If your sister is away at school, it's only natural that you'll send her something fun to remember you by.

I mean, she's a four or five-hour plane ride away, while you have the privilege of seeing your parents and brother most evenings for dinner. You'd like her to have a taste of home in times of stress. But more importantly, she's having so much fun that you're afraid she might forget about you.

And this will simply not be tolerated!

If you love to bake, it's only natural that you'll send her something... baked. Furthermore, if you just so happen to have four of the sweetest, most aromatic ripe bananas on your fruit platter, you'll probably decide to bake her some banana bread. It's a good thing your sister enjoys banana bread more than most other foods she's tried.

This will work out perfectly, so it appears. You soon realize, however, that your sister dislikes anything to do with health. She assumes you eat only squirrel food. You recall her telling you on numerous occasions, Don't put lentils in my bread! You've never done this before, but you figure she means that you are not to add any healthy stuff to her baked goods. You vow to try your hardest, but you always like your family to be healthy and you acknowledge the struggle ahead of you. You strap on your apron like it's true battle garb, and you grip your wooden spoon with the hope that it guides you properly. You're determined to make the best banana bread to meet your sister's lips. You're ready to set forth on your journey, but first you invite everyone reading this to come along with you. It will be fun, I promise. Pick a sunny window and gather your ingredients:

And let's get started!

Begin with 1 1/2 cups of flour:

We're using 1 cup all-purpose and 1/2 cup whole-wheat because we want her to have some fiber in her life. But we're not going to tell her that. She won't even notice.

Here we are:

Next, add some baking soda and baking powder, one teaspoon each...

...and a pinch of salt.

Next, a touch of spice. Just the right amounts of cinnamon and nutmeg to add some liveliness and Fall flair, 1/2 teaspoon each:

This completes the dry ingredients. Gently whisk, and set aside.

Now, for the wet ingredients. Ladies and gentlemen, mash your bananas.

Scrape them into a medium-sized bowl and let them relax for a bit. You don't want to stress them out. I mean, they are the stars of the show.

In the meantime, get some butter- about 1/4 cup:

And melt it.

Add to the melted butter about 1/4 cup of good olive oil:

And two of these:

Watch it happen:

Whisk and whisk some more, then pour over the bananas you left in the medium-sized bowl.

Add to this new concoction some sugar and vanilla extract- 1/2 cup white, 1/2 cup brown, and 1 teaspoon extract:

Stir it thoroughly.

Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients, like so:

Add your wet ingredients, like so:

Then, remember that you wanted to add some chocolate chips. Your sister deserves it super much. Give her 3/4 cup of 'em.

When you're done stirring these in, and the batter has come together nicely, pour it into a greased and sugared loaf pan. It will look something like this:

Excellent work! Put it in a preheated oven!

This should be happening at 350 degrees. While you wait (it will be about 50-60 minutes), survey the scene:

I know you don't want to, but you should probably clean it up.

It's okay though, because after a while, you'll get to stare at this:

Creamy bananas, sweet milk chocolate, a touch of spice, the comfort of home.

You must wait for it to cool completely before playing with it. If you leave the house, make sure to leave a note too. Your dad and brother like to help themselves when you leave freshly-baked goodies lying around.

When the time has come, wrap your loaf in some parchment paper,

Seal it with a kiss,

Put it in a shoebox,

Add a silly note,

And send it along to the faraway land of Lexington, Kentucky.

You hope your package puts a smile on her face and a spring in her step. You hope that the warm and sweet scent meeting her nose when she opens it up will remind her of how well you two sometimes get along. You hope she remembers you then-

-just as much as she remembers you now:

I dedicate this post to you, my sis.

[Click HERE for the recipe in text format.]

P.S.- Thank you all so much for your support with my third PFB entry. It was both moving and inspirational, and I owe my advancement to you!

