i've found my calling

What is it, you ask? Apparently, I have an innate talent for using baby food in baking. (Actually, now that I think about it, perhaps my innate talent is laziness and this is my way of accommodating for that. Hmm.) Anyway, if you'll recall, I first tried it with carrots and carrot cake, and now I've gone and done it with bananas.



I love banana bread. It's always so moist and flavorful. Unfortunately, I rarely have bananas lying around that I consider to be past their prime. You see, folks, to me, these bananas are practically perfect for eating:


Ergo, I don't usually have any bananas with which to bake. When I saw some banana baby food on the take-home table at work, I had an epiphany and snagged it with some yummy banana bread in mind.


I wanted something different than your everyday, typical banana bread. Muffins were an obvious choice, as I've become obsessed with my mini muffin tin. I've had some chocolate-covered ginger pieces in my cabinet for quite some time (they were a Christmas gift from Big Brother...), and I decided that they might be a nice addition to some of the muffins, or at least make them unique.


Results: Aside from a slightly different texture, these muffins are just as moist and delicious as normal banana bread muffins. The bonus is that I saved at least 5 minutes of peeling and mashing time. I know, I know--kudos to me, right? The chocolate-covered ginger bits are quite the nice surprise--crunchy and zingy. Ginger's no cinnamon, but it ain't half bad.


See the unsheathed ginger? What a thing of beauty.

Speaking of ginger, one of our dogs back home in Virginia is named Ginger.


Isn't she a cutie?

Bonus! This is my submission to Not Quite Nigella's Banana Bread Bake off.


Baby-fied Banana Bread Muffins
(adapted from Joy of Baking)
(makes 24 baby baby-fied banana bread muffins + 6 regular-sized muffins)

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 cups banana baby food
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 cup chocolate-covered ginger pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place the oven rack in the middle of the oven. Line muffin tins with paper cups.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and white chocolate. Set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the pureed bananas, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, lightly fold the wet ingredients (banana mixture) into the dry ingredients until just combined and batter is thick and chunky. (The important thing is not to over mix the batter. You do not want it smooth. Over mixing the batter will yield tough, rubbery muffins, which is bad.) Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins. Bake about 20 - 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool for five minutes and then remove muffins from pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.


(Look at that hunk o' brown sugar. Guess I didn't mix so well...)

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we have the fruits.

I've been on a real banana bread tear lately and obviously can never be convinced that I've achieved banana bread perfection.

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if you can't have a cuddly pet...

...a sourdough starter's the next best thing. I've neglected him more often than I care to admit (perhaps I'm not ready for the aforementioned cuddly pet...), but Eb is still getting it done for me. His latest achievement? Banana nut bread.


Even though I often claim to never have bananas too ripe to eat, it's been unavoidable with all the traveling I've been doing lately.


(banana goo, anyone?)

So, I decided to kill two birds with one stone--I satisfied my hunger for homemade banana bread and made use of Mr. Ebenezer.

In looking for a recipe, I kept coming across the same one and therefore assumed (correctly, as luck would have it) that it must be a winner. I made a few additions [cinnamon (of course), nutmeg, and cashews] and went the mini-loaf route rather than making one big brick of bread. The less time the oven is on in this heat, the better.

The end result was quite different from your typical banana bread--the sourdough flavor really added a unique and interesting component to it. The next time the fates align and I have both banana goo and a hungry starter simultaneously, you'd better believe I'll be making this bread.


Spectacular Sourdough Banana Nut Bread
(based on this recipe)

1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 cup mashed banana (aka banana goo)
1 cup Eb
2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (we wouldn't want it to overpower the cinnamon, now would we?)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup chopped cashews
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar; add the egg and mix until blended. Mix in banana goo and Eb. Stir in vanilla.
In a separate bowl, stir together flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and baking soda.
Add flour mixture and cashews to the wet ingredients, stirring until just blended.
Pour into greased 9 x 5-inch loaf pan or mini loaf pan.
Bake for 1 hour (about 35 minutes for mini loaves) or until toothpick comes out clean.
Slather with peanut butter (AWESOME suggestion, Elle!) or strawberry jam or just stick your face into a loaf and chew.

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the ones you know by heart

Most of us have recipes we've made so many times that we know them backwards and forwards and could probably carry them out blindfolded and with one hand tied behind the back. I have several of those, and this is one I can't believe I haven't shared.

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rotten luck, rotten plants

My family is full of green-thumbed gardeners, and they all told us* we were nuts to nurture five squash plants for two people. They might've been right, but we'll never know.

