Quick and Easy Banana Walnut Muffins - The perfect healthy breakfast

Hello my lovelies, 

Did you guys have an action packed awesome summer? Or a relaxing and slow paced one? Which ever it was I hope it was everything you wanted it to be :)

I had a fairly busy summer myself, I worked a full time 9-5 'grown up' job, I volunteered, and I took a summer course, and tried to squeeze in some time for friends to catch up on movies (pretty sure I saw every movie that was out in theatres this summer) and summer memories. :) Oh! And I also got a brand spankin' new macbook pro :D *fan girl squeal* 

I also made a facebook fan page which I would love for you guys to head over and 'like' ! ;)

I also had some not so great moments. In July I got rear-ended in a car accident that gave me some really bad whiplash :( This resulted in far too many visits to the chiropractor's office - but on the bright side I am slowly but surely going back to my 100% self :)

All of this to say I have had a very very busy summer. Thats why when my parents informed me of their plans for a last minute road trip I was excited (albeit a bit weary of the long drive) to get out of Ottawa for a bit. We drove all the way down to Waterloo to the welcoming home of some old family friends. While there, the Mrs. of the house taught me how to make these delicious banana nut muffins. Whats super great about them is you can use up any bananas that may be going a bit too brown. 

What makes it even better? Its super easy to toss together (a few minutes) and uses only one bowl and comes together fast with a whisk. Same amount of time that it would take to make pancake batter you can have this yummy treat :) I personally loved the taste especially when you consider the simplicity of it. And with back to School/Work season back upon us this make it the perfect healthy treat. Make in the morning (or afternoon) and have a quick, easy, nutritious breakfast on the go. 

Quick and Easy Breakfast Banana Muffins

Ingredients: 

* 3 Bananas

* 2 eggs

* 2 cups of flour

* 1 cup of sugar

* 1/3 cup of oil

* 1/2 cup of milk

* 1 tsp of baking soda

* 1 tsp of baking powder

Toppings/Fillings:

- throw in a handful of chocolate chips or walnuts or anything else you want and mix in to the batter. We opted to crush up some walnuts and toss them on as toppings. 

Instructions:

1) Mash up the bananas in your bowl with a spoon or fork (or whatever else you like)

2) Throw in the rest of the ingredients and mix (yup! that easy!) Scoop into paper lined muffin/cupcake tins and bake at 350* until a toothpick comes out clean. (Usually 10 to 15 min depending on your oven temperatures) 

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Quick and Easy One Bowl Chocolate Cake and my Early-life crisis

Its been a while hasn’t it? I’ve missed you guys very much :) I apologize for the delay the past few months have been quite….hectic. I’ve been going through quite a few things in my personal life that have left me without much time or desire (gasp!) to bake and blog. But that’s all going to change now. Hopefully.

To make a big story short, my biggest problem right now is that I do not know what to do. For those of you who know me well you will know that I am the kind of girl who thinks 5, 6, 8 and 10 steps ahead. I like to have a plan. Having a plan makes me happy. And as such, I have always made and modified and perfected my ‘life plan’. Many have laughed at me, others were puzzled at this teenage girl whose got her life planned and goals set for age 30 age 40 and beyond (when many adults still do not have it figured out).

So what is this plan? Well, I’ve had it planned out since 9th grade so I can tell you quite clearly. Step 1 : Obtain really good grades in high school in order to go to  university and get scholarships (check!) Step 2: Get a 4 years degree (in law and Politics) and work your ass off to get high grades and a ‘competitive’ record. (check!) Step 3: Apply to Law School, Step 4: Go to Law School, Step 5: Get a prestigious job in one of the best Law Firms in Bay Street Toronto (Canada’s equivalent to the big shot law firms in Manhattan NYC) I could go on and on and on about how this plan I have planned oh so well, but there would be no point. I have come to the conclusion that I will NOT be pursing this path anymore!

