sour cream optional

• Prepare 4 cups vegetable broth.

• In a 4 quart soup pot, pour 1½ cups of the broth and set the rest (2½ cups) aside. Add crushed garlic, chopped asparagus, asafoetida, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until pieces are tender. The broth may not completely cover all of the asparagus, be sure to mix it up while simmering.

• Use a blender to puree the mixture until it’s completely smooth, take extra caution if you are blending it while hot; allow steam to escape.  Set aside.

• In the same pot melt butter over low heat, sprinkle flour, salt and pepper.  Stir continuously- do not let it brown or burn.  As you gradually add the flour to the butter it will become pasty and thick, add a small amount of the remaining stock to finish mixing the dry ingredients in.  Try to eliminate any flour lumps and include the rest of the broth.  Stir to a boil.  it will get thicker as it heats up.

• Stir in asparagus puree and soy milk.  mix together, add yogurt then lemon juice.

• Serve with a dollop of sour cream and parmesan cheese if you like.