Banana Goodness and A Walk in the Woods

The dog woke me up somewhat early today. At about ten to eight she thought it would be a great idea to lay on me with her nose just about touching mine and wait for me to get up. Seeing that she's not the smallest dog out there, she got me up pretty quick! So I got out bed, put my slippers on and proceeded to let her outside. As she's outside I run to the bathroom to wash my face and put my contacts in before she starts barking to come in - she can be such a princess sometimes not wanting to be left outside alone for too long and when she has to go onto the wet grass to do her business, she jumps from pave stone to pave stone. Which is humorous because she a lab and does she ever love the water! So when I let her in I noticed that the approaching sky was a little dark so I decided to take her for her walk earlier than normal because she needed to desperately burn off some energy. So I went and gently woke up R. and asked if her wanted to go, he grumbled some sort of response and slowly started to get out of bed. Within a few minutes though R.'s friend A. (who was up early for hunting) called and asked if we wanted to go over to another friends property and check for deer. Sure why not!?

So the three of us loaded into the truck and made our way over, driving through the morning sun with a cool breeze coming into the cab through the window made it worth getting up early. As we began or walk down the runway to the edge of the woods R. let the dog of her leash to run around, which makes me very nervous because I'm worried she'll take off cause she has a severe case of selective hearing. However she was great!! Didn't stray out of sight, found loads of sticks to drag around, puddles to jump in and burrs to get into. We were out for close to an hour and a half and she ran the entire time; bounding through the tall grass, up and down the path and in circles if we stood still. But know it's about two hours after our morning walk and we're still waiting for her to crash . . . . .

When we got home, as R. gave the dog a bath, I decided I wanted to make something warm, comforting and delicious. I had some bananas on the counter that I needed to use up and with work all weekend I wasn't too sure if I could get to using them later, so the only logical recipe that I could think of to make quick: Banana Walnut Muffins. I've used this recipe a few time and always get good feedback from it. Although it's not from a cookbook, it's out of my absolute favorite magazine ever Harrowsmith Country Life. This recipe is my own adaptation of one from the February 2007 issue.

Banana Walnut Muffins

3 over-ripe bananas

3/4 cup canola oil

2 eggs

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/3 cup chopped, toasted walnuts

Pre-heat oven to 375° F and line 12 muffin tins with paper liners. Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a large measuring cup put oil and eggs and beat to combine, then add in banana and mash all together. Mix into dry ingredients and combine till just incorporated. Add int walnut and only stir a few times. Divide mixture into tin and bake for approximately 20 or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly, remove from tins and allow to cool completely on a rack. Enjoy!