My Kitchen View

We enjoyed a wonderful weekend with my extended family. There is never a dull moment and there is an abundance of delicious food! Seriously. My family is full of talented cooks. So, we ate too much, spent lots of time outside, and watched our boys have the best time.

My cooking adventures of late included several new recipes for the weekend. I made my first apple recipe of the season. Yum. I will admit that as much as I enjoy the cooler, fall weather...I'm not a big fan of winter and since fall leads to winter, I'm feeling a little hesitant to bid summer farewell. But, the fall brings hearty soups, apple and pumpkin dishes, muffins, breads and more. Sigh. That part, I most definitely welcome.

Our little garden has struggled through and while we haven't had as much produce as I would like, we are still enjoying delicious, gorgeous tomatoes, beautiful and plentiful basil, and some okra - which is continuing to grow on me.

 This weekend, I talked local restaurants with a couple of my cousins and my brother and sister-in-law. Evidently I must try Recess and it really looks wonderful! Naked Chopstix, Bazbeaux, and Brugge Brasserie where a few I mentioned - all of which I enjoy. All of these restaurants are in Broad Ripple - a happening, hip area.

Finally, I was debating what recipe to share today but I think it will be these very yummy muffins! They were not your normal banana muffins - they were packed with delicious-ness - granola, coconut, and walnuts. Ina Garten's recipe is one I will definitely be making again. I think her idea of dicing some of the bananas and mashing the rest also added to the great texture. These are great as we head into fall. And I'm pretty sure you could use different fruits and change up this recipe.

BANANA MUFFINS
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3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 extra-large eggs
3/4 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 bananas)
1 cup medium-diced ripe bananas (1 banana)
1 cup small-diced walnuts
1 cup granola
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
Granola, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the melted butter and blend. Combine the eggs, milk, vanilla, and mashed bananas, and add them to the flour and butter mixture. Scrape the bowl and blend well. Don't overmix.

Fold the diced bananas, walnuts, granola, and coconut into the batter. Spoon the batter into the paper liners, filling each 1 to the top. Top each muffin with granola, if desired. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly, remove from the pan, and serve.