Banana Butterscotch Muffins, Awards, and a Tag!

Those of you who have been long-term friends of my blog will recall that I'd once started a Kiddie Party Menu Series, which I had to abandon after one recipe because I'd misplaced my recipe files and books. Well, I've got them back so I'm posting the second recipe on that menu here-Banana Butterscotch Muffins. This banana muffin has been a hot favorite of my toddler and his best friends. But don't jump to conclusions and think it's only for toddlers-oh no! It's much loved by grownups too! Whenever I bake a batch of these, they get over in no time, and it's great to pack as a snack for both school and office lunchboxes....or have them for breakfast. They freeze well and all you have to do is thaw and microwave them when you're in a hurry-a healthy wholesome breakfast in a jiffy!

Before I go into that, let me mention, with a lot of pride AND humility (if that combo is ever possible!) that this past week, I've received a load of blogger awards from my fellow blogistas. Emreen, who blogs about all things beautiful at Liven Things Up, presented me with the "Stylish Blogger Award" and Biny, who blogs about all things delicious at Biny's Recipes, presented me with the "Best Blogger" and "Kreative Blogger" awards. Thank you so much, Em and Biny....An important part of both the awards is that I have been "tagged" to reveal 7 facts about myself. Now I have to admit that whenever I used to see this tag plus award combo in the blogosphere, I used to wish for the award but fear the tag! Now I've got both and can't escape, so here goes the random 7 things about me which you may or may not know about....But first, here's the recipe for the muffins - you can read the "7 facts about me" tag at the end of the post, if you're so inclined!

I've forgotten where I originally got this recipe from, but whoever and wherever it was from, thank you!

1. 3 or 4 large and overripe bananas, mashed
2. 1/2 to 1 cup white sugar
3. 1 beaten egg
4. 1/3 cup melted butter
5. 1 teaspoon baking soda
6. 1 teaspoon baking powder
7. 1/2 teaspoon salt
8. 1-1/2 cups all purpose flour (maida-you can substitute with half cup whole wheat or multigrain flour)
9. 1/4 cup butterscotch chips (substitute with chocolate chips or even chopped walnuts or almonds)

• In a mixing bowl, combine the bananas, sugar, egg, and butter (just use a spoon).
• In another bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder.
• Now pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Lastly add the butterscotch/chocolate chips/nuts. Do not overstir. Even if there are still lumps or splotches of flour in between, don't bother.
• Now prepare your muffin tins. Either grease the cavities with a little butter or line them with cupcake liners.
• Pour in the batter, two or three tablespoons (leaving enough room to rise).
• Preheat the oven to 180C (or approximately 350F) and bake for 20 minutes.
• You will know they are done when they become almost double in size and the inside is soft and moist. You can also bake this minus any nuts or chips. Just banana or any other fruit puree or mash that you like to play around with!

Now it's award time! I'm passing on this "award crown" to the following bloggers who I think really deserve it, for their creativity, originality, sheer energy and positivity that is reflected in their wonderful blogs!

Even if you have received the award before and the tag that goes with it, no problem-you can never get enough of appreciation, right? So this "Best Blogger Award and Crown" goes to the following fantastic people who also happen to be bloggers!.....(drumroll please!)

1. Emreen

2. Katerina

3. Renee

4. Swati

5. Aipi

6. Reshmi

7. Kankana

 Of course, you all know the rules (skip this if you've already got the award!)

• Pass on the award to the blogger you think deserves it.
• Comment or email them to let them know they have got the award.
• Share 7 facts about yourself.
• Link and thank the blogger who has given you the award.
• Copy and paste the award logo on your blog!

Now for the 7 facts about me-please bear with me on what may seem to be a rather long drawn out "revelatory tag"!

1. I have this connection and 'deja vu' with Italy-whether in books (Under the Tuscan Sun being my favorite Italy-themed book), movies (Under the Tuscan Sun, again, being one of my favorite movies shot in Italy), songs, foods, photographs....I've also been attracted to the Montessori educational philosophy and only when researching it in depth did I find out that Maria Montessori was an Italian-and I'm starting my studies in it this year....Well, when I was a child, I had this 'dream-masquerading-as-a-hunch' that I'd marry an Italian guy who owned an Italian bistro, and an Italian island, and a chalet overlooking a beach, and a yacht and live happily ever after...Well, my life didn't quite pan out that way, but hey, no regrets! Anyway, I absolutely love Italian food and there's this omelette that I've been making on my own, ever since I remember, which is different from the way my mom or anyone I know makes it and much later I came to know it's the way Italians make their omelettes! Makes me want to believe Dr. Brian Weiss's evidence on past lives and past life memories :-)

2. Chicken biryani is my number one favorite food - I can have it 3 times a day 365 times a year and not get fed up! I had my first biryani (chicken) at my first year birthday party, made by our expert family cook (Mammooty-God bless his soul!), and my parents always say that's the reason I'm hooked for life.... 

3. Even though I seem to be an outgoing person, I'm actually quite an introvert and feel I can be more true to myself when I write than when I speak. For me, writing is a way to get in tune with myself and a Higher Power. I need to write as a creative outlet, whether I like it or not. I wrote my first story when I was 8 years old-about a dog who goes on an intergalactic search for a missing star, which was "kidnapped" by a really bad witch, and how he finds it and the star gets named the "Dog Star" in commemoration of the successful quest :-). The Internet and blogging opened up whole new vistas for me-I've been at it since 2005 (my first blog is Mystic Altar) and though its been hibernating for long, I plan to revive it soon!

4. I absolutely cannot live isolated from nature....I have to have trees all around me, some form of greenery...if not trees, then at least a potted plant on the windowsill! I have plans to have a nice little kitchen garden sometime in the near future. I think nature is where Divinity really resides, and almost every epiphany or "moment of nirvana" I've ever experienced has been in the midst of nature. I love being in the presence of mountains the most...

5. I love books and movies. Whenever I read a novel, the story automatically plays on my mental screen like a movie in a theater. Years later, if I think of the novel, its the images from my mental movie that plays back in my mind. So far, there's only one character from a novel that has affected me deeply, almost made me fall in love (when I was a giddy-headed 19-year-old) - and that is Howard Roarke from The Fountainhead.

6. I don't know whether it's a good thing or a bad thing, but I've never felt that I have an identity as a person belonging to a particular country, state, religion, language, or caste. Even though I'm aware of these things, they don't really matter to me-I feel as much at home in a "foreign" country or in another state and with its people as I do in the country of my birth and with the people here. Unfortunately, not everybody feels the same!

7. Cats and dogs gravitate towards me, and me to them. In the home I used to live in previously, in Hyderabad, the cats from the neighboring house used to crawl into my home through the windows and actually come and curl up on my lap while I was on the computer or reading the newspaper or watching TV or just lying in bed at night-this, when I didn't even know the cats and was new to the place! I have a favorite place in my heart for a stray dog called Sonu, who was adopted by our neighbor, but never used to listen to anybody but me, so I was the one who used to take him out for walks and even feed him and babysit him when they went out. Finally, the family that adopted him had to give him to someone else as they couldn't manage him and I wasn't in a position to take him into my home... Of course, my soulmate of all time has to be my lil' Daschund, Lulu, who spent a decade with us. Read about her here, if you like dogs-Death of an Angel.

If you've read this far, well, I'm honored! Thanks and see you at my next post!