blueberry lemon muffins. scrumptious.

inspired by the beautiful photos on the crepes of wrath (click link for recipe). the raw sugar topping is key and makes for a crunchy, sweet topping. my friends could barely inhale them fast enough, and i only managed to keep one for myself...but that one little muffin was daaaay-um delicious.

dried cherry & pecan banana bread. carbolicious.

damn you, carbs. it's impossible to eat only one slice of this bread. so moist, not too dense, and full of tart cherries and crunchy nuts.

ingredients
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
10 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped toasted pecans; chopped
1/2 cup dried cherries, coarsely chopped
3 very ripe bananas, mashed well
1/3 cup plain whole yogurt
2 large eggs, beaten lightly
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted & cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

directions
1. adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. grease all sides of a 9-5-3 inch loaf pan; set aside. combine first five ingredients together in large bowl; set aside.

2. mix mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter, and vanilla with wooden spoon in a medium bowl. lightly fold banana mixture into dry ingredients with a rubber spatula until just combined. add pecans and dried cherries and mix until batter looks thick & chunky. scrape batter into prepared loaf pan; bake until loaf is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. cool in pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. serve warm with butter.