Chocolate Applesauce Cake

For no apparent reason (as my son would say), yesterday was a cooking day.  And not just a cooking day....  a new recipe day!  Three new recipes in one day!

Breakfast was a baked oatmeal dish.  A cross between traditional oatmeal and a large oatmeal cookie, it was enjoyed by all.  Will blog about that another day when I remember to take photos.  Not that they'll be good photos- my cooking skills far exceed my photography skills.  But still, I'd like to give it a try.

Today's feature is the title- Chocolate Applesauce Cake.  The 'cake' part got the kids attention, as did the presence of Chocolate.  All good.

Bonus crumbs... the downside of slicing when warm.  The price I have to pay for impatience.

This one came from a gluten free recipe on araisinandaporpoise.com - the original flour was buckwheat.  I replaced the 1/2 cup of buckwheat flour with 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour.  The consistency of the batter and the finished product were exactly as expected.  I think the sugar can be reduced- I'll also make it next time as muffins.


Chocolate Applesauce Cake

• 1 cup nut butter (I used creamy peanut butter)
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce (I used homemade applebutter)
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/3 cup cocoa
• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350 and lightly oil a 10″ cake pan. A tube pan might be a nice alternative.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the nut butter, sugar, applesauce, eggs and vanilla and blend well together; I used an electric hand mixer.  
3. Mix the dry ingredients together in a small bowl, then add to wet ingredients.  Mix together by hand until just combined.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 30-35 minutes, or until the center springs back and the sides have just begun to come away from the pan.
5. This cake slices best when cool.  Excellent when served with a cold glass of milk.

After the cake cooled, I sliced the rest and wrapped each piece in wax paper and put them in my baking box.  This way, the kids (and husband) can take portions instead of ALL the remaining cake.

Yum.  I give the remaining 8 portions about a day.

Two Recipes: Pecan Pancakes and Brown Sugar Sweet Potato Cake

I've mentioned before that I love to save recipes.  They are saved in folders and files and binders, and many never see the light of the kitchen.

Some, on the other hand, demand to be made.... immediately.

This post is about two of those recipes.

I'm glad they were so insistent.  I have been well rewarded for having made them (queue the applause).

First up, Pecan Pancakes.  I stumbled across this one by clicking from one blog to the next. I will be forever grateful for the time to wander, as it landed me in the midst of such yumminess at 'Blogging Over Thyme' (here).

My son prepared this recipe, doubling it as I asked him to.  We're hungry around here.  I prepped the ground pecans the night before, so that he didn't need to use the blender and wake up the rest of the household-- he's the early bird!  I think he followed the recipe as written, except omitting the ground cloves.  He put in two whole cloves; I fished them out later :-).  He did split the flour-- half all-purpose, half white whole wheat flour as the blog (but not the recipe) suggests.  The pancakes were very light thanks to the buttermilk, but hearty and delicious.

The second recipe was made just four days after I found it:  Brown Sugar-Sweet Potato Cake from the Washington Post.  I had been telling the kids I was planning to make dessert over the weekend, then lost track of time and generally backed out of my commitment to them.

This went on for several days... until I found this recipe in the Wednesday Food section.

I made the recipe the following Sunday.  I was planning to halve it (who needs cake for 16 laying around the house?!) until I realized that I had a friend coming for coffee on Monday.  That would be the perfect excuse to serve cake in the morning, right?

My friend loves Bundt cakes, and as it turns out, had not had time to eat breakfast before coming over.  She had two portions of cake, and I am thrilled she enjoyed it.

The only change I made to this recipe was to use canned pumpkin, instead of sweet potatoes.  I am also unsure of the exact amount of molasses I used.... it's really sticky, and I was at the bottom of the bottle.  I measured one tablespoon, then dribbled the rest into the bowl, straight from the bottle.

I'm just crazy that way.

You may (or may not) want to know that the molasses was older than the child I was cooking with.  I don't use a lot of it, and am not certain if I'll buy another bottle to make this cake again, or just substitute something else.  Let me know if you decide to make a substitution.

Until next time.... Bon Appetit!