I decided to put my knowledge of cooking with yogurt to good use while making breakfast for the week. As I have mentioned before, I really like to make a healthy batch of chai-spice banana muffins or a loaf of cranberry-apple-pecan bread on Sunday to help make my mornings easier. I challenge myself by attempting to bake my entire breakfast into a bread- everything I would ordinarily include in my fast-breaking meal must be in there. This bread, I might say, is quite successful. It has pretty much all I could ever want: Sweet bananas, tender oatmeal, probiotic-filled yogurt, minimal sugar, ground flaxseed, a little almond butter, and whole-grain flour. The only thing I might add is another serving of fruit on the side. And, ahem, please excuse the blurry photo. I was so excited to serve myself another slice that I didn't try very hard. You understand, I'm sure. I used only spelt flour to make this bread, as opposed to half or three-quarters of the flour amount. Therefore, the bread is really dense, but not lacking in moisture because the yogurt does a fantastic job of replacing fat. It's not too heavy, either. Although related to wheat, spelt flour is easier to digest and doesn't give me the super-full-feeling stomach that wheat products sometimes do. If spelt flour isn't your thing, I've added a suggestion at the bottom of the recipe for reproducing it with different flours. I'm curious about trying almond meal flour next time! Banana Oatmeal Yogurt Bread Ingredients: 1/2 cup old fashioned oats 2 cups whole-grain spelt flour 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. baking powder pinch of salt 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. nutmeg 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed 2 1/2 small ripe bananas, mashed 1 tsp. vanilla extract 2 Tbsp smooth almond butter 2 Tbsp olive oil 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed 1/2 cup organic, nonfat yogurt unsweetened coconut for garnish (optional) Instructions: -Preheat oven to 350. Grease a loaf pan or line with parchment paper. -Combine oats with 1 cup hot water in a small bowl. Stir and set aside. -In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, spices and flax. -In a medium bowl, stir together almond butter and olive oil until the oil is incorporated. Add mashed bananas, brown sugar, and yogurt. Stir thoroughly. -Make a well in the center of dry ingredients and add wet ingredients. Stir just until flour is completely moistened- spelt flour gets tough if mixed too much. -Pour mixture into prepared pan. Lick the spoon because you don’t have to worry about eggs. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until a tester comes out relatively clean. Let cool, invert onto a rack, and thoroughly enjoy! *Note- It’s difficult to substitute other flours in for spelt because they will require more liquid ingredients. If you so choose, I suggest using 1 1/2 cups wheat flour, adding 1/4 cup of oil, and perhaps some milk in 1/4-cup increments until you get the texture right. After all, it’s all about experimentation anyway!

It's time to vote for The Next Food Blog Star! Click HERE to vote for The Chocolate Fig's entry to challenge number three, Rustic Luxury. Foodbuzz may prompt you to create an account in order to vote, but this is quick, easy, and painless. Who knows, maybe you'll start integrating with the community! See my posts for Challenge Number One HERE and Challenge Two HERE. As promised, here are the recipes I used to make my dinner guests swoon.

Classic Hummus Ingredients 2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed 2 large cloves garlic, smashed 1 tsp. ground cumin 3 Tbsp tahini pinch of cayenne pepper the juice of one medium lemon 2 Tbsp olive oil salt and pepper Instructions Combine all ingredients in a food processor for one minute (mixture will be thick). Slowly add water (or more olive oil, if you prefer) until hummus reaches desired consistency. Serve with cumin and cayenne sprinkled on top. ~

Sun-Dried Tomato Hummus Additional ingredients 1 small jar sun-dried tomato halves, in oil Instructions Follow the same instructions as Classic Hummus above, adding your desired amount of tomatoes and 1 Tbsp of their oil. I used 3/4 of the jar, about 1/3 cup, which resulted in a delightful color and a subtle essence of sun-dried tomatoes. Serve garnished with a few. ~

White Bean Hummus with Cashews and Mint Ingredients 2 cans white navy beans, drained and rinsed 1/2 cup cashews, whole handful of fresh mint 1 clove garlic, smashed 2 Tbsp olive oil salt and pepper Instructions Combine all ingredients in a food processor for one minute. Gradually add water or olive oil until hummus reaches desired consistency. Serve garnished with mint and a cashew. ~

Herb-Rubbed Pita Chips Ingredients 3 bags whole-wheat pita rounds (about 18 rounds) 1/4 cup olive oil salt and pepper herbs of choice (I used fresh mint, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, and basil.) Instructions Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Take one pita round and brush it with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and your herbs of choice. I did some with mint by itself, some with red pepper flakes and basil, some with basil and garlic powder, etc. Cut into triangles and place on a large baking sheet. Repeat with remaining pita rounds. Bake for about 13 minutes, until crispy and slightly golden. Cool on a rack and serve, or store for about a week. ~

Spicy Swordfish Marinade (good for 4 steaks) -from The Frog Commissary Cookbook- Ingredients 1/4 cup sesame oil 1/2 cup tamari or regular soy sauce 1/4 cup lime juice 1/8 cup mirin (I used sherry and it worked well) 1 Tbsp minced fresh garlic 1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger 1 Tbsp crushed red pepper flakes (Don't skimp! This is important!) Instructions Whisk all ingredients. Marinate steaks for 30 minutes max, or they will be too spicy. For my kebabs, I split the marinade between the three glass casserole dishes holding them. I basted the kebabs with the marinade once before placing back in the fridge. ~

