Blizzards & Banana Bread

Day number two of snow, snow, snow! This morning Laura and I made Grandmama’s banana bread. We’ve made it so much this winter, that she knows the recipe almost by heart. She works right beside me on her trusty big girl stool, shown here next to the remains of an egg that someone (who shall remain nameless) rolled off the counter – oops! When my mom bakes, her kitchen is a well oiled machine.  She can be smack in the middle of 30 dozen cookies (which she did in her spare time Thursday) and her kitchen is cleaner in the middle of that than mine is after I’ve finished scrubbing it for hours (which I did… oh, wait – never).  I, however, create such a crazy whirlwind of chaos around me (in my kitchen, when I’m cooking, that is) that my husband thinks the aftermath could be an art form.

We saved one loaf for our family, and decided to spontaneously serve the other to our neighbors, as a treat when they came in from the great car shuffle at noon, when our apartment’s parking lot gets plowed.  Hope you’re warm and cozy this February night.

the recipe

I had a little difficulty linking to Stonyfield’s Strawberry Muffin Recipe Monday, but thought it was well worth the post.  Be sure to chop those strawberries nice and eensy-weensy fine!  My strawberries ended up a bit gooey, but they were rather large chunks.  I loved the taste of the actual muffin though, and plan to try it again this weekend, exchanging the strawberries for blueberries.  Bon Appetit!

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 eggs
1 cup plain Stonyfield Farm Yogurt
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped strawberries, fresh or frozen

Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 12 muffin tin or line it with paper baking cups. In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar and baking soda. In another bowl, stir together eggs, yogurt, melted butter and vanilla until blended. Toss the strawberries with the flour mixture.
Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir until the flour is just moistened. The batter will be lumpy. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.

Yields

12 muffins (Hmmm… I think I got about 18…)
Nutrition Facts
(1 muffin) Calories 160; Fat Calories 45; Total Fat 5g; Carbohydrate 25g; Protein 5g; Fiber 3g

aprons

This morning my two year old & I whipped up some delicious muffins, recipe compliments of a Stonyfield yogurt lid.  She looked so charming in the little half-apron that once belonged to her grandmother, that I was inspired to find something half as cute for myself…

{a} Pier 1 has some amazing finds for aprons this season.  Saw it at the store love it!
{b} At only $12.95, you can’t beat this classic.  Again, from Pier 1 Imports.
{c} Of all the Etsy aprons, I think my favorite are here, at Sassy Apron.
{d} A bit of splurge, but isn’t this Williams-Sonoma one beautiful? They even have one for mini-me!