Early this summer I ended up having not a mid-life crisis, but an ‘early-life crisis’. I’m not sure I could fully explain the thought process (and believe me there was a lot of it!) but I realized that I no longer had a desire to become a lawyer! The optimistic side of me says that perhaps it’s a good thing I realized this before going to law school, going $150,000 in debt, and THEN realize I did not like it. But I cant help feeling very sad and a bit scared about all this. It is a very scary thing to go from having a plan only to have it go down the drain. Especially considering the fact that I am in my last year in my undergraduate degree, I am so very very very close to law school and all of my dreams, but now I feel I no longer want it? So what do I want? I have no idea. And for someone who NEEDS to have a plan….this is a very scary time.

Well perhaps to say that I have ‘no idea’ is unfair…I have quite a few ideas… (that’s the problem) and the reason I am stumped. The biggest issue is that the ‘options’ are very varied – from policy analyst to diplomat to getting a MBA or maybe even medical school? Thankfully because of my efforts the past 4 years I have a good enough GPA to have options. Unfortunately options can sometimes be frustrating! :p

When you are feeling the blues as I am and are not sure at all of your future, you know what helps? Chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate. And cake too. But what’s even better than chocolate cake? EASY one bowl chocolate cake. Because the last thing you want to do when having an early life crisis is to worry about washing the dishes. I found this cake to be super decadent and I decided to sprinkle on some pomegranate for decoration, but oh my god….it improved the flavor so much more! It added an excellent contrast : nice cool sour crunch with fudgy chocolate cake.

One Bowl Chocolate Cake

* 150g unsalted butter

* 220g brown sugar

* 100g good quality dark chocolate
* 
50g Dutch-processed cocoa
* 
160ml milk

* 3 large eggs, room temperature

* 170g plain flour

* 1.5 tsp baking powder

* 1/2 tsp baking soda

* 1/2 tsp salt (skip this if using salted butter)


Method


Preheat oven to 170°C. Grease and line a 20-21cm square tin. (I used a 9 inch round)

In a large pot or mixing bowl over simmering water, add the butter, sugar, chocolate, cocoa and milk. When butter and chocolate has melted, remove from heat and whisk to combine. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Add the eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk to combine. Sift over the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt then gently stir to mix.
Scrape batter into tin and bake for 45-55 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Cool in tin for 5 minutes then turn out and cool completely on a wire rack. Cake will keep for a few days in an airtight container (a quick zap in the microwave will get it all warm, melty and soft again).

Chocolate Fudge Frosting
(source)


Ingredients


* 100g good quality dark chocolate

* 50g unsalted butter, softened and at room temperature

* 150g icing sugar, sifted

* Pinch of salt
* 
1-2 Tbl of milk (I ended up using 3)


Method


In a bowl over simmering water, melt chocolate then remove from heat. Beat in softened butter (make sure it is room temp. Cold butter is bad news in this case). Sift over icing sugar and salt then beat until combined. Add enough milk until it is a spreadable consistency.

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Strawberry Cake

***Side note: Blogger has been hating me lately. I tried to post this at the end of April and it just would not post. Then I tried again a week later and the pictures wouldn't upload. Thus..this post is from then :)

*sings* I'm  baaaa-AACKKKKKK!!! :D

Miss me?

We will pretend you said yes.

I know, I know, I've been bad. Haven't updated in ages. But that will all change. I think. I hope.

I was super swamped with essays and assignments and exams...and then sprinkle in some work and personal life and there was no room for anything else!

But thankfully, I am OFFICIALLY done school. Submitted my last exam last night and am OFFICIALLY done my third year! :o I honestly can't believe it. Time has gone by SO fast. 

The past few weeks have been really tough, but Zahra has learned quite a few things!

1) Its AMAZING the amount of work you can get done without facebook!

I kept getting sick this semester and in the last week of March I got the worst case of the Flu that I have EVER GOTTEN. It was bad. like. REALLY BAD. Anywho, my crappy immune system meant that I fell really behind in school and thus April = hell month. Especially the last week. Since I always spend wayyyy too much time on facebook, I decided to 'cancel' my account until I was done exams. The problem is, that I probably go on facebook about 30 times a day? (I know. I have no life :P )

The first few days were tough....I was a druggie on with drawl and facebook was my drug. The worst part was I hadn't realized how addicted I was to it until I stopped! But the amazing part is....I ended up wasting SO MUCH LESS TIME than before and got SOOOO MUCHHHH work done. Every time I decided to go on facebook I couldn't...so I would have to study some more :) 

2) Sleep = Bitch

Why do we humans need to sleep? Why? 

