banana chocolate chip muffin

Brunch

Making one kind of muffin would not be enough for lunch, so I made not only this delectable Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin, but also Vegan Appetite.com 's Tami's Apple Oat Muffins. They looked so good during MoFo that I couldn't pass them up. These happen to be the only oatmeal muffins my kids went for. Not to say they don't like oatmeal, but combining them with something that shouldn't be healthy throws them off a bit, I guess.

The Banana Muffins are Kate's favorite ones and they, too, disappeared with just a few crumbs left. Easy to make, with just a few bananas, flour and sugar and you are good to go. The sugar in this recipe is very adaptable, so you can make it using 1c or just 1/4 c to make 12 muffins.



Cost Breakdown

flour: $2
sugar: $.50
maple syrup: $1
banana: $2
chocolate chips: $1.50
baking powder and soda: $.25
Total to make 24 muffins:
$7.25

Banana Chocolate Chip

Apple Oat Muffin

seitan marengo

Napoleon fought many battles, but the one at Marengo produced this dish. The original dish was made using whatever was around the countryside at the time, according to legend. There was chicken, crayfish, tomatoes, onion, garlic, herbs and olive oil.

I've seen many modern renditions of Chicken Marengo, utilizing mushrooms, peppers, olives and/or wine, but the one thing that still remains the same is that the chicken is cooked in a tomato sauce.

Here is my version, keeping it simple and replacing the chicken with seitan cutlets and the crayfish with mushrooms. If you can or want to get oyster or lobster mushrooms, the better. Of course, if you are not a fan of mushrooms, replace it with a vegetable. I added another twist: instead of using vegetable broth, I used plant milk to make the tomato sauce a bit creamy.

This one is relatively simple, but give it about 15-20 minutes to simmer. Tomato sauces always taste better if they simmer a bit to cook away some of the tomato's bitterness.

I served this with ... mashed potatoes, not just because it is traditional, but because it is Cat's birthday week and I still have 2 bags of potatoes to cook for her. It was outstanding.
 Really.

Cost Breakdown

seitan:

tomato, paste: $2.50

mushroom: $1

onion, garlic, herbs: $2

potatoes, plant milk: $4

Total to make 6 servings:

$9.50

Seitan Marengo Recipe