Marion Cunningham's Banana Muffins

A cup of coffee with something pastry-like is my idea of the perfect breakfast. I want a bit of sweet -all right, I want quite a bit of sweet- to help get me up and going in the mornings. These muffins are perfect and can be baked the night before so they're ready and waiting when I stumble down to the kitchen first thing in the morning. If you are not already a huge fan of Marion Cunningham, these muffins should immediately make you one. Those bananas I always buy too many of, which then turn brown languishing in the kitchen? These muffins use FIVE brown bananas, AND they are essentially fat-free, AND they are delicious. Other than a second cup of coffe, what more could you ask for?

Marion Cunningham's Banana Muffins
Adapted from Marion Cunningham's recipe

In a small bowl mix:
1 1/2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt

In mixer bowl beat for 2-5 minutes:
5 very ripe bananas

Add:
1 c. sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 c. chopped pecans or walnuts

Fold flour mix in to banana mix. FILL 12 foil or paper-lined muffin cups (or greased and floured) completely full with batter. Bake 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until toothpick tests clean. Cool on a wire rack until morning -and hope the young adults living in your house who make nightly food raids don't eat them all up before breakfast.

Cherry-Almond Granola

The crab apple tree is laden with blossoms, and my mind immediately translates the flowers into rows of half-pint jars filled with crab apple jelly. I will use less than ten percent of the crab apples produced to make jelly, leaving the rest for the wildlife. Yesterday, I made another pan of these (click here), and this pan of cherry and almond granola. My oldest daughter likes to simply eat this granola of a Ziploc bag while she's working, but I'm looking forward to granola and yogurt breakfast parfaits. This is a variation of my favorite granola recipe -I gave the Date-Pecan Granola recipe in an earlier post (click here).



Cherry-Almond Granola

5 c. thick-cut oatmeal
1 1/2 oz. pkg. sesame seeds (about 1/3 c.)
3/4 c. apple butter
1/3 c. Lyle's Golden Syrup
1/4 c. honey
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 c. whole almonds
1/2 t. salt
2 T. canola oil
Mix all together in a large roasting pan and roast 325 degrees for 30-40 minutes, stirring every 5-10 minutes until golden brown. I repeatedly set the timer for 10 minutes, decreasing the time to 5 minutes towards the end, otherwise I tend to over brown it, which is a huge disappointment. Cool and add 2 c. dried cherries. Store in an airtight container.

Pear Vanilla Jam Love

I made a half batch of this Pear Vanilla Jam (click here) recipe posted on Food in Jars, and I must tell you, this jam is everything I thought it would be and more. In this jam, the very delicate, yet pervasive and distinctive, flavor and scent of vanilla is coupled perfectly with the understatedness of the flavor of pears. I am so in love with this jam.

It yielded a small number of jars, which is usually best when trying out a new jam recipe, but not in this case. Yesterday, I ordered some vanilla beans on-line (Thanks Nicole!) from Beanilla.com -five beans delivered via the postal service for about the same price as one bean at our local grocery store. I am now rather impatiently waiting for my vanilla beans to arrive so I can make more of this jam -a lot more.

I polished off the odd bit that I hadn't sealed in a jar on my breakfast toast the morning after making this jam. I am ashamed to say that this jam is so good that the thought momentarily crossed my mind to hide away the few remaining jars for my own personal jam stash and not share, but I had announced repeatedly and profusely to my family that this new jam I was making promised to be heaven in a jam jar, so I did open a jar to share, which we soon polished off. I also sent my son and daughter not living at home each a jar as partial atonement for my selfish thoughts. There are only two jars left now, so I hope the vanilla bean package comes soon. Though, I will admit, I am the only one who knows exactly where those two jars were put!

Old-Fashioned Bread Pudding

When was the last time you had bread pudding? I actually make bread pudding fairly often, but I'm wondering if other home cooks do too, or if it's become an out-dated dessert that no one makes anymore. I like to use up those last bits of bread before baking a new loaf, though what we don't use goes to the chickens so it's not completely wasted. Also, my husband is a big fan of bread pudding -and I like to make him happy. I find it quite cheerful to have bread pudding, made the night before, for breakfast. Not that toasted homemade bread for breakfast, like a slice from the loaf of the Golden Squash and Flax Seed Bread in the picture below, isn't good -it's just that a little bread pudding is a more festive version of my usual toast and jam.



Bread Pudding
Adapted from Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen

2 days before making this, cut up leftover bread into cubes to make 3-4 c. and leave it to get stale. Raisin bread is particularly tasty, as is challah and stollen, but any kind of bread (except maybe a garlicy one) will work. I used a whole wheat yogurt bread to make these puddings.

Butter 6 individual dishes. Place stale bread cubes in buttered dishes. Top with 1/3 c. golden raisins and 1/3 c. chopped nuts, divided evenly between the six dishes.

Using wire whisk attachment, beat 3 eggs for 3 minutes on high speed. Add:
3/4 c. sugar
1 1/2 t. vanilla
1 t. each nutmeg and cinnamon

Melt 2 T. butter, mix with 1 1/4 c. milk (I used almond milk) and add to egg mix. Pour evenly and carefully over bread cubes in dishes. Leave to sit for 30 minutes to allow cubes to absorb the custard. Use the back of a spoon (or hands) to gently push down the bread every so often.



Preheat oven to 350 degrees, then immediately lower to 300 degrees when you put in the puddings. Bake 25 minutes for individual pudding dishes. Increase temperature to 375 degrees for an additional 5 minutes to brown tops. Check to make sure they don't burn and remove when lightly browned on top.



