Change direction?

I feel as though lately my blog is less about traveling and more about food. Maybe that is because we haven't traveled much lately... or maybe it is because I love to cook. More than likely it is a little bit of both. I do really love to cook, find new recipes, and experiment with new ingredients. This is one of the reasons that I really enjoy France. It is a challenge. There are no shortcuts here- no boxed dinners, no cans of condensed soup, no cake mixes, no muffin mixes. Everything is from scratch. It is definitely a learning process and a lesson in patience. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am not patient at all. I hate to wait and I am not a fan of delayed gratification. (Which is probably why my cookie dough is always short a few cookies before they even make it to the oven.)

One of the foods that I really miss from the states is muffins. There is something about a warm, straight from the oven muffin that just wakes me up and makes me wish for a good cappuccino. Mom has been kind enough to ship over a few muffin mixes and we always use them within 2 weeks of arrival. Because of this, I am always on the lookout for muffin recipes. I have tried several... most do not turn out. My blueberry muffins don't have enough sugar.. or they turn out purple (Really, they looked like something from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).. or they just aren't "right". But finally, I have found a good banana nut muffin! Perfect and brown on top, light and banana-y on the inside. Oh so tasty for breakfast! (Or any other time for that matter.)

The blog/website that I have pulled this from has become a recent favorite. They have a great variety of recipes and anything I have tried has tasted fantastic. Highly recommend it!

Banana Nut Muffins Recipe

Ingredients

3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tbsp espresso or strong coffee (optional)
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cup of flour ( I used 3/4 cup each plain flour and whole wheat flour)
1 cup chopped walnuts (toasted or raw) (I subbed pecans)

Method

No need for a mixer with this recipe.
1 Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl.
2 Mix in the sugar, egg, espresso and vanilla.
3 Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in.
4 Add the flour, mix until it is just incorporated. Fold in the chopped walnuts.
5 Pour mixture into a prepared muffin tin. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Check for doneness with a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin. If it comes out clean, it's done. Cool on a rack.
Makes 12 muffins.

Click here to visit Simply Recipes
and here for a link to the original recipe