New Blog, New Site

So much has happened since the last post. After posting a couple recipes, we turned our attention to building a recipe-sharing app, which we believed (and still believe) is the best way to share recipes. Now it's live!

Go to www.cookooree.com and start posting recipes. The site is in early beta so there's still a lot to build. Come help us make it awesome!

And with the launch of Cookooree, we have moved our blog to Wordpress.com. (Sorry, blogspot. It was good times, though!) Please keep abreast of our progress over at blog.cookooree.com.

Banana Blueberry Bran Muffins

banana blueberry bran muffins, originally uploaded by juanita.

I'm always trying to eat more bananas, but too often I'm left with soft, speckled bananas that are past their prime--but perfect for muffins! There's nothing better than getting a second chance at eating those bananas you bought.

Makes 6-9 muffins.

Ingredients:

Wet ingredients:
1 large egg
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1-2 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup unprocessed wheat bran
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp. canola oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Dry ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 pinch salt

Optional:
• blueberries (add a generous handful, especially if you want your kids to eat these)
• walnuts (a generous handful)
• raisins
• chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 450.

2. Spray muffin cups or line with baking cups.

3. Whisk egg and brown sugar until smooth.

4. Add banana, wheat bran, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla extract.

5. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

6. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in wet ingredients. Stir just until mixed.

7. Mix in any optional ingredients.

8. Fill muffin cups.

9. Bake 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Granola

homemade granola, originally uploaded by juanita.

The defining feature of granola is really only the rolled oats baked with some sort of sweet binding agent.You could use molasses or a mixture of brown sugar and vegetable oil, but I like honey. I also go for the whole almonds and a lot of seeds!

There's a lot of room to make this recipe your own so go nuts! (Ha ha ha. Granola humor...)

Makes about 6 cups.

Ingredients:

2 cups rolled oats (I like Bob's Red Mill Extra Thick rolled oats)
1 cup of raw almonds
2/3 cup of nuts & seeds (e.g. sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, flaxseeds)
1/3 cup wheat bran
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup raw pecans
1 cup dried fruit (e.g. raisins, dried apricots, dried blueberries)

See a spread of my ingredients...

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In a large bowl, combine everything except for the coconut flakes, pecans, and fruit. Stir until thoroughly mixed.

3. Spread into a large jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with a lip.

4. Bake for 10 minutes. Stir. Bake for 10 more minutes.

5. Stir in coconut flakes and pecans. (These items are too delicate to be added at the beginning). Bake for 10 minutes.

6. Mix in dried fruit. Cool.