Do you remember the beginning of Mary Poppins, when Bert the Chimney Sweep is supplementing his Edwardian-era common laborer income as Bert the One Man Band?
He warbles merry improvisations about Mrs. Lark walking her dog in the park…
… but then his chimney sweep Spidey sense tells him that the wind is changing and he gets a little weird?
Well, September has been a weird month. I’ve been a bad correspondent because of this.
I won’t go into much detail because I’m sure you don’t come here to read about sad things, but suffice it to say, we’ve had friends all around who’ve been going through some awful stuff this month…
… and on top of that, our Homeowners Association has needed some babysitting. Don’t worry, I ended up putting myself on the board of directors and, like Chris Farley in Tommy Boy, have adopted a, “We don’t take no prisoners” attitude. (Or wait, was that, “We don’t take no for an answer”?) But I’ve spent a lot of time that I would have used for blogging reading HOA by-laws, and take it from me, The Help was a way better read.
Anyway, with October coming up, I’m counting on the wind changing again. The new breeze carries the aroma of banana chocolate chip muffins.
BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS (pdf)
Adapted from the Joy of Cooking
- 1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
- 1/2 C whole wheat flour or wheat bran
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 C milk chocolate chips
- 1 egg
- 3/4 C packed light brown sugar
- 2 to 3 ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/3 C)
- 6 T vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 375. Line a standard 12-muffin pan with paper liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Stir in chocolate chips.
In another large bowl, whisk together egg, brown sugar, mashed bananas, vegetable oil, and vanilla until thoroughly combined. Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture and lightly stir together just until the dry ingredients are moistened. The batter will not be smooth. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffins comes out clean (about 15-20 minutes).
Hug the ones you love and then eat muffins with them,
