jadesfire: Bright yellow flower (Default)
[personal profile] jadesfire
It is entirely possible that Moroccan-style mint tea is the best thing in the world. Ever. 1 peppermint tea-bag + 1 green tea bag, teapot, boiling water, brewed for at least 5 minutes (preferably more), drunk from a small glass with sugar to make as sweet as you want.

Seriously. Best. Thing. Ever.

*is refreshed*

Between a list of chores that takes up an A4 page, and J's reading for his viva, it could be a long weekend. Anyone out there? Doing anything interesting? Got any good banana muffin recipes? Mine always seem to burn...

(no subject)

Date: 2009-10-03 12:26 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] aeron-lanart.livejournal.com
No banana muffin recipes I'm afraid, but I just had a phone call from my sister and I'm doing emergency babysitting tonight (the baby is nearly 9, the eldest is 12). Best thing - I get to watch Merlin with the kids! I love watching stuff with them; I watched the Doctor Who Christmas special with them last year which was faboo. They are going to help me make the cover for my 'Guide' for my Arthur Dent costume - nice thing is they get all the references. I love my sci-fi geeky family!

Oh I'll also be doing a bit of writing/editing tonight. Big Bang is finished, but needs tidying and I have to run up 1000 words for the Highlander Flashfic secondary character challenge. Fun!

If sis had a banana muffin recipe I'll pass it on!

(no subject)

Date: 2009-10-03 01:20 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] jadesfire2808.livejournal.com
That sounds like great fun! And a lovely way to spend the evening :)

Heh, thanks. I'm going to have an internet search for recommendations, but so far, all I can find are people moaning that their recipes don't work!

(no subject)

Date: 2009-10-03 12:38 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] crashbarrier.livejournal.com
If you want it more flavoursome get sprig or two of fresh mint, bruise the leaves and drop into the tea pot..

(no subject)

Date: 2009-10-03 01:21 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] jadesfire2808.livejournal.com
In Morocco, unless there's at least a handful of mint in there, it's not real tea! But since it's hard to keep mint in in case I randomly want tea (our flat kills growing herbs - basil's the only thing hardy enough to survive), peppermint teabags do a pretty fair imitation. I'm fairly sure that British mint tastes different to Moroccon mint anyway.

(no subject)

Date: 2009-10-03 12:40 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] in-the-bottle.livejournal.com
Playing on the laptop trying to discover what's what's on the new operating system. No major new features in terms of new applications and such, but there are some small changes here and there, and I'm pretty sure I just saved about 19GB of HD space by installing the new OS. So yay to more HD space!

Oh, and trying to get the computer to talk back. So far with limited success.

Sadly, I don't really bake, so no bananananana muffin recipe. Also, I don't really like bananana muffins/cakes, sorry.

(no subject)

Date: 2009-10-03 01:23 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] jadesfire2808.livejournal.com
That sounds like hard work but satisfying! I should really do something about the Linpus on my netbook (which is hideous to work with) but haven't quite worked up the courage yet.

*giggle* I have one 'failsafe' recipe, but have yet to find a satisfying muffin one. I wouldn't have to worry if we could remember to eat the damn things before they go off...

(no subject)

Date: 2009-10-03 01:34 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] in-the-bottle.livejournal.com
Have given up trying to use voice command. The damn thing seemed to respond ok when I try using an English accent, but not when I'm speaking normally. And seeing as I can possibly speak about 1 command in that accent, it really just won't work. :P

I also just discovered the 'trackpad handwriting' function on this new OS! Actually writing out the Chinese characters with your fingers instead of inputting them using "pinyin" and scrolling and finding the right character for it. This new function is kinda awesome...

While I've seen Linpus on the display units in the shops, I've never really used it before. Personally, I'm rather pleased with the new Mac OS, Snow Leopard. :D

All this talk of baking, you're making me hungry...

(no subject)

Date: 2009-10-03 01:23 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rustydog.livejournal.com
Mmmmm. I might have to make some, though I use honey. Thank you for the enticing description!

I make banana bread often, but it's my own "ultra healthy" recipe, which I get teased about, and and I'm sure it wouldn't make good muffins. They sound yummy though!

I really want to go hiking after I finish chores and errands, but after having lots of energy yesterday I feel awfully tired today.

Good luck with the chores! It should be satisfying, even if it tires you out. :)

(no subject)

Date: 2009-10-03 01:48 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] jadesfire2808.livejournal.com
I think honey would work well with mint tea. It's the mixture of peppermint and green tea that makes it so distinctive, I think. I don't really like plain peppermint tea, but the green tea gives it some depth.

I'd love a new banana bread recipe, ultra healthy or not! I've been making the same one for years now, and while it's nice, it'd be good to have a change.

The most satisfying thing about today is crossing stuff off my list already. Enjoy your afternoon - sleep sounds like a good use of time if you need it!

