Plantain Oatmeal Bread with Walnuts & Strawberry Jam

The other day I spotted plantain at the local grocery store. Excited at the prospect of making some plantain chips I picked up a packet and the following day tried baking chips. Oh God ! that was such a mistake ! With my first batch coming out of the oven I realized that things weren't going so well so readjusting the oven temperatures i put in the next batch. only to realize minutes later that  certain savories are best enjoyed when dipped in copious amounts of sin.  else you end up chewing leathery chips rather than crunching them. so i left the rest of the plantains just like that planning to come back to them in a few days. and when days rolled to weeks the plantains became too ripe for chips and had to be used up in other recipes.  and since it was my bread-baking day i decided to use one of them in place of banana in Banana Oatmeal Bread while i saved the other for a recipe i had bookmarked. 

Last Saturday, following the recipe from Beth Hensperger's Cookbook The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook, I had made the Banana Oatmeal Bread with Macadamia Nuts(Pg 444).  We really enjoyed that bread. so I naturally turned to that recipe for the Plantain Bread. I made a few minor changes here and there keeping the basic recipe intact. however I would like to mention here that when baking the bread with plantain it is fine if one uses less yeast because this loaf swelled up a lot more in comparison to the banana bread and therefore that noticeable dip that you can see in the picture below.  This is a sweet loaf and its slices are best enjoyed when microwaved for 20 seconds and served with butter or jam. We tried it in cheese sandwich too, but that didn't work so well. so essentially this is a breakfast bread.. 

and since we were at the breakfast table i thought i'll share my jam recipe as well. Its a strawberry jam that i made last week using Ina Garten's recipe as a guideline.. I used jaggery instead of sugar and a hint of salt . and that kind of signatured a Grandma's Home-made  label on the Jam :) 

 i now the recipes....

Plantain Oatmeal Bread with Walnuts 

ingredients

• 1 cup milk
• 2 1/2  tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 ripe plantain
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cups whole wheat flour
• 2/3 cups rolled oats
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 3/4 bread machine yeast
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts

what i did
I made the entire loaf in the bread machine. So I simply put all the ingredients expect the walnuts in the machine pan. set the crust on medium and programmed it for the Sweet Bread. and when the machine beeped i put in the walnuts. at this point the dough looked really sticky. so i scraped off the sides and let the cycle finish. at the end of the cycle i removed the loaf from the pan and allowed it to cool completely before cutting the first slice...

Strawberry Jam

Strawberry Jam adapted from Ina Garten's recipe.

ingredients

• 1/2 cup Jaggery
• juice and zest of 1 large lemon
• 1 pound minus 3 strawberries, hulled and halved
• 1/2 teaspoon Balsamic vinegar
• pinch of salt

what i did

i put the lemon juice and zest along with the jaggery in a saucepan and cooked this  over medium-low heat till the block of jaggery liquefied. I then added the strawberries and continued to cook over low heat till all the juice from the strawberries released and the pulpy mixture began to boil and bubble on the surface. I then added the salt and vinegar and let the jam simmer a couple of minutes more before pouring it into a sterilized bottled.

so that was my humble bread and jam for the week. they pair up pretty well. and probably that is why the loaf is almost over though its just Tuesday  :)  

The bread is being yeast-spotted. 

also sharing the recipes with the following weekly food events  : What’d You Do This Weekend? #14  

Monday Food:  

Marvelous Mondays @ This Gal Cooks, Manic Monday @ Serendipity and Spice,  

Meatless Monday @Veggie Mama's,  Meatless Monday My Sweet and Savory, Just Another Meatless Monday @ Hey What's for Dinner Mom  
Tuesday Food:  Tempt my Tummy @Blessed with Grace, Totally Tasty Tuesday @ Mandy's Recipe Box, Tasteful Tuesday Party @ Nap Time Creations,  Show Me What You Got @ Our Delightful Home,  Hand Made Tuesday @ Ladybug Blessings, Share it Link Party @ Winthrop Chronicles, Hearth and Soul Blog Hop, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday 

Wednesday Food : Wow Me Wednesday, What's Cooking Wednesday @ Confessions of Overworked Mom, Cast Party Wednesday @ Lady Behind the Curtain ,  Wednesday Whatsit @White Lights on , Show and Share @ Semi Homemade Mom, Wonderful Food Wednesdays at @ Home Take 2, Seasonal Celebration @ Natural Mother's Network, Whole Foods Wednesday #98

Thursday Food:Link it Up Thursday @ Seven Alive, Creative Thursday @ Michelle's Tasty Creations, Fantastic Thursday @ Three Little Chiefs, Thriving on Thursdays @ Domesblissity, Freedom Friday @ My Turn, Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage

Friday Food: Foodie Friday @ Home Maid Simple, Friday Favorite (DYI too) @ Simple Sweet Home, Foodie Friday @ Not Your Ordinary Recipes,  Foodie Friday @ Rattlebridge Farm , Weekend Wonders @ The Thriftiness Miss, Friday Food Frenzy @ Mostly Food and Crafts , Weekend Potluck @ Sunflower Supper Club,  The Weekend re-Treat @The Best Blog  Recipes, Fresh Bites Friday @ Real Food, Wellness Weekend, Weekend Kitchen Link Party

while I can vouch for the bread-machine, the bread-machine cookbook and the mason jars, i wish i had that adjustable bread keeper. maybe its time i get one...