Holiday banana muffins

The holiday season is upon us once again and if you haven't noticed, well, just take a trip to your local market.  Tons of people all fighting over the last parking spot and carts that have been scattered all over.  Shelves lined with marshmallows, pumpkin pie filling, oil and candy canes.  Baskets full of turkey, ice cream, pie shells, Jello and beer.  Well, I just went to the store and they had a shelf full of ripened bananas.  A bunch for fifty cents!   When life gives you rotten bananas...

Make holiday banana muffins!  I used this basic recipe here from Foodess, but I made a few changes to suit my preferences.  First, I replaced the egg with a couple tablespoons of applesauce.  Then, I added some cinnamon and used eggnog creamer instead of the milk.  The banana muffins were extremely moist and delicious.  A perfect holiday.   



Easy penne pasta

I know it doesn't really look like it's all that but it really was wonderfully creamy and tangy. It's not much of a recipe, but this is what I did...

I set a pot of 8 oz. (half a box) of whole grain penne to boil until al dente while I sauteed some mushrooms, garlic and onions for a few minutes. Then I added a tablespoon of flour and whisked it around for a minute or two, then added a cup of milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg and Aleppo pepper. I let it thicken for a minute and then added about 3 oz. cream cheese (1/3 block). Then mixed it until creamy and finally added the drained penne back in and served with grated parmesan.

I loved this as it was so quick to prepare, but I think next time I am going to sautee asparagus and baby arugula along with the mushrooms and then put it in a baking dish and add some toasted bread croutons and broil it in the oven to get a crispy topping.

Toads in a Hole (vegan)

So you all have heard of toads in a hole right? This is the same thing but a little Indianized and veganized. These are very quick and easy and are lovely for breakfast or brunch. If you have a cast iron griddle, you could do a big batch at one time. They are so much fun to make!

To start off, make your basic pudla batter (this is enough for about 4-6 slices of bread) : 1 cup of gram flour or chickpea flour, salt, black pepper, red chili powder, a tablespoon of lemon juice and whatever else you want to add. I used diced tomatoes, garlic, onion, cilantro and ajwain in mine. Mix all this with enough water to make a pancake batter consistency.

Then take a slice of bread and use a knife to cut out a hole in the middle or just use a cookie cutter. Place in a warmed skillet or griddle with a tablespoon of oil. Keep the heat on low. Fill the holes with the batter and don't move around until set, it should take about 3 minutes on each side.

Oh, those little pieces are the rounds bits from making the holes. I had a little bit of batter left over so I dipped them in the batter like French toast and put them on the griddle to cook up as well. Enjoy!

The Girl Who Fell Off the Face of the Earth

I just had to! After watching the first two installments of The Girl movies, I thought it would be an appropriate title for a continually disappearing blogger. Wow, almost a year has gone by without a single post. I seriously need to thank all you guys out there who continue to visit the site and those who have softly nudged me.

So, what's been going on? Well, everything really - a new location, a new way of life, a new direction, new adjustments. When the evidence is not so self-evident and the truths are just a big blur, human existence presses forward. Maybe it is a curse of ours, our resilience. Maybe that is all that can get us through or at least hold our head above the perpetual grey clouds that linger. Whatever it may be, it is good to make amends and move on. So let's keep it moving.

The leaves are falling and orange is all around. I have replenished my cinnamon and pumpkin spice for the chilly air. And look what I discovered recently! These would make great nibbles for the celebratory season served alongside The Three Broomsticks' butterbeer. Here is Rosemerta's version on Mugglenet.