Banana Bran Muffins

Here's another banana muffin recipe. This one is fairly plain, which means it's a great vehicle for jam or preserves. I always seem to have over-ripe bananas in my freezer. Made these this morning and shared them with some new neighbors.

The recipe is from a book I love: Muffins, by Elizabeth Alston.


Banana Bran Muffins


1 large egg
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/3 cups mashed bananas
1/2 cup raisins or walnuts
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup oat bran or unprocessed wheat bran (miller's bran)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt


Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease muffin cups, or use foil or paper baking cups.

Beat egg and sugar in medium-size bowl. When smooth, beat in bananas, raisins, oil, and vanilla. Let stand a minute.

Thoroughly mix flours, bran, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Add banana mixture and fold in with a spatula just until dry ingredients are moistened.

Scoop batter into muffin cups. Bake 15 to 25 minutes, or until brown and springy to the touch in the center. Turn out onto a rack to cool.

DONNA'S NOTES: I rarely measure my bananas; this morning, I used 3. 

Crunchy Pea Salad

This is a warm-weather favorite in our house, and I just made some today. The recipe comes from my daughter, Laney Reeves, who got it from her Grandmother Wheeler. I think the crunch adds a lot!

Crunchy Pea Salad

2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped

1 bag of frozen peas, cooked lightly and cooled in water

1 can (flat) water chestnuts, sliced

2 tablespoons diced pimiento, drained

1/3 cup sliced green onions

1/2 cup sliced celery

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Combine cooked and cooled peas, eggs, water chestnuts, pimiento, onion, and celery. In a small bowl, stir together mayonnaise, mustard, salt, and pepper. Stir gently into salad. Allow to sit at least overnight, and up to 24 hours, in the refrigerator before serving.

Apple Walnut Cobbler

Here's a cobbler recipe that is easy and delicious. Apples are so plentiful here in the Northwest, and we love them. This cobbler has a cake-like topping, as opposed to a pie crust style. This recipe came from Cooking Light magazine originally.

Apple Walnut Cobbler

5 cups thinly sliced, peeled tart apples
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/3 cup butter, melted


Spread the apples in a lightly-greased 2-quart square baking dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the walnuts, the 1/4 cup sugar, and the cinnamon. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together flour, the 1/2 cup sugar, and baking powder.

In a small bowl, combine the egg, evaporated milk, and melted butter. Stir the egg mixture into dry ingredients until smooth. Pour evenly over apples; sprinkle with remaining walnuts.

Bake in 325 degree oven for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve cobbler warm, cut into squares. If desired, serve with ice cream or whipped cream. Makes 9 servings.

DONNA'S NOTES: Chop the walnuts very fine, unless you really like lots of chunks. I recommend mixing the apples, walnuts, sugar, and cinnamon together, either in a bowl or in the baking dish. I think it distributes the flavors better.

Halibut with Capers

 Fresh halibut is available right now, and this is an easy, stove-top preparation.

HALIBUT WITH CAPERS

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 (8 ounce) halibut steaks

1/2 cup white wine

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1/4 cup butter

Salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons capers, with liquid

DIRECTIONS

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the halibut steaks on all sides until nicely browned. Remove from pan, and set aside.

Pour the wine into the pan, and use a spatula to scrape any browned bits from the bottom. Let the wine reduce to almost nothing, then stir in the garlic, butter and capers. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Let the sauce simmer for a minute to blend the flavors.

Return the steaks to the pan, and coat them with sauce. Cook until fish flakes easily with a fork. Serve fish immediately with the sauce from the pan poured over it.

DONNA'S NOTES: I would not add salt to the sauce. The capers are salty enough; if you prefer more, add it at the table. You can guess, by now, that I don't use wine in this; chicken broth is my preferred substitute, and it works very well in this recipe. I do not use medium-high heat for much of anything, and especially not for fragile fish! If you've cooked the halibut enough to brown it, it probably doesn't need any further cooking in the sauce; I just pour the sauce over the fish as I serve it. This has an excellent flavor and is incredibly easy!!