I’ll just come out and say it. Last week when Ryan and I were on the way to the airport to go to Oslo I ate four of these banana chai muffins. They were small, human sized muffins, not store-bought gargantuan muffins – but still I ate four. The thing is, I have to eat breakfast in the morning. Have to, or I’ll get hangry (hungry+angry). I love breakfast. It gets the day started off right and there’s so many good options. 

Usually for breakfast I have yogurt and granola. On the weekends I like to make something heartier like pancakes, eggs, and bacon. But sometimes, like when you’re on the way to work or the airport (or just super lazy on a Sunday morning) you need something grab-and-go. These muffins are it. They are sweet from overripe bananas (yum), they have some caffeine from the chai, and they aren’t too sugary. And in fact they’re vegan too. Yeah, these muffins are doing a lot. In a good way. 

Like almost everyone who has ever made banana bread, I had a few overripe bananas on my counter that were begging to be used. I’ve posted about banana bread once before, but this time I wanted to make something a little different. I wanted to use whole wheat flour to give it a heartier and nuttier flavor. I also wanted to try out using chai tea. Chai is my favorite type of tea and I love its warming flavor. Banana bread recipes often call for cinnamon or nutmeg – which are similar flavors to what’s found in chai tea. But this is perhaps even better because it gives the muffins spicy notes and a little caffeine kick.

In addition to those ingredients, I really wanted to try using coconut oil instead of butter, which is what makes this recipe vegan. I’ve never cooked with coconut oil before, but I feel like it’s becoming a trendy foodie fat. I know that sounds weird, a “trendy fat,” but I seem to see it all over the place.

I didn’t notice any distinct taste from the coconut oil and neither did Ryan. However, you can tell a difference in texture. It just isn’t as rich as butter and it does feel a bit oilier. It’s not bad, it’s just different than butter. Coconut oil is also higher in saturated fats than butter, which isn’t great, but it does have some of its own healthy benefits. All in all, I liked it and would use coconut oil again but only in moderation.

Last plug for these muffins is this: they are both tasty and good for sharing. One of the reasons I love baking is because I can share what I make with family, friends, and colleagues. Most of the time I bake desserts, and they have their place, but I like the idea that I could make something slightly more nourishing for people. Make these, stuff your face with them, share them, or eat them one by one for breakfast before going to work.

Adapted form 100 days of Real Food.

Messy level: I think the messiest part of making muffins is getting the batter into cups neatly (and not pouring it on the floor). Otherwise not so messy and pretty straightforward, especially since you only need 2 bowls to make this. 

Banana Chai Muffins

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

22 mins

Total time

32 mins

 

Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 1½ cups whole-wheat flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon chai tea (about 3 tea bags)
• equivalent of 2 eggs using an egg replacement like Orgran No Egg or Ener-G egg replacer (or just 2 eggs if you're not vegan)
• ½ cup melted coconut oil
• ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
• 2 very ripe bananas, peeled and mashed

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
2. Line a muffin pan with paper liners and set aside.
3. In a large bowl stir together the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and chai tea.
4. Make a hole in the center of the flour mixture. Drop in the eggs, coconut oil, and syrup into the hole. Mix with a fork until it just comes together and set aside.
5. Gently fold the mashed bananas into the batter.
6. Fill muffin cups about ⅔ full. This should make about 12 muffins.
7. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until they brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Let cool slightly then eat!

3.3.3077

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When it comes to breakfast Ryan and I have two distinct needs. Ryan needs coffee. I need to be full so I’m not hangry (hungry+angry) one hour later. This smoothie does both things. Tasty, filling, and caffeinated. I like peanut butter and banana together, and I know that’s a sandwich combination usually associated with Elvis. I think a catchier name for this smoothie might be something like the caffeinated Elvis. Or maybe jumpin’ Elvis? Whaddya think?

Regardless, it’s such a good combination of foods because the protein from the peanut butter keeps you full and the banana adds a nice sweetness. Frozen bananas are especially delicious and creamy in smoothies and I highly recommend you throw some bananas in your freezer right now. Ok don’t just through bananas in your freezer, but peel them, cut them up into blender friendly pieces and store them in a tightly sealed food storage container. The smoothie also contains yogurt & milk so in one drink we’re getting three food groups. How’s that for a balanced breakfast?! Final bonus, this stores well in the fridge and doesn’t separate like most smoothies. You can drink half one morning and save the other half for the next. Yummy and efficient is the best recipe combination.

