My kitchen smells like heaven right now and there’s a burning underneath my fingernails. I’ll explain later.
I had my free fitness evaluation at the gym this morning and learned some great exercises to build core strength in preparation for the heavy lifting I need to do with my new job, and got an injury/body-fat reading. Foam rollers are my new best friend! I have incredibly tight quads, hamstrings and IT bands from the mass amounts of hiking I do, and I will be devoting a good amount of time at the gym to stretch them out and release all the knots. This morning’s rollout goes up on the list as one of the most painful things I’ve experienced.
I finished up my workout, ran over to Trader Joe’s to pick up some necessities for my day off and sprinted through a downpour to get to my car. Lunchtime!
First I caramelized some onions…
Next up, I chopped up a jalapeno (hence the burning under my fingernails that is STILL lingering, hours after chopping), a clove of garlic and grated some frozen ginger.
Hint: Using a zester and a knob of frozen ginger is the easiest way to “chop” ginger!
I threw above ingredients, plus a lot more into a pan…
I halved
Jenna’s recipe since the roommates are out of town, and still have about four servings leftover!
   After lunch I ran to the library to pick up some books I had on hold and, since I was out, decided to stop by the grocery store for even MORE ingredients. Once I start cooking, I can’t stop!
Butternut squash, chocolate chips and “
Leaves of Grass“. Not to be used together!
I sliced up half of the squash, tossed it with olive oil and sprinkled garlic salt on top, then baked it at 450 degrees for an hour.
These were enjoyed with ketchup and another thunderstorm 🙂
   I sat down to watch “
Leaves of Grass” which stars Edward Norton as twin brothers. I really liked this movie and Ed Norton is AMAZING – however… The disc was scratched and the most pivotal moment was skipped over. I tried to clean the disc to no avail, and called
Redbox to tell them. The good thing that came of this is that I got promo codes for two free movies! I’m
slightly less bummed about not knowing what the heck happened in the climax of the movie…
   I was so distressed that I had to put my anxiety into the beating of some butter and sugar. It was time for Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins!
Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins – Printable version available
HERE.
(adapted from my Great Grandma Max’s recipe <3)
1/3 cup Nucoa
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup whole rolled oats
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 banana mashed
1 banana roughly chopped
A crapload of chocolate chips
   1. Cream the Nucoa (or butter or butter substitute you prefer) and the brown sugar together.
   2. Add eggs and wisk together.
   3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix well.
   4. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and combine.
   5. Stir in bananas and chocolate chips (I used almost half a bag in mine! Oops!)
   6. Pour batter into muffin tins.
   7. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
   8. Grab a muffin immediately and dive in!
YUM!
    I wish I could claim that the muffins are healthy, but whole wheat flour and rolled oats are the best I can do while still keeping it delicious! It’s a good thing I have a gym membership – I’ll be working off the extra muffin I inhaled after eating the first one. Oops again!
What’s your favorite recipe to make on a rainy day?
