Loveliness and All Things Good

I have been away for far too long. I have been busy with work. Amidst the mess of open suitcases, cartons, cluttered desktops and an overworked Wacom, I didn't find my oven or my need to bake. At one point in my life (my recent past), I was certain that baking was my true passion and then *POOF*, enter a pile falling cartons and clothes that still had a strange whiff of America. On a more serious note, I feel like all our clothes smelt weird when we were in the States. Maybe it was the system of using electric dryers that were incomparable to the traditional sun-drying technique, or maybe it was just MY dryer. I digress. The point is, is that I need to rediscover the beauty of painted cupcakes and the joy of eating them. I made strawberry and banana muffins the other day and they were absolutely delectable. I also added a few shreds of basil to bring out the fruity flavors. The muffins turned out just perfect; the centers were beautifully moist and the strawberries were like glorious, tart rubies.Did you know that bananas are great substitutes for eggs? Well, I learned that through this recipe. Enough said! Here is the recipe...

Ingredients:

4 oz. unsalted butter
    1 1/4 cup sugar
    1 banana
    2 cup flour
    2 teaspoon baking powder
    1/4 teaspoon salt
    1/2 cup low fat milk, with a little cornflour as thickener
    1 teaspoon vanilla
    15 fresh strawberries, dry, coarsely chopped (about 2 cups)

Directions:
Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

  Add the banana,  and cream until well blended. 

 Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. 

  Combine the cornflour and vanilla.

 Fold in the chopped strawberries and basil. 

 Add the milk

 Line the muffin tins with cupcake liners, and fill each liner till it is nearly full, and bake at 375F for 25 to 30 minutes.