Brown Sugar and Banana Muffins (or cupcakes)

As I've said many times, baking is my stress relief. And thanks to the hot mess that education is in in this state, I have a whole lotta stress in my life right now. I don't think anyone, outside of education, really understands what it's like to be a teacher. The ridiculous way that teachers and schools are portrayed on TV doesn't help (I'm talking to you, Glee).

But beyond that, I'm not sure anyone, other than a fellow teacher, knows what kind of burden we deal with. English teachers have hours of essays to grade. Math teachers have building blocks of concepts to build on (and often rebuild). Social science teachers have eons of material to cover. And elective teachers, I'm finding, frequently are left in the dust.

I was hired as an English and journalism teacher. After my first year, I took over the struggling yearbook program. After my third year, I started a digital photography program. I carefully carved out a niche for myself--earning accolades for my organization, dedication and attention to detail along the way. I've helped put my school on the scholastic media map, so to speak. And I've exposed hundreds of kids to a world beyond Southern California, that many of them never knew existed.

As my media-based endeavors grew, my commitment in the English department lessened. And this year, in my fourth year of teaching, I found myself a full-time electives teacher. Which is AWESOME. I show up to work and I get to teach the FUN STUFF all day long. I have a schedule most people would dream of.

But with budget cuts looming, overall school enrollment dropping and general morale at all time low, my stomach is in knots. School is out in a month. I have no idea what I'm teaching next year. I have worked my ass off to build some spectacular programs, and I feel like I am grasping and threads as someone unravels my world in front of me.

The hardest part? Me, the control freak, has no control over my situation. I am sharing some of my programs with another teacher, who has seniority over me, despite the fact that I created the programs. I don't have as many students in my publications courses as I have in the past--which was intentional. A staff of 80 is just too much to manage! But now that I've built up these programs, I seem to have created a reputation as THE person to save struggling programs. So rather than giving my infant programs time to grow and mature, they are being pulled away from me, and another dying program is being dumped in my lap.

Of course, none of this is set in stone. It could all change August 3. Or August 17. Or tomorrow. And I just get to roll with the punches. I guess I should be flattered that everyone thinks I can take on the world and fix everything. But really? Someday, I'd like to be able to come home after school and bake. Just bake. For myself. And not worry about going back for deadline. Or an awards night. Or this. Or that. Ya know?

So, as I sit here, wondering what will become of me, I'm giving in to my vices. Stress baking starts now.

You can call these muffins. You can put frosting on them and call them cupcakes. But whatever you do, you better call them delicious.

Brown Sugar Banana Muffin-cakes

Adapted from How Sweet It Is

Simple, yet delicious. And really, muffins are just cupcakes without make up on, right?

1 1/3 cups flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
dash of cinnamon
1 egg
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3.5 large ripe bananas
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with liners.

Whisk together dry flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg and set aside.

With an electric mixer, mix egg and add brown sugar, mixing until smooth. Mix in vanilla.

Add sour cream and melted butter and mix until just combined.

Stir in dry ingredients, then add bananas (don't even bother mashing---just toss 'em in!) and mix until batter comes together. The batter will be thick.

Scoop batter in liners and fill about 2/3 full. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Let cool completely.

Sooner than I thought...

So many things have happened sooner than I thought they would...

I've become a grown up, seemingly overnight (and I'm really not sure how that happened).

My house is starting to come together (thanks to some heroic efforts on behalf of my boyfriend... and NOT thanks to the lil' hoodlums who tried to burn the place down).

 photo by Jessica Y.

My house? Just on the other side of that charred patch.

My thesis is done, and the end of my degree program is in sight. August 19th... can't come soon enough (and there is still some work to be done, but the hard part is over).

Summer is wrapping up and I've championed my way through leadership, yearbook and newspaper camps (and the survival here is thanks to the students, who constantly reminded my WHY I went into teaching).

photo by Jessica Y.

Yearbook Camp madness. Who would have thought that a t-shirt gun could get high school kids SO EXCITED at 8 am?

photo by Jessica Y.

My newspaper students and their PBJ assembly line. Journalists gotta eat, too!