Raspberry Jam Oat Bars

A quick post to share an excellent healthy treat.  I found this recipe Raspberry Jam Oat Bars at Weekly Bite, one of the blogs I follow.  With an RSS reader on my phone (I use Feedly to aggregate the posts, and GReader to display them on my handset), I can catch up on blogs at stop lights, in line at Starbucks, and during boring meetings (yes, that means you, "Mr. Seven-Point-Font" on the slides!).

This one is very simple-- all the ingredients (except the jam) go into a blender or food processor.  Mix for 30 seconds or so until the ingredient look crumbly and well integrated, then pour into a prepared pan.

The things I did different from the posted recipe (because there's always something):

•  I used an 8-inch round silicone pan so that I did not need to oil or line it.  The bars ended up thicker than in the original recipe, with a solid layer of bar on top of the jam. 
• I used strawberry jam, as that's what I had.
• Not having whole wheat pastry flour, I used white whole wheat flour in equal proportions.  And I swapped out 3 Tbsp or so of the flour for wheat germ (more fiber and protein, and a nice nutty flavor).
• Thinking chia seeds could be added next time, for more fiber, protein and Omega-3 goodness.  Maybe a few Tbsp in place of some of the oatmeal? 

Let me know what you substitute to make the recipe yours.  I'm committed to making jam this summer, and think that this recipe will be a great way to use it!

Brown Sugar Maple Muffins

Wow, are these good?

How do I know?  Well, I bake muffins all the time.  Usually, I set them out to cool, pack them in containers or in the freezer, and never have any myself.  These though.....

Yum.  The kids now have one fewer muffin to eat.

The recipe is great as is (here)- I added 1 cup chopped walnuts for protein, but left the rest alone.  It makes for a lovely, neutral light muffin.  For more body, earthiness and oomph, I would suggest adding 1 tsp of cinnamon to the batter, along with the dry ingredients.  Maybe a little nutmeg too.

One other change... Every muffin recipe baked in my home prior to this one was put into the oven in standard metal muffin tins, lined with decorative cupcake papers.  Cute, but the cheap liners allow oil to seep through, so the design is never as adorable after you bake as before.  And I once had individual silicone muffin cups, but the fluting did not allow the baked goods to release cleanly.

Enter silicone muffin pans.

*Cue angels singing*

Fantastic.  No need to grease the pans, the the muffins nearly jumped out of their little muffin holes when cooked.

I highly recommend them-- I have a set similar to the link above, although I bought them at a garage sale for $5.  :-)

Apple Crisp Bars

Fall = apples, right?

I bought a 10lb bag of Nittany apples at the farmers market.  After a taste test of all the apples the market had to offer (Stayman, Rome, Jonagold and more!) it seemed that this was the best-tasting, best-for-storage-in-the-basement-fridge apple.  Yum.

Besides snacking, I had one ulterior motive for these apples-- this recipe for Apple Pie Bars.  This blog is great, especially for seasonal crafty food things.  A friend of mine celebrates the end of each week with fun food and family (Fun Food Friday), and I am working to adapt a version of that in our home to embrace fun and try new culinary treats.

So, Apple Crisp Bars.  Most of the original recipe for the apples is intact, although I increased the seasonings and decreased the sugar.  The biggest change I made was to use a 'crisp' topping in lieu of the top pie crust.  This added another layer of texture to the treat, although it did make it more messy.

Ah well, fun = mess, right?

Apple Crisp Bars

• 1 pie crust (store-bought or homemade)
•  6 cups chopped apples (no need to peel)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Topping:

• 1 cup oats
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts, I think)
• 6 Tbsp softened butter

1.  Heat the oven to 375 degrees
2.  Roll the crust to fit the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan.  If the crust tears, patch it together with your fingers-- this is a great job for the kids.
3.  In a large bowl, mix apples, sugar, brown sugar, flour, vanilla and spices.
4.  Pour apple mixture into the pan on top of the crust, spreading it to cover the crust evenly.
5.  Use the same bowl and mix up the crisp ingredients, taking care to blend the butter in well.  Pour this over the apples, and again, spread to cover evenly.
6.  Bake for 50 minutes, and allow to rest for five minutes before serving.  

