Best Blueberry Banana Muffins

I always think I can combine two or three recipes to come up with my perfect muffin. So far my attempts at a banana blueberry muffin that has yogurt and oatmeal and whole wheat flour in it have all baked up as little flavorless lumps.

I decided to adjust my sights a little. Banana and blueberry were givens, as those are two things I have in abundance because I cannot survive without an abundance of bananas (brown speckled and ripe) and blueberries (frozen- from my childhood home blueberry farm). Yogurt was in the fridge and whole wheat flour on the counter, so I decided to forego only the oatmeal. Which I suspect was the culprit anyway...

When I first started baking, Martha was my muse, and so it's only fitting that I turned back to her in this moment of need. Thus, I adapted her Healthy Banana Blueberry Muffin and found them AWESOME.

These muffins bake up fluffy with perfectly rounded tops, studded with blueberries and banana bits. They tastes buttery. Complex. Delicious. I ate like 4 within an hour of taking them out of the oven. I wish that was an exaggeration.

Blueberry Banana Muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 stick butter, room temperature

1/3 cup brown sugar, packed

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 or 3 very ripe bananas, mashed- 3/4 cup

1/3 cup vanilla yogurt

1 tsp vanilla

1.5 cups blueberries (frozen is fine)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Use a spray oil to grease a 12-cup muffin pan. You can also butter and flour the pan or use cupcake liners.

Mix the flours, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Mash the bananas and mix them with the yogurt and vanilla. In a large bowl using a hand mixer, or in the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars until fluffy (about 5 minutes). Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until incorporated. Alternate adding the dry and wet ingredients, mixing between each addition until just blended. Don't over-mix. Stir in the blueberries and divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling each to the top.

I made a ripe-banana shrine to these lovely, lovely muffins.

Also, I've been listening to this song non-stop and I thought I'd share. Zach Hurd- Changing Landscapes

Homemade Bomb Pops

Eric's current popsicle obsession is Bomb Pops. His taste in popsicles has self-admittedly matured over the years, moving from a "quantity over quality" stance (think mountains of skinny and oh-so-cheap freezer pops) to an appreciation for the finer things in life (aka Edy's Strawberry Whole Fruit Popsicles).

As a gift one day I decided to surprise my man with delicious and healthy home-made Bomb Pops.

But first, dear Readers, a question:

Why the name Bomb Pop? And why is it red, white and blue? The flavors are cherry, lime and blue raspberry, so the obvious color combo there is red, green and blue. Which came first? The shape, the name or the colors? And why should the makers assume that the three go together? America = bombs?

A quick google search revealed not much information about the origins of the bomb pop except that they were first produced in the fifties by Blue Bunny. That's during the Cold War, folks, when everybody had bombs on the brain. Clearly it made sense to reinforce the nation's dominance and paranoia in the minds of children with patriotic popsicles.

On to the subject at hand!

To make these bomb pops, I simply pureed strawberries with a little simple syrup (half sugar, half water, heated in a saucepan until the sugar is dissolved), and poured it in the bottom of my popsicle molds. If you don't have popsicle molds, you could always use small paper cups.

Next I added a bit of vanilla yogurt, but you could try lemon or limeade as well.

Finally, I pureed some blueberries with simple syrup and used them to top off the molds.

Add the popsicle stick/plastic knife/mold caps and freeze away!

In a few hours, you can enjoy your Bomb Pop with the knowledge that you are eating real fruit. And for your information, National Bomb Pop day is celebrated the last Thursday in June. Missed it this year, but I'll be ready next year. We'll have a party, ok?

To unmold, just run hot water around the outside of the mold or cup for a few seconds, and slide the popsicle out.

Obviously, the popsicle is a very adaptable frozen treat. Try different fruits or flavors of yogurt- even frozen pudding!