Now, I was a little nervous about combining banana and coffee – it seemed weird. And then I remembered I’ve actually had this combination before. Every summer until we moved to London (and pretty much every summer of Ryan’s whole life) we went to the beach in Stone Harbor, New Jersey. In the mornings we’d go to Coffee Talk (because as you might remember from the top Ryan needs coffee in the morning) to get breakfast and on the last day of our trip we’d buy a bag of bananas foster coffee. The delicious sweet, sort of fakey banana scent was intoxicating and the overall flavor was enjoyable and caramel like. We’ve been sad to miss out on Stone Harbor this year. Even worse, my family went to Cape May (the next beach town over from Stone Harbor) at the same time so we double missed out on the beach! This smoothie is my tiny tribute to those beach time coffee runs.

Messy level: Slightly more messy than a regular smoothie only because you have to make some espresso or coffee and then let it cool. Alternatively you could use store-bought canned espresso or coffee, but then you don’t have control of how much sugar is in those drinks. Still, a smoothie is always an easy clean up.

Caffeinated Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Total time

5 mins

 

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 2 frozen bananas (unfrozen is fine, but frozen gives a creamy texture)
• ½ cup smooth peanut butter
• ½ cup Greek yogurt
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup espresso, cooled
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder (optional)

Instructions

1. Add all ingredient to a blender and blend on high until smooth.
2. Taste. If needed, add further ingredients to suit your taste.
3. Pour into a glass and serve with a draw. Drink and feel happily full and caffeinated.

3.3.3077

 

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Last week, while Charlotte and Craig were still here, the three of us went to have breakfast at Duck & Waffle. I had heard of this place before from friends, Time Out, and the Londoner and had badly wanted to try it. The restaurant is on the 40th floor of Heron Tower, it’s open 24/7, and bookings at normal hours are hard to come by. I was drawn by the promise of great views and good food, and luckily Charlotte and Craig were game to be dragged out of bed for a 7:15am breakfast reservation. 

Truthfully, I was really excited, but also I was really nervous. I was making my friends get out of bed super early – while they were on vacation – to go to a possibly over-hyped restaurant. Thankfully, the whole experience was superb. At 7:15am, the place had a number of other diners but wasn’t full so the vibe was relaxed (ideal at such an early hour). It was also perfect because we got a spacious table in the corner by the windows so we had full views of London. I imagine at peak times getting a table in the middle of the room would be heart breaking. But, from where we were sitting we saw the Thames, Tower Bridge, the Gherkin, trains passing, and people commuting. I almost felt bad for those people 40 stories below. They were commuting to work, while I was having a lovely cappuccino in the sky with friends.

And look how gorgeous that cappuccino was! While you’re looking at the photo, tell me, what do you think about taking pictures of your food when you’re at a restaurant? I know some people hate it, but I’m cool with it (clearly, I do it all the time). I do acknowledge that taking too many pictures of your food is annoying, distracting, and can keep you from truly enjoying your food and the company you are with. I get it. It can be done wrong. But done in moderation (2-3 snaps per dish?), it’s ok by me. In fact, I have three good reasons for why I take restaurant food photos.

First, sometimes your food looks beautiful and it’s nice to appreciate the skill and effort that someone took to provide you with something so lovely. I mean, look at that cappuccino. It’s perfection, the milk is amazing, and it makes dining out feel more special than getting a takeaway cup from a coffee shop. And that leads me to my second reason: sometimes dining out is a special experience. Sure, you might go out because you don’t feel like cooking –  but sometimes you go out to celebrate an occasion, to feel fancy, and to experience something new. When you go on vacation you take pictures of the places and things you saw because it’s a special experience. Why should food be any different? My restaurant food photos are souvenirs the help me evoke sensory memories of the nice times with friends and the new foods that surprised and delighted.  And the third reason for restaurant food photos is that sometimes I love a place and I want other people to be inspired, be hungry, and try it. When I love a restaurant or a food, I want everyone to go there and have as lovely as a time as I did.

Which brings me back to my lovely time at Duck & Waffle. All three of us ordered the signature Duck ‘n’ Waffle (pictured above next to the cappuccino). We felt compelled to try the namesake dish, but Craig and I didn’t read the menu too well. He didn’t realize there would be a duck leg, I didn’t realize there would be a duck egg, and Charlotte just rolled her eyes at us being silly and asleep. It came with a mustard maple syrup, which sounds scary but was divine. It was a hint of sweetness and little tangs of mustardy heat. It was a gorgeous accent to the duck and waffles and was in no way overpowering. I really feel it helped unite all the pieces of the meal. In addition to savory, we were also drawn to the sweet waffle offerings. The three of us decided to share the bananas brûlée (above) – which was a waffle with a banana, homemade nutella, and ice cream. It was decadent and I was a little in love with the crusted brûléed sugar on the banana. I want to make this at home.