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languish no more!

It's inevitable that even the most loyal banana-eater will end up with one or two of the suckers that're just too mushy to eat. You know what I mean--they practically turn to liquid in your hand. When that happens, I usually turn to banana bread (as evidenced here and here...and here and here)(good grief). This time, however, I went for something far more daring...


...banana bars.

I know what you're thinking--"Someone get a straight jacket for that gal--she's out of control!" Although I may, in fact, need a straight jacket, it's probably not because I've departed from trusty ol' banana bread. :)


I first spotted these bars on Melanie's all-around fabulous and reliable blog My Kitchen Cafe. I remember thinking at the time that I'd never before seen such a moist and fluffy banana concoction, and I was right. The moistness of this cake is almost unreal. Granted, I used two heaping cups of banana, but I suspect that the tender, melt-in-your-mouth quality would be present regardless.


Yes, smothering the bars with my almond butter ice cream was definitely a good idea.

I sprinkled some leftover granola across the unbaked bars--I thought it would give a nice contrasting texture (and would get rid of said leftover granola). I also added some ginger to the batter, which, in retrospect, was a regrettable decision. Why, you ask? The plain and simple truth is that ginger can't hold a candle to my beloved cinnamon.


The last change I made was to top the bars with an easy glaze (powdered sugar, water, vanilla, and a bit more ginger), and it was...pretty nice. The moral of this story is that if I was in love with ginger, these bars would be perfection. Meh, I guess that just gives me a reason to make them again.

The-Moistness-Knows-No-End Banana Bars
(adapted from this recipe)

½ cup butter, softened
1 ½ cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ginger
2 cups mashed bananas
1 cup granola

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 10x15-inch jellyroll pan or one 9x13-inch pan and an additional 8x8-inch pan. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then beat in the sour cream, vanilla, and mashed bananas. Combine the flour, baking soda, ginger, and salt in a medium bowl; stir into the batter. Spread evenly into the prepared pan(s) and sprinkle granola across the top of the batter. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

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new and different! #giveaway

Banana ginger jam. I like banana bread as much as the next person. In fact, I've been known to buys bananas solely for that purpose rather than wait for some to go uneaten.

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bananarama

Banana bread is a delicious, easy, and versatile treat, you'll get no argument from me on that. However, sometimes bananas deserve a fate just a little bit more decadent.

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monkeyin' around

Have you ever wondered why monkeys are so commonly associated with bananas? I have. I mean, it's not like they don't eat other things, like spiders.


Now before you say anything, yes, I baked. You didn't expect me to quit completely, did you? This time, I didn't share with my immediate co-workers but instead took the goodies to another department. The reactions I received from those folks were much more favorable, and who knows--maybe word will get back to my office area and jealousy will ensue. Maybe there'll even be an inter-departmental battle for my delicious treats.

Maybe not.


Moving on. I had some bananas loitering in my freezer that I really wanted to use. I initially wanted to make monkey bars so I could segue into my love of that particular playground apparatus. (I could really fly across those suckers.) In the end, however, I chose to go with a bread, using an ice cream concoction from Cold Stone Creamery as my inspiration. Their creation is called "Monkey Bites," and it combines banana ice cream with pecans, coconut, Nestle crunch bar, and bananas.


So I ask again--what does it have to do with monkeys? Rabbits also apparently love bananas, so why can't it be called Bunny Bites? This is the kind of stuff that keeps me awake at night.

But I digress. The base recipe is for peanut butter banana bread, and I simply added chocolate chips and pecans into the batter, and coconut on top (of some). Voila--mission complete.


These are not your typical muffins or bread. The batter was extremely stiff--in fact, I truly believe I could've made cookies out of it. This was further validated by the fact that the spoonfuls (there was certainly no pouring to be done) didn't spread at all in the muffin cups--their shape was exactly the same before and after baking. That's not to say the result wasn't delicious--it was. It was just a bit more dense and cookie-ish than I expected.

No worries--I'll bet neither monkeys nor rabbits would turn it down.


Monkey Muffins and Bunny Bread
(modified from here)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3-4 ripe large bananas, mashed (approximately 1 1/2 cups)
1 cup milk
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup pecans, chopped
1/4 cup coconut, toasted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line or spray a muffin tin, loaf pan, or other suitable baking vessel.

In a large bowl, stir together the flours, sugars, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, combine the mashed bananas, milk, peanut butter, oil, vanilla, and egg (I blended mine with a mixer). Add the wet mixture to the flour mixture, stirring until just combined. Toss the chocolate chips and pecans with a bit of flour and stir into the thick, thick batter.

