YUMMY BANANA PECAN MUFFINS

Today I was inspired by a bowl of quickly ripening bananas.  I have been making banana muffins for as long as my children can remember.  There was a time when I made them 2-3 times a month, no longer needing the recipe because it was forever imprinted in my memory banks.  In my never-ending quest to serve my family nourishing yet DELICIOUS food, I decided to experiment with my already pretty healthy recipe.  The recipe I have been using for the past 16 years is from Food & Wine magazine.  I actually came up with a better tasting (and healthier) muffin by using mostly whole wheat flour instead of all white, substituting agave for half of the sugar, and by adding a couple of tablespoons of ground flax seeds.

The muffins were very moist and flavorful because of the addition of the agave.  Agave tastes a tiny bit like molasses so it adds its own flavor character to the recipe.   Sometimes when whole-wheat flour is substituted in recipes, the end product can end up being a bit dry.  Because agave is a liquid(slightly less viscous than honey), the additional moisture ends up balancing out the addition of the whole-wheat flour.

RECIPE

½ cup chopped pecans

1 cup whole-wheat flour

¼ cup unbleached all-purpose flour

2 Tbs. ground flax seeds

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup sugar

1/3 cup agave syrup(nectar)

2 large eggs

½ cup canola oil

3 medium overripe bananas (mashed)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

·      Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat two 6 cup muffin tins with cooking spray.

·      In a medium bowl, whisk the flours with the ground flax seeds, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.  In another bowl, combine the sugar, agave, eggs and oil and beat at high speed until lighter in color around 2 minutes.  Add the mashed bananas and vanilla and beat until smooth.  Stir in the dry ingredients until thoroughly blended.  Fold in the nuts

·      Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins filling almost to the top.  Bake in the middle of the oven for 22 minutes.  Let the muffins cool in the tins for 5 minutes before turning them out onto a rack to cool completely.

CELERIAC AND CAULIFLOWER SOUP WITH WHITE TRUFFLE OIL

Compared to the bounty of August, it’s slim pickings at the Farmers market lately.  Celeriac, more commonly known as Celery Root,  is one of the vegetables that are still available.  Since today was an absolutely perfect day to make a pot of soup, I did just that.  I wanted a creamy, flavorful soup without having to actually use cream.  I thought that by combining cauliflower with the celeriac, the texture of the soup would be silkier and more substantial.  I envisioned finishing the soup with white truffle oil so as I cooked, I chose seasonings that would complement that.

This is a great soup!  It's hardy and filling and at the same time healthy.  The white truffle oil not only looks elegant drizzled on top, but really adds another layer of flavor that makes the soup taste much more complex than it’s simple ingredients would lead us to believe.

CELERIAC AND CAULIFLOWER SOUP WITH WHITE TRUFFLE OIL

2 TBS  butter

1 TBS olive oil

1 large onion, diced

2 large leeks, white and pale green parts only, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, sliced thin

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

11/2 bulbs celeriac, medium dice(4 cups diced)

1 head cauliflower broken into florets

5 cups chicken stock

3 sprigs fresh thyme

salt & pepper

good quality white truffle oil

Place the butter and olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat.  Add the onion, leeks, garlic and crushed red pepper and cook until tender approximately 10 minutes.  Add the celeriac, cauliflower, chicken stock and thyme to the pan.  Bring the stock to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes or until the celeriac is tender.  Remove the thyme sprigs and puree the soup with an immersion blender or by transferring it into a blender.  Season generously with salt and a bit of black pepper.  Ladle soup in bowls and drizzle some white truffle oil on top.

TARRY MARKET

I have discovered a new gem of a place not far from my home.  It is called Tarry Market.  It’s part of an interesting new retail concept created by the amazing duo of Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich.  These two wunderkind have opened an upscale Italian restaurant, a wine store specializing in Italian wines and the market where I sit now, all on the same block in Port Chester, New York.  All three venues are preceded by “Tarry”, so there's Tarry Lodge, Tarry Wine and Tarry Market. 

When you walk into Tarry Market, you instantly feel like you’ve been transported to a small village in Tuscany.  The only difference is that the café, butcher, cheese maker, fishmonger, salumeria and bakery are all located under one roof.  Upon entering Tarry market, you are greeted with an expansive coffee bar.   You can make yourself comfortable at one of the several café tables or at a seat at the white marble topped bar that runs along the parameter of the front windows.   The space is warm and cozy, a perfect spot for lunch or an afternoon coffee.

A menu consisting of salads, panini sandwiches and calzones is offered all day.  You can also take the DIY approach by heading back to the market, which is located right behind the coffee bar. On a recent visit for lunch, I picked out a square of butternut focaccia; a wedge of cheese and some marinated roman artichokes.  On a more recent visit, I ordered the prime rib sandwich from the butcher counter.  The prime rib is seasoned with their special porcini rub and then put on the rotisserie.  It is sliced very thin and then piled on a freshly baked roll with a drizzle of olive oil as the finishing touch. I eat beef approximately once a month but this sandwich could easily change that.  It is absolutely amazing!  If you’re in the mood for something sweet, they offer an interesting selection of gelatos with flavors like olive oil, Guinness, lemon basil and caramel.   If baked goods are what you are craving, then opt for a Madeleine, scone, chocolate roll or their version of French toast, which is a slice of brioche baked with almond paste and dusted with powdered sugar, yum! 

 How about a glass of wine while you grocery shop?  No problem!  All you have to do is insert your credit card into the Enomatic Elite Wine Dispenser, choose one of the eight wines offered and then choose the portion amount.  There are three portion choices ranging from a taste to a full glass.  I used the dispenser last week to try a wine that I have read about and have been dying to try but haven’t because of its prohibitive price tag.  I felt much more comfortable splurging on a bottle after discovering that I loved the wine.  Tarry wine is attached to the market so you don’t have to make an additional stop at the wine store after procuring your groceries.

I like to go to Tarry Market when I am having guests for dinner because just walking past the various food counters inspire many menu ideas.    I usually start at the butcher or seafood section to choose my main course then I move on from there, adding items as I go to round out the meal.  

I love veal chops and these looked amazing.  After asking the butcher to french the bones, I marinated them for 8 hours in olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, bruised rosemary, crushed garlic and red pepper flakes.  Adam grilled them until they were medium rare, then we let them sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Next I moved on to the fresh pasta counter where I chose the butternut squash ravioli.  I usually toss them in browned butter and fresh sage but I wanted to serve them in a cream sauce this time.  I sautéed a chopped shallot in three tablespoons of butter until soft.  I added1½ cups of cream and 3 Tablespoons of maple syrup.  I let the sauce thicken a bit over low heat and then added a dash of nutmeg and seasoned with salt and pepper.  I added the cooked ravioli to the simmering cream sauce and cooked for an additional minute while stirring gently.

I didn’t have time to make a fussy appetizer, so I picked out an assortment of foods that I could put on a platter and serve.  I chose the Cremont cheese because it looked perfectly ripened and ready to be served that night.  The Roman artichokes are delicious and I knew our dinner guests would love them.

The focaccia is excellent!  My favorite is the Butternut squash and goat cheese but there was butternut squash in the ravioli so I went with the broccoli rabe and sausage. Thanks to Tarry Market, shopping for groceries has actually become an adventure. Imagine that!  Additionally, I have a new hangout where I can grab a coffee and check my e-mails (Starbucks was starting to get a bit dull if you know what I mean).  Check it out if you live in the area and if you don’t, then try the veal and pasta recipes.  They were quite tasty if I do say so myself!