the quicker picker upper
November 4, 2010 Wake up San Francisco!!!! Ring a bell? Fan of Full House? Danny Tanner? Okay, it’s early and clearly I didn’t get enough sleep. I’m typing a mile a minute to get this post into the blogosphere before I leave for the airport!
Yesterday, I decided it was time for a banana scramble, coined by the oh-so-clever Ashley! It’s been far too long! Check out the crazy shadow that the light is causing, coming in through our sliding glass door.
Light coming in on the right, shadow created on the left and on the inside of the right side of the bowl. Yuck. The shadow is so dark that there isn’t much you can do to alleviate this when editing a photo. You can lighten and expose it a bit, but you’ll start to notice noise/grain as a result.
Enter the paper towel bounce. Again, not perfect, but so much better right? Compare above!
Time to try and demo this, with only 2 hands!
Somehow I was reaching a good 2’ in front of me with my left hand, holding the heavy camera with my right hand. It was not too steady, but don’t worry, the camera strap was around my neck!
So, the light comes in from the right, bounces off the white paper towel surface and reflects back onto the bowl. If you want a diagram, check my awesome paint drawing from yesterday’s post. :)
This banana scramble was pumpkin infused and oh.so.delicious!
Pumpkin Banana Scramble
- 3T rolled oats
- 1/2T coconut
- 1T ground flax meal
- 1/3 mashed banana
- 1T milk
- 1/4c pumpkin
- splash of vanilla
- 1/2-1t cinnamon
- pinch of cloves/ginger/all spice
- Mash everything together in a bowl, until it is thick and batter-like.
- Let sit to thicken for a few minutes.
- Over medium-low heat, in a well greased pan, plop in a pan and try to form into a thick circle. Mine is usually around 1/2” or so thick.
- Cook for about 5min, or until browned, flip once and cook another 3-5min.
*The banana scramble does not firm up. It is very soft and gooey in the center. It is not like a pancake. Very messy!!
**It doesn’t always stay together in the pan, but when I flip it, I just kind of form it back together. This one with the pumpkin was particularly soft.
Check this out! No light bounce. Shadows on the left.
Ahhh, so much brighter with the light bounce. Cool, huh?
No light bounce….shadowy!
Much better!! There is obviously still some shadow, but this effect works really well in a pinch!
After playing with the paper towel roll and eating my banana scramble, I decided to give the Vienna another try.
Boiling the almond milk + vanilla + cinnamon…
Pouring in the espresso….and then the almond milk mixture curdled!!?? Does anyone know why that would be??? I thought it was really odd. It wasn’t expired or anything weird. I was baffled. When I get back I’m giving this 1 more try, dangit!
After breakfast I attended to this. Eeek! It all fit perfectly and ended up only clocking in at 40lbs, with shoes and a box with a few nut butter jars inside. Not bad! However, I also have a lot of carryon things….camera…lenses…computer…etc!
I got a million things done yesterday and decided I needed a break, even though there wasn’t much time. I went for an hour and 10min bike ride that got a bit extended when my chain fell off!!! Gr.
Of course my chain falls off on the bike ride I already don’t have time for!
And I’m off!!!!!!!!! See you in San Francisco!!
~Ashley
Reader Comments (45)
Ummm.... I'm watching Full House right now.
Have fun!!!
I watched Full House at the gym this AM! Love that show!
I have had a problem with certain brands of soymilk curdling in my coffee and I did a little research and it had to do with the temperature of the water used to make my coffee. I was using boiling hot water in my french press to make my coffee but when I let the water cool for a minute before adding to the coffee then it would not curdle when I added the milk. It has something to do with the ph of the coffee. They always compare cooking to chemistry right!
Wow, I love the pictures with the paper towel bounce, thank you so much for the tip, I will be trying that for sure!!
Your pics are great by the way, I am really enjoying reading your blog!
Have fun in SF!!
Ana
The Bounty Bounce... Me, corny? Maybe... But I can tell that it does work!
That incredible what the paper towel can do!
Have fun at Foodbuzz!
Still lovin' the paper towel bounce technique! Gotta try it. I even read your post super fast since your energy was so go-go-go! Have a fantastic time.
Neat trick with the paper towels! I can definitely see the difference!
I would try next time whisking the espresso in really slowly, like you're making custard or something. I have no idea why almond milk would curdle, maybe something to do with the fats?
Need to try that paper towel method. I found a really neat tutorial online about how to create a 12 dollar light box, if you want the link, just let me know! :) Have a good time in San Fran!
I have had the same dissapointing results with almond milk in my coffee :(
Sadly you just missed the most amazing day in San Francisco, but the city will still be abuzz and you will have an amazing trip!
That's so funny-- my husband and I were just talking about Full House the other night! (we both can still sing the theme song... ha ha)
I've never had much success with almond milk in my coffee, either! I don't know what it is... but my almond milk seems to oddly separate, even if I'm just adding it as a creamer! However, I have had really good success making a coffee-free almond milk chai latte! So maybe it's a weird reaction just between the coffee and almond milk?