Fig and Almond Tart -from Giada De Laurentiis- Ingredients 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 Tbsp plus 1 Tbsp sugar 1 lemon, zested (I used orange zest and it make the greatest difference. I highly recommend it.) 1/4 tsp. fine sea salt 10 Tbsp (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces 3 Tbsp ice water 3 1/2 ounces almond paste, at room temp, cut into 1/2-inch pieces 1/3 cup mascarpone cheese, at room temp (important) 1 tsp. vanilla extract 2 Tbsp honey 6 large or 12 small fresh figs, sliced and stems removed 1/4 cup apricot jam Instructions Combine the flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, lemon zest, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until blended. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. With machine running, gradually add the water until moist clumps form. Turn the mixture out onto a work surface and form into a ball. Flatten the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic. Chill for 1 hour. In a clean food processor bowl, combine remaining sugar, almond paste, mascarpone cheese, vanilla extract and honey. Blend until smooth. Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees. On a large sheet of parchment paper, roll out dough into an 11-inch circle. Transfer dough and parchment to a large, heavy baking sheet. Spread almond filling over the dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Arrange the figs on top of the filling. Spoon jam over the figs. Fold the dough border over the filling to form an 8-inch round, pleating the crust loosely and pinching to seal any cracks in the dough. Bake the tart until crust is golden, about 40 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes, then slide a metal spatula under the crust to free from parchment. Transfer to a platter and serve. Enjoy!! See the corresponding post HERE.

I must start by directly addressing the readers of this blog. Over the past few days, I have received more comments than ever before on one post, more kind words and encouragement that I expected, and a ticket to advance to Challenge Three of Project Food Blog. I’m at a loss for words, which is rare- But I really cannot properly convey my gratitude. Your support is empowering! With that said... Let’s party! Context: About a year ago, my mom moved her belongings a few streets over to a charming new abode. Nestled in the rolling hills, it came equipped with a large deck, fruit trees, a rustic barn and rectangular paddock. Naturally, like the horsey family we are, our two equine companions came along to reside in the backyard. This sprawling scene of crisp leaves, alfalfa, white fences, an overflowing fig tree and the biting breeze of Fall is the inspiration and perfect excuse for a dinner party. The theme of which I’ve chosen to call Rustic Luxury.

Rustic Luxury is a paradox, kind of like country living in the middle of Silicon Valley. But this is where we are blessed to live, and we love it. As my mom perfectly phrased it last night, our rustic country living is a luxury. Who doesn't want space to run and play?

Guests: A total of seven guests relaxed, conversed, reminisced, and of course, heartily dined. Although not all are blood related, I consider each and every one of them part of my family. It dawned on me today how lucky I am to be able to do that. Before we get too far with this, though, I have a confession to make: Cooking for guests makes me really, really nervous. I get stressed. Uptight. Rushed. Frantic. I can cook for myself all day long; Maybe it’s the fact that all of these people are counting on me for a meal. They come at my request, they’re hungry, I promised food, and now I must deliver. What if I screw everything up? What if it tastes horrible? What if everyone stands around watching me because they’ve gone from hungry to starving? They’ve finished off the appetizer, and they’re bored? However, the counterpoint is this: I love having friends over. I love the practice of gathering together for a meal. The enlightening conversations and ab-tightening laughs offset the effort, planning and execution in every possible way. I believe that food shared is food that nourishes both the body and the soul. And besides, the mad dash makes everything much more exciting. If we could count on a thing like entertaining to be predictable time and again, would we really keep on doing it, time and time again? Would it really interest us? Menu: I served a medley of dishes that turned out to compliment one another perfectly: 3 kinds of hummus (Classic; Sun-dried Tomato; White Bean with Cashews and Mint) with Herb-rubbed Pita Chips, Spicy Swordfish Kebabs with Zucchini Medallions, Forbidden Rice Salad with Dried Cranberries and Orange Zest, Grilled Asparagus, and a Fig & Almond Tart with Mascarpone Cheese for dessert. I started early and took my time all day prepping, cooking, table-setting, and organizing. I had fun experimenting with flavors, designing a table scape and documenting everything with ample photographs. When it was finally time for the guests to arrive, I was able to relax. All that was left to do was to grill the kebabs and asparagus. Easy! I’ve learned a lot from this meal. I’ve learned that I am capable of collecting myself and calmly hosting a dinner party. I’ve learned how to think ahead, plan ahead and do ahead in the context of being a hostess with the mostest. But I’ve also learned how to just give up a little and let things happen. I can't possibly control every minute detail. This is quite a revelation for me.

Without further ado, here is the night in photographs:

(Tabletop Tip from a rookie: Choose one object and design around it. For me, it was the candle holder. The more rustic elements like the picnic table combined with the silver and crystal accents really brought the theme together.)

Sneaking a peek at the Stanford game:

Homemade bread from Susan:

This evening was greater than I could have hoped. It was comforting and intimate, and to my delight, every dish was devoured. I couldn't get enough of the hummus myself. Stay tuned for recipes in the next post!

A special thank you to my amazing Mom, without whom this event could not have run so smoothly. Thanks for teaching me how to be an expert entertainer, just like you.

Attention: Foodies!! Voting for Project Food Blog Entry Number Two is now open. Click HERE to cast your vote, and good luck to everyone else participating!