Banana Chocolate Chip Nut Muffins May 26, 2008

After perusing the web for a while, I combined a variety of recipes to create this one. They all offered similar ingredients and measurments, so today there’s not one link I can send you too.

A few recipes said to add a tablespoon of fresh ground coffee or several tablespoons of peanut butter — so if you want to try that, I’m all for it! I stayed in a comfort zone this time but look forward to adding these extras later.

Ingredients

2 smashed bananas

1/2 cup melted butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 egg, beaten

1 1/2 cup flour (optional: divided between wheat and all-purpose

1/2 cup mini-chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

Preheat oven to 350

1. Smush bananas with masher. Add butter and mix until lumpy and mixed well.

2. Add sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, baking soda and egg.

3. Add flour and mix well. Add chocolate chips and mix. Then add walnuts and mix.

4. Shell out mixture into greased muffin pan, filling each cup about 1/2 full. Sprinkle a few walnuts on top of each muffin.

5. Cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

**

Voila! These are great snacks and go well with a cold glass of milk.

Buttermilk Apple Bread May 19, 2008

This recipe comes to us from Cocunut and Lime.

Here is my first video! Enjoy — ingredients and recipe below.

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 cups all purpose flour

3 T. brown sugar

1 T. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon (i added a few shakes of nutmeg)

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp. allspice

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

2 T. olive oil

1 egg

3/4 cup (equivalent to about one apple) apple, cubed

** As mentioned in the video, I used Granny Smith Apples, the original recipe used Pink Lady Apples. If you use tart apples, add more brown sugar.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

1. In large bowl, combine flours, salt, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice.

2. Add buttermilk, olive oil and egg to flour mixture and stir well.

3. Fold in apple cubes.

4. Butter and flour loaf pan. Pour mixture in and bake for about 30 minutes.

***

Enjoy warm with jam or just plain!

***

Lessons learned: Read the instructions! Just now as I step this post I see it says 1 Tablespoon of baking soda! I put in about 1/2 tsp. No good but noted for next time. Also as noted in the video, I didn’t add more sugar to counter the “tartness” of the apples. Despite these few slips, the bread turned out really well, once I added some jam or ate it with a thin slice of apple.

***

UPDATE: I made this recipe again last night because, as you saw in the video, it wasn’t quite right. So, I did what the original recipe called for and added more brown sugar (about 2-3 more tablespoons) to the flour mixture. I did this because I was using tart Granny smith Apples. Another thing I did to sweeten up the “flavor-flav” is after chopping the apples, I coated the cubes with cinnamon and brown sugar. In the end — a success!

Sunflower Cherry Oatmeal Bars May 12, 2008

This delicious brunch/breakfast recipe comes from Whole Foods

BUT FIRST: Our dinner and brunch this past weekend was a complete success! The family, the food, the celebrations – graduation AND mother’s day.

Mother’s Day Brunch spread: On the table, starting at the top and moving clockwise: bagels, strawberries, blueberry-kiwi tarts, turkey bacon, tomato gruyere camembert tart, sunflower cherry oatmeal bars. And you can also see James and David (pointing at the bagels).

NOW BACK TO THE RECIPE: The Sunflower Cherry Oatmeal bars are something I’ve been meaning to make for, literally, months! And this Sunday as part of the Mother’s Day brunch spread, it proved to be the ideal time to cook these up.

These are healthy anyway you eat them: whether a breakfast bar, snack or side dish. With no butter, minimal oil and then handfuls of dried fruit and fresh granola, these bars make you feel good just looking at them.

Per usual, my own twists and suggestions are highlighted by italics.
Ingredients
1 C. rolled oats (I used more than a cup of honey granola. It added a little more crunch and flavor to the crumb based and topping.)
1 C. whole wheat flour
1/2 C. packed brown sugar
dash of salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
cinnamon and nutmeg
1/4 C. sunflower seeds
1/2 C. dried cherries (overflowing cup of cherries. This adds moisture to the crumb base and topping, as well as to the overall bar)
1/4 C. canola oil
5 T. orange juice
1/2 C. cherry preserves (I used blackberry preserves because that’s what I had in fridge and it worked great!)

NOTE: I found that I had to make a quick, small extra patch to make the top so I would advise to one-and-a-half the recipe proportions. But, it’s up to you! It wasn’t hard to whip up the oat mixture real quick at that point.

Directions
Preheat oven to 325.
1. Mix oats (or granola), wheat flour, brown sugar, baking soda, several big shakes of cinnamon and nutmeg, sunflower seeds and dried cherries.
2. Add 3 T. of orange juice and canola oil. Mix well!
3. Pour 3/4 of the mix, evenly, into bottom of glass baking pan.
4. In separate bowl, mix cherry(or blackberry, or any preserves, really!) with 2 T. of orange juice. Spread mixture over oat mixture.
5. Sprinkle remaining oat mixture over the preserves.
6. Bake for 35 minutes or until preserves begin to bubble.

