Life as a Dill

Almond Banana Coconut Muffins {Gluten Free}

Unbelievably moist.  Also quite nutritious, so I didn’t hesitate when Finnian requested one for breakfast.

Only added coconut to the original recipe found on Honest Fare since I didn’t want to open up a brand new bag of almond flour.  It was a great move :)

Almond Banana Coconut Muffins {Gluten Free}

8 oz. almond meal
2 oz. unsweetened dried coconut
½ teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
3 oz. sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
3 ripe bananas (lightly spotted)
extra ½ banana, thinly cut, and sliced almonds for topping

Preheat oven to 300F. Grease muffin tin and dust with flour or line with shallow baking cups.
 
Mix together almond meal, coconut, and baking powder.  Set aside.

Process eggs, sugar, bananas and cinnamon for 3-5 minutes in a food processor.  Stir into the almond meal mixture.

Divide into 12-15 muffins, filling about 2/3 full.  Top with thinly sliced bananas and almonds. Bake about 35-40 minutes or until top is browned and toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool in muffin tin for several minutes, then transfer to cooling rack.

Artisan bread... the easy way

Start with this:

Get to this:

And end up with this:

Slap on some homemade butter and wonder why you bothered with the rest of dinner. It is that good!

Beer Bread with Rosemary and Onion

Hannaford Fresh Magazine | Nov/Dec 2009

2 T olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

3 c flour

3 T sugar

4 t baking powder

¼ t salt

½ t freshly ground pepper

1 ½ t fresh chopped rosemary

12 oz. lager beer

Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with vegetable cooking spray. Heat 1 Tbsp. of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until just beginning to brown, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool a few minutes.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, pepper, and rosemary together in a large bowl. Add beer and onion and stir until combined. Pour into loaf pan and drizzle remaining 1 Tbsp. oil over the top of the batter. Bake at 375°F until top is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 50-55 minutes.

Cool bread in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely before slicing.

*store leftover bread in refrigerator.  It tastes wonderful when sliced, topped with grated parmesan, and toasted in the broiler for a few minutes.

Roasted Butternut Squash & Shallot Soup and Beer-Cheese Bread

This soup and bread were both great on a cold and blustery day like today! It only got up to 29 at our house this afternoon. Brrrrrr...

We each added a dollop of sour cream to the soup, which as you can see had a lovely golden color. The beer bread was interesting-- used a bottle of Sam Adams Octoberfest that was left over from a few weeks ago as the lager of choice. We still have half a loaf left to enjoy tomorrow.

Overall it was a lazy day. I watched the Ohio State-Michigan game while Denver, not the sports fanatic, took a nap in front of the TV. At dinnertime we started watching season 1 of 30 Rock through the Xbox-- gotta love the new partnership between Microsoft and Netflix.

Denver has a recital tomorrow, and then a 2-day work week begins for me. We still don't have Thanksgiving plans, but I did buy a turkey breast to prepare in the crock pot. We'll probably just end up eating and being lazy with the cats.