(no subject)

Date: 2009-10-05 11:04 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rustydog.livejournal.com
Took me awhile to dig this up, sorry. It's a little different every time I make it, but it looks like I wrote down what I did at least once. The applesauce and flaxseed are substituting for the oil in the original recipe. (This recipe has white sugar, and I know I've made it before with all honey and no sugar - it gives a heavier, darker flavor.)

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup white all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup honey
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups mashed ripe banana (5-6 med bananas)
1/3 cup applesauce
2/3 cup ground flaxseed
4 eggs
1 cup chopped nuts or raisins

In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients except the white flour. Add all the wet ingredients except for egg. Stir/beat until all are well combined. Add eggs and white flour in small portions, beating until blended each time. Stir in nuts and/or raisins.

Pour batter into two greased loaf pans. Bake in 350 F oven for 55 to 60 minutes or til a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack, remove from pan, then cool thoroughly on the wire rack. Wrap and store overnight in refrigerator before slicing. Makes 2 loaves (32 servings).


I think this worked out pretty well, but I'm still trying to "perfect" it every time I make it, so I can't vouch for it as a flawless recipe. :)

(no subject)

Date: 2009-10-03 02:13 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] miss-zedem.livejournal.com
Mmm, mint tea. Not a fan of sugary drinks in general, but I like mint tea.

I'm co-writing a character log in which Gibbs and Tony sort out their differences regarding the whole lying about Jeanne/La Grenouille thing, which is fun. Gibbs is already drunk, and Tony's well on his way... Otherwise, we're just recovering from the longest week in the history of ever.

And no banana muffin recipes, sadly. It's been forEVER since I baked - I hate electric cookers - and even longer since I attempted buns of any kind. Burning is generally a sign that the mixture's a bit too wet though - are you adjusting your flour amount to compensate for the moisture in the bananas?

(no subject)

Date: 2009-10-03 02:17 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] jadesfire2808.livejournal.com
When I'm making it for myself, I put the sugar in my glass rather than the pot, so I can be sure of the sweetness. It's just one of those immensely comforting drinks, somehow.

Heh, that's a little like us, except we're bracing ourselves rather than recovering. Viva on Tuesday *gulp*

Our oven is terrible for chips, but just about perfect for cakes somehow. I've decided not to ask why, just to take advantage of it.

Hmmm...burning is the wrong word. They went sort of solid - the batter was almost honeycomb - and the sugar on top went a bit nasty instead of caramelising. I'm going to trawl mumsnet, which is a strange place but a useful source of tried and tested recipes!

(no subject)

Date: 2009-10-03 02:58 pm (UTC)
white_hart: (Default)
From: [personal profile] white_hart
Not muffins, but I have a good recipe for bananana bread - in fact, there's one in the oven right now, because we had banananas that had gone all squidgy and were only fit for baking. It's Nigella's, from How to Be a Domestic Goddess, and is handily online here. We've never bothered with adding sultanas (T hates dried fruit) or walnuts, although we frequently throw in a smashed-up bar of dark chocolate instead.

(no subject)

Date: 2009-10-03 03:00 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] jadesfire2808.livejournal.com
*grin* Great minds... That's the one I always make when our bananas are too soggy to eat! I do use sultanas but rarely nuts. One of the things I love about Nigella's recipes is that they tend to cope well with minor changes, although her banana muffins were the ones that went rather wrong. They were edible, it was just that neither of us really *wanted* to eat them!

Thanks, though. I'm going to try to find a recipe recommended someone on the great wide web and will see how I get on with that!

(no subject)

Date: 2009-10-03 03:19 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] pwcorgigirl.livejournal.com
This is a five-star recipe from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (which has a really cool collection of recipes) and is very similar to the one I use. It's for a bread, but since it makes 12 servings, it should make 12 large muffins. Start checking to see if they're done at around 22 minutes cooking time.

I throw a handful of chopped walnuts into my recipe, and substituting brown sugar for white will give a richer flavor. A half-teaspoon of vanilla extract will boost the sweet taste without adding calories.

Ingredients:

3 large well-ripened bananas
1 egg
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cup flour

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Peel the bananas. Put them in a mixing bowl. Mash the bananas with a fork.

3. Add the egg, oil, milk, sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Mix well with the fork.

4. Slowly stir the flour into the banana mixture. Stir for 20 seconds until the flour is moistened.

5. Lightly grease the bread pan with a little oil -OR- cooking spray -OR- line it with wax paper.

6. Pour the batter into the bread pan.

7. Bake for 45 minutes until a toothpick inserted near the middle comes out clean.

8. Let the bread cool for 5 minutes before removing it from the pan.

Notes: The key to good banana bread is to use well-ripened bananas that are covered with brown speckles. Try using half whole wheat flour to add some fiber.

(no subject)

Date: 2009-10-03 03:22 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] jadesfire2808.livejournal.com
*beams* I was hoping you'd have one! Thank you :D Since I have about 7 over-ripe bananas, I'm going to try these and another recipe I found online, to see which works best with our oven. I have cakes that I could only cook in our last flat, and others that will only work here. It's weird, but I figure if I just go with it, at least I'll turn out things that are edible

Much appreciated - I'll let you know how I get on!