Banana Maple Walnut Muffins

Ingredients:
2 eggs, at room temperature
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 cup mashed overripe banana
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup maple sugar
1/3 cup coarsely chopped black walnuts
2/3 cup sour cream
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons grade b amber maple syrup
2 teaspoons baking powder


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease, spray with baking spray or line 18 wells in a muffin tin. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugars, baking powder and flour. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sour cream, oil, banana and maple syrup until smooth. Add the dry ingredients. Mix to combine. Fold in the nuts. Divide evenly into wells. Bake about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the center muffin comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack.

My thoughts:

I have to admit something. I don't particularly like overripe bananas. Or maple syrup. Or nuts in muffins. Luckily, these muffins are not for me! My husband loves all of the above so I made these for him to take to work for breakfasts this week. I made these with canola oil so they'd be extra fluffy and because somehow we seem to have run out of butter (the horror! the horror!). Using oil instead of butter also speeds up the muffin making process because there is no creaming of butter into sugar or having to wait for it to soften. I got up, started measuring and had batter in the pan in about 10 minutes. Perfect for mornings when you are only half awake but want something warm to eat. Even though I personally am not the banana muffins number one fan, my husband assures me these muffins are 100% moist and delicious.


If you are unfamiliar with maple sugar and are a maple fan, it is worth checking out. You can use it in the same way you would regular white or brown sugar but it is made with 100% maple syrup. The brand I used is Coombs Family Farms.

Broccoli & Sun-dried Tomato Dip

Ingredients:
4 cups broccoli florets
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
8 oz sour cream
1/3 cup minced sun-dried tomatoes (not oil packed)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 minced shallot
2 cloves garlic
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Steam the broccoli. Drain thoroughly. Finely chop or pulse briefly in a food processor. Saute the shallot and garlic in the olive oil. Allow it to cool slightly. Add the broccoli, sun-dried tomatoes, shallot, garlic, cream cheese, sour cream and spices to a large bowl. Use a mixer or spoon to combine. Use immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat.

My thoughts:

When I tried these Terra Chips that had carrots, blue potatoes and kobocha in them, I knew I had to make a vegetable-y dip. We had an abundance of broccoli so I steamed some up until it was tender then gave it a whirl in the VitaMix. I had some some sun-dried tomatoes so I added that along with some reduced fat cream cheese and sour cream. I mixed it together in my stand mixer using the whisk attachment and it came out really light and creamy. I normally don't use a mixer for dips but I might always now, it really combined everything in just a few seconds.

The broccoli flavor in this dip is mild and contrasts nicely with the sharp sun-dried tomatoes. I like that is so packed with vegetables because then it doesn't seem like such an indulgence to have some dip and chips with my lunch!

Raspberry Sour Cream Muffins

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 cups fresh raspberries
1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
3/4 to 1 cup sugar (adjust to suit berries' sweetness)
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
zest of one lemon
1 egg


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Line or grease 12 wells of a muffin tin. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, 3/4 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together oil, sour cream, zest, egg and vanilla until blended. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth. Fold in raspberries. It is okay if the raspberries break up a bit. Divide the batter evenly between the wells. Bake 15 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

My thoughts:

We went to a pick your own farm this weekend to pick berries. Raspberry picking is a lot of fun and in just 40 or so minutes we picked about 4 lbs of purple and red raspberries. Luckily they are fresh from the vine so they will keep a little longer than supermarket berries but it is still a daunting amount of berries. I haven't made much with raspberries before, they are so expensive* even in small quantities so I never seem to have enough to do anything with them but eat them out of hand or sprinkled over yogurt or ice cream. Muffins seem like a good starting place. I love sour cream in muffins because it adds so much moisture and flavor and lets me use less butter or oil than I normally would. Even lower fat sour cream works well. The oil gives the muffins a lighter texture than a butter based recipe would have been and I think that worked well with the raspberries. They are such a delicate berry that a heavier dough can be overwhelming.

*Even the pick your own place had a prepacked pint for sale for the same price we paid for a whole pound we picked ourselves.