Monday, February 16, 2015

Banana Bread without the bananas.... and without the flour

First of all I want to point out that I'm not the only person in my kitchen. The kid is a great cook and I love what he comes up with!
But the result of so many cooks in the kitchen is that sometimes I start making a recipe with kitchen staples only to find out that those staples aren't in the kitchen....

Today was one of those times.

Here's my usual Banana Muffin recipe:

Banana Crumb Muffins

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups normal flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 bananas, mashed
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted

Crumb Topping
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons normal flour
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon frozen butter, grated (keep it in the freezer until you need it)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a cupcake pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared cupcake pan.
3. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Grate frozen butter into the mixture. It should resemble coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

It's pretty delicious, but not as easy to make when you don't have those key ingredients....

So I adapted:

Pumpkin Whole Wheat Muffins

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups atta flour (finely ground whole wheat flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup cooked pumpkin
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
60 grams butter
25 grams oil

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a cupcake pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups atta, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together pumpkin, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

They turned out delicious and I took them over to a new expat's house. Her kids loved them.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

The Big Metal Bowl

I have a son that's a picky eater. It makes me crazy, but at the same time, I can remember turning my nose up at foods. One of them was avocados. They were just so ... so green! I grew up in South Texas and for parties my parents would always make a giant bowl of guacamole. And they'd always encourage me to try some. But I kept my distance for years and years and then...

I got married.

Now, when you're married, you really try to make your spouse happy, even if sometimes you know down to your boots that you don't like something.

You can see what's coming, can't you?

Yeah, that's right. My new partner in crime made guacamole. Not only did he make guacamole, he used some of our oh so tiny paycheck to buy riotously expensive avocados. With love he chopped the tomatoes, added extra cilantro just like I like it, and then proudly presented it in a miniscule bowl with a side of tortilla chips.

Well, even if my pride wasn't at stake, we'd spent good money on that bowl of guacamole and by golly I was going to try it. I mean, how bad could it be?

I loved it. I absolutely totally and with every fiber of my being loved it. The creaminess of the avocados, the tang of the lime, the gentle bite of the red onions. What was this food of the gods and why had I never tried it?!

*crickets*

*clears throat*

I suddenly remembered all the parties my parents had growing up. I remembered that giant bowl of guacamole that they made and offered every time. In that moment I wanted to cry.

Fast forward twenty years (yes, we've been married that long) to our new home in Fiji. In case you're wondering, I moved here in October. I'm a newbie.

A friend of mine was giving me a ride and asked if I minded stopping by her house on the way. No problem! While she ran inside I walked around her yard. Look! The avocados grow on trees here!
avocados on a tree
She gave me a couple of avocados and I excitedly brought them home. I've been buying a couple at a time from the market, but this was the first time I'd had avocados fresh from the tree I saw them growing on. 

I tucked the avocados into a paper bag at home and then went to get dinner started. I opened the fridge and found...

We really need to be able to insert sound effects into blogs. I need a minor chord here to be followed by a choir singing Hallelujah! No, I'm not making this up. 

I opened the fridge to find a bowl as big as the one I remembered from childhood filled with freshly made guacamole. 


Isn't that a thing of beauty? 

Now if I can just get my son to try it.