Pumpkin and Spice

Bananas are one of my favorite fruits, especially at breakfast time. As just about anyone who has seen me prior to about 8am can attest, early mornings are not really my "peak hours". I like to keep breakfasts as easy as possible- grinding my own beans for my coffee is about as complicated as my breakfast gets. Usually, I just do a bowl of cereal (Grape Nuts are one of my favorites) with soymilk, coffee and a piece of fruit. Bananas are perfect for breakfast because they're easy to peel (unlike oranges- I'm not that patient in the morning) and easy to eat (unlike, say, apples... I'm like the slowest apple-eater ever.)

Of course, everyone has their own idea of when bananas are at the perfect ripeness. Kyle likes his pretty green, whereas I prefer my with brown speckles. Usually this works out well, because I buy a bunch of green bananas. Kyle eats the bananas when they're green, and as they turn brown, I eat what's left. Sometimes, though, Kyle leaves me with too many bananas to eat before they go mushy and black. I hate to throw them away, so sometimes I freeze them for smoothies, but, of course, the classic standby for squashy bananas is banana bread.

I love banana bread, but when faced with several overripe bananas recently, I decided to mix things up a bit and make a sweet muffin using some of my favorite flavors- banana, chocolate and coconut. These muffins are so addictive- the banana is creamy and smooth, the coconut is so summery and tropical, plus it crisps up a bit in the oven, giving the muffins a fantastic texture, and there are just enough chocolate chips to make things fun, without being overwhelming (or making you feel bad for eating them for breakfast!)

These made a perfect breakfast for me while job hunting- I just split one in half and popped it in the toaster to warm up a bit and let my coffee brew while I ran around the house trying to assemble a presentable interview outfit. Speaking of- I got a part time job working at a local bakery! It actually just opened in the past few weeks, and I'm the first baker the owner has hired (she has been doing all the baking herself.) I'm still looking for a second part-time job, but I'm pleased to have something for the time being.

Oh, and on a totally unrelated note, I've also secured the web address www.pumpkinandspice.COM, which means that if you accidentally type .com instead of .net, you'll get to my blog either way! Hooray!

Banana Choco-coconut Muffins
Makes about 15 regular-sized muffins

• 4 overripe bananas
• 1c sugar
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• 2t vanilla extract
• 1 2/3c flour
• 1/3c whole wheat pastry flour (or, use a full 2c of regular flour)
• 1t baking soda
• 1t salt
• 1c flaked coconut, plus extra for garnish
• 1c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin tin with cupcake papers or grease cups.
Mash bananas and sugar together until as smooth as possible (you can do this by hand or, you can pulse it in a food processor.) Add the butter, eggs and vanilla and whisk to combine.
In another bowl, sift together the flours, baking soda and salt. After sifting, whisk to ensure they are well mixed. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and stir until just barely combined. Add the coconut and chips and stir until just mixed.
Portion the batter into muffin cups (About 2/3 full) and sprinkle the muffin tops with the extra coconut. Bake for 25min, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool, and enjoy for breakfast or an afternoon snack with a smear of cream cheese and a big cup of coffee.