We ended our meal with a little walk around the restaurant to take in the views one more time. Before the fog rolled in Craig showed where we could just make out buildings in Greenwich. We admired the crazy orange tree in the lobby, the chandelier made of bottles, the gorgeous blue floor tiles, and the well stocked bar. It was a wonderful breakfast, and we still had the whole day ahead of us for touring. As we got into the elevator and whizzed back down to the street, I was really happy with our trip to Duck & Waffle. Everything, the food, the decor, the views were just as good as I had heard it would be. I loved it, and I would go back again, and even buy the cookbook so I could have more delicious food at home – and this time I wouldn’t have to eat at 7:15 am. 

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The smell of cilantro reminds me of my mom. When I was a kid, in our backyard my family had a small vegetable garden. My parents would let my brother and I pick one vegetable each and we would pick something tangible and familiar like tomatoes or cucumbers. My mom, always picked lots of herbs and her favorite was cilantro. She always talked about how nice it smelled (and it does smell good) and how good it was. And I always thought, “you can’t even eat it!” But now, the smell of cilantro always makes me think of my mom and preparing our backyard garden.

Today, I know you can eat cilantro, but I always use it just as an herb to flavor a recipe. I use it with beans, arroz con gandules, and salsas. But, I had never thought about using cilantro in a non-savory way until I looked through Green Smoothies for Every Season by Kristine Miles. Her recipe for a smoothie with pineapple and cilantro is the inspiration for today’s recipe. I know cilantro isn’t for everyone, but if you do like this herb, I think you’ll enjoy this smoothie. The drink comes out so lovely and bright. Also do you know that cilantro has vitamins A, C, and K? Yeah, so it’s good for you.

And as I said when I wrote about Farmington, I ate a ton over the holidays and so I am trying to eat a little bit better in January. That means, eating healthier and eating more fruits and vegetables. One way I like doing that is with green smoothies. I know that green smoothies don’t solve it all, and I know that to be really great they should have 50% greens, but I think any way you can get to your 5-a-day you should do it.

I’ve used Kristine Miles’ combo of pineapple and cilantro as inspiration, but I’ve decided to make it my own by pumping up the green with some spinach and also sweetening it a bit with pineapple juice. Not only is it pretty healthy, but it has a tropical feel which is so nice during dreary winter days. Since it’s winter, I used canned pineapples in juice, but feel free to use fresh or frozen pineapple. There’s a banana in this recipe too and I highly recommend freezing it. Frozen bananas make smoothies so luscious and creamy. Overall, this is totally delicious, you’ll drink it down so fast – and then, if you’re like me, you’ll feel like you’re doing yourself some good in January.

Messy level: Nothing is easier or cleaner to make than a smoothie. The messiest part is clearing up all the cilantro stalks after you’ve picked off the leaves.

Pineapple Cilantro Smoothie

 

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Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 1 cup pineapple juice
• ½ cup spinach leaves
• ½ cup tightly packed cilantro leaves
• 1½-2 cup chopped pineapples
• 1 banana, peeled (frozen is preferable)

Instructions

1. If your blender is weak, add the juice, spinach, and cilantro leaves to the blender first. Blend this until the greens have been chopped fairly small.
2. Add the pineapple and banana to the blender and blend until smooth and the greens are cut into small flecks.
3. Pour into glasses and serve with a straw. Somehow smoothies taste better through a straw.

3.2.2925

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To figure out how much butter I need, I used my scale. I’ve wanted a digital scale for awhile and I finally bought myself one soon after I moved to London. It was on clearance at a nearby department store and I thought, “this is a sign, I’m finally going to get it.” And it’s been totally worth it! All my UK recipes are in grams and this helps measure them. It also helps me convert my US recipes more easily. For example, I know that 1 tbsp of butter equals about 14g but what the heck does that look like? Now I don’t have to eyeball it, I can measure it! It’s awesome. And yes, I know I’m a bit dorky for getting excited about measurements. 

Anyway, if you like banana bread and want something a little more subtle and less sweet this is the recipe for you! It’s yummy and easy.