Ok. Fine. Sleep isn't a problem. I actually love sleep. I really do. What I HATE is not having the OPTION to stay up as much as you like. And another thing...why do our bodies hate us? EVERY DAY this month I had to wake up bright and early (8 am for me) and go to school. EVERY TIME I would hit the snooze button about 10 times and have to DRAGGG my tired butt out of bed. And you would think that after a while I would get used to it....form a new sleep schedule? WRONG. Sleep = bitch remember? ALL month I was walking around sleep deprived. I had even developed VERY unattractive puffed up eyes. My sister actually screamed when she saw me. no lie. 

But the best part? ohhhh the best part. Today, when freedom finally wrung.... I was planning on sleeping in until 2pm to make up for all those times I wanted to sleep in but couldn't. But Sleep = Bitch, and thus that means that today, for the first day in over a month...I woke up without an alarm clock...at 6 AM!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Sleep. Why do you hate me?

3) Energy Drinks work...(sort of... see #4)

Desperate times call for desperate measures and from all the stress and lack of sleep I was forced to buy some energy drinks. At first I was really reluctant...who knows what goes into theses things? Up until now I had always passed over them, opting instead for a hot cup of tea for my caffeine rush. I ended up having to cave in and bought these mini ones form our school's mini-store and it tasted NASTY and it worked WONDERS. I would take 2 gulps and be jumping up and down!! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D 

YAY! I have found a way to stay awakkeeeeeeee

4) Red Bull does not work.

Red Bull energy drinks? You know the ones that "give you wings"? I had originally planned on buying a can at the Uni store (instead of those mini amazing but they didn't have any so I was forced to buy the mini ones...so then the next day I went to the store and bought myself a nice big can. I came home and drank half of it...just waiting for the energy burst! Then I fell asleep. For 4 hours. So Clearly not only does Red Bull NOT work....it makes me SLEEPY. 

You may say thats only because I'm weird. 

But...Yah. I would have to agree.

5) Spring in Canada is never truly spring

In most countries, when spring comes, it comes to stay. Not in Canada though. NOT. IN. CANADA. In this past month we have had a few days of beautiful spring weather....birds chirping and flowers blooming and all that.....and then 3 days later we will have hail. I wish I could say I was exaggerating. I WISH. In fact 2 weeks ago it snowed 2cms!

But, despite this unintentionally negative post, I am going to choose to be positive. And celebrate the end of exams and the (hopefully?) beginning of spring with this delcioious strawberry cake! :) 

Strawberry Cake 

Source 

Yield: Serves 10

Cook Time: 50-55 minutes

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 pound strawberries, hulled and sliced
2 tablespoons turbinado sugar, for sprinkling on top of cake

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch springform pan or pie plate. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together into a medium bowl. Set aside.
2. Put butter and 1 cup sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in egg, buttermilk, and vanilla extract. Mix until combined.
3. Gradually mix in flour mixture. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Arrange strawberry slices on top of batter. Sprinkle turbinado sugar over berries.
4. Bake cake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Bake until cake is golden brown and firm to the touch, about 50-55 minutes. Let cool in pan. To serve, cut into wedges. Store cake at room temperature, for up to two days.

**I thought I should include a picture of what happens when my family invades. They wait with baited breath for me to finish taking pictures...then they ATTACK!!!! This picture was taken 5 minutes after  I allowed them to grab some. Yes. That is all that there was left. 10 minutes later it was all gone.

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New Years Resolutions

****Check out my most recent giveaway HERE and stay tuned for more giveaways coming soon!! **

Happy New Year!

Were you one of those awesome (loser) people like myself who went around saying happy 1-1-11 on January 1^st, 2011? And then stopping to try to explain to everyone that yes, today is indeed the  1^st day of the 1^st month of 2011. I don’t know why people would roll their eyes at me. 

I thought I was a hoot!

 

On the topic of New Years, has anyone made any new years resolutions? Last year I did, and thankfully I can say that I at least have made a step in the right direction. My posting has gone up to about 20 more posts than the year before, and my hits more than quadrupled! :D  But of course, there are many more things I have planned in store for the upcoming year. The only problem is, I do not intend on making them into a new years resolution.

