Chocolate Banana Muffins

chocolate banana muffins for tea

If you’re looking for something nice to make this weekend or if you just feel like making a little extra something for tea for the family on Sunday, I think these are a good bet: easy ingredients, easy instructions and yummy result.

Cupcakes by any other name, these two flavours are wonderful together: the one complements the other in one delightfully moist muffin.

Arriving back from my lovely weekend in Selçuk on Sunday evening, I rushed into the kitchen to take these and the two cakes I had made on Thursday out of the freezer.  All of them including these little beauties freeze beautifully.  Our monthly book club meeting  was the very next day here at my place so it was all systems go.

These muffins are actually a Nigella recipe. Now, I can’t say I am a great fan of hers normally – I find it hard to believe that she is really doing all that cooking -  but I was given her lovely book ‘Kitchen’ for Christmas and finally had the opportunity to look through it. The recipes are not difficult at all: it’s the photos that make it. And on p139 a very appetizing picture of these muffins caught my eye. Instead of regular muffin  cases, they were each in a swirl of shiny brown paper that made them look sophisticated and most delicious:  she calls them ‘tulip-skirted party frocks’ which is a wonderful description. Well, I didn’t have these, just my lovely muffin cases that I bought in LA last summer – BTW you can buy them at IKEA but the shape is different: seems Swedish cupcakes are tall and narrow: very fetching but then you have to buy the matching muffin tin .... I’ll probably end up doing that. But anyway, here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

Makes 12

3 very ripe or overripe bananas

125ml vegetable oil

2 eggs

100g soft light brown sugar

225g plain flour

3 x 15ml tbsp best-quality cocoa powder, sifted

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Method

·         Preheat oven to 200C/gas mark 6 and line a muffin tin with papers.

·         Mash the bananas by hand or with a freestanding mixer and then add the oil followed by the eggs and sugar.

·         Mix the flour, cocoa powder and bicarb together and add this mixture, beating gently, to the banana mixture, then spoon it into the prepared papers.

adding, mixing, beating

·         Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, by which time the muffins should be dark, rounded and  ‘peeking proudly’ out of their cases. Allow to cool slightly in their tin before removing to a wire rack.

Tips

1.       Make the muffins up to one day ahead. Will keep for 2-3 days in an airtight container in a cool place.

2.       Can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 2 months.

3.       I think this is a really easy recipe and I  truly wasn’t expecting such wonderful muffins as these!

Our book this month was ‘Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand’ by Helen Simonson. Overall we gave it a grade of 3.5 out of 5. Personally, I gave it a 2 so you can tell it wasn’t my favourite read.

a bouquet of oya

I can't resist showing you these fantastic oya which I used instead of flowers in the middle of the table. Oya refers to the lace that village women make with a very very fine hook/tığ and use to edge headscarfs, like the one I am wearing in my profile picture at the top. I bought these last weekend  from a market in  the Selçuk area. They're amazing, aren't they?

I know, kinda "corny"

Always delivers.

Always delicious

But...

Now...

In my new dish!!
 from 

"Woah Here" (my roadside find)

Remember the "Cracker Jack Day" post?

(recipe below)

Kinda-'Corny' Cornbread

Kinda "Corny" Cornbread

Ingredients (I double the batch to get really thick cornbread to fill my new dish)

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Spray or lightly grease a 9 inch round cake pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder. Stir in egg, milk and vegetable oil until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

APPLE & GOOSEBERRY JUICE

Ingredients:
Apples .......... 1
Gooseberries.. 8-10
Mint leaves ... 4-5
Sugar ........... 1-2 tsp ( optional)
Water .......... 2-3 cups.
Method:
1. Blend the fruits adding water, sugar and mint leaves.
2. Strain and serve chilled.
3. Garnish with mint leaves and a gooseberry.

Possibly The Greatest YouTube Video Of All Time

Spice Roasted Turkey Breast with Rocket, Beetroot and Mozzarella Salad and Pan Roasted Potatoes

There are of course a lot of people who would never think of having turkey for dinner in the middle of February. It is widely perceived as being a dish for Christmas or Thanksgiving and eaten only at these times of year. Turkey is, however, available in most of our supermarkets all year round and makes a delicious, low fat dinner in a great many ways, at any time of year.

This recipe is for two people and uses a turkey breast fillet of just over a pound.

Ingredients

1 turkey breast fillet
3 large potatoes
Generous handful of fresh rocket leaves
Mozzarella ball of approx. 4oz
1 small cooked beetroot (bought vacuum packed - not pickled)
1 tsp hot chilli powder
Salt and black pepper

Method

The potatoes should be peeled and chopped in to chunks. They should be added to a pot of cold water and put on to a high heat until the water boils. The heat should then be reduced to a simmer for twenty minutes. The potatoes should be drained and added to cold water for a few minutes to cool. They should then be placed in a Tupperware dish and refrigerated while the remainder of the meal is prepared.

The chilli powder should be seasoned with salt and pepper and rubbed in to the turkey breast. This can be done a couple of hours in advance if desired. The turkey should then be wrapped in a loose foil package, placed in a baking tray and in to the oven, preheated to 400F/200C/Gas Mark 6, for twenty-five minutes per pound.

The turkey should be removed from the oven and checks made to ensure it is fully cooked. Stick a fork or skewer in to the thickest part and check that the juices run clear. Refold the foil package and set aside to rest while the potatoes are pan roasted and the salad prepared.

The potatoes should be firstly dried in a clean tea towel. They should then be deep fried for six to eight minutes until crisp and golden.

While the potatoes are frying, the mozzarella and beetroot should be roughly diced and mixed with the rocket in a bowl.

The turkey should be sliced and plated along with the salad. The roasted potatoes should be drianed on kitchen paper and added last of all.