Sunday Muffins: Honey Banana
Yesterday was an interesting day. I ran into Marvin (occasionally his real name), the neighborhood lonely old man who roams around town telling jokes ("Did you hear today's weather forecast for Mexico, MO? Chilly today, hot tamale!") and two anti-neo-Nazi rallies. Members of the National Socialist Movement held a rally/march to protest the Marxism at the University of Missouri. I'm not sure if the group was made up of locals or neo-Nazi tourists, but I suspect a little bit of both. I missed the march, but downtown was overrun with folks wearing Nazi-buster t-shirts and carrying "Not in Our Town" signs. I thought it ironic that the Nazi-busters gathered together to celebrate tolerance and diversity by shouting down and confronting people with ideas contrary to their own, but I kept those thoughts to myself and just enjoyed the festiveness and excitement. Then, as if that weren't enough to call it a worthwhile day, last night GC and I went to see TV on the Radio, one of my favorite bands. The opening band, Subtle, was pretty cool too, especially because the front man rattled off bits of trivia between songs. A night of entertainment and education is a success; a night of rum and diet Coke is a resounding success. A few of those, and I was mighty glad that I had already made breakfast for this morning.
Honey Banana MuffinsTaste of Home
These muffins are pretty good and fairly healthy. I cut down on the nutmeg, just adding a pinch, because nutmeg and I are not great friends. I also used fewer raisins, but only because I ate most of them earlier in the week as a snack with peanuts. Though the recipe says it makes 14 muffins, it actually made 12 small-to-medium-sized muffins. These certainly aren't the greatest muffins in the world, or even ones you'd gush over and bake right away to take in to the office, but if you're trying to eat healthy, these are a good way to go.
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup mashed ripe banana (1 to 2 medium)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
6 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup golden raisinsIn a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Combine the eggs, banana, applesauce and honey; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in the raisins.
Coat muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray; fill two-thirds full with batter. Bake at 375° for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.
Yield: 14 muffins. (Actually, only 12).