Spoon the batter into the prepared dish. Bake about 15 minutes for mini muffins and about 30 minutes for mini loaves, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Try not to overbake.

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a rare pair

It occurred to me recently (in the middle of the night, if you must know) that I've never eaten, seen, or created anything combining bananas and cranberries. (Another middle-of-the-night poser: Why do we have electrons, neutrons, and protons? Why not protrons?)(Yes, my mind is a scary place, and yes, I'm a science nerd.)


I've been looking for ways to incorporate thick, luscious Greek yogurt (all Oikos, all the time) into my baking, so when I had a few bananas reach the brink of liquefaction, I decided a banana bread was in order. Recalling my concern about the lack of banana-cranberry recipes, I felt that a healthy amount of the little red gems was an essential addition.


Nooks and crannies and cranberries, oh my!

The result? A moist, fragrant, bespeckled bread full of flavor and healthful benefits. So why haven't the sweet, ripe banana and tart, chewy cranberry ever been united in baked bliss? It seems like it should be a good match, and indeed it is.

Cranana Bread
(adapted from this recipe)

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 1/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
4 bananas, mashed
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan or a tray of mini-loaf molds.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars. Beat in the eggs, mashed bananas, yogurt, and vanilla. Mix in the cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and flours. Stir in the dried cranberries. Divide appropriately into prepared pan(s) and bake for 70 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

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banana bar bungle

I've officially lost my kitchen mojo.


After my devastating brownie debacle, it took me awhile to get geared up to bake again. However, when I had several bananas take a turn for the worse, I decided to bite the bullet and get back into the kitchen.

I’d seen these black bottom banana bars on quite a few of my favorite blogs, so I gamely picked them to try. Other than tossing a few chocolate chips into banana bread or diving into a frozen chocolate-covered bananner, I can’t think of a time when I’ve eaten chocolate and banana together.

So what happened this time? Two things--a)I used too much banana, and b)I took the bars out of the oven way too soon. Once again, the middle was sticky and wet, and by the time I realized this, the bars were cooled.


Dang distractions.

I know it’s wrong to pop a cake that has already cooled down back into the oven, but I figured I didn’t have anything to lose. I set the oven to 250F and walked away. When I remembered that I had done this an hour later, I pulled them out. There didn't seem to be much difference.

Knowing that my co-workers will eat just about anything, I persevered and cut out the parts that were cooked through. I refused to waste another batch of ingredients. To my great relief, the bars were inhaled, and more people than usual went out of their way to compliment me. Isn’t that always the way? Toil, labor, and sweat over something and it’s hardly appreciated. Barely exert any effort at all and everyone is beside themselves with appreciation and delight.


Sigh. Maybe these kitchen blunders are Dorie's way of getting back at me for disliking her cake. Are her powers that strong?

Badly-Behaved Black Bottom Banana Bars
(now THAT'S some alliteration for ya)
(based on this recipe)

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 13x9-inch pan.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg, vanilla, and bananas and beat until thoroughly combined. Separately combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add this to creamed mixture and mix well. Divide the batter in half. Add the cocoa to half, blend well, and spread into the prepared pan. Spoon the remaining batter on top and swirl with a knife. Sprinkle with the chocolate chips. Bake for 30 minutes or until the bars test done. Cool completely before cutting.

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get ova it

How many recipes for banana bread do you think are in existence? I hypothesize that there are no less than 82,926.


Some recipes are generous with the banana mush, some are skimpy. Some use nuts, some use chocolate, some use caramel, some use dried fruit. Some use special flours and some are eggless. And on it goes.

I recently tried two of those 82,926 recipes, one out of curiosity and one out of necessity.

Batch #1 was made from a recipe that had been reviewed by almost 5000 cooks, nearly all of whom gave it a five-star rating. Clearly, I needed to see what all the fuss was about.


Yes, it's a tasty banana bread, but the beauty lies in its simplicity. Ten ingredients (I added cinnamon, walnuts, and raisins) come together in no time flat--the most tedious part is waiting for it to bake.

Batch #2 was made in exactly the same way, but with one glaring difference. Halfway through the process, I discovered that I had no eggs, so I improvised. According to the worldwide spider's nest, there are many, many substitutions for an egg. I picked a flax seed-water combination mostly because I had sincere doubts that it could replicate the function of the egg.


I was right. This batch was much, much, much more flat and dense. Still tasty, of course, but without the desirable fluffy quality of batch #1.

