Happy Halloween, here’s a bar (not a Twix)!

I made a bar/hutch thing in my  kitchen this fall from a shelf I found in my dark, antiquated basement, and I’m pretty pleased with it. Thought you oughta know. The bottles look like candy apples.

L

Pipe Dream #297: To Fellowship Embarrassingly – Banana Streusel Muffins + Anthro

All I care about right now is the word “fellowship,” which is a totally Christian way to say “hanging out with friends,” except that it means more than that and runs much deeper and is an extremely important life necessity that somehow made its way onto a dishtowel (which is so perfect because food can be a sweet element of fellowship) sold on the not-so-Christian Anthropologie website.

How did this happen? Anthropologie, how have you managed to figure out your customer base (me) so exactly that you can literally cater to my every whim and desire? With a single dishtowel, you have mastered me, personally and professionally. Your marketing research and command of all platforms traditional and social have reduced me, a stingy communications professional hardened to the wiles of all advertisements, to buying your wares at full price without batting an eyelash.

I love this dishtowel. I love fellowship. And I love these muffins, mostly because of their streusel top.

Which I made in a MN mug. Shout out to all my MN friends with whom I try to fellowship on the regular.

This recipe makes an odd amount of muffins. Seven muffins, in fact. I think that if you doubled it, you could make 12 large muffins, or 14 regular size muffins. Give 12 a shot if you only have one muffin tin, eh?

I thought the streusel was a bit floury for my taste, but maybe I forgot to add some sugar or something. I don’t think so, but you never know. Imagine all the mistakes you are aware of. There have to be others that you don’t know about, like when you send a paper for proofreading and it comes back with the most obvious spelling mistake in the title corrected.

Side story: I spelled ’embarrassing’ wrong for years. One ‘r.’ I forget how I figured this out. It was sometime in college.

Embarassingly so,

Lauren

Banana Streusel Muffins

Adapted from How Sweet Eats

Makes 7 muffins, easily doubled to 14

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 large egg
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 large banana, well-mashed
1/3 cup milk

For the crumb topping:
2 big tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons white sugar
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Set aside. Line a muffin tin with seven liners.
To make the crumb topping, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, salt and melted butter until combined, then use a wooden spoon to stir in the flour. The mixture will be crumb-like and dry.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg and brown sugar together until smooth and no lumps remain. Add in vanilla extract, butter and banana, whisking again until combined. Gradually add in dry ingredients, mixing until just incorporated. Stir in the milk and mix until just combined. Fill each muffin liner 2/3 of the way full with batter

Sprinkle the crumb evenly on top of the muffins.

Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until tops are no longer wet and become slightly golden. Remove and let cool until cool to the touch.

Shadowplay & heaven

A lot of my pictures are making heavy use of darkness lately. Not tenebrism, which I was reminded is basically my favorite thing. Tenebrism is like heaven. It’s the promise of something hidden that, when revealed, will be so bright and beautiful. It makes me just want to  remove the covering, throw back the curtains, find the source of LIGHT. We haven’t quite made it yet, folks, but tenebrism is a reminder in the waiting.

Also, #tbt to my grandparent’s beautiful house, nearly unchanged in the five years since I’ve seen it. Full of curiosities.

L