Maple Corn Bread

As a working parent, there's always a middle ground between work and home.  Or work and 'the other work'.   ROutines need to be flexible in both realms, as something can come up that throws off the plan.   

For us, Wednesday was one such day.  I was headed to a meeting two hours away, and was hoping to be home by dinner; Mr. Unwired was going to practice doing the Dinner Man thing without me.  The need was for simplicity, both for Mr. Unwired and for Dinner Man.

The plan started with a chili recipe came from Six O'Clock Scramble.  It was a good, solid recipe- I don't think it was revolutionary, but it was easy to make on Tuesday in the crockpot and leave for Dinner Man to warm on Wednesday.  And it's made from ingredients the kids recognize and should be willing to consume without a fuss.  But Dinner Man needed something to prepare, in order to get thatwarm fuzzy sense of accomplishment.  Hmmmmm......

Bring on the corn bread!

I found this recipe on Real Simple.  I cut it in half In order to bake it im my beloved silicone loaf pan), reduced the maple syrup (much to my kids dismay) and eliminated the extra butter/syrup drizzled on top at the end.  The original recipe is here- the picture shows a shiny top because of the topping; mine had more of a matte finish :-)  In general, my preference is to cut down the sugar the first time I make something; it can always be added back, but doing it in the reverse can lead to disappointment and tantrums (sometimes from me). 

Here's my version.  My seven year old did all the measuring and mixing, only asking for help holding the measuring cups while he did the pouring.  It came out great, and the leftovers make a great breakfast bread toasted with cream cheese!

Maple Corn Bread (adapted from Real Simple)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted and cooled
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup whole milk
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp maple syrup


Heat oven to 425° F. Butter a standard loaf pan (using additional butter not listed in the ingredients-- if you're out, use a neutral oil), or use a silicone pan and skip the butter.  

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the milk, eggs, maple syrup, and butter; whisk together the wet ingredients, then incorporate the dry ingredients until just combined (do not overmix).

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.

Happy balance to you and yours!

Banana Snacky Cookies

I love to bake for the kids lunches.  Of course, I just found out that one of my kids has been mooching snacks from his generous classmate.  It's hard to turn down goldfish crackers... that's the reason we don't have them in our house-- I would eat them ALL!

In packing snacks, sometimes its muffins, and sometimes it's cookies...  so here's a yummy cookie recipe!  It has fruit, fiber and protein, all in one delightful little nugget.  What's not to love?!

I freeze bananas that won't be eaten by the family-- peel and stash in the freezer in a plastic container.  Frozen mashed bananas separate as they defrost, and the liquid seeps out.  It's all fine to use, but it can make the batter a little soggy.  If that happens, add the extra 1/2 cup of oatmeal in order to balance out the recipe.

Banana Snacky Cookies
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 stick butter, softened
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
2-3 mashed ripe bananas ( 1 1/2 cup, more or less)
1 - 1 1/2 cup oatmeal
1 cup pecans, chopped

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flours, baking soda and spices.

3. In a smaller bowl, cream together butter and sugars.  Use a fork, no need to drag out the mixer.  When thoroughly mixed, add vanilla, egg and banana, mixing well.

4. Add wet ingredients to the flour mixture in the large bowl.   Add 1 cup oats and pecans, mixing to combine.  If the batter is very liquidy, add the extra 1/2 cup oats.

5. Scoop onto a parchment/silpat lined cookie sheet.  I use a small scooper (about 1 Tbsp/cookie), and do not flatten them out.  Since they don't spread, I can fit a lot on the cookie sheet.  Bake 10-12 minutes or until they are brown on top but not burned on the bottom.

Cupcake Mess

I love birthdays.  Not mine, of course.  Actually, mine aren't all bad, except for that whole 'getting older' thing.  For now, I'm working on the 'being fabulous' thing, and ignoring the aging. Not sure how long that will work, but so far, so good.