Two down, 82,924 to go.

Last year at this time, I was feasting on some Aloha Dollies. Talk about your fond memories...

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it isn't dead, it's just resting

Chivalry, that is.

I definitely don't want to get into any sort of conversation about feminism (and people who know me might suggest that I usually don't want to get into any sort of conversation at all...), though I might be dancing around the topic a bit in this post. You've been warned.

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boosted breakfast #CarnationBreakfastEssentials

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CarnationBreakfastEssentials #CollectiveBias #sponsored

I've never been a breakfast-skipper. At least, I can't remember ever doing it, unless something major intervened.

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ayples and banaynays

Remember that song? I'm not crazy, I promise--there is a song.


Moving on. I made another sourdough bread, complete with a special ingredient and a smidge of a disappointment.

I had high hopes for this bread. Bananas, apples, banana-peach-applesauce. That sourdough twang. Cinnamon. Awesome. And truth be told, it does taste magnificent...if you can get it to your mouth.


Yeah, it's crumbly. Quite crumbly. My slices (cut waaaay too thin) practically disintegrated upon contact. I attribute this to two things. First of all, the fat involved is shortening, which I should've known isn't the best at holding things together based on my experiences with it in pie dough. Secondly, I forgot to rehydrate the dried apples, so they undoubtedly sucked out a lot of the moisture that should've been present.


How misleadingly sturdy it looks.

These belated epiphanies aside, I think I'll try this recipe again. The flavor's there, dang it. However, I won't make the same mistakes, and I might go with muffins instead of loaves.

Ayple and Banaynay Bread
(adapted from this recipe)

1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 banana, mashed
1/2 cup applesauce (I used Beech-nut Homestyle Peaches, Apples & Bananas)(go team!)
1 cup sourdough starter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup dried cinnamon apples, rehydrated and drained well

Preheat oven to 350F and grease whatever pan you'll be using.
In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar, add the egg and mix until blended. Beat in the banana, applesauce, sourdough starter, and vanilla. In a smaller bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Add the flour mixture and diced apples to the wet ingredients, stirring until just blended. Pour into pan of choice, whether it be a 9x5" loaf pan or a tray of mini-loaf molds. Bake for 1 hour for one big loaf, 35-40 minutes for mini loaves, or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before attempting to slice.

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pudd'nhead

My respect for the Amish has just risen, and it's all due to an idea that may or may not have even started with them.


I know you've heard of Amish Friendship Bread, the chain letter of the baking world. Although I don't have the actual starter used for such breads, I do have Eb, and he hasn't let me down yet.

The most exciting thing for me about this notion of Amish Friendship Bread isn't the fact that you're supposed to pass some starter on to friends and neighbors. Nope, what thrills and interests me is the fact that pudding mix is involved in the recipe.

Does it add moistness or bulk, or is it merely there for a little extra flavor? After one go-round, my theory is that it's there for all of the above reasons. The bread is definitely moist and dense, more so than what I usually find in my sourdough breads. Further, the flavor provided by the pudding mix (coconut cream, in this fabulous case) was the best part of the final product as far as I'm concerned.


Good googa mooga...literally.

Heck, just think of the variations here! This time, I used coconut cream pudding, macadamia nuts, and white chocolate chips. Next time, I'd like to try butterscotch pudding with toffee bits and dark chocolate. There's banana cream pudding, oreo pudding, pistachio pudding, lemon pudding, white chocolate pudding, cheesecake pudding. So many nuts, so many baking chips, so many possibilities. Just thrilling.

This particular version was amazing--it disappeared so quickly at work that for a moment, I was afraid someone had just gone ahead and dumped it all in the trash (what can I say, that's the way my mind works). The macadamias provided a nice salty crunch, and the white chocolate chips were there for a pleasant burst of sweetness. As I'm a big fan of coconut (not only eating it, but also smelling like it--I consider it a wonderful incentive to wear sunscreen), the fact that its subtle but distinct flavor permeated the loaf was the best part for me.

Say...do the Amish even use store-bought pudding mixes?

Tropical Friendship Bread
(personalized from this recipe)

1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup applesauce (I used Beech-nut Homestyle Cinnamon, Raisins & Pears)
1/2 cup milk
1 cup sourdough starter
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 (3.4 oz) boxes instant coconut cream pudding
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts
1 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325F. Grease down whatever molds you intend to use (I filled up 8 mini loaves).
In a large bowl, mix the oil, applesauce, eggs, milk, starter, vanilla, and sugar.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, pudding mix, nuts, and chips. Add this to the liquid mixture and stir thoroughly.
Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake until done. Apparently, this takes at least an hour for regular loaves, and took around 45 minutes for my mini loaves. Cool completely before slicing.