I served these with a covering of the Apricot-Pineapple Jam I made back in August. With a bit of whipped cream on top, this makes a very comforting old-fashioned dessert or breakfast!

Sunday Morning Cowboy Spuds

"When the mornings are dark, the flesh weak and the spirit weary, nothing comforts as a good breakfast can." -Margaret Costa, Four Seasons Cookery Book



This photo (of course) was my favorite when we saw Graham Nash's exhibit in San Diego last summer. And the piece titled 'Farm Woman' (of course) was my favorite when we saw Picasso's exhibit Friday night at the SAM.



I've said before I grew up on a ranch in Eastern Oregon, land rich and money poor. We grew a HUGE potato patch every summer and happily ate a lot of potatoes all year round. Cowboy Spuds -or home fries, fried potatoes, fried spuds, or whatever name you might know them by- were a favorite and common breakfast for us growing up, and still is for all of us, my cousins, my brothers and myself.



One of my brother's tells me it is not an uncommon experience to be woken up early on a Sunday morning by the sounds of our younger brother (who lives a few miles away) making fried potatoes for breakfast in the kitchen. I love thinking of them, now and then, eating breakfast together that way.



My family would NEVER use blue potatoes, like I did this morning, but they are so pretty when just cut (they tend to be less attractive when cooked), and their taste is wonderful. If you think a potato is a potato, you are wrong. Homegrown spuds, like all homegrown foods, are amazing. This is the simplest thing in the world to make, and though the addition of some really terrific bacon is fantastic, it is still wonderful without any.

Sunday Morning Cowboy Spuds
Heat a large caste iron skillet, add a couple tablespoons of oil, and 5-6 slices of bacon cut into 1/4-1/2 inch strips

Peel and cut into pieces 2 potatoes per person, extra if you want to have leftovers to warm up later. Add to the cooking bacon.

Peel and dice one yellow onion. Add to potatoes. Cook, covered (or not), turning frequently until potatoes are tender.

Serve with ketchup and a fried egg or two.

Bananas Foster Pancakes

I make some great breakfasts on the weekends -beyond my usual granola or toast and jam- but I'm not very good about posting them. These pancakes were inspired by some bananas browning on the counter. This is a delicious and frugal way to use them up. Of course, you could skip making the sauce and just have these pancakes with syrup, if you prefer.

Banana Pancakes
For two people (double as needed)
Mash 1 overripe banana
Add:
1 egg
2 T. vegetable oil
1 c. buttermilk

Mix and add:
1 c. flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1/2 T. sugar
1/4 c. chopped walnuts
Cook 1/4 -1/3 c. batter on 300 degree non-stick griddle, or a lightly oiled caste iron skillet over medium-low heat. Turn when lightly browned, and cook on second side until top springs back when lightly touched in the center.



Bananas Foster Topping
Combine in small skillet:
2 T. butter
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 t. cinnamon
Cook over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Add 2 ripe but firm bananas, sliced, spooning sauce over banana slices and stirring gently taking care to not mash them, until cooked (less than 5 minutes).

Add: 2 T. rum and IGNITE! This step is optional in the AM hours. I, who just last week inadvertently put the salt in the fridge before drinking that crucial first cup of coffee in the morning (I only stopped myself from putting the broom in there once because it wouldn't fit), am not to be trusted with rum and a match too early in the day, so I skip this step unless making this sauce for dessert (served with ice cream, of course).

The Best Blueberry Muffins

We have ten blueberry bushes that are about five years old. There are several varieties, allowing us to have fresh berries over a longer season, and the earlier types are beginning to produce fruit now. I adore blueberries and am somewhat crushed that my daughters don't really share my sentiment. I say it leaves more for the rest of us, but I honestly cannot understand -how can one not be absolutely crazy about blueberries?



Blueberries are a fantastic fruit to raise, harvest and cook with. They are easy to pick -no thorns or prickles. To freeze them, simply put them in bags without washing, and then pull frozen blueberries from the freezer all year long to enjoy -at least as long as they last. We eat them frozen straight from the bag, or defrosted and made into crumbles, crisps or a scrumptious blueberry sauce to pour over waffles and pancakes. When the bushes are in full production I make jam and canned blueberry pie filling and am hoping to make some country wine. These muffins are one of the few ways that the girls enjoy eating blueberries. I make them often, using both fresh and frozen berries with equal success. These really are the very best blueberry muffins -ever.



The Best Blueberry Muffins
Adapted from Muffins by Elizabeth Alston
In stand mixer bowl, beat:
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 c. sugar
Beat in one at a time:
2 eggs
Add:
1 1/2 t. vanilla
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
Add and beat until they are quite mashed:
1/2 c. blueberries (defrosted, if using frozen)
Add half at a time and fold in:
2 c. flour
1/2 c. milk
Fold in:
1 c. blueberries (don't defrost, if using frozen)
Use an ice cream scoop and fill well-greased or foil-lined muffin tins (the paper-liners have a tendency to stick). I always seem to have a bit extra so I make a wee little loaf cake, about the same amount as for two muffins, and it cooks in the same amount of time as the muffins do. Give it to some deserving soul who will be absolutely delighted.
Mix:
2 T. sugar
1/4 t. nutmeg
Sprinkle sugar mix over the tops of muffins before baking. Bake 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Cool muffins half an hour in pan before removing to rack (I always forget this part without any disastrous results). I love to make these and have them ready and waiting the next morning for breakfast.