Actually, you will notice fall is upon you indoors first, then outdoors. And nothing heralds fall better than the release of the Pumpkin Spice Latté, PSL, as it is affectionately called.


But one drink from insert-major-drink-purveyor-here is enough for me to head to the kitchen and fabricate my own pumpkin spice latté. There's so much more flavour, so much more oomph, so much more spice to this that it makes some blustery rainy days actually bearable.


So when you're starting your day, and the sky is dark and dreary, reach for this belly soothing, heart warming beverage. Seriously, how can you be grumpy after a fabulous treat as this?


It's just a bit tedious the first time, but once you have the pumpkin spice paste and simple syrup in your pantry, it's easy as (pumpkin) pie!

Pumpkin Spice paste
2 cups pumpkin purée
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp Fuel with Flavour's pumpkin spice
1 cup water

In a saucepan, whisk all the ingredients together and simmer until smooth, around 20 minutes. Remove from heat, cool and strain into a jar.

Vanilla simple syrup
2 vanilla beans
1 cup water
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Scrape the bean into the saucepan, add water and sugar and bring to a simmer until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat, add the vanilla extract, then cool completely.

Pumpkin Spice Latté
1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp pumpkin spice syrup
1 tsp vanilla simple syrup
2 shots espresso
Whipped cream
Pumpkin spice, to garnish.

Directions:
1. Froth milk in frothing mug. Set aside.
2. Add pumpkin spice syrup and vanilla syrup to a cup.
3. Pull a double espresso shot into the same cup, then stir to combine.
4. Add the frothed milk to the cup.
5. Top with a pinch of pumpkin spice.

Really can't do much Thai cooking without fish sauce. Every dish hinges on the amazing umami-ness that fish sauce brings, where it balances the spice and acidity of salads to curries.

Pad Thai too. I chanced on the opportunity to whip up a vegan version of this anchovy-laden sauce because I was making Pad Thai for hubbie tonight and I can't afford 20 minutes to rush to the supermarket (it will eventually take one hour) during which time I could actually make the sauce. Also, my plant-based daughters will thank me for this.

Before we make an alternative for this condiment, let's explore just what exactly is in fish sauce. Essentially fish, salt and water. At least well made bottles will contain just that. The fish (usually anchovies) are fermented in barrels over a few months with salt, which helps the fermentation and kills bacteria, and water. So to make a good fish sauce, one must have a little taste of the sea and the depth of flavour that comes from fermentation.

A few minutes of searching online led me to a few recipes where I cherry picked from and made my own. This was what I found lends enough 'fishiness' and enough 'umami' to make for a very flavourful sauce.

In this vegan fish sauce, or not-fish sauce, I used konbu, also known as dried kelp, a thick kind of seaweed that the Japanese use for making dashi, or stock, from which they make miso soup. That brings out a bit of the sea. Now for the depth ... mushrooms are the ultimate vegan umami replacement. I had dried black (wood ear) mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, and king oyster mushrooms in my pantry, and used all of those for more bang on the flavour. Hey, this blog isn't called fueling with flavour for nothing now. Even if you have only one kind of dried mushrooms, it works too.

Not vegan? Give it a shot anyway, a dash works wonders in curries, salad dressings and marinades. Much like how I use Tabasco.

Ingredients:
4 cups water
Hand-sized (palm with fingers outstretched) square of konbu, rinsed
10 grams assorted dried mushrooms
1 tbsp sea salt
1 tbsp soy sauce

Directions:
1. In a medium saucepan, place all the ingredients and bring to a boil.
2. Then simmer on a low heat until liquid is reduced to half.
3. Cool and strain to a glass bottle.
Store in a cool and dry place.

Ingredients:
450 g (1 lb) flat rice noodles

What is so special about this, you ask? What about it that makes it the best banana bread by far? Well, I've made my fair share of banana breads with so many variations and this recipe is slightly different in that it cooks the bananas, thereby making it so much more naturally sweeter, thereby reducing the need for extra sugar.



And more importantly, after the bananas are cooked, they are drained, thereby reducing the moisture content of said bananas, making them more dense, and making the cakes moist yet springy, without all that excess moisture from the bananas weighing it down.

All this extra effort just produces a naturally sweeter, lighter, more banana-y flavour. And I am all for that!




This week I made at least 4 banana breads, yes, 4! All different recipes. And the ones that made it on the blog was this amazing cooked banana bread and a chocolate banana bread that I also thought was fabulous. This one was so good that I actually scrapped my earlier banana bread recipe from the blog.

Out with the old, in with the new, and if I found one that was better, than better not confuse my kids who will hopefully, in the future, want to look for my recipe for banana bread, right?



As you can tell, I only added a wee bit of chopped walnuts here, but if chocolate chips is your thing, then please feel free to add them. Even my children were going 'Mom, where's the chocolate?', so yes, I've been there a few times.

This recipe makes one loaf. Slice, wrap individual portions, take to work or school, and you've got yourself a fabulous snack. I doubt you want to share.

Ingredients:
5 fully ripened, almost blackened bananas
220 g (1-3/4 cup) all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
115 g (8 tbsp - 1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled
2 large eggs, at room temperature
150 g (3/4 cup) light brown sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
60 g (1/2 cup) toasted walnuts

Directions:
1. Break the bananas into chunks and cook it on a non-stick pan until it has turned into a purée and its juices start running clear. This may take 15 minutes.
Alternatively, you can place them in a bowl, cover with a plastic wrap that is pierced in a few spots, and microwave it for 5 minutes.
2. Cool, then strain the cooked bananas. You will get about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of clear banana juice.
3. Return this to the same pan and cook until it has reduced to about 1/4 cup.
4. Add this reduced banana juice back to the bananas and blend until smooth.

5. Preheat the oven to 175C or 350F.
6. Butter a 23x12 cm or 9x5 inch loaf pan.

7. In a large bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, and salt.
8. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cooled melted butter, eggs, light brown sugar, vanilla extract, and the banana mixture.
9. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour, mix until just combined, then add the walnuts and fold through.
10. Transfer the batter into the loaf pan, and bake for 60-70 minutes until it passes the skewer test.
11. Cool while still in the pan for 5-10 minutes, before removing the bread from the pan to cool completely.

It will take a lot of effort, but kindly refrain from slicing into it while still hot. As always, speaking from experience ;)

But with cornstarch at hand, and buttermilk just a tablespoon of vinegar away, make this recipe. You will understand why this is indeed a fabulous waffle recipe. And in that half an hour of waiting for the batter to develop, prep your fruits, and make a cup of equally amazing coffee to pair this decadent breakfast treat with.

This recipe is adapted from Aretha Frankenstein's waffles of insane greatness, and makes about 10-12 waffles, depending on the size of your waffle maker.

Ingredients:
250 g (2 cups) all purpose flour
60 g (1/2 cup) cornstarch
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
480 ml (2 cups) buttermilk, at room temperature
160 ml (2/3 cup) melted butter, cooled
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together: flour, cornstarch, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. Make a well in the centre and add the buttermilk, melted butter, eggs, and the vanilla extract, whisking the wet ingredients together first, before incorporating them into the flour.
3. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let the batter rest for 30-45 minutes.

4. Preheat your waffle iron and ladle the batter in, cooking it on a medium high temperature until it browns slightly.

Serve immediately with your preferred sweetener and fruits in season.

To serve a batch, keep warm in a preheated 95C or 200F until everyone arrives.

To keep, cool on a cooling rack, then refrigerate for up to 4-5 days. You can heat these best eva' waffles in a toaster for breakfast the next day or on a lazy weekend morning.

Avocado Frosting