Banana Rum Muffins

Ever buy a bunch of bananas and have every intent on eating them, but then days go by and they seem to languish on your counter? I personally believe that's why banana bread recipes were invented....to use up the over ripe bananas. Because let's face it, the texture of super ripe, mushy bananas in your mouth is not the most appealing. Mashed up on toast? Sure. Pureed in a blender with milk and honey? Of course. But eating on their own while they squish through your fingers trying to hold onto them? No thanks.

This morning I made some Banana Rum Muffins. My mom can not have a lot of nuts (potassium rich foods are on her "in moderation list" for kidney disease), so I left out the toasted walnuts. You could use other nuts such as hazelnuts or pecans. Toasting them in the oven before chopping them up really brings out their flavour.

Banana Rum Nut Muffins

1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 large bananas, mashed (be sure the bananas are really ripe)
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 tbsp dark rum (or 1 tbsp rum extract)
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup nuts (pecans, walnuts or hazelnuts), toasted and chopped

In a large bowl, combine the flour. baking powder, baking soda and salt. If you are going to use nuts in this recipe, add those in now and coat with dry ingredients. Form into a well and set aside.

In another bowl, stir together the mashed banana, sugar, egg, rum and melted butter. Pour the liquid mixture into the center of the dry ingredient well and mix until just combined and dry ingredients are moistened.

Fill muffin cups 3/4 full with batter. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes (12-15 minutes for mini muffins. Remove from oven when tops of muffins spring back when touched. Allow to cool in pan on wire cooling rack for 10 minutes before removing from pan.

We had some of these warm with hot earl grey tea before heading out to run errands. It was especially foggy here and we were not looking forward to having to go outside. So it was nice to linger for a moment and enjoy the warmth of the muffins and the tea, which gave us a little bit of a push to start our day.

Hope you enjoy!

ah . .honey, honey

I remember growing up that honey was used in our house in many ways. It was used in baking and making honey granola as well as spread on hot toast with butter. A spoonful of honey found its way into my morning tea. When we had a sore throat, a teaspoon of honey was a soothing and welcome treat. Honey mixed with oatmeal and some warm water makes a great natural face scrub.

There are more than 300 known honey varieties, each with it’s own distinctive flavour. Many of these are produced in North America. Some have stronger, more pronounced flavours while others are milder and more delicate. When a person says that they don’t like the taste of honey, it could very well be that they have only tried one variety and not enjoyed that particular flavour. In general, honey that is light in color has a mild flavor and the ones with a darker color usually have strong flavor.

The main reason for the large number of honey varieties is the different types of nectar source. Bees visit many kinds of plants and flowers, getting different qualities of nectar from these flowers.

Here are some of the common honey varieties:

Clover Honey
Clover honey is probably described as the classic honey taste. Its sweet, mild flavor and aroma makes it the most popular honey in North America. There are different types of clovers though, namely the red clover, white clover and sweet clover. Depending on the type of clover visited by the bees, the color of clover honey can range from water white to amber.

Avocado honey
Many people think that avocado honey has a very strong flavor because of its dark amber color, but this variety of honey that comes from avocado blossoms in California actually has a mild and buttery taste. It is also rich in vitamins and minerals.

Orange blossom honey
Just like its name, the orange blossom honey has a fruity, light citrus taste and a mild aroma with a light golden or orange color. Its source is a combination of citrus trees that grow in California, Florida, Arizona and some parts of Texas, usually around March and early April when the trees begin to blossom.

Tupelo honey
This world-famous honey originates from Florida, one of the six honey-producing states in the US. Tupelo honey is obtained from the Tupelo tree that grows along the river and in swamps. The beekeepers float their hives on platforms above the water and the bees fly out to find the Tupelo flowers and then return to the hives. Another special characteristic that differentiates this honey from other honey varieties is that it will not crystallize due to its high fructose content.

Wildflower honey
The term wildflower in this honey variety actually refers to its multi floral sources. Because of this, the flavor may change or be different from a sample previously tasted. Wildflower honey is available both as free flowing and as creamed honey, with colors varying from light amber to dark amber. The taste is not as sweet as clover honey, but it is an excellent choice in cooking because of its distinct floral flavor.

