Banana Bread Biscotti and My Recipe Organization

Over the weekend it became apparent that I was going to have to do something about the banana situation on the counter. Not even the ants were going to take them away (although the ants seem quite impressed with our honey despite the fact that they can't get out of it). I like banana bread, but not really enough to eat a loaf of it, and since Jordan and I are only living with animals right now, this didn't seem like the recipe to make. I made muffins a few weeks ago, so that wasn't going to cut it either. Luckily this is not 1950 and I do not have to rely on the limited recipes in my brain or on my shelves.

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Thanks to Pinterest I found a recipe for banana bread biscotti, which was just perfect since what I wanted to make was biscotti, but I was feeling pressured by the bananas. Biscotti is a slight pain since you have to keep baking it and cutting it and rotating it and then frost it, but it also has the bonus of being a low pressure food. As in, I don't feel pressured to eat it immediately because it's going to go bad. Unlike the original bananas, biscotti lasts for a while, so I can relax and enjoy it when I feel like it. Here's the recipe if you're interested.

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The real truth behind it not being 1950 has only recently infiltrated my recipe organization. This is due mostly to the fact that I don't cook and so I don't think about it. However, I have lately been cooking more and even if you cook very rarely, you are still cooking rarely, and in some cases this means your need for a helpful system is even stronger. So I'm going to share mine. It now seems rather obvious to me. However, I haven't always done it this way, so apparently it really wasn't obvious.

There are a confusing number of things out there on the internet to help you with stuff. This makes life complicated. I like to focus on the things I use frequently and try and tweak them to do new things. So my recipe storage method uses Pinterest and Evernote. I use both these applications for multiple purposes. There are a few main differences which can help you to decide what tasks to use them for:

Pinterest

  • visual
  • not super permanent
  • not super easy to find something specific

Evernote

  • more text based, although you can save images as well
  • permanent and in your control
  • taggable and searchable

Once I thought this through it became clear what to do with recipes. I use Pinterest as a cookbook. I pin anything that looks slightly interesting. Then, when I'm looking for kitchen inspiration I can browse through the different categories to find something interesting.


Yes, I have a board just for biscotti.

Once I have made a recipe and determined I like it, then I save it to Evernote. This way I can find it easily when I need it and also I don't have to worry about the online post being deleted or lost. I've also slowly been collecting family recipes as I've needed them and added them as well (sharing is possible through Evernote, but you have to subscribe so I haven't used that). Now if I'm looking for a recipe I've made, I know exactly where it it. My old laptop has been demoted to cookbook status. I just leave it in the kitchen. It also has the useful feature of running as many timers as I want.


All my recipes safe and in one place.

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Recent Comments

Sandi Terry
Sandi Terry Thu, 04/18/2013 - 21:34

Thanks for the recipe! Think I might give Evernote a try.

Melissa Bechtloff
Melissa Bechtloff Sat, 04/13/2013 - 09:41

sounds like a great recipe. I have so many bananas in the freezer waiting to be baked with.

Christine Bastian
Christine Bastian Thu, 04/11/2013 - 23:45

Recipe looks great, will certainly try it as husband has pastry baking as hobby ;-) I use Evernote as well for everything I want to store. I also use Clearly a Chrome browser extension that removes all ads etc and leaves you with a clear pictures and text, it clips it directly to Evernote and tags it if he sees it is a recipe. You can also use it to highlight things. Love it! http://evernote.com/clearly/

Laura Wellinghoff
Laura Wellinghoff Thu, 04/11/2013 - 20:56

Love banana bread! Thanks how I ate healthy and on the go with my 2 pregnancies. A banana, pineapple, and applesauce (instead of oil) bread.
I also wanted to share with you and <br />
<a href="http://laurawellinghoffstudio.blogspot.com/2013/04/ant-bait.html" target="_blank">Ant Bait Recipe</a><br /> that I came across last fall on-line. We've had success in using this, when the ants rear their heads, especially after rain.

Cynthia Arnett
Cynthia Arnett Thu, 04/11/2013 - 09:56

I love biscotti and will have to give this recipe a try. Especially with a latte. Thank you

Lana Fischer
Lana Fischer Thu, 04/11/2013 - 04:28

YUM..I have never had biscotti but bet it's good! I LOVE the Evernote site! That is just what I need to get organized with everything lose or laying around. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe and the other cool websites! I am going to check them out later today!

Sarah Lewis
Sarah Lewis Wed, 04/10/2013 - 17:20

I love banana bread! Never heard of banana bread biscotti. Might have to give that a try. Sounds yummy.

Chris Allport
Chris Allport Wed, 04/10/2013 - 12:30

My daughter just made a wonderful banana and walnut loaf with chocolate chips. It was delicious.