Banana Muffins

My Grammie was a nurse. That is, she was a nurse when she wasn't at home with her three kids being Dr. Mom. She worked as a nurse both before her children and then after they were in school. I figure she must have been a good nurse as my mother often reminds me she even worked with the famous Dr. Penfield. That's right, the fellow from the Canadian history moments who helped map the human brain. (Dr. Penfield, I smell burnt toast!) As a child, I remember how sharp her mind was. She could keep on top of a sea of grandchildren and never let one of us get out of line. I guess that was why I found it so hard to accept that she had alzheimer's disease. She went from a brilliant women to a confused woman trying to put her folded laundry in her oven. Alzheimer's seemed to me to change her whole personality. She forgot her whole self and became a sort of sweet generic granny-type who was nothing less than bubbly. My Grammie was generally a caring but serious woman. This whole process upset me. When I was finally old enough to confront her for various issues that stalked my relationship with her, she was gone. She slipped away and this person who looked like her but had simply forgotten the last 40 years of her life walked through our door one Christmas. She found it confusing to see her grandchildren, because she knew that she should recognise us, but simply didn't. She had it easier with me, because I look quite similar to my mother and my Aunt. Every time Grammie saw me she'd inevitably call me by their names. If my Mom and I were standing together, she'd get very uncomfortable for a moment, then settled on calling me by my Aunt's name, if anything. It was so frustrating, because we had only recently gone through the same thing with my paternal grandfather. I had for the last few years of his life been called by my grandmother's, who passed away before I was in school, name. I was in high school when he passed away, and now in university I wasn't sure I was prepared to deal with all the drama all over again, least of all with a woman who I wanted so badly to call out on so many things. I wanted a chance to heal my relationship with her after years of bitterness. Instead, I was faced with this charming woman, who oddly enough reminded me of the sweet little grandmother I had always wanted. On the day before she passed away, she had a day of complete clarity. She remembered everything, and all of us, although she was in many ways too weak to say what she needed to stay. Instead, she layed patiently as each of us spoke to her our final words. When it was my turn, I didn't have the heart to call her to task for years of misunderstandings. All I could do was give her one last hug and say that I would miss her and that I loved her. In the end, that provided more catharsis than dragging out all my issues ever could have. Now, here I am a few years later trying to recapture some fond memories of her. Some days it's like chasing butterflies, but other days it's much easier. There is so much of those good memories tucked away between the lines of her favourite recipes, it's not hard to find them over a bite of her chili, some bread, or even a simple muffin made from scratch.

In honour of my Grammie as a nurse, I chose a recipe from her cookbook on a typed out page titled "Nutrition Week". I was nervous that I would find something granola and flavourless. However, as I had an abundance of bananas, I was intrigued by the Banana Muffins first, and oh boy were they great. Now, I'm not so health-conscious as my Nurse grandmother, so I fouled up the recipe a little and added some chocolate chips. To counteract that, though, I also added some flax seed. I reduced my guilt, but to be honest I wasn't that guilty to start with. These banana muffins are more of a treat than a breakfast food. They're easy to make, and even easier to eat. I hope you enjoy them!

2 cups flour

1/2 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon or nutmeg

1 medium banana (mashed)

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Sift them together until they're evenly blended. I find the dark cinnamon or nutmeg is a great hint of how well mixed it is. Make a little well in the middle of your flour mix, and add the remaining ingredients. Stir them until the flour mixture is evenly moistened, but don't overmix it as this will make your muffins heavy. If you want to add anything (nuts, chocolate chips...) now is the time to do it. I put in 1/2 bag of chocolate chips and folded them in carefully, trying to not overstir the batter. I might also recommend to keep the whole mix nice and moist you might want to add another mashed banana to offset any other additives.

Spoon your batter into a greased muffin pan, filling each cup 2/3 full. Bake 15-20 minutes or until they're golden brown. Pop them out onto a wire cooling rack and eat! They're great on their own or with a little dab of butter. I'm salivating just thinking about it. Time to go grab another one!

Enjoy your baking!