A few years back the kids realized that they got cupcakes on their birthday, but that their parents didn't.  Kind children that they are, they insisted that the adults should ahve cupcakes too.  Aren't they sweet?

Mr. Unwired's birthday just passed, and I bought the most fabulous cupcakes from a local bakery.  The flavors I picked with the help of the one of the kids (always good to have a co-conspirator)  were: Banana Split, Oreo Cookie, Plain with Sprinkles and S'mores.  S'mores was the best.  Plain with Sprinkles was for one of the kids who likes his flavors pure.

But this post wasn't intended to be one about the cupcakes I bought, but more about the ones I made.  I like to bake, and when there's a birthday, there are always people to share the spoils with.  That keeps one fabulous and not looking like the years are getting the best of us (or really, me). 

My inspiration is this delicious book.  Her first book was a gift from a friend, and this one came, uncharacteristically, from my mother.  I think she needed $10 extra on a order to get free shipping, and she knew I had the first book.  In any case, both gifts have been well used and much appreciated.   For Mr. Unwired's birthday party, I opened the book to 'Tie Dye Cupcakes' and never budged.  Since he is a child of the (later) 60s, I figured this was an appropriate homage.  And hey, they looked fun.

They were fun, but they were also a huge mess.  I've never been good at 'fill the tins 2/3 full', so these were too full and they spread into each other.

He's touching me!

Look at this mess!  I used a credit card to scrape off much of the goo between batches, and then used it after the second batch to make the clean-up a little easier.

Where's the kitchen staff when I need them?

Here 's what the second batch looked like-- batter in the pan, and M'n'Ms added.  This time, I followed the directions a little more closely and added more M'n'Ms than the first batch.  These were definitely better!

More chocolate = better cupcakes.  Who would have guessed?!

 Below is a photo of a fairly time consuming decoration... record albums!  You know, the round thing with a hole in the middle that you played on a 'record player?'  Many of our younger guests were very confused when they saw these black vinyl things spinning on a machine and music coming out of the speakers.  Weird!

Half a sandwich cookie, with a small bit of cookie filling rolled into a ball then flattened to make the label.  I added a dot of black frosting for the center hole, as seen in the last image.  Clever... yes?  Also crazy.

The final image.... Tie-Dye Cupcakes with Buttercream Icing, rolled in colored sugar and topped with a cookie 'record'.  Ooooooo,,,,  aaaaahhhhhhh.  Yum!

Dessert worthy of a music loving man and his record-playing party!

Punkana Coco-Bonanza Muffins

The name just makes me want to dance.  So imagine how pleased you will be when you bite into one of these delicious, chocolatey, gooey delights.

The name came from Mr. Unwired.  We were at the table eating the first batch of these when I asked for a name.  He led our kids on a riff of every ingredient in the muffins-- he's very creative that way.  Being a middle school English teacher is such a natural fit for him.  

The original recipe came from a magazine called Chop Chop.  Such a cool resource for cooking with kids, healthy eating and such.  I'm grateful this blog made me go back to their site, as it has grown a lot since I first subscribed to the magazine-- there's even a blog!  Subscribe to Chop Chop blog... check!

I love using my stand mixer for this, but there's no reason it wouldn't work if mixed by hand.  Make sure to mash the bananas thoroughly and to a liquid state to ensure a good result.

Punkana Coco-Bonanza Muffins
1 cup white whole wheat flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2  tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 ripe banana, peeled
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), melted and cooled
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup pecans, chopped

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix the flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda in a bowl and set aside (we use a large measuring cup for easy pouring later).

3. In a mixer, combine bananas, pumpkin and sugar and mix on low until thoroughly blended.  The mixture will be smooth and very liquid when done.

4. Add butter, eggs and vanilla and mix well.

5. Add 50% of the dry ingredients at a time.  Mixing well but not more than needed.  Fold in nuts by hand.

6. Fill paper/foil lined muffin cups about 2/3 full and bake for 35 minutes.  When done, a toothpick inserted into the muffin will come out dry.

Makes 18-20 gooey, chocolately muffins.  Just perfect with a glass of milk.

Please pass the milk.  No, I don't want to share.

