When Life Hands You Bananas Part 2

A couple of years ago I wrote about a banana cake in my first blog titled, "When Life Hands You Bananas." Well, once again, with some bananas that had gone way past where they were really edible, I created a recipe for Banana Nut Bran Muffins. These turned out absolutely amazing; light and fluffy, moist and tender. 

Banana Nut Bran Muffins

Banana nut muffins are nothing new, for sure. Every grocery store deli has them. Recipes abound. Still, I didn't go looking for recipes online, as is my wont. Instead, I wanted to create something that was midway between banana cake and banana bread. Not too heavy but not too light and not too sweet. As it happens, they were sweeter than I intended, but that was no deterrent for my husband - or for me, for that matter. They were delicious. I looked at my Banana Cake recipe, and at an old recipe for a "Banana Coffee Bread," from my (very) old "Better Homes and Gardens" binder cookbook. I opted in most cases to go in between amounts called for. The Banana Coffee Bread had very few ingredients. I also went with a streusel on top of the muffins, though this can be left out if preferred, for a less sweet version. In the end, this is what I came up with, and I am very pleased.

Banana Nut Bran Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

Banana Nut Bran Muffins

¾ cup mashed over-ripe bananas
2 teaspoons lime or lemon juice
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6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
¼ cup granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
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1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup wheat bran
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)
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¾ cup sour cream

STREUSEL:
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

Line a 12 well muffin tin with muffin papers or simple spray the wells with cooking spray (I sprayed the wells - no papers). Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Make the streusel by combining all the ingredients and cutting them together - or work the ingredients with fingers. Set the bowl into the fridge while making the muffins. 

In a medium bowl, stir together the 1 cup flour and the following 5 ingredients and set aside.

Mix the bananas and lime juice together and set aside. Beat together the 6 tablespoons butter with the ¼ cup granulated sugar and the ½ cup brown sugar until creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the banana mixture. Once well blended, add in the bowl of dry ingredients and mix on low speed for a minute, then add int he sour cream all at once and continue to beat until the mixture has no white streaks left.

Spoon the mixture evenly into the muffin tins and rap the tin sharply on the counter to settle the batter. Remove the streusel from the fridge and cut through it with a fork to loosen. Divide the mixture evenly on tops of all the muffins. 

Place the tin in the oven, then immediately lower the oven temperature to 350 and time them for 20 minutes. Once done, allow the muffins to set for about 10 minutes before turning out of tins, at which time, if you have only greased the tin and not lined with papers, the muffins should easily release. 


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

What to do with Green Tomatoes?

What with moving to a new house this past Spring, I didn't get around to planting any tomatoes. My sister-in-law did, and she was supplying me with tomatoes all season. But as anyone who plants tomatoes in the north knows, once we get a couple of cold snaps, the tomatoes just give up on any idea of ripening. And so we come to the question: "What to do with green tomatoes?"

Green Tomato Apple Streusel Pie

I had never even tasted green tomatoes before, so I am unfamiliar with the knowledge of what flavor they might blend with. I have the idea to try making my Guatemalan Green Sauce (Salsa Verde) with them and see what differences come out in the flavor. Meanwhile, I saw many pies out on the web that were either green tomatoes with apples, or alone. I prefer to make larger pies, so I used my 9½-inch plate, which has a very deep dish. I set down what I thought would be a good start for a recipe, and got down to business. This is what I wrote:

Green Tomato Apple Streusel Pie

2½ cups green tomatoes, peeled, sliced thinly

Green Tomato Apple Streusel Pie

4 cups baking apples, peeled, cored, sliced thinly
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon cloves
1½ cups sugar
⅓ cup flour
1 teaspoon lime zest
1 tablespoon lime juice
1½ tablespoons unsalted butter for dotting pie
1 single pie pastry, fitted into a 9 1/2 or 10-inch pie plate, crimped high

STREUSEL
4 tablespoons butter
½ cup flour
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)

I proceeded to make the pie, combining in a large bowl the tomato and apple slices, then the lime zest and juice with the salt. In a small bowl I combined the cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, sugar and flour. This was poured over the apples and tomatoes and tossed well, then left to macerate while I prepared the pie pastry and made the streusel. The streusel was made by combining all ingredients except the nuts and mixing well with fingers until it started to make large clumps. The nuts were added last, and I set that aside. I preheated the oven to 350 degrees. I poured the tomatoes and apple mixture into the pie shell and topped with the streusel. The pie baked for 1 hour.


I had no idea what to expect for flavor. There was a slight different flavor, but not enough to jump out and make one wonder about it. I did add way too much sugar. The pie is terrific, but awfully sweet. I would cut back the amount of sugar in the apple and tomato mixture to either 1 cup or 1¼ cup. Certainly 1½ cups was overdoing a good thing. The other thing is to possibly use 1¼ cups of sugar, and then top with a second crust or a lattice crust and omit the streusel.

Other than that, I love the pie. I am planning to make another one and see how my changes make it come out. Meanwhile, there is nothing a sweet tooth wouldn't enjoy. It was a very good first experiment with green tomatoes.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.