Hummingbird Cake

My grandparents lived (and in my Grampie's case still live) in a beautiful big house in a village in the country. It's the house where my grandfather was born, and is seeped in memories and old traditions. Since inheriting it, my Grampie has done lots of renovations and added much to the house, usually just in time for a special occasion like a wedding or the birth of a child. There is one feature I always look for as we drive down the dusty road past the homes of my Great-Aunts and Great-Uncles to my grandparents home: a beautiful front door with a stained-glass window. We weren't allowed to actually go in or out that door, but I loved sitting on the stairs looking at it. The picture molded out of the different panes of glass is one of a beautiful hummingbird perched over a flower. Looking back it doesn't surprise me that that's the image chosen for the door. My grandparents used to set fistfuls of seeds on the deck railing outside their kitchen window so they could watch the birds and hear their joyful songs as they ate their breakfast. Out front of the window over the kitchen sink and the diningroom window were several hummingbird feeders. I remember her quietly gesturing for me to come to the window to point out these beautiful birds while she was doing the dishes. We would go to the diningroom window (it was lower so I could see out) and watch, careful not to distract the hummingbirds.

When I saw the name of this recipe, it brought a big smile to my face. I was in the mood for a bit of cake, but wasn't in the mood for a boring box cake. I was doubly surprised that this cake took less time to mix together than the box cake. As an added bonus, it needed some ripe bananas too. Having recently been given an abundance of bananas, I was more than happy to use a few this way. When I bit into my first bite of cake last night, it reminded me a lot of carrotcake in weight, but with a fruity twist. I used Cool Whip with a bit of crushed pineapple mixed in for the icing, but I've included the original cream cheese icing recipe my Grammie suggested. The cream cheese would have made it even more like a carrot cake, which would have been great in retrospect. I did, however, love the Cool Whip because it made it so light and fresh in this heat. Now, on to the recipe!

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon (oh yes, just wait until you smell this baking!)
1 cup walnuts (optional)
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3 eggs
1 8 oz can of crushed pineapple (I got an 19 oz can and saved half to mix with the cool whip)
1 cup crushed bananas

Sift dry ingredients together. Stir in wet ingredients with a spoon. Don't beat them in as it will overmix the fruits and leave you with a heavy cake. Poor into a tube pan (I'm assuming she means a bundt pan, but I actually used two buttered and floured round pans and made a layered cake). Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Cream Cheese Icing

1 40 gram pack of pineapple cream cheese (or you can buy regular and mix in the leftover pineapple from your can, be sure to drain the liquid of the 2nd half of the can though)
1/4 cup margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 lbs icing sugar or enough to make proper icing consistency

Mix in order given. Let your cake cool completely on wire rack before icing or it will slide down the cake.


Here's a slice of the finished product. It's a dark but very delicious cake! I can't wait to have another piece tonight.

Enjoy your baking!

Lemon Poppyseed Squares

First, a confession. This recipe was actually for Lemon Coconut Squares, but I don't like shredded coconut that much, whereas I love anything lemon poppyseed. I'll put the place to alternate with coconut for those of you who like it.

I liked this recipe from the second I set eyes on it. We were having a dinner party on Friday with a pair of delightful newlyweds, and I wanted to make something light and easy. I remember from being a newlywed that when you're first married, everyone wants to see you, to take that time they couldn't at your wedding to talk to you about the joys of married life and to congratulate you in person. With that in mind, I didn't want to make a big heavy dessert but something light and delicious to end an simple meal. After reading the recipe in my Grammie's cookbook, I didn't recognise it, but after taking my first bite the lemon brought me back to her kitchen again. I remember her making them up for a church social or a bake sale. I shouldn't say I remember that, what I DO remember is her letting me have a bite of one that didn't cut nicely enough. I found this sweet and funny because the reason I was taste-testing that exact piece in my own kitchen so many years later was because it didn't look pretty enough on the plate. As the old saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same. That little moment reminded me so strongly of the innocence of youth and the love and indulgence my Grammie had for me when I was a little girl. I am her only granddaughter, and the inheritor of so much more than her engagement ring, but also of the desire to share my love with friends and family through a handful of well-honed recipes. My relationship with my Grammie was anything but perfect, so I'm happy to hold on to the memories of simple times in her beautiful kitchen, watching her effortlessly whip up another treat.

Now, the recipe!

1 cup flour
1/4 cup icing sugar
1/2 cup margarine
2 tablespoons poppy seed (or 3/4 cup shredded coconut)
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon baking power
2 tablespoons lemon juice (I actually put 3 tablespoons to pump up the flavour)

Mix flour, icing sugar and margine together thoroughly until it becomes soft and crumbly. Press crumb mixture in the bottom of a 8 inch square pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes to set the bottom. If you're using coconut, once that's done sprinkle the set base with coconut.