Applesauce Muffins

Mmmmm.... snack time.  I had been planning on making these all week and finally got around to it this morning.  And then, one of the kids wanted one.  And he had to leave for camp soon.  He agreed to be a few minutes late in order to wait for these to come out of the oven and cool (slightly).  After scarfing it down with a mug of milk, he agreed that it was worth waiting for.  As the chef, I can say that it's always nice to be appreciated, and I'm glad he hung around.

This is an adaptation of a recipe from Jane Brody's Good Food Book.  I like that it's simple and made with ingredients that are easy to have on hand. Makes 12-15, depending on how much batter goes into each muffin cup.

Applesauce Muffins
1 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 large egg
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice (optional)
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1/4 cup turbinado sugar (optional)

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Line muffin tins with paper or foil cups and set aside.

2. In a small bowl, mix applesauce, egg, oil, vanilla and sugar.  Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, mix flours, baking powder and soda and spices.  Add applesauce mix and stir until almost combine.  Add in walnuts, and give it a few more stirs, until the ingredients are incorporated but not over-mixed.

4. Scoop muffin batter into prepared muffin pan (I use this to scoop), top each with a sprinkle of turbinado sugar, and bake 20 minutes.   The recipe is very moist, so the dry toothpick test can be tricky.  If needed, take the pan out of the oven and cut into a muffin to be sure that they are cooked.  As the chef, you are required to eat that 'damaged' muffin.  Oh darn.

Oatmeal Coco-Nutters

A rare recipe that I made almost entirely following the directions, and only changing one or two ingredients.  I never do that! 

These fall squarely into the 'yummy little treats' category.  Not dense enough to be called fudge, not thick enough to be cookies.  Kind of candy-like.  And good, definitely good.   I clipped this recipe as a part of my effort to give the kids something sweet in their lunch.  Parents seem to fall to one side or another on the treats/sweets continuum.  My mother was definitely no sweets... it was a shock for me to learn later in life that she was once known for a fantastic cheesecake recipe!  I never imagined my mom could make something so indulgent?!  On the other side of the spectrum are the kids whose lunches had Twinkes, Ho-Hos and all other sorts of mass produced dreck.  Yes, I felt deprived that I had no dreck, and spent many an allowance on candy from the deli on Governor Drive. 

As a parent, I am trying to save my kids from the candy binges of my childhood.  I try to include some treat in their lunch each day.  Might be a Hershey kiss, or a few chocolate covered berries, or something.  I make a lot of healthy-ish cookies and muffins for this effort too.  Hey, I like to bake and it means I get to eat some too!

This recipe, clipped from the Washington Post is in that vein.  Its not healthy per se, but there are a lot of worse things out there.  Isn't that what parenting is about... steering your kids away from the worst stuff?  And one recipe makes a ton of these little treats.  The crumbs left behind are delicious served over vanilla ice cream.  Mr. Unwired made an emergency ice cream run last night so we could test that scientific theory.  'Anything for science,' we always say!

The original:  http://projects.washingtonpost.com/recipes/2010/12/08/oatmeal-coco-nutters/

Oatmeal Coco-Nutters
2 cups sugar
1 stick (8 Tbsp) butter
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup whole or low fat milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups rolled oats (not quick cooking)
Pinch salt (do not omit- the recipe needs this)
1 cup chopped toasted almonds (could substitute other nuts or dried fruit)

1.  In a saucepan, combine sugar and butter until the butter is melted, stirring occassionally.  Stir in cocoa powder and milk (warning-- hot sugar is extremely hot, so add liquid slowly or reduce heat first to keep it from spattering like crazy).  When combined, increase heat to medium high and bring to just under a boil, so it looks like bubbly brown lava.  Remove from heat after five minutes.

2. Stir in the vanilla, then let the mixture cool for five minutes.  Stir in salt, oats and nuts and mix until everything is coated in cocoa goodness.

3. Using two teaspoons or a small scooper like this, scoop small spoonfulls of the gooeyness onto wax/parchment lined cookie sheets.  Leave them as balls or lumps- flat pieces will crumble in the lunch box later.  They can be close together on the sheet, since they won't spread as they cool. 

