Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I'm such a sucker for a bargain. While out in one of my favourite fresh markets, I noticed a very lonely bag of bananas nearing the end of their existence. After a quick mental calculation, I figured this $0.99 bag of bananas would probably generate enough baked goods to either fill a freezer or feed a small mission. I had initially thought of labelling this post "Bananas Gone Wild" but then on second thought realized that it was really me going wild and not the bananas.



I've been hearing about this new flour (well new to me anyways) called Nutri Flour Blend. It's a blend of wheat bran and all purpose and looks like all purpose flour. I really wondered how that would affect the texture of the final product so I picked up a small bag of it and decided to give it a try.



Because I'm unfamiliar with this new flour, I decided to go and do some looking around the Robin Hood website . That always prompts me to start bookmarking a whole host of new recipes to try, not to mention contests to enter. This recipe for Peanut Butter Banana Muffins seemed like the perfect way to use up the bananas.

Ingredients


1/2 cup Canola oil
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
3/4 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 medium bananas)
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (I used chunky and loved what it added to the texture)
2 cups Nutri Flour Blend
2/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips (I didn't have enough chocolate chips so I did a combination of chocolate chips and dried cranberries)

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Spray a 12 cup muffin pan or line with paper liners



2. Combine wet ingredients in medium-sized bowl. Add flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Stir just until combined.



3. Add chocolate chips, mixing lightly. Divide evenly amount the prepared muffin cups.






4. Bake in centre of preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden and top springs back when lightly pressed. Cool in pan.



I love when people put creative effort into muffins and decorate them so beautifully that they become a piece of art. On the other side of the spectrum, I also love that rustic looking home cooking look. These muffins - I know - it's really hard to distinguish which category they are - ha ha ha - but they are delicious and surprisingly substantial. They're not your light and fluffy type muffin, but rather a heavy satisfying treat with a great cup of brewed tea.

Out for dinner & Calzones

Friday night, we went out for dinner with our curling team. I've been having a hard time finding the best restaurants for two of my favourite foods: Chinese and Italian. I've had some good meals here and there - but never a consistently great place that feels like a place I could adopt as a favourite. Maybe part of that comes with moving to a new city.

The Italian restaurant we went to seemed to have potential. I wasn't overly impressed with the decor, but often times the best food comes from places that leave something to be desired in the style department.

I had plans to get to a point of mild numbness with a bottle of wine. Ended up sharing this bottle with the other 3 at the table.



R ordered bruschetta as a starter. Although it's kind of sloppy, it was really tasty. Lots of garlic and acidity.



For the main, R ordered a prosciutto tortellini. He seemed to enjoy it, but the piece I tried tasted pretty starchy.



I ordered a shrimp and goat cheese farfalle with a pesto base. I was not impressed. The dish came with 5 pieces of shrimp, which seems pretty minimal to me. Plus, I did not expect that the goat cheese would be added in big dollops on top of the dish. The goat cheese was cold and after blending it in, my dish was not very warm. I like my food steaming hot. Overall, the taste just wasn't great.



The hunt continues for a great Italian restaurant. Maybe the reality is that Italian food is best made at home. Which, conveniently, leads me to the 2nd goal of this entry: Posting one of my favourite Italian meals.



Marie of Proud Italian Cook and Maryann of Finding La Dolce Vita have come together to host Festa Italiana. This blogging event calls upon food bloggers to create a post featuring their favorite dish or drink.

I am submitting calzones. I don't know if it is my favourite Italian dish, but it's up there.

Calzones



I always use the Canadian Living recipe for handmade whole wheat dough.

Dough

1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat or multigrain flour
1.5 tsp quick-rising (instant) dry yeast
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup hot water (120F/50C)
2 tsp olive oil

In a bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. With wooden spoon, gradually stir in water and oil undil dough forms, using hands if necessary.

Turn out onto lightly floured surface, knead for 8 minutes or until smooth and elastic.

Place in greased bowl, turning to grease all over. Cover with plastic wrap.



Let rise in warm draft-free place for about 1 hour or until doubled in bulk



NOTE: these pictures are from a triple recipe. In the past, I have tripled the recipe and frozen 2/3 for future meals. However, I find that the dough is not as good after being frozen.

Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface. Divide in half and shape into discs.

I add a tomato ragout (all over the calzone) and then add whatever ingredients I desire on to half of the dough.

R likes pepperoni, green pepper, mushroom, onion and cheese





I like pepperoni, mushroom, artichokes and cheese. Fold over the dough to create calzone shape. From there, I fold the edges of the bottom layer of dough over the top layer -- so that the cheese won't seap out while it's cooking. But, I recently watched Jamie Oliver make calzones. He showed proper folding technique that essentially involves alternating thumbfuls of dough over each other. I looked for a video on how to do this because describing the method with words will probably be confusing. However, I wasn't successful - so if anyone knows of a video or photos that explains this technique, feel free to let me know.

If you like a nice brown dough, you can wisk an egg white and lightly spread it on the dough with a pastry brush.

Cook it in the oven at 350 for approximately 20-25 minutes (until dough is a light brown).



Sorry, I don't have any pictures of the inside of the calzone after it's cooked. I usually just eat it without cutting it in half and then save whatever is left for lunch the next day.

Paella

The incredible flavours of paella (pa-ey-a) never cease to amaze me. The number of times I've had paella that didn't measure up also never ceases to amaze me. The real trick in taking this from ho-hum to incredible is the correct layering of flavour. Ok, so I'm not sure if even I'm doing it properly but the paella I make has always made me happier than anything I've tried in a restaurant.

Paella takes time to make. If all you have is an hour to get dinner on the table - don't even go there. Take your time, pour a glass of the region's wine - enjoy the process...did I say pour some more wine?


2-3 tblsp olive oil
1 lb peeled and deveined shrimp (I used frozen)
1 pkg of hot Italian sausage
2 boneless chicken breasts cut in chunks
2-3 chicken legs (optional)
2 cloves minced garlic
1 medium onion diced
1 1/2 cup long grained rice (uncooked)
1/2 tsp hot paprika
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. tumeric
pinch of saffron
4 cups tomatoes (I used 2 cans 1-diced and 1-whole tomatoes)
3 cups chicken broth (home made or low sodium)
1 1/2 - 2 cups frozen peas
salt and pepper to taste

I usually add mussels to the paella but couldn't find any this time at the market.

Process:



1. Soak saffron threads in 2-3 tblsp of water.



2. In a heavy saute pan heat 1 tblsp olive oil to medium-high heat and add shrimp cooking until just pink on both sides (not more than 5 minutes) Transfer to a bowl until you're ready to use them again.





3. Add another tblsp of oil and add sausage to pain cooking until the sausage is golden brown. Remove sausage to a dish/bowl until ready to use again.



4. Add chicken pieces and saute to get the pink out.
5. Add diced onion until translucent - approximately 5-6 minutes.
6. Add rice and garlic stirring to coat rice with onions.
7. Combine paprika, turmeric, strained saffron juice, tomatoes and chicken broth and mix, bringing up the bits on the bottom of the pan to incorporate to the mix.



8. Return sausage to the pan and mix everything together.
9. Bring to a boil and then turn down to simmer. Cover and cook until rice is tender and has absorbed most of the moisture. Check every now and again to make sure the rice isn't sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add more chicken broth if necessary.
10. About 5 minutes before serving time, add the shrimp and peas to the pan. Stir.




11. Adjust seasonings, serve and garnish. Total heaven.