I love weekend mornings.
All week I’m running around, trying to get out the door by 7 a.m. Weekday breakfasts consist of granola bars, or cereal, or yogurt…anything quick and portable. But weekend breakfasts are much different.
I like a slow start to a weekend day. I wake up early, but there’s no way I’m scarfing down breakfast on the weekend or hurrying to make a meal. I take my time. I’ll brew a large pot of coffee and let the aroma linger in the kitchen and float through the house for a good half hour before I even pour myself a cup. And my coffee is always served black; no fillers or flavor-maskers necessary for this java-loving gal.
And as the smell of freshly-brewed coffee lingers around me, I prepare a lovely breakfast. The kind of breakfast you served to your stuffed animals at your little tea party when you were a five-year-old girl. And even if I’m making breakfast just for myself, I still take the time to make something special.
Sometimes I make pancakes. Light and fluffy, speckled with blueberries or bananas, and always made with whole grain flours and natural sweeteners and a touch of vanilla extract. Top it off with a drizzle of real maple syrup and a sprinkling of toasted nuts, and that’s perfection right there. Perfection by pancakes.
Sometimes I make oatmeal, especially on brisk Autumn days and rainy, gray mornings. My oatmeal starts out just as plain-Jane as me. But by the time I sit down to enjoy my meal-in-a-bowl, you better believe I’ve spoiled and adorned my oats with perfectly-delicious accompaniments. Sometimes, it just needs some raisins, walnuts, and cinnamon. Sometimes it needs a sprinkling of something special, maybe ground flax seeds, maybe dried coconut flakes, or maybe brown sugar. And sometimes, my oatmeal needs the works. I’m talking extra dried fruit and nuts mixed in and a topping of roasted apples coated with maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. Oatmeal warms my belly and my heart.
Sometimes I make eggs. This doesn’t happen that often. I usually crave sweet-somethings in the morning. But every once in awhile, I’ll get a hankering for some savory, protein-rich eggs. And when this happens, I take out my little sauté pan and get to work. I’ll often just simply scramble them and enjoy with a piece of buttered toast. Other times I’ll prepare a feast of fillings (sautéed veggies, chopped fresh herbs, grated cheeses) and go omelet-crazy. Sometimes I grease my muffin tins and make fancy mini-frittatas. And sometimes, all you need is a fried egg propped onto a crisp English muffin with a little bit of cheese, and voila. An eggcellent breakfast, if I do say so myself.
This morning I was feeling extremely sluggish. Maybe it was the hours I spent in the sun yesterday. Or maybe it was waking up to a perfectly-quiet rainy morning (after weeks of dry summer heat and no rain!). Whatever the reason, I embraced it and did something I rarely do in the morning. I think I went a little nuts. I was feeling ambitious. I was feeling hungry. This morning, I baked muffins.
Not just any muffins. My FAVORITE muffins. That’s a bold statement, especially for me. Anyone who personally knows me, knows that I am the muffin-queen. I am obsessed with all things bready, cupcake-sized, and sweet. And so, for me to choose a favorite muffin is almost beyond my realm of reality. But I did it anyway. Right now, I am stamping a big FAVORITE sticker onto this recipe, which I developed all by myself might I add.
So what makes these muffins my favorite? Well, to start off, they are completely delicious and everything a muffin should be—moist on the inside, bready and warm, speckled with flavor, and topped off with a thin, hard golden brown crust. Furthermore, they are good for you. I actually developed this recipe for a retreat center, and people young and old gobbled up these yummy delights. They are vegan (dairy-free and egg-free), but you can make them non-vegan if you’d like (check the variations to the recipe below).
Boy was I glad that I made these muffins today. When they came out of the oven, I put one on a fancy little plate and served myself a cup of homemade chai (I was feeling really crazy today; I decided to forgo my usual java-fix for a mug of chai tea). Then I sat at the computer, reading my daily dose of food blogs (that’s how I like to spend my weekend mornings) and listening to this appropriately-enough titled song “Banana Pancakes” by Jack Johnson.
What an inspiring morning. The combo of delicious banana muffins with homemade chai and the Banana Pancakes song motivated me to start a blog. Welcome friends! I look forward to sharing more about my life and recipes, and I can’t wait to hear all about you.
With love,
Dani the Foodie
My Favorite Banana Muffins
Makes 18 mini-muffins
Ingredients:
Canola Cooking Spray or Vegetable Oil for greasing the tins
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
5-6 tablespoons cold water
½ cup plain almond milk or soy milk or regular milk
½ tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup turbinado sugar OR sucanat OR florida crystals
¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 medium ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup optional stir-ins (i.e. nuts, dried fruit, and/or chocolate chips)
Brown sugar topping (optional)
Procedure:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin tins.
Mix ground flax with water in small bowl; set aside. In another small bowl, combine milk and lemon juice; set aside.
In small bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
In medium-sized bowl, beat sugar, oil, applesauce, reserved flax water, and vanilla. Alternately and gradually add flour mixture and soured milk into wet ingredients in 3 separate additions. Gently stir in bananas and any stir-ins you are using.
Use small cookie scoop to pour batter into mini muffin tin. Sprinkle brown sugar over the muffins before baking (optional).
Bake 20-30 minutes and let cool in pan before serving.
Recipe Variations:
Omit the all-purpose flour, and use 2 cups whole wheat flour instead. Spelt flour would also work well in this recipe.
Omit the vegetable oil, and use 1 cup applesauce for a fat-free version of the recipe.
Add a pinch or two of spice. Ground cinnamon or nutmeg would be great options.
Replace the ground flax seeds and cold water mixture with 2 eggs. Add the eggs with the wet ingredients.
No comments:
Post a Comment