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my bread and butter

Bread and butter pickles. Cucumber overload!

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corny bread for a corny gal

There are oodles of blog events out there, but one of the very best that I've found is Taste & Create. Its premise is that each blogger is paired with another and asked to recreate a recipe from his or her blog. It’s a brilliant way to introduce a person to a new blog and a new recipe (or two)(or twelve).


For this go-round (XVI, for those of you keeping track), I was paired with Min of The Bad Girl’s Kitchen. Finding just one recipe to replicate was not an easy task--her blog is loaded with a variety of tasty dishes. It came down to deciding between the Blueberry Cornbread and the Grilled Rosemary Garlic Pork Tenderloin. Taking into consideration the sour milk, almost-expired cornmeal, and gorgeous frozen blackberries in my possession, I finally opted for the cornbread.

Mark Twain once said: "Perhaps no bread in the world is quite as good as Southern cornbread, and perhaps no bread in the world is quite so bad as the Northern imitation of it."

To that I say yowza.


I also should mention that I'm a corny person. I love puns and corny jokes--anything eliciting an eye-roll or groan is a winner in my book. Some food-related favorites:

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
A boiled egg in the morning is hard to beat.
The butcher backed up into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.
Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead to know basis.

Enough of the fluff--the cornbread was an excellent choice. The texture imparted by the cornmeal really stood out. I followed Min's recipe pretty closely, only substituting blackberries for blueberries. Also, I poured my batter into mini-muffin and mini-loaf trays.

Before you ask, no, I did not add cinnamon. :)


I highly recommend participating in Taste & Create, and checking out The Bad Girl’s Kitchen.

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fridge find

It's a challenge for me to be creative. Some people can naturally come up with magical, surprising, clever, and innovative concoctions as well as amazing execution and presentation of said concoctions, but not this gal. I need to be prompted.

To make matters worse, I get bored easily--I like a little variation in the things I bake. So it's a vicious cycle--I want to make and eat new combinations of flavors, but I can't come up with them. Vicious, I tell you.

My latest inspiration came in the form of some primordial ancient archaic old caramel dipping sauce lingering in the deep recesses of the fridge. What to do with this thickened and gloppy goop? I daren't actually use it as a dip--that'd be just asking for trouble. I opted for mixing it into a muffin batter, as I'm wont to do.

These turned out better than I ever could've hoped. There was just enough caramel flavor to be detectable, and the crumb was moist yet cohesive.

I got some rave reviews from a couple of handfood connoisseurs, so I think I might be on to something with this use for aged caramel dipping sauce. The only problem is that I have to wait another year or two for a tub to reach the ideal point of almost-rankness.

Close-to-Crusty Caramel Banana Bread
(based loosely on this recipe)

2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup caramel sauce or topping
2 bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350F.
Lightly grease a muffin, mini-loaf, or 9x5-inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, stir together the melted butter and sugar. Stir in the eggs, caramel, mashed bananas, and vanilla until well-blended. Stir this banana mixture into the flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Fold in the pecans and pour or spoon the batter into prepared pan.
Bake for 18-20 minutes for muffins, 25-30 minutes for mini-loaves, or 60-70 minutes for a large loaf, or until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean.

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the only thing irish about these...

...is the color of the frosting. Sad. And here's a question--why is green associated with St. Patrick's Day anyway? Anybody? Bueller? Bueller?


[Hey, speaking of Matthew Broderick (aka Ferris Bueller), his father was of Irish descent! So that makes two weak links to Ireland in this post!]

I make no bones about the fact that I'm extremely uncreative, and this is just further proof of that. I wanted to make something for St. Patrick's Day and use my sourdough starter (known fondly as Eb) at the same time, and this is the best I could do.


Meh, whatever. The end result is delicious. And speckled. AND if I happen to forget to wear green today, I can just smear some frosting on my face and avoid getting pinched (and have a snack for later).

Rainbow Banana Bread
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup mashed banana
1 cup sourdough starter
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips and M&Ms, dusted with flour

Peanut Butter Frosting (drool) + a drop or two of green food coloring

Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin tin and/or spray loaf pan(s).
In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, egg, bananas, sourdough starter, and vanilla. In a smaller bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture, stirring just until blended. Fold in the chocolate and spoon into muffin cups (or loaf pan). Bake for about 20 minutes (30 minutes for mini loaves) or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

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