Recipe: Banana Choc Muffins

 

Not a lot has been happening around these parts lately. The weather has been somewhat inconsistent and rather awful (hot. Windy. Dusty. That kind of thing), so a lot of time has been spent inside.

 

I received this recipe for Banana Choc Muffins from my penpal, Ursa, in Slovenia sometime ago and I finally got around to making it.

 

It has been awhile since I've shared a recipe, so here's my (slightly altered from original) version:

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

 

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour

1/3 cup cocoa

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon bi-carb soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 large bananas, pureed

1/3 cup oil

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

2 eggs

 

 

DIRECTIONS:

 

* Preheat oven to 180*C. Line 12 muffin cups with paper cups. Set aside.

 

* Add flour, cocoa, sugar, soda and salt in a bowl and mix together using a whisk.

 

* In a separate bowl mix bananas, oil, eggs and vanilla.

 

* Add the wet mix to the dry mix and using a wooden spoon, stir until combined.

 

* Use a large scoop to fill the paper cups with batter and bake in oven for 30 minutes (or until done).

 

 

I like to eat them warm with a bit of butter.

 

Shane likes to smother his in chocolate icing, which I contend turns them into cupcakes, but either way they are simply delicious.

The Week in Pictures...

 

 

** I hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend and had a wonderful Easter (if you celebrate it)? Ours was very quiet and relaxing: A well-earned break from the usual routine. I wrote letters, caught up with reading my blog list, and watched some DVDs. I can't eat chocolate so our weekend was Easter egg free, but I did eat my weight in hot cross buns. A fair trade, I reckon.

 

** Autumn in the Flinders Ranges is the best time of year. I know I whinge about the summer, which is so long and hot, but when autumn finally arrives it is simply glorious. Most days we wake to slightly chilly mornings that are wonderfully clear and bright. The dewy nights are great for the garden and the lawn has started its regeneration after being burnt to a crisp during January and February. We also had two days in the past week where it rained: Wednesday was slightly disappointing with less than 1mm falling, but then on Saturday it was grey and wet all day (and decidedly cold), which gave us 15mm. It may not sound like much but as long as we get a little rain regularly it isn't so bad. We hope to invest in some more rainwater tanks in the coming months to catch as much rain as possible. At present we are only catching rain from the back half of the house, so we need to start collecting it from the front and also from the shed. This will make a huge difference to our supply and hopefully once they are full we'll not run out of rainwater again.

 

** I received some fantastic pieces of mail art this week but my favourite came from Alison in Australia. She made me an awesome lotus flower postcard (pictured above). If you're into paper crafts then I strongly recommend her blog, Paisley and Brown Paper. She makes the most amazing stuff.

 

** Apparently Google Reader will be closing down, so if you are using it to read this (and other) blogs you might want to import your blog list into another feed, such as Bloglovin'. I've already done mine and it's fantastic: So easy to use and I get an email every day advising of any new posts from the blogs I follow so I can access them from my inbox. I love that. It's super convenient and it's completely free.

 

The Week in Pictures...

 

 

** With each passing week it is feeling more and more like autumn, which is a relief since Indian Summers are frustratingly common. The mornings are cool and bright, the afternoon shadows long and the evenings are notably chilly. The autumn equinox (Mabon) passed on Thursday so now the days are becoming shorter and shorter.

 

** We are still receiving the odd hotter day (or two) every week where the daytime temperature will suddenly soar to the mid-30s (*C), but a series of much cooler days generally follows. We had thunderstorms and 2mm of rain fall in the early hours of Thursday morning; the lightning was so bright and the thunder so loud we would wake with the arrival of each new storm, of which there were 4 between the hours of 2am and 5am. These came from the same front that spawned the tornadoes in rural Victoria.

 

** During the summer months we live on a lot of salads and fresh fruit, but now that the weather is cooling we are craving roasts, fresh breads and soups. If you've not tried this recipe for roasted vegetable soup then you must: It is absolutely delish and an autumn/winter favourite in our house.

 

** Had a lovely book haul this week with the arrival of an order I placed prior to my birthday, plus the surprise arrival of a belated birthday gift from the lovely Nicki. I've already read one, am halfway through another and I'm itching to get to the final two. I look forward to the days when it is cold enough to sit by the fire and simply immerse myself in a book for hours on end.

 

** Bailey-dog is enjoying the cooler days also. Every morning I find him soaking up the sun's rays on the back deck, a look of perfect contentment on his sweet spoodle face.

 

 

I hope your week was just as pleasant?

Eggplant Parmesan

 

I made Eggplant (aubergine) Parmesan for dinner last night. Shane was adamant he wasn't going to like it but then when back for seconds. I was eating the toasted eggplant fresh out of the oven, before it even had a chance to reach the casserole dish. It really is delicious, so I thought I'd share the recipe so everyone can enjoy it.

 

It's based on a Quick, Light & Delicious recipe, which I've modified to suit my own tastes.

 

Ingredients:

3 eggs whites, lightly whisked

1/4 cup water

1 large eggplant (or 2 small) cut into 5mm slices

1/3 cup of plain flour

1 1/2 cups dried breadcrumbs

440g can diced tomatoes

2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (extra sharp)

Dried garlic flakes

Salt and pepper

 

1. Preheat oven to 200*C and line two baking trays with baking paper.

2. In a small bowl lightly whisk egg whites and stir in water.

3. Add grind of salt and pepper to flour, and garlic flakes (as little or as much as you like) to breadcrumbs. Dip eggplant in flour, then egg whites followed by breadcrumbs.

4. Place eggplant in a single layer on baking trays and bake in oven, turning once, until golden and tender (approximately 30 minutes).

5. Spread 1/3 of the tomatoes over the base of a medium casserole dish. Cover with a layer of the eggplant, 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layering with remaining ingredients, finishing with tomatoes, mozarella and parmesan on top.

6. Bake in oven until cheese melts and ingredients are heated through (approximately 15 minutes).

 

Enjoy!