Grilled Banana Bread with Tahini and Honeycomb from "Plenty More"

I'll admit that I probably did not do this recipe justice. That's doesn't mean it wasn't delicious. It simply means that I was in a hurry and distracted while putting it together. Thus, I had no preparation photos and made a few shortcut substitutions that may have impacted the original creation thought up by Ottolonghi.

I had planned on having a banana bread handy for our weekend guests. I was going to make this *carefully* on Thursday night - well in advance of their Friday evening arrival. However, I was called out of town last minute and my plans were put to a halt. When I arrived back in town on Friday evening, our lovely guests were already here and the bananas were still sitting out, waiting to be made into bread. I dropped my bags and got right into the kitchen to get the bread done before our dinner reservations. The quick timeline led to a few shortcuts but really, it turned out quite well.

Was this the best banana bread I've ever had? No. Can I attribute that to the recipe? Not exactly. 

I found that it wasn't quite banana-y enough but I also don't think my bananas were quite ripe enough despite sitting out for 5 days. I also used gluten-free flour and coconut sugar instead of brown sugar. Any or all of these modifications could have dampened the recipe's potential. Still, it was quite good and with the tahini honey butter, it was delightful!

Sweet Pumpkin Muffins

When I think of the holidays - Thanksgiving and Christmas - there are a few key dishes that stand out in my mind as every year MUSTS as it would simply not be the holidays without them. These Sweet Pumpkin Muffins are one of those recipes. And for years now, I've been helping to make them...whipping up multiple batches as they seems to disappear as quickly as they are made. Perhaps this has something to do with that fact that we always make them in mini-muffin form. That way you can snack on them throughout the day. A large muffin is much more of a commitment but when you can simply pick up a three-biter (more or less) as you roam around the house - I find myself incorporating these delicious muffins into my diet throughout the day. They also always make their way to the Thanksgiving dinner table (yes, muffins for dinner...remember my family also served fruit pizza -aka sugar cookie dough with cream cheese frosting and fruit - for dinner). We are the "Sugermeyers"!

 So this year, when I spent my first Thanksgiving without my family, I had to bring part of them into my apartment and did so by whipping up a batch of these muffins. And though I tweaked them slightly (added a little chinese five spice and vanilla), they still served their purpose to bring me to my family through memorable food. While these muffins may not bring back nostalgic feelings to everyone who eats them, they are sure to please - and hopefully - become a part of your daily diet while they are still around in the home! Enjoy!

Sweet Pumpkin Muffins

• 1 ½ cups flour 
• 1 cup sugar 
• 1 tsp. Baking powder 
• ½ tsp. Baking soda 
• 1 tsp. Cinnamon 
• 1/2 tsp. Cloves 
• 1/4 tsp. Chinese Five Spice Powder 
• ½ cup raisins 
• 1 cup chopped pecans 
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla 
• 4 Tbs. butter 
• 2 eggs 
• 4 Tbs. plain yogurt or sour cream 
• 1 cup pumpkin puree 

Mix dry ingredients, add raisins and pecans. In separate bowl, melt butter, add eggs and beat well. Add vanilla, yogurt/sour cream and pumpkin puree. Mix well. Mix contents of bowls and stir until barely combined, but still lumpy. Pour batter into muffin tin cups. Fill each cup no more than 2/3 full. Bake 375 for 25 minutes for large muffins or 15 minutes for mini muffins. Makes 12 large muffins and 12 mini muffins.