Buckwheat honey
The popularity of buckwheat honey is probably due to its very dark color and its bold, robust flavor and aroma. Its color is usually a pronounced dark amber. The thick, buckwheat honey was traditionally used in French spice-bread or gingerbread since it helps to keep them moist. Those who are used to light, mild flavored honey may not appreciate the strong flavor. Compared to other honey varieties, buckwheat honey is extremely sensitive to heating. The production of buckwheat honey is largely influenced by the weather, and the best time for nectar production is in cool, moist conditions at flowering time.

Sage honey
The light colored and mild flavored sage honey comes in different varieties: black button, purple sage, white sage as well as other varietals. This flowing honey variety can have a light, almost water-white or a dark, golden colour and has a tender aroma and with a pleasant sweet, mild flavor; not unlike clover honey. Sage honey takes quite a long time to crystallize. It is known to be useful in treating cough and heart diseases.

Alfalfa honey
Alfalfa honey has a light color with a pleasant and slightly minty taste. This type of honey is extensively produced in the United States and Canada, and the alfalfa crop is usually grown in the same localities as sweet clover. The combination of sweet clover and alfalfa mixed together gives a fine product and usually results in a higher price in the market.

Sourwood honey
Just as the name implies, sourwood honey has a slightly sour taste. The color is usually clear or light yellow, but sourwood honey that is harvested in eastern North Carolina has a blue-purple color. This honey originates from the sourwood or sorrel tree that is found throughout southeastern United States, especially around the Mississippi River and south of Pennsylvania.

Regardless of which honey variety you choose honey is a great way to add flavour and sweetness to your baking, cooking and everyday enjoyment.

Honey Oatmeal Cookies:
1 cup honey
1 egg
3/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Beat together the shortening, honey, egg, water, and vanilla until creamy. Add combined remaining dry ingredients and mix well. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until edges turn golden brown. Cookies will still be soft in the center. Remove baking sheets from oven and allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to wire cooling rack. Once cookies have cooled completely, store in an airtight container.

Mmmmmm . . . . . muffins !

One of my favourite things to do on a Sunday morning (besides sleeping) is to bake. Usually, it’s something quite simple like scones of muffins. The benefit is that we get to enjoy these fresh baked goodies with a lazy morning cup of tea.

The recipe I use for muffins is very simple and quite flexible. These muffins stay quite moist because they incorporate yogurt, though I have used sour cream in a pinch.

For a lighter, fluffier muffin, I add the baking powder and baking soda to the egg/yogurt/melted butter mixture instead of the traditional route of sifting it with the dry ingredients (sifting? Who has time for sifting?) The baking powder and soda cause a chemical reaction with the cultures in the yogurt and cause it to froth . . think grade 5 science project with the home made volcano.

I like this recipe because you can really use your imagination when it comes to the add-ins. This past Sunday I made two batches; one with dried blueberries and the other with chopped fresh cranberries. I also like to throw in a handful of either oat bran or wheat germ for a bit of a nutty texture and for added fibre. The end results were Blueberry Oat Bran and Cranberry Wheat Germ . . . and a very good grab-and-go breakfast for my daily train commute.

I can’t remember where this recipe came from and over the years I have made several changes. From memory, the ratios I use are:

½ cup melted butter
1 large egg
1 cup yogurt (I like French Vanilla, Pineapple or Field Berry)
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda

Mix all the above ingredients in a medium sized bowl until well incorporated. Set aside, mixture should become frothy.

In a large bowl, stir together:
2 cup all purpose flour (you can substitute ½ cup whole wheat flour)
¾ cup sugar

I toss my add-in (diced apple, dried fruits, chopped nuts, chocolate chips, left over candied Christmas cherries) into the dry ingredients before forming a well and pouring the butter/egg/yogurt mix into the center. Gently fold together until just combined. Too much mixing and the muffins won’t rinse as nicely and will be tough and riddled with tunnels.

Spoon into prepared muffin tins, about ¾ full. I use silicone ones because they are flexible and easy to pop the muffins out without using muffin papers or having to grease the tins; and washing them afterwards is much easier.

Bake for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees. I wait about five minutes before removing them from the pans. If I remove them right away I find they are too soft and the bottoms get grid marks from the cooling rack. If I leave them in the pans too long, they start to sweat.

Once out of the pan, I usually have one hot with a little butter or soft cream cheese. The rest I let cool before storing in a large plastic freezer bag. I keep the bag in the refrigerator for easy snacks when I’m rushing around, or throw it in the freezer for later.