Beat remaining ingredients together and pour over top of set crust. Bake 20 to 30 minutes longer. You'll know it's done when a sharp knife comes out of the top relatively clean. Let cool, cut and serve. Eat any pieces you think aren't pretty enough to share.


Enjoy your baking!

Banana Bread

We had some dear friends over for dinner (wait until you see what I made for dessert on my next post!) and they brought over a big bag full of bananas. They were on sale at the local fruit monger, probably because some of them were getting a little over-ripe. After puzzling for a day as to what to do with them, I took my friend's suggestion and decided I should try banana bread. I scoured my Grammie's cookbook and found this recipe I thought I'd try. I got it right on the first try with very little effort, so I knew it would be a great one to share. I'm also sharing it now because I know those same friends are living in banana heaven too, but they don't have 2 hungry toddlers anxious to eat them up. So, dear you friend, you know who you are, this one's for you!

1/2 cup butter at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 beaten eggs

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup bananas mashed with 1/2 cup cold water

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Cream together butter, sugar and eggs. I actually did this with my little hand-mixer because my butter wasn't soft enough to cream properly. Normally I'd just do it by hand with my trusty wooden spoon. Sift together remaining dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Alternate adding flour mixture and banana mix in three parts each to butter mixture, stirring at each step smoothly mixed. Bake in 2 greased loaf pans for about an hour in a 350 degree oven. Let cool on wire racks. Once they're cool, I find they taste perfect at room temperature or heated up in the microwave with a bit of butter spread on it. Yum!

Enjoy your baking!

Tourtiere (French Meat Pie)

Here's another pie for you to try, but this time it's a main course! Tourtiere is one of my favourite meals, and not just because it's easy to make. This is a Christmas essential around my parents' house, and now it's part of my family's Christmas tradition too. I like to make it as a gift for family, because once you've tasted this recipe with all its rich flavours, the store brand meat pies will seem dull. I like tourtiere so much, that I like to make it periodically throughout the year. We have it more often that Christmas, but not so frequently that it loses its novelty. This is a great meal that freezes and reheats very well. You can make it weeks ahead and pop it in the freezer!

Growing up I always assumed that this family favourite came from my father's side of the family. My paternal grandfather was from Québec, and tourtiere is known as a French Canadian dish. However, while sifting through my Grammie's cookbook, I discovered this recipe tucked in amongst other family favourites (not so far from the chili recipe). It's right in the middle of her supper recipes, not relegated to another section called "Foreign Foods" which includes some very Canadian takes on Chinese (did you know anything you add Sweet and Sour sauce to becomes automatically Chinese?), Hawaiian (and pineapple makes it Hawaiian!) and Italian food (so long as it has some kind of tomato sauce...). I guess this meat and potatoes pie was right up her alley. A great mix between simmer and serve cooking with a bit of baking to finish it all up. I must admit, that's what appeals to me about this recipe, even though the daunting pie crust is still needed. Pie crusts are surely not for the faint of heart. They are my absolute menace in the kitchen. That's probably why most of my desserts end in 'crumble' or 'crisp'. In an effort to improve my skills through this process, I find myself purposely seeking out pie recipes of all varieties, and I must say, it has been worth it. The crust I made for this delicious creation was certainly the best I've ever made. Hopefully you'll have the same luck when you try this out!

Here's the recipe:

1 lb ground meat (pork, beef, lamb, rabbit, whatever you like!)

1 large clove of garlic

1 large onion

1/2 cup water

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp sage

1/2 tsp ground cloves1 large potato, boiled and mashed

1 pie pastry

1 egg yolk, beaten

Put water, garlic and onion in blender and blend until smooth. Put this mix with your meat and all seasonings for 1 hour. Mix in mashed potato and let cool. Fill crust of your pie just like a fruit pie, cover with pie crust. Slit your crust and brush it with your beaten egg yolk. If you have some spare dough from your pie crust, you can save it to make mini-pies, or you can decorate the top of your pie. Be careful not to cover the slits you put in! Bake in a 400 degree over for 45 minutes.

As a side note, I've used this same recipe and added frozen vegetable to the mix and topped it with mashed potatoes instead of pie crust. Add a little gravy and you'll have a spicy Shepherd's pie!

Enjoy your cooking!

