back in black

It's been far too long since Eb made an appearance, wouldn't you say? Never fear, he's still alive and kicking, and he's currently contributing to some very moist and magnificent muffins.


I've found that you sure don't come across the combination of bananas and blackberries very often, and that's too bad. The sweetness of the bananas nicely balances the tart, tart, tarty-tart blackberries. Throw in some of that tangy sourdough flavor, and you have a real winner on your hands (and in your mouth)(but hey--not on your hips).

Added bonus: Blackberries have a knack for making foods right purty, too.


Blackberry Banana Muffins
(adapted from this recipe)

1 1/2 cup banana baby food (ah, perks...)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sourdough starter
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blackberries

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease or line your baking vessel or choice (I used a mini-muffin tin and a mini-loaf pan. Apparently mini = marvelous.) Mix the oil into the bananas in a large mixing bowl. Add in the sugar, egg, vanilla, and starter. Stir in the flour, salt, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the blackberries, and stir until just incorporated. Divide the mixture into the prepared pan(s). For mini-muffins, bake for about 20 minutes. For mini-loaves, bake for about 25 minutes. For loaves, bake for about 1 hour. Rely on the toothpick test. My yield was 24 mini-muffins and 6 very short and squat mini-loaves.