Thankful for baking :: The Joy Challenge

I started a new job yesterday. And it’s a lovely job. Great location. Fabulous people. And yet, starting a job can be stressful. And yesterday was no exception. So guess what I decided to do to last night to chillax?

Bake.

And this was my therapy. Banana nut muffins. A delicious recipe from The Muffin Lady.  Here’s the start:

I dotted half the batter with Callebaut chocolate chips. It’s like a dessert muffin. All melty and muffiny and chocolately. Yum. They came out of the oven looking like this …

Yummy, huh? And pretty.

When I was baking I realized sometimes we forget that the things we have to do – are actually things we want to do. Like baking. And laundry. And watering thirsty plants.

And it’s not until you’re away from home all day that you appreciate the way the dryer hums when it’s doing it’s job. Or the way the plants look right after you water them. Or the way banana muffins topped with Callebaut chocolate smell fresh out of the oven.

All those things so uniquely home can seem everyday. Mundane.

But they’re not. They constitute the essence of home.

Which is the best place on earth to be.

The Muffin Lady’s Banana Nut Muffins

3 ripe bananas * 1 cup oil * 2 eggs * 1 cup sugar * 2 cups flour * 2 teaspoons baking powder * 1 teaspoon baking soda * 1 teaspoon salt * 1/4 teaspoon mace * 1 teaspoon vanilla * 1/2 cup walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place bananas in a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until pureed or mashed. Add the oil and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time. Sift the dry ingredients. Gradually add the sifted ingredients. Add the vanilla. Fold in the nuts. Bake in a wax paper lined muffin pan for 30 minutes.