  

Why? Because I know better. I’m not the type of person to make myself a solid new years resolution and ever truly pull through with it 100%. I see them more as ‘guidelines’ than actual ‘have to’ tasks. I could vow to hit the gym at least 3 times a week, or change my diet and cut out all sugar, reduce stress, and never ever procrastinate again. But then again, I’m not naïve. I’m the kind of person who makes a new years resolution at 11:55pm that “I will never eat chocolate again.” And then at 12:03 I’ll bite into a chocolate bar and go “ops! Oh well. Maybe next year” *evil smirk* 

So I’ve decided to make some ‘general goals’ for the year. Basically working on the same ones from last year but taking it further. So, while I’m not going to promise to go vegan and healthy, I will start off this year with this delicious and healthy smoothie. Baby steps people. Baby steps.

So what New Years Resolutions have you made? :)

Berry Citrus Smoothie 

(Adapted from here)

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups fresh berries
• 3/4 cup low-fat plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup orange juice
•  Milk (as needed)
• 1-2 tablespoons Flax Seed
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place berries, yogurt, orange juice, Flax Seed, honey and vanilla in a blender and blend until smooth. If its too thick pour in a little bit of milk at a time to get the consistency that you like.

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Super Easy yet Super Yummy Apple Pie

Growing up in a first generation immigrant family has had a profound impact on how I act and how I see the world. This applies in the ‘big picture’ sense such as whether I agree with new immigration policies or not, how I feel about traditional Canadian holidays, and many other things. However, on the more personal level, coming from an immigrant family has had a dramatic affect on one major element of my life. Food.

Growing up I would eat both the hot dogs and french fries, and the Zereshk Polo O Morgh. My parents tried to stay true their Persian Roots and more often than not we had Persian food every day. As the years passed, my parents naturally became more influenced by the new country they were now living in. One day we would have Persian cusine, another we would have a stir fry, another we would try this new thing called ‘shepherds pie’ or ‘burritos’. My parents are all about staying true to their roots but also embracing new things that their new home country had to offer – and what better than food?

Of course my mother would always make these new ‘western’ recipes her own. My mom doesn’t like using recipes. She’s made enough food to know how things ‘should taste’ and likes to ‘assume’ what a recipe will be like. Shepherds pie? Looks like ground beef and veggies with mashed potato on top. So she would adapt her own recipes and incorporate some of her favorite Persian spices. Sometimes her refusal to follow recipes would turn disastrous, but other times it would turn out better than the ‘real’ thing!

Another example is of the famous classical apple pie. When I was much younger my mother and I went shopping at our local grocery store. It was near thanksgiving time and they were giving free samples of apple pie at the store. We both tried some and weren’t necessarily blown away. That’s when my Mom decided that she could do it better. She adapted this recipe herself and honestly, I think it tastes so so soooooo much better than anything you could buy at a store. I don’t like the overly spiced apple pies, if you do then this isn’t for you. But if you aren’t necessarily a huge fan of an overdose of nutmeg and cloves, then make this pie. You. Will. Love. It.

The Fastest and Yummiest Apple Pie You Will Ever Make

Heres all you need:

*Apple Pie Crust (made fresh or frozen pre-bought ones)

*Apples (as many as you would like…I used about 6)

*Sugar (as much as you like)

*Cinnamon (as much as you like)

 

Instructions:

1.     Take your pie crust and place it into your pan

2.     Don’t pierce it and put it in the oven before hand. Just start filling your unbaked dough with the apples.

3.     Wash your apples and peel and dice them.

4.     Place a fairly even layer of apples at the bottom and sprinkle it with sugar and cinnamon.  (use as much as you like to taste…we love cinnamon so I usually add a lot…but if not just sprinkle a tsp or so. As for sugar, remember to use sugar according to your apple type. If you have a more sour apple you will need to use more sugar)

5.     Then add another layer of apples and keep sprinkling sugar and cinnamon. Keep continuing to put as many layers as you like

6.     Then pop on the rest of the apple pie crust

7.     Put in the oven at 350F until the apples are soft and baked and the crust is nice and golden. 

Enjoy!