4.  Place in the fridge to harden for an hour or so.  They can be stored at room temperature- I prefer to put them in a large Ziploc bag in the freezer- the extra chill time gives them a better chance to hold together before lunchtime.  Who am I kidding... they probably get eaten in the gym before school!

Zucchini Muffins

If it's summer, it must be Zucchini Muffins!  I got 4 huge ones from Washingtons Green Grocer, who deliver fresh produce to my doorstep year round.  Since signing up for their service, we eat a greater variety of fresh fruits and veggies, and there's always have something fresh in the house.  If you're in the DC area, give them a try!

Most of my baked goods have nuts for added protein and stick-to-your-ribs-nitude.  I add the chocolate chips as an lure to get the kids interested.  If you have allergies in the home or choose to abstain from nuts or chocolate, try raisins.

Zucchini Muffins
Adapted from Jane Brody's Good Food Book, from 1985.  My mother gifted me a copy in my 20s when I first started to express an interest in cooking.  1 Tbsp oil and 1 Tbsp water are a substitute for an egg white (I can never find a good use for the yolk).  Make 12.

3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
3/4 cup white flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice (or substitute nutmeg)
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp water
1 large egg
2 Tbsp melted butter
1 1/4 cup grated zucchini
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chocolate chips (or use extra walnuts)

1. Heat oven to 350F.  In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flours, sugar, baking powder/soda and spices).  Mix well and set aside.

2. In a second bowl, mix together oil, water, egg, butter and vanilla.  Add in zucchini, and mix well.

3. Add zucchini mixture to dry ingredients and mix until combined.  Fold in nuts and chips- don't overmix.

4. Scoop into lined muffin tins (much easier then greasing and cleaning them after!), about 1/3 cup each.  Bake 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out dry.

The first post - Banana Bran Muffins

This blog will cover my two lives... technology at work, and food and kids at home. Okay, maybe a bit on marriage and family too.

To start, my New Year's resolution was all about cooking. I love to cook, but don't often have the focus to pick new recipes, shop for them and then find the time to cook. Add to that the stack of recipes I've clipped and printed over the years, things I wanted to try (wow, my tastes have changed a lot through the years, but that's a post for another day). Don't get me wrong- I work from home enough to make this all possible if I focused on it.

My resolution was to try one new recipe a week. After all, my family loves to eat, and they enjoy a variety of foods. I was doing pretty well with it for a time, but I fell off the wagon. And then I got back on the wagon, but forgot to write down what I was cooking. Hence, a blog. My cookbook folders- one paper, one online- include the majority of recipes I've already cooked this year, and those will get added in as time permits. But for now, the muffin recipe I made Monday... Banana Bran Muffins.

An aside about my family... my mother has an unhealthy attachment to wheat germ. Toasted Kretchmer's Wheat Germ, to be exact. My SIL noted once that my mom could add wheat germ to just about any recipe. And Mom's a really good cook, so you'd never even notice all the vitamins coursing through her lasagne compliments of the wheat germ (okay, I made that up... I think). I've inherited that attachment to wheat germ, and much to my husband's dismay, my kids are catching on to it. They won't eat oatmeal without add a few spoonfuls of wheat germ! How does this relate to the recipe, you ask? I used toasted wheat germ instead of the wheat bran the recipe called for. It's nutty and delicious, and even more, always stocked in our fridge. I also skipped the chocolate chips (this time at least) and used a whole cup of chopped walnuts stirred into the batter. One more note- these were done baking in 25 minutes, and were moister than my usual muffins. That might be attributable to the cooking time (usually, I bake muffins for 30 minutes) or it's the moisty yummy goodness of the buttermilk and banana combo. Either way, this one's a hit.

If you don't keep buttermilk in the house, it's easy to make a substitution out of milk and vinegar. Or, buy a quart of buttermilk and store the extra in 1 cup containers in the freezer. Works great!

The recipe is here; use the changes above to have a really fabulous outcome: www.eatingwell.com/recipes/banana_bran_muffins.html