Rotten Bananas ......

does this happen at your house??

we go through the banana cycle .... it starts with everyone loving bananas. So much so that I buy bunch after bunch at the store only to have them gobbled up the minute they ripen or even with a tinge of green!

then the winds of change blow through - or maybe it is a secret banana boycott organized behind my back to get me to make banana bread.

Not sure ... but I do know that this is the result!



ugh!

so I decided it was time for banana bread - or rather banana muffins. A little easier to grab and go.

Of course I can never remember which recipe I used last, so I hunted through my cookbooks until I came upon Muffin Madness in the Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home Cookbook and pulled out my trusty purple kitchen-aid!



This is a great recipe because it gives you directions for a tasty muffin base that you can flavor in different ways.

-- Basic Wet Ingredients --
2 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 - 1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

-- Basic Dry Ingredients --
2 cup unbleached flour (I use whole wheat)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Choose one of the following combos to add to basic ingredients (the above is NOT a plain muffin recipe, but the base for the following)

Apple muffins: Add 2 cups of grated apple and 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel to wet ingredients and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon to dry ingredients.

Banana muffins: Add 1 1/2 cups of mashed banana to wet ingredients and 1 cup chopped nuts and/or 1/2 cup of chocolate chips to batter. (this can be adjusted to personal preference - we like fewer nuts and use mini-chips)

Blueberry - lemon muffins: Add 1 1/2 cups of blueberries and 1 tablespoon of grated lemon peel to wet ingredients.

Zucchini muffins: Add 2 cups of grated zucchini to wet ingredients and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon of ground cardamom to the dry ingredients. Fold in 1/2 cup of raisins or currants and 3/4 cup of chopped nuts to batter.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine wet ingredients, combine dry ingredients. Add two mixtures together and take care not to overmix. Spoon batter into oiled standard muffins tins and bake for 20-25 minutes standard size muffins or 10-15 minutes for mini muffins

the result was so yummy I made 3 batches in 2 days... and yep, I used up all of those black bananas !

Chilling out in Aspen!

Last week was school break so we headed to Aspen, Colorado to see family & ski! Unfortunately I only had my point & shoot camera and there was no SD card in it so I only got a few photos but thought I would share them with you.






4 out of 5 - missing the tween! too cool???


DH plays as hard as the kids! On the terrain park with a broken hand from the week before skiing back east!



Oh Yeah!!!

One funny story to share - from the time we were young my grandparents had instilled in us that when you travel, you should look nice. So....I took a bit of care choosing my outfit - nothing too fancy, but no sweats. All went well until the plane touched down at the Vail airport. It was after midnight east coast time and our youngest dozed in the seat next to me. I pulled him onto my lap while the rest of the plane emptied out....before I knew it or could stop it I was greeted with a warm wet feeling on my leg - yep...I had been peed on!

Luckily I had a change of clothes for everyone in my carry-on so I scooted us off the plane & into the restroom to change. Unfortunately, to minimize the space the clothes took up in the carry-on, I had packed my pajama pants as my change of clothes. This meant I got to walk through the Vail airport in cheetah spotted flannel sleep pants! Sorry Grandma & Grandpa! I was just glad the camera was still packed.

15 dozen and counting.....

of these yummy soft ginger cookies! I had a cookie exchange on Thursday that I baked 10 dozen for and another tomorrow that I need 5 dozen!

Delish and oh so easy!



INGREDIENTS

* 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons ground ginger
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 3/4 cup margarine, softened
* 1 cup white sugar
* 1 egg
* 1 tablespoon water
* 1/4 cup molasses
* christmas sprinkles


DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the water and molasses. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture. Shape dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in Christmas Sprinkles. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten slightly.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

What's for dinner tonight????

well...actually I made this last week but it was such a hit I wanted to share with everyone!



I substituted butternut squash for the acorn squash....MMMM MMMM good!

Find the recipe here.

Mmmmmm....

my folks are having a big bash this afternoon & I have volunteered to bring one of my favorite side salads....I am not a fan of potatoes but I LOVE yams & sweet potatoes and I love Martha Stewart's magazine...EVERYDAY FOOD. This is a delicious twist on a potato salad...



find the recipe here