Hope you have fun in San Fran! Wish I could be there, too!
Thanks for the little tutorial! I find that the tetra-packed almond milk from the pantry shelves works best for coffee, as opposed to the milk carton`y refridgerate stuff!
You keep giving me exciting new ways to use up my pumpkin. Bring it on!
love Full house!!! I also looove banana scrambles! I remember the first time I had one I was so frustrated it wouldn't stay together. Little did I know, it's not supposed to!
Photography is so fun:):)
Fixing a bike chain is not fun:(:( Mine falls off all the time so i have to be really careful over bumps and ruts and it normally always happens on the way to class:(
Have fun in San Fran!!
Thanks for the helpful hint. I'm excited to try it now!
Looks like a good breakfast! Sorry about the run and good luck with all the packing...can't wait to hear all about San Fran!!
If you use shelf-stable milks like almond or soy they tend to curdle in hot beverages. I've found it true every time. The refrigerated milks seem to be okay when I use them in my coffee.
Love your blog! :-)
have a great time at foodbuzz, wish i was going!
Great tip. Can't wait to see you tomorrow morning! :)
Just started reading...love the light bounce trick! So easy - yet have never thought of it myself :) thanks for sharing! I look forward to reading more. love your photos!
My favorite was Stephanie's How Rude! Loved that show. And uncle Jesse.
I love your paper towel trick, too. I can totally see a difference.
Safe travels!
I will have to try the paper towel trick. It makes a big difference! Yum, your breakfast looks great. Have fun at he foodbuzz festival!
Lew and I just made our fist stop on the way to the foodbuzz festival. We dropped our twins off at the grandparents and are now on the way to Nashville fly out in the morning. We look forward to meeting you in San Fransisco.
Ashlee
@ashandlewplus2
See you in SF!!!
I am so excited to try the paper towel trick. Love it!
OMG the banana pancake/scramble looks amazing! I usually don't like pancakes because their too thick and cakey...but the banana pancake sounds like something I would loooove!
The banana scramble is intriguing! It looks like it does stay together like a pancake, but I can imagine more of a "scramble" texture on bread, and it sounds tasty - sort of an open-faced banana sandwich? Sometimes I think too much...have fun at foodbuzz, Ashley!
I have to try this scramble. It always looks sensational when you make it and I'm glad to see its back. I haven't seen it in awhile.
I love the idea of adding coconut. Isn't everything better with coconut?
That is so weird that the almond milk curdled, have fun in SF!
I had the same experience with almond milk curdling in coffee, so I switched back to using regular milk for it!
Have fun in San Francisco! It's where I was born and spent most of my life, and I wish I were going with you!
I love Full House! It's on Teen Nick, so my two oldest have been watching it, they love it too :)
Banana scramble looks tasty, I'll have to try it out! Awesome trick with the paper towel!!
Jen
Sounds like you are already having a great trip--can't wait to hear/see more about it!
I'm impressed you knew how to put the chain BACK on!
Loved starting my day with a good ol' Full House flashback, haha. Hope you had a safe trip to Cali! :)
Hey Ashly...hope you're having fun in SF. About the curdled milk, you can have almond, soy, rice, etc. come to a gentle boil and it will be okay but if it gets too hot (rolling boil) it will curdle. I'm assuming the same is true if you add it to a liquid that is too hot. Try letting your coffee cool a bit before adding. Hope that helps.
Rachel
Thanks so much...that makes sense...it's funny b/c I've microwaved the almond milk to a boil and have not had the curdling problems. I'll try doing a gentle boil next time..thanks!!
hahaha, I know, right? It definitely took a few minutes...
Funny, it's worked in the microwave for me..but not on the stove!
It's kind of like oatmeal with a crispy crust :)
Thanks for saying hi...glad you found the paper towel bounce helpful! :)
Woop woop...great meeting you!
Wow, this trick looks too good to be true! I have zero natural light in my kitchen and pretty much end up carrying food all over my house, but still often end up with heavy shadows (that's life in a rowhome). I can't wait to test this out. Thank you so much for sharing and demonstrating the technique.
You can also buy a piece of large white foam board and do the same thing with it...it's a bit easier to work with :)
What a cool shadow-reducing trick.....thanks for sharing!!!!
Wow Excellent research Amanda! that is very good to know. Two things, first that the temperature of water used to make coffee effects the pH. Second that pH effects almond milk. I would assume its acid that causes almond milk to curdle, because that is what causes regular milk to curdle to form cheese.
I don't know how sure you are that temperature of the coffee extraction effects pH, but even if you are wrong, it is probably just an acidic pH of the coffee + the heat of the hot coffee causes the curdling reaction. If this second hypothesis is true then if you make the coffee hot, then let it cool for a minute before adding it to the almond milk, it should be the same as when you let the water cool a minute before adding it to the coffee grounds. Update us if you try it.