Rhubarb Cream Pie

Today's blog is about most Martitimers favourite pie ingredient (except apple? Don't we ALL love a good apple pie?). I didn't realise it as a child, but I think rhubarb must be one of the most prolific fruits (is it even a fruit?) available here. You can grow quite a lot in one summer and, with the right amount of sugar or other fruits, it's a delicious part of any summer pie. I think my grandparents must have grown it in their garden, because every summer when we went down for a visit there was always some kind of rhubarb pie. I remember in particular Rhubarb-Strawberry pie always being on hand for dessert. No Thanksgiving or even Christmas was complete without an assortment of pies either. Apple, Pumpkin, Lemon Meringue, or of course the ever-present Rhubarb with a touch of ice-cream or cream. It was more legend than fact to me as I only ever had it in the country. It isn't as easy to buy here in the city. So, unless like me you have family who grow it in their backyard, it's reserved for special occasions. My in-laws have one medium-sized plant that seems to provide endless batches of the stalky reddish bush. Ever since my husband and I have been married I've enjoyed even more variations on the theme of rhubarb from my mother-in-law's kitchen, as well as several ziploc bags crammed with pre-washed and pre-cut rhubarb fresh to try my own recipes on. I had to take a hiatus from rhubarb while pregnant, so now that our third child is born I've been looking for new recipes to use the stock-pile of frozen rhubarb inhabiting my freezer these past 9 months. Luckily, my Grammie also had a great fondness for rhubarb, and I've re-discovered some recipes that are old favourites and some that are sure to be new ones too. I found a particularly adorable one that involves those cute little cinnamon heart candies. That one has certainly made the cut of must-try recipes. The one I chose for today, though, is for a type of pie I've never made, so I was intrigued. A simple and quick Rhubarb Cream Pie! My only advice after having baked this delicious treat is that if you're using frozen rhubarb is to be sure you let it defrost before using it as the condensation will make your filling too watery.

Here's a picture of everything you'll need. Not so menacing, right?

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup flour

3/4 tsp nutmeg

3 slightly beaten eggs

4 cups rhubarb (cut in 1 in pieces)

1 plain pastry

2 tbps butter

Firstly, sift together your sugar, flour and nutmeg in a smaller bowl. In another bowl, beat your three eggs lightly. They don't need to be stiff, just break the yolks and give them a few goods turns with a whisk. Add your flour mix to the eggs and then mix them together with your whisk (or a hand-mixer) until smooth. Add your rhubarb and stir them in until all the pieces are evenly coated. Put your pie crust in a 9 in pie plate and then pour your filling in. Dot the top of this with butter and then top with a lattice. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 50-60 minutes.

Just a side note, I do realise my lattice work is atrocious. I made my own pie crust and didn't save enough for the top, so I just used what I had as best as a could. Here's the finished product! We topped ours with whipped cream when we ate it and, despite being a little watery from the condensation when the rhubarb defrosted, it was delicious. The light taste of the cream was a great compliment to the tart rhubarb!

Enjoy your baking!

7-Up Cake

It's been a few days so I thought I'd put up a fun little recipe I found in my Grammie's cookbook. I've never made cake from scratch, so when I saw this little number I couldn't resist. It was so easy I couldn't believe it! All the ingredients are pretty common too. I think it's funny that my Grammie decided to include this recipe in her cookbook. Using pop as an ingredient is funny and clever, and surprisingly effective. I hope you all enjoy the recipe!

Ingredients:

3 cups white sugar

1 1/2 cups margarine

5 eggs

3 cups flour

2 tsp lemon extract

3/4 cup 7-Up

Cream sugar and margarine. Add eggs one at a time, beating them well. Fold in the extract and flour gradually. Lastly, add the 7-Up. Have fun folding it in at the bubbles made me giggly like a child. The batter will be thick but uniform once you've carefully mixed in the 7-Up. Bake in a bunt cake pan, or even two bread pans. Cook for 1 hour or more until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pan.

If you choose to ice yours, I would suggest making a lemon-flavoured icing to kick it up a notch. I would do that by simply adding 1 tsp of lemon extract to whatever icing you like. I'd say folding some into some whipping cream and then using that as a frosting would be great. I made mine in two bread pans so I served it like a loaf.

Another fun idea would be to switch up the pop to get different flavours. You could switch it to cream soda and then stir in some cherries! With all the new flavours of pop out there, your choices are unlimited. My only advice would be to make sure you have something extra to boost the flavour, either in your cake or in the icing as just the pop without the flavouring comes out like just a plain pound cake with a lingering taste of something!

Enjoy your baking!