Nutella Banana Muffins...in pink

I’ve always been a girly-girl. Whether by nature, by nurture, or by fate, my internal compass always points to an undeniably feminine North. Pink is my favorite color (well, pink and gold actually). As a child, I loved dolls. Yes, Barbie, I’m not ashamed to admit. I collect ribbons. I love earrings…especially ones long enough brush my shoulders. I owned a hoop skirt when I was a kid…and I used to prance around the garden in it, pretending to be Scarlett O’hara.

It could be argued that I am absolutely and positively awful at anything athletic, thus leaving me no choice but to be girly or be scorned, but I think my intentions were sincere.

There were times though that I hid it. I hid it under black clothes and loud music and sarcasm. But still. It lived and it thrived. It would not be denied.

Then one fine day, somewhere in between the angst of adolescence and the cusp of adulthood, I realized: I’m girly and I don’t care what anyone thinks! Pink is my favorite color! PINK is my favorite color!!!

You know what I discovered then? You can be girly and pink and Barbie…and also be rock and smudged black eyeliner and sharp wit. In this day and age, we can have our cake and eat it too!

And if you know your way around the kitchen, that takes on a deliciously literal aspect.

Case in point: Let’s say you like bananas and banana bread. You also like Nutella and anything with Nutella…especially cupcakes. Plus, you want to use your pink cake stand and pink argyle cupcake liners.

No problem.

I knew I had to make these Nutella Banana Muffins as soon as I saw the recipe on Delicious Days. It has everything I could hope for in a cupcake/muffin (ok, except for this)! I made them for an afternoon tea I had a while back with my dear bookstore friends. Instead of making the chocolate coating though, I frosted the cupcakes with more Nutella. A bit much? I don’t think so. Because of the way Nutella seems to disappear on me when I bake it, I thought a little bit of uncooked Nutella insurance was called for!

A chocolate, Nutella-y, banana bread all dolled up in pink argyle cupcake liners…what more could this girly-girl want? (ok, I know!) Baking your cake and eating it too is truly priceless.

P.S. I still like black clothes (very slimming!) and loud rock music. I still suck at sports. I still like sarcasm (although maybe not as “out loud” as before). I still smile when I pass Barbie in the toy store. I no longer own a hoop skirt but I still pretend to be Scarlett O’hara sometimes :)

P.P.S. Have anyone seen this? What a super idea! Whether you're in pink or in black or in anything in between…Girls Rock!

Paho in Brine

I grew up with no concept of seasonal eating. I blame this on the fact that I don’t have four distinct seasons. Ok, there may have been other reasons, but leave a girl to her illusions.

Over here we have two seasons: Wet (rainy) and Dry (summer…i.e. superduperhot). In truth, I really have no factual evidence to back up my theory other than having two less seasons must have some sort of effect on our agriculture. And this effect must have somehow caused me to totally ignore any change in fresh produce during my tender years. And as such, I blithely ate anything I wanted, whenever I wanted, for most of my life.

Then one particularly hot summer I found myself in Dijon, France looking for (well, what else would I be looking for in the capital of Burgundy?) beef bourguignon. Oops. Yes, French chef sets island girl to rights. You can just imagine.

My first response was rebellion. What?! I actually had to wait to eat something??? Why? My home’s wet-dry cycle didn’t really explain as much as, say, a summer-winter-spring-fall cycle could. But slowly I learned. I’m learning to be more sensitive to what is at it’s best and when. I scour the internet for information on our local produce’s seasonality. I pay attention at the market to things that seem to be in glorious abundance while others suddenly go in hiding. I also check out local food magazines and market blogs for the latest on what’s in season now (you know, just like fashion).

And it was while checking on one of my favorite local blogs that I found this! Paho! Complete with his “at the markets now!” heralding…designed to get us running to the nearest market. Paho is a small mango (sold green) that is a species all on its own, not a baby mango picked before it’s full grown. You can read more about it here. It is unforgiving in the sour department, making your lips pucker up and your eyes squint in what looks like pain, but is really pleasure, trust me. They also have a heartbreakingly short season (from a few weeks to a month!) so I was wasting no time. I rushed out at first opportunity to go and be seasonal! Wooo!

I really like paho (brined paho was a favorite in my grandmother’s house when I was little)…so don’t think I was just trying to be fashionably seasonal…though I am human most of the times, fashionable some of the times, so I do succumb once in a while ;)

I brined my paho as per instructions here. They now sit in my fridge waiting for the perfect opportunity to bust out in all their beguiling sourness…

What’s next in my basket this season? Strawberries! Mangoes!

What’s in season at your market now? :)

This is my entry to this week's Weekend Herb Blogging, created by Kalyn atKalyn's Kitchen and hosted this week by Green Olive Tree!