Banana Nut Muffins

I ordered both issues of Don’t Eat Off the Sidewalk cookzine a couple of weeks ago and finally this weekend got around to making one of the recipes. I had some gushy bananas waiting for me when I returned from Virginia, so the Banana Nut Muffins were a perfect choice. She’s right…these are wonderfully moist and I love the topping. I used walnuts instead of pecans because it’s what I had but you all probably know that walnuts & bananas love each other. Oh, and you can’t taste the flax seeds in these at all. So you can pretend they’re all healthy and shit. You know, looking back at the recipe, they actually are a bit healthier than most muffin recipes. Bonus!

banana nut muffins

You know how you have a couple of muffin’s worth of batter left but don’t want to bake another whole pan for just a couple of muffins? I have these mini ceramic cups I use for mise en place, sauces, etc. I just plop the excess in those and bake along side the rest. The ceramic is a little slower to warm in the oven than the metal pan, so their doneness will be slightly different from the big batch. But I’ve also found if you take them out at about the same time, since the ceramic holds heat, they will continue to cook a little and “catch up” to the rest of the muffins.

single banana nut muffin

See that black spot in the second photo? I’ve started getting these on some, but not all, of my photos with this camera. I’ve tried cleaning the lens, but that hasn’t helped. My digital camera is 3+ years old. Maybe it’s time to break down and get a new one.

Kitty and Stumpy

So Kitty, the juvenile possum, has apparently put me on his (or her) regular evening route. Every night as soon as it gets dark, he eats whatever the grey lover kitties leave. But there’s another possum that comes by. Tonight I let Kitty eat some, then chased him off. Not 10 minutes later Stumpy was chowing down. Stumpy? Yeah, that was a no brainer. He’s had some sort of accident and only has about an inch or so of tail left. He’s bigger and probably an adult. He’s also a bit more skittish and ran off before I could even consider a picture. So no scary, pointy critter pics. But hey, they’re North America’s only marsupials! Way to go, Kitty & Stumpy! Maybe I should just put a sign out on my fence “East Atlanta Petting Zoo” and start charging admission.

It’s not dessert, but it might as well be

Okay, so the second recipe I tried from Veganomicon wasn’t a dessert, but it was indeed sweet like candy. The Sweet Potato-Pear Tzimmes end up glazed in a candy like coating from the mirin, maple syrup and juice from the pears. If you’re looking for a Thanksgiving size, definitely try this.

Sweet Potato-Pear Tzimmes

Tonight I made an old stand-by, Winter Squash Risotto from Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure. If you haven’t tried pressure cooked risotto, you need to. Stirring is for suckers plus this only cooks for 5 minutes. Squash, sweet potatoes…can you tell I’m eating in the season?

Winter Squash Risotto