***

And you’re ready to impress your guests! Or family! Or yourself! Enjoy!

Divine Minty Fudge Brownies March 4, 2008

Courtesy of Cooking Light magazine. Although I’m afraid to say these brownies probably aren’t the lightest things in the magazine…but delicious nonetheless.

Ingredients

for the brownie:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt.

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup egg substitute (i used egg whites instead)

1/4 cup melted butter/margarine

2 T. water

1 T. vanilla extract

2 large eggs, beaten

1 can (16 oz.) chocolate syrup (a squeeze bottle of chocolate sauce, usually, has the same amount)

for the mint layer:

2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup melted butter/margarine

3 T. skim milk

1/2 tsp. peppermint extract

2 drops green food coloring

for the chocolate glaze:

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

3 T. melted butter/margarine
Directions
1. Preheat over to 350

2. In small bowl mix flour and salt.

3. In separate medium sized bowl, mix sugar, egg, butter, water, vanilla extract, eggs and syrup, until smooth.

4. Fold flour mixture into chocolate syrup mix. Pour batter into greased glass baking dish (recommended size: 13×9)

5. Bake for 2-25 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick can be inserted in the middle and come out clean. Cool completely.

6. The mint layer: in medium bowl, mix powdered sugar, butter, milk, peppermint extract and food coloring. Spread mint mixture over cooled brownies.

7. The final layer/chocolate glaze: combine chocolate chips and butter in small bowl. Microwave together for 1minute or until melted. Mix well until smooth. Let mixture cool before spreading gently over the mint layer.
8. Cover and refridgerate for about 10 minutes or so, cut and serve!
Can be served with a side of fresh strawberries and glass of cold milk.
Enjoy!

Blueberry Yogurt Coffee Cake February 25, 2008

Courtesy of Washington Post food section.

This is great as dessert, breakfast or brunch item! And it’s relatively healthy considering it has minimal oil and no butter or other fatty ingredients. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup whole-wheat flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnnamon

1 1/4 cups nonfat plain yogurt

1/3 cup canola oil

1/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon brown sugar or dark brown sugar (any brown sugar works)

1 large egg plus 2 large egg whites

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)

1 cup low-fat granola

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 10-inch round cake pan with nonstick cooking oil spray.

2. Combine and sift the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl, whisking to mix well.

3. In a separate medium bowl, combine the yogurt, canola oil, 1/3 cup of the brown sugar, eggs and vanilla extract, mixing well.

4. Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the yogurt mixture, stirring just until the dry ingredients are moistened. The batter will be lumpy.

5. Pour blueberries into small bowl. Sprinkle all-purpose flour over the blueberries until all are coated. This helps prevent the blueberries from drooping to the bottom of the coffee cake while cooking.

6. Use a spatula to gently fold in the blueberries.

7. Transfer to the prepared pan and sprinkle the granola evenly over the top, then sprinkle the remaining 1 teaspoon of brown sugar.

8. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the center of the cake springs back when lightly tapped with your finger. Serve warm.

Blueberry Oat Bars February 23, 2008

These are delicious! They can be eaten anytime of day and cheer anyone up!

Total work time: about 30ish minutes.

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups oats

1 1/2 cups all-purpose white flour

3/4 cups packed brown sugar

1/2 cup chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, almonds)

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup margarine

2 cups blueberries (frozen or fresh)

1/2 cup sugar

3 T. water

2 T. cornstarch

2 tsp. lemon juice

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 F.

2. Grease 11×7-inch glass baking dish.

3. Combine oats, flour, brown sugar, nuts, baking soda and salt

4. Melt margarine and add, mixing until crumbly. (I found that I had to add more as needed to make the ingredients stick together.)

5. Press 1/4 of the mixture onto the bottom of dish, so it’s a thin dense layer.

6. Bake 10 minutes(ish)

7. Meanwhile, combine blueberries, sugar and (only) 2 tablespoons of water.

8. Bring to a boil, simmer 2 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally.

9. In a separate bowl, combine remaining 1 tablespoon water, cornstarch, and lemon juice; mix well.

10. Gradually stir into corn starch mix into blueberry mixture; cook and stir until thickened.

11. Spread the blueberry mix over over partially baked base to within qarter- inch of the edge; cover with remaining oat mixture. Press down lightly.

12. If you have extra blueberries, sprinkle them on top.

13. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until topping is golden brown. (i found it took about 30 minutes, but it all depends on your oven.)

14. When done, let it cool for at least 20 minutes. Make sure it’s completely cool before cutting into them. Then….voila, enjoy!