Adapted from JamieOliver.com

Ingredients:

250g/2 cups self-rising flour, plus a little bit extra for dusting

3 ripe bananas

2 tbsp apple juice

125g/1 cup butter, softened (plus a little bit for greasing the pan)

2 large eggs

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tbsp honey

50g/ 1/3 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC/350ºF.

2. Lightly butter your loaf pan. Then dust the sides of the pan with flour. Tap out any excess flour.

3. In a small bowl, add the bananas and mash with a fork. Mash until it’s a mix of smooth and chunky.

4. Add the apple juice to the bananas and stir.

5. In a different bowl beat the butter until creamy. I recommend doing this with an electric mixer because it will be much easier! It will take 3-4 minutes in the electric mixer.

6. One at a time, add the eggs to the butter. Beat each one well before adding the next.

7. Add in the flour, cinnamon, honey, and banana. Mix until just combined.

8. If using, add the pecans and gently mix them in.

9. Spoon the batter into the loaf pan. Bake for 40 minutes, or until golden and cooked through. Check if it’s done by sticking a toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean the bread is done.

10. Allow the loaf to cool. Cut into slices then serve.

Messy level: This is a one spoon. Even with flour, which usually bumps up the messy for me, this is relatively low maintenance. It’s just dump and stir!

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First,  if there is a way I can put more vegetables in my food, I will do it. I know people who are anti-hiding vegetable – but not me. I’m always trying to find a way to get more veggies in my diet. I like green smoothies and the zucchini chocolate chip cookies from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and I like today’s muffins. When I saw a picture called “spinach Popeye muffins” on Pinterest, I knew it was something I had to try. I mean, make me strong like Popeye and they taste good? Yes please. Try not to be put off by the green muffins. They are fun looking and taste like banana bread. 

Second, this is the first baking recipe I have ever significantly altered! When I read the original recipe, I wanted to decrease the sugar and make it a bit healthier. But, I wasn’t really sure how to do it because I know baking is a science and messing it can lead to bad results. Then I read this article from the Harvard School of Public Health and decided, “what the heck, let’s try it.” So I decreased the sugar by a 1/3, I substituted some brown sugar for the white, and I used low-fat yogurt instead of whole milk. I had no idea how it was going to come out. Luckily it came out SO TASTY!!! The muffins don’t really rise though and the muffin is a bit sticky in texture – both of which I think are a result of my meddling.  Still they tasted amazing and I’m sure with a little more meddling, I could fix those issues. But in summation, Ryan and I ate 7 about as soon as they came out of the oven.

Which leads me to my third and final point. While I was baking I was video chatting with my family and I showed them these muffins. There were skeptical and asked Ryan and I to eat one on camera. Anyway, we told them the muffins were sweet and tasted like banana bread. And the best part is they promised if I posted the recipe they would try it. So, here it is guys.

If you’re off put by green spinach-banana muffins, I’ll post a regular banana bread recipe next week.

Adapted from The Green Forks.

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole-wheat flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup canola oil

3/4 non-fat Greek yogurt

1 6oz bag of baby spinach

2-3 mashed ripe bananas

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Ingredients:

1. Preheat oven to 350° and line the muffin pan with paper liners.

2. Whisk together the flours, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl.

3. Place the oil, yogurt, and spinach in a blender. Blend on high until pureed. You might have to do this in batched (I did because my blender is weak).

4. Add the banana and vanilla to the blender and blend until just mixed.

5. Pour pureed mixture into the dry ingredients. Fold together with a rubber spatula until combined.

6. Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until  toothpick poked in the center comes out clean.

7. Let cool (if you can wait!)

8. Try it!!

Messy level: This recipe is a three spoon recipe, although if you have a nice blender maybe fewer spoons. I tried to put all the spinach, yogurt, and oil in the blender at once and all I was doing was overheating the blender. I then took it out and did things in batches, which meant using another bowl. And of course it’s me, so I got green drops of batter all over the counter. Overall, not too messy, just gotta be careful.

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Photo from Bullycomics

Have you ever seen Love Actually? I have. Many times.

Do you know that scene when Juliet (Kiera Knightley) goes to Mark’s (Andrew Lincoln) apartment? She goes there looking to see if he has good video footage of her wedding. When Mark opens the door, she offers him banoffee pie. “What the heck is that?” I’ve thought to myself. So I googled it, and I immediately wanted to have some. And simple as that, I decided to make this pie for myself.