But I think the most surprising development of the past several months has been cupcake-related. I started this blog, started baking, and started feeding everyone around me because I simply like to make people happy. Cupcakes (and baked goods in general) do that very effectively. I knew that sweets would make me popular, but I didn't really dream that people would be willing to give me anything other than "thanks" for my baking.

Almost instantly, though, I started getting requests. Because I hadn't anticipated that, I didn't really know how to respond. But what I've realized is that if I can get this little hobby of mine off the ground, I may have a rather lucrative side business. Doing something that I love (instead of the part time job that I have now, which I'm starting to hate).

So here's the deal---it's on. You want cupcakes? You got them. I'll make them. If you're local, I'll deliver. If you're not... We'll figure it out.

Get in touch with me. Tell me what you want. I'll make it happen. And you'll pay me a little. And it will be awesome.

Sundried Tomato Hummus

1. I am a tornado in the kitchen. I do not keep a tidy workspace. It looks like a bomb went off. BUT!!! there is a method to my madness.

2. I like to cook in my bathing suit. This is a recent development and I attribute it to the scorching temperatures that have been plaguing my life lately. BUT!!! if you haven't tried it, I highly recommend it. Just not when there is grease or splashback threats involved.

3. You can never have too many spatulas. I was beginning to question my collection, thinking it a bit obsessive. BUT!!! let me tell you, there is always more room in your life (and kitchen drawers) for spatulas. I am actually now considering expanding my collection.

4. I've come to look at my kitchen appliances like children. And I totally play favorites. Today, I am in love with my magic bullet and food processor. Enamored with them, really. They get the gold stars for the day. BUT!!! that doesn't mean I don't still love my Jolly Green Giant. He is green, after all.

5. My food processor is probably older than I am. My dad passed it down to me and I'm thinking it may have been a wedding present that he and my mom received in the 70s. The pictures on the box and in the owner's manual are quite telling. As is the stylish brown tinge of the mixing bowl and base. BUT!!! that thing works like a charm. It's seen more action in the last month than it has in its entire lifespan, I think.

photo by Jessica Y.

There isn't a thing I don't love about this guy. 

His 70s style is charming.

So, where is all this going? TO HUMMUS, OF COURSE!!! We are off to a 4th of July BBQ and my guest etiquette tells me I cannot show up empty handed. It's too hot for cupcakes (and I'm out of butter) and I have a jar of tahini paste that's been taunting me, begging to be used, for weeks now. This also leads me to confession #6...

6. I am really, really bad at following directions. Ask any of my teachers--I much prefer to do things my own way. If you don't believe me, ask Mr. MacLaughlin about my 25 page report on the state of Russian prisons and the correspondence I started with a felon, in the name of research. I was 14. BUT!!! not following directions (or recipes) usually lands me in a world of something delicious that I can call my own. And now I can share it with you.

The "Don't tell me what to do" Hummus

2 cans garbanzo beans

1/2 c tahini paste

2 T olive oil

1/4 C dried basil

1/4 C fresh basil

1 jar sundried tomatoes

1 T sea salt

1 T balsamic vinegar

1 clove of garlic

1 strip of bacon (yes, if you know me, you know this is not my style... but trust me, ok?)

2 T lemon juice

pepper to taste

1. Drain the beans and dump them in your food processor. Add the olive oil. Blend until smooth.

2. Add the tahini and basil. Pulse until well mixed.

3. Add the tomatoes, vinegar, garlic and lemon juice. Blend until fully combined.

4. Add everything else. Mix well.

5. Use a spatula to scrape the sides of the mixer and along the bottom of the bowl. Blend for about 30 more seconds. 

6. Serve and enjoy!

photo by Jessica Y.

Get your veggies and pita chips ready!

7. I am dying to go on Cupcake Wars or the Next Food Network Star. I watch these shows (more than I should) and I sit there thinking, "I could do that!" Until they do something fancy, or hard, or with a French name. Then I get scared and am knocked back into reality. I also have this unsettling fear that I would a) Choke and make a fool of myself and/or b) be the personality on the show that everyone hates. So I'm keeping it in my kitchen for a while... BUT!!! I may have a project for NEXT summer... :)