Banana Muffins

1/2 cup yogurt

1 large egg

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups mashed banana (2 to 3 large bananas)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 cup oat bran

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Topping:

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon soft butter

Heat oven to 375°F.  Grease a standard muffin tin, or line with papers and grease the papers.

Combine the yogurt, egg, oil, mashed banana, sugar, and oat bran in a bowl.  Whisk together and set aside for 10 minutes.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and nutmeg.

Work the topping ingredients together until the mixture is crumbly.

Whisk the banana mixture into the flour mixture. Scoop into the prepared muffin cups, filling them almost full; the muffins won't rise much.  Sprinkle muffins with the topping. 

Bake the muffins for 20 to 24 minutes, until the muffins are set and browned.  Remove from the oven and let rest in the pan for 5 minutes.  Remove from the pan and enjoy warm.

Makes 12 muffins.

From King Arthur Flour.

Turkey and Black Bean Soup

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 yellow or sweet onion, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

2 teaspoons oregano

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons black pepper

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1-2 tomatoes, diced

1 can black beans, drained

1 cup frozen corn

1 quart chicken broth

Cooked turkey or chicken, shredded into bite-size pieces

Over moderately low heat, heat vegetable oil in a large saucepan or soup pot.  Add the onion and pepper to the pot and cook, stirring, until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chili powder, cocoa powder, hot sauce, oregano, salt, pepper, maple syrup, tomatoes, black beans, corn, and broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.  Add the turkey to the pot, and simmer for 5 minutes.  

Can be served topped with grated cheese, sour cream, and/or chopped cilantro.

Serves 4.

Masala Mashed Potatoes with Caramelized Onions

1 tablespoon ghee (or butter, or canola oil)

1-2 sweet or yellow onions, thinly sliced

2 pounds potatoes, peeled and quartered

1/3 cup milk

1 ounce cream cheese

2 teaspoons salt

3 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons garam masala

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

¼ cup chopped cilantro (optional)

Heat the tablespoon of ghee in a skillet or wide saucepan over medium-low heat.  Add the onions and cook, stirring often, until the onions are an even golden brown and softened to a marmalade consistency, around 30 minutes or longer.  Stir often and scrape up any brown bits clinging to the bottom of the pan.  Splash a little water into the pan as needed if the onions start to stick.

Meanwhile, boil the potatoes in salted water to cover for about 20 minutes, or until you can pierce them through easily with a fork.

 When the potatoes are cooked, drain and transfer them to a bowl.  Mash the potatoes until smooth, adding the milk, cream cheese, and salt, and incorporating well.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter until it starts to froth. Add the garam masala, turmeric, and cayenne. Cook the spices for a minute or so in the butter, until they are fragrant; be careful not to burn them.  Add the spice butter to the mashed potatoes and mix well.

Stir in the caramelized onions, and top with cilantro if desired.

Serves 4 to 6 as a side dish.

From LickMySpoon.com with many changes

Caramel Popcorn

1-2 gallons popped popcorn

2 cups brown sugar

1 cup butter

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup peanuts (optional)

Heat oven to 250 F.

In a saucepan, bring brown sugar, butter, and maple syrup to a boil.  Cook at a slow boil for 5 minutes without stirring.

Remove sugar syrup from heat and add baking soda, salt, vanilla, and peanuts (if using).

Pour over popcorn and toss to mix thoroughly.

Spread caramel popcorn on greased cookie sheets and bake for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes.

Store in airtight bags or containers.

Caramel and Vanilla Cake

For the caramel sauce:

2 cups sugar

4 tablespoons water

2/3 cup butter, cut into small cubes

1 cup whipping cream

For the vanilla cake:

1 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups sifted cake flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs

1 1/4 cups milk (or evaporated milk, for extra richness)

For the caramel frosting:

3 1/2 cups to 4 cups confectioner’s sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup caramel sauce

2 or more tablespoons milk

To make the caramel sauce:

Mix the sugar and water in a large saucepan (use a pan of about 3 quarts or larger because the sugar foams up when you add the butter and cream).  Have butter and cream ready so it can be added quickly when needed.  Boil the sugar and water over medium heat until the mixture begins to turn a light- to medium-amber color.  (Do not stir the boiling sugar, this can cause it to crystallize.  If the sugar starts to crystallize, use a pastry brush to brush water around the inside edge of the pot as it boils; you may have to do this several times.  Carefully swirling the pan occasionally is also helpful to avoid crystallization of the sugar.) 

When the color is right, quickly add the butter and stir until the butter is melted.  Remove from the heat immediately and pour in the whipping cream, stirring constantly until the sauce is uniformly smooth.  Cool completely.

To make the vanilla cake:

Grease two 8- or 9-inch cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.  Heat oven to 325 degrees F.

Sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and set aside.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter, sugar, and vanilla extract at high speed with the whisk attachment until light and fluffy.  Slowly beat in the vegetable oil.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Fold in the dry ingredients alternately with the milk, adding the dry ingredients in three divisions and the liquid ingredients in 2 divisions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.  Do not over-mix the batter; stop mixing as soon as there are no lumps in the batter.  Pour batter into the two prepared pans.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 10 minutes before turning out onto wire racks to cool completely.

To prepare the caramel frosting:

Beat all ingredients together until smooth, fluffy, and a spreadable consistency.  Add more milk if too thick or more sugar if it too thin.

To construct the cake:

Cut each cake layer in half horizontally, to make four layers.

Reserve about 2/3 cup of the caramel sauce (1/2 cup for the frosting and the rest to drizzle on top of the cake).  Divide the remaining caramel sauce in 3 parts and use it to fill the three inner layers of the cake.

Assemble the cake, filling the layers with caramel sauce.  Frost with the caramel frosting and drizzle with remaining caramel sauce.

Serves 16.

From RockRecipes.com