I hope this post finds you lounging in your freshly planted backyard sipping on something delicious with a bbq planned for this afternoon. This holiday weekend has to include a bbq! As a Canadian, this is not optional. It is a condition of citizenship. Really. I checked.
The plan for today is homemade burgers, corn on the cob and a delicious macaroni salad. And a few beers I'm sure. We have to celebrate having an extra day off after all.
Macaroni salad is a staple of bbq's for most people. But not my people. Over the years I have made many pasta salads that the carnivores have turned their noses up at. A few years ago I started making a bow-tie pasta with feta, balsamic vinegar and cherry tomatoes that three out of the four of us quite like. It is tasty, but I felt like it had been done to death and I wanted a change.
Timing is everything Dear Reader.
Last week, I came across a macaroni salad recipe that looked promising and decided I was going to test it out on my picky-pants gang of carnivores.
The recipe is from fellow Torontonian food blogger Katrina...you can visit her blog and find the recipe here. It's tangy and textured. It's a bbq game-changer that you will be making and taking all summer to family bbq's. Trust me.
So an extra day off means an extra recipe to share too. A few weeks ago I came up with these muffins...an easy, no mixer needed recipe. My favourite kind of recipe lately. A bit sweet with a nice crunchy top. They didn't last long once the boys tried them....I wish I had made a double batch!
Banana Coconut Muffins
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 very ripe bananas, mashed (3/4 cup)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line muffin pan with 12 paper liners and set aside.
Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in bowl and set aside. In another bowl, whisk together the bananas, butter, sugar egg, vanilla and 1/2 cup of the coconut until combined. Next, fold the flour mixture into the banana mixture until flour is just moistened. Don't overmix!
Spoon batter into prepared muffin pan and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup of coconut.
Bake until golden, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool on rack.
Enjoy!