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Best Ever Biscotti, New Beginnings, and a Giveaway!

**To all my beloved followers, those who comment and those silent ninjas whose support means oh so much to me too, I’ve decided to host a giveaway for you guys! Please check the bottom of the post for more details! Or CLICK HERE**

When I was sitting in my first class of the year, my professor passed around a ‘sign in’ sheet. Since I’ve been going to Carleton U for a while now, this practice has become quite common place for me. Once the sheet got around to me, I filled out the section for my name, student number, major, and then finally, my year. I instinctively wrote down “2^nd”, but then I realized…no, wait, I’m in third year now! And for some reason this little reality check hit me like a ton of bricks.  I turned to Jordan and informed him of this startling fact, that we are indeed in 3^rd year, but he seemed to be a bit more preoccupied with foodgawker. (who can blame him really? ;)) I’m not sure why this affected me so much, because every year is a new year, and every September I go “woah! I’m another year ahead!”

I think the reason it affected me this much is that I’ve been really reflecting on my life lately, and I feel like everything is going by in super-warp speed. I remember high school like it was yesterday! Going to the cafeteria for lunch, kids skipping class and thinking they are SO Bad ass…thinking about what you want to do and what schools you should apply to…it all seems like a super fast blur now. And as for university…seriously? I’m in third year?! How did THAT happen?! I feel like just this morning I walked through the doors of Carleton, a bright eyed eager freshman, ready for the ‘college experience’, marveling with Jordan about how amazingly ‘free’ we are in comparison to high school. Buying our first books. Getting lost in the tunnels. Being lost in class. Getting lost on the bus ride back home. At a loss for time during my first ever ‘true’ all nighter. Lost. Lost. Lost. Yet somehow, these supposed ‘losses’ have become such fond memories, that perhaps they may be the reason why third year scares me. Third year is one year less than fourth year, and forth year is the last year before you get out of university and enter the ‘real world’. And that ladies and gentleman, is scary. 

I randomly had the urge to make Biscotti this week, and I remembered a recipe that I had tried a long, long, longgggg time ago, back when I had FIRST started this blog. This brought back even more memories. You see, I started my precious food blog my freshman year, and to say I was proud of my work would be an understatement. I thought I was so awesome. Seriously. I mean…I had a blog. About food. I mean. Come on. How AWESOME is that?! Though I remember being so proud of that, its funny that looking back…I’m almost ashamed…those biscotti pictures that I was SO proud of? Well I came *this* close to deleting the post, because it was just plain embarrassing. Dark, blurry, and just plain icky. And the post? I posted not one recipe, not two recipes, but THREE recipes. All complete with their own pics. And my grammar? Not so good. 

As embarrassing as this post might be, in a way it makes me happy, that since then I have improved dramatically(at least I hope I have ;) ). I guess with every ending is a new beginning and that’s what I’m going to be focusing on.

And to celebrate new beginnings, I’ve decided to host my first ever giveaway to thank all you AWESOME followers! Click HERE to enter!

 Best Ever Biscotti

(source)

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup light olive oil
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1 1/2 cups pistachio nuts

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mix together oil and sugar until well blended. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts, then beat in the eggs. Combine flour, salt, and baking powder; gradually stir into egg mixture. Mix in cranberries and nuts by hand.
3. Divide dough in half. Form two logs (12x2 inches) on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Dough may be sticky; wet hands with cool water to handle dough more easily.
4. Bake for 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until logs are light brown. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C).
5. Cut logs on diagonal into 3/4 inch thick slices. Lay on sides on parchment covered cookie sheet. Bake approximately 8 to 10 minutes, or until dry; cool.
   

 My Notes on this recipe: I didnt have cranberries or pistachios on hand so I just substituted with sliced almonds ( I didnt change the recipe cause its really yummy with the cranberries and pistachios ;) ) As well, I dont like my biscotti TOO hard, so I only baked it oh so slightly the second time around. And as for the forming of the 'logs' I did that the first time around and it doesn't turn out too good. Instead, just make a rectangular shape, and then cut it! :) Overall this Biscotti recipe is amazing and deserves the "best ever Biscotti" title! Enjoy!

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