Muffins - Top and Stump

Did you ever watch the Seinfeld episode where Elaine would only eat the muffin tops? Like most episodes it was odd but humorous - but to be honest she does have a point about the tops they are crunchy, explosive and delicious. 

We dodged the snow bullet this weekend - which I am very grateful for because I am so over the snow. I’ve been slowly uncovering some of the perennial gardens - not all of them and definitely have not been raking the yard. It’s too early and the bees and butterflies are not ready to come out yet - so hang in there. I know, I know we only have a short growing season in MN but we need the bees to pollenate our trees and other plants. 

I did make a trip to Menards to get some seeds for the garden, we’ll be planting, spinach, lettuce, kale, cilantro, parsley, and dill. There will of course be beets, beans, peas, squash (acorn, zucchini and patty pan). We’ll do plants - tomatoes, pumpkins, maybe onions, Japanese eggplant, peppers (green, red, ancho and poblano) and of course herbs in pots on the deck. Looking forward to another year of deliciousness. 

We’ve been on an orange kick lately - thanks to my friend Barb Gale who turned us on to Cara Cara oranges a few years ago, we’ve been hooked and last week Dan found a very large bag at Costco - just at the same time I came home with bananas and blueberries - needless to say we had too much. We managed to get through the oranges and most of the blueberries but the bananas started to spot before we could get to all of them. 

You might recall this happened recently and we ended up with banana bread, which is delicious, but I wanted to use up the rest of the blueberries because I bought strawberries yesterday - food around here is a balancing act believe me. 

When I started the baking project this morning I was not totally awake and horrified when I accidentally grabbed the cumin instead of the cinnamon and put it in the muffins - not to worry, I was able to get most of it out and added a bit of additional cinnamon - it was all good. You could also use either all white flour or 1/2 white and 1/2 whole wheat in the recipe below - I decided to give whole wheat a try. 

Ingredients

2 large eggs

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt

2 medium-size, ripe bananas, mashed 

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

3/4 cup oats

1 cup + 2 Tbsp whole wheat flour

1 cup blueberries, frozen or fresh

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350. Use cupcake liners or spray a 12 muffin pan with cooking spray - set aside. 

In a large mixing bowl, lightly beat the eggs until the yolks break apart.  Add in the yogurt, bananas, sugar, vanilla, baking soda, cinnamon, and oats mixing until smooth.

Spoon in the flour and gently stir it in until just combined. Toss the blueberries in 1 Tbsp of flour to prevent them from bleeding or sinking to the bottom of the muffins, and fold them into the batter.

Divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups, filling almost to the top. Add a sprinkle of sugar, if desired.

Bake for 20 - 22 minutes, or until the tops of the muffins begin to turn golden and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for ~5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

A Favorite Banana Bread

Happy Sunday! For some of you it’s Easter, some Passover and for the rest of us it’s Sunday; a good day for baking and blogging. Spring has officially arrived in Minnesota - I know that because the deck furniture has been unearthed, the tulips are coming up and I’ve finally tossed the pine branches I used as holiday decorations in the yard waste container. 

We’ve been busy. First the lower level bathroom is finally done and as far as I’m concerned there isn’t anymore remodeling in my near or far future. We went to the MIA Art in Bloom, tried a new restaurant, and Movie Nights with our friends Gerd and Maria are finally back on the calendar. 

I’ve been told I make an amazing banana bread. I found this recipe decades ago and honestly there isn’t anything unusual with respect to ingredients it’s all in the prep. The key - don’t over mix the bananas - leave them chunky because if you don’t, you end up with banana flavored bread and it’s dry and well not my favorite. 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter 

1 cup brown sugar - packed

2 eggs

3 medium bananas

1 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions:

Cream butter and sugar.  Beat in eggs, 1 at a time until blended.  Break bananas into chunks and add - do not over mix.  Add dry ingredients and stir until just moistened.  Pour into a greased bread pan, bake at 350 for approximately 1 hour. 

Whatever holiday you celebrate - enjoy! Thanks for stopping by.

An Untraditional - Traditional Dish

We’re Irish and a bunch of other stuff but mostly Irish. I spent many a dinner as a kid avoiding corned beef and cabbage - mainly due to the look, smell and taste. There were however, some traditions I could get on board with - Colcannon. 

Colcannon is traditionally made from mashed potatoes and kale (or cabbage), with milk or cream, butter, salt and pepper. Often eaten with ham or Irish bacon, it is a year-round staple food, although today it is usually eaten in Fall or Winter when kale is in season. As an aside, a Irish Halloween tradition is to serve colcannon with a ring and a thimble or small coins hidden in the dish.

We’ve passed St Paddy’s day by about a month but today’s wintery weather made me want comfort food. Generally, you won’t find a potato in our pantry - we don’t need the carbs and honestly they don’t have much taste, unless you top them with all those things one should stay away from. So tonight we tossed tradition out the window, hopped on the Cauliflower bandwagon and steamed, chopped and sautéed our way to a healthier version of Colcannon.

INGREDIENTS

1 medium head cauliflower, separated into florets

1/4 cup almond milk

4 tablespoons vegan buttery spread, divided

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 leek, trimmed, washed, and sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 small bunch kale, cut into small pieces

1/3 cup water

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

salt & pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat broiler.

Beak cauliflower into florets and steam until fork tender - transfer to a food processor. Add almond milk a little at a time and 2 tablespoons buttery spread and pulse to a smooth, creamy puree.

Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add leeks and cook for about 5 minutes, or until tender. Add garlic and cook another minute, or until fragrant. Add kale and toss to coat. Add water, cover and cook for 3-5 minutes. Remove cover and reduce heat to low, stirring occasionally. Cook for another 10-12 minutes, or until kale is tender. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Fold cauliflower puree into the kale mixture until combined. Transfer to a baking dish and make a small well in the center of the dish. Place under broiler for about five minutes, or until lightly browned on top. Place remaining buttery spread into the well. Serve immediately.

We served it with a forest mushroom soup and some fruit.