I LOVE Baking!

I have three passions in life...spine research, making jewelry, and food. My favorite thing about food is making it, and cooking and baking are two of my favorite hobbies. Last night I baked these delicious banana nut muffins, going by a recipie I found on the Food Network. Here it is:

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2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 overripe bananas

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and lightly butter 2 muffin tins.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Mash 2 of the bananas with a fork in a small bowl so they still have a bit of texture. With an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk, whip the remaining bananas and sugar together like you mean it, for a good 3 minutes. Add the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla and beat well, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Fold in the nuts and the mashed bananas with a rubber spatula. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins to fill them about halfway. Give them a rap on the counter to get any air bubbles out.

Bake until a toothpick stuck in the muffins comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before turning the muffins out. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Warning...these muffins may dissapear nearly instantly! My boyfriend ate 3 in a row.

Happy Tuesday!

So this morning I was planning on photographing my two newest necklace creations, only to wake up to discover that it is dark and gloomy outside. I keep hoping the sun will come out, but it's a rare day when it's perfectly sunny here in Troy, NY. Tonight I'll probably spend creating my mom's custom order necklace out of these beautiful kyanite beads. She wanted something really simple, just a string of polished kyanite with a small kyanite pendant accented with some freshwater pearls. The beads are gorgeous, and I can't wait to see how it comes out. Kyanite is actually a great stone to balance the chakras and is ideally worn around the throat in a necklace, as it will promote the ability to speak more easily and express oneself more clearly.

Instead of making jewelry last night, I indulged in one of my other favorite hobbies...baking! I have a lab meeting this afternoon, and treats are always appreciated, so I thought I'd try out this oatmeal chocolate chip recipe I found on this great baking blog:http://bakingsheet.blogspot.com/2006/08/cooking-school-oatmeal-chocolate-chip.html

They turned out oh so yummy! Here's a picture of them...as you can see some of them have already mysteriously disappeared (my boyfriend and I are to blame for that...)