Banoffee pie is banana and toffee pie. Get it? Banana+toffee=banoffe. Doesn’t that sound delicious!?! I really liked this pie. The texture is creamy and silky. It’s cool, delicious, and both indulgent and refreshing.

Also, the technique for this recipe is simple to handle – but what makes this awesome is the transformation some of the ingredients go through. That might sound stupid because all cooking is about transformation. But, I was really blown away how simple things can change. With some heavy beating, cream transforms from a liquid to a semi-solid. I knew whipped cream was cream that was whipped, but I had never made it myself before. But the best transformation was the condensed milk! With heat, it becomes something completely different. It becomes toffee! Look at the pictures below and be impressed.

This recipe is a mix from Nigella Lawson, Brooklyn Limestone, and a graham cracker crust recipe I’ve used before.

Ingredients:

Crust-

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 10 full cracker strips)

3 tbsp sugar

4 tbsp unsalted butter (plus more if needed)

Filing-

3 large bananas

1 14oz can of condensed milk

2 cups whipped cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tbsp brown sugar

chocolate shavings (or chocolate bar)

Directions:

1. Remove the label from the can of condensed milk. Place the can in a large pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Boil for 2-2.5 hours. Make sure that the can is submerged for the entire time! If you let the water level drop your can will explode and your kitchen will be a scary mess.

2. Once the allotted time has passed, take the pot off the stove. Let the can cool. You’ve just made toffee. How easy, yet impressive, is that?!

2. Preheat oven to 350°.

3. In a food processor, blend the graham crackers until you have fine crumbs.

4. In a medium bowl mix the graham crackers and sugar.

5. Melt the butter in the microwave, then add it to the graham cracker and sugar. Mix until the graham cracker crumbs are all moistened. You want a consistency of slightly wet sand – sand that’s been wet but is drying out. If you need to, you can add more than 4 tbsp of butter.

6. Press the graham cracker crust into your pie plate – bottom, sides and edges. If you want a thick crust use all the mix. I used about 3/4 of the mixture. If you’re not using all of it, set the remainder aside in case you need to do any patchwork later.

7. Put the crust in the oven and bake until it just begins to brown, about 8 minutes.

8. Cut the bananas in slices and layer them on the bottom of the crust.

9. Open the can of toffee. Use a knife to stir the toffee until it is smooth.

10. Pour the toffee over the bananas. If need be, use the knife to smooth any uneven spots.

11. Using an electric mixer beat the whipped cream, vanilla extract, and brown sugar. Beat until the texture is thick and whipped.

12. Spread the whipped cream on top of the toffee. Sprinkle chocolate shavings over the top.

13. Put in the fridge and let set for 2 hours.

14. Slice and serve!

Messy level: For a pie, this is actually a really easy and low-mess recipe. The only part that is messy is the graham cracker crust because crumbs get everywhere during assembly. Everything else is really straightforward and there is so little baking to make such a great pie.

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Enter this banana kiwi mango green smoothie. The perfect balance of sweet, summery, and healthy.

This recipe is adapted from one I originally found in Runner’s World magazine. I’ve added more fruit  and I use vanilla almond milk to give it a bit of sweetness, but not too much. You could of course use cow or soy milk if that’s what you have in the house. Also, I heartily recommend that you freeze your bananas. Of course you can use fresh, but there’s something lovely about using frozen ones. You won’t have to use ice and they make the smoothie so wonderfully creamy.

Finally, as you can see, this smoothie is green. Ryan said it looked scary, and I get it. I mean spinach in a smoothie? I know, it’s not for everyone. But, adding spinach is great because it makes your smoothie thick, you get all the healthy nutrients, and you can’t taste its flavor. This smoothie tastes like fruit I promise. It’s really quite delightful and helps get rid of those January blues.

Messy level: One spoon. So easy, everything goes in the blender and you hardly have to cut or peel anything.

Banana Kiwi Mango Green Smoothie

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

3 mins

Total time

8 mins

 

Serves: 1-2

Ingredients

• 1 banana, preferrably frozen
• 2 kiwis
• ½ cup cubed mangos (I used frozen, you could use fresh)
• ½ cup almond milk
• ¾ cup spinach loosely packe

Instructions

1. Peel and slice your kiwis
2. Take your frozen fruit out of the freezer. Or if you’re using fresh, peel them and chop them so your blender can efficiently blend them.
3. Put all ingredients in your blender and blend until smooth.
4. Taste. If needed, add more fruit, milk, or spinach, to your taste and blend again.
5. Serve!

3.5.3226

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