For My Parents – Strawberry-Blueberry Muffins or Quick Bread
February 4, 2016 • Breads,
Today would have been my parents’ 60th wedding anniversary. After graduating from URI, they were married in a small chapel in Rhode Island in 1956, and within a few years, my brother, sister and I were all born. Their life together took them to Pennsylvania and Indiana to follow my dad’s 37-year career with Bethlehem Steel, to Virginia for their retirement years on the Chesapeake Bay, and finally to Colorado to be closer to my sister and me as they got older. I was happy to have them close by, and honored to be their caregiver up until they passed away in 2013 and 2015.
In 2006, I organized a surprise 50th anniversary party for them, and managed to get our whole family and about 50 of their Colorado friends together for the event, without them having any clue. In this photo (horrible quality, but all I can find..) my dad is singing a love song to my mom – spontaneously, I might add, since he knew nothing of the celebration ahead of time. Talk about role models for marriage – their life together wasn’t always easy, but they never gave up on each other. I miss them every day and thought a tribute to them for their anniversary – the first one since they both passed away – would be nice.
You can use fresh or frozen blueberries in this recipe, but I’d recommend fresh strawberries as the frozen ones get so wet. I used Noosa’s fabulous full fat yogurt, and because it’s already sweetened, this recipe doesn’t take much more sugar. If you use nonfat Greek yogurt instead, which you certainly could do, you’ll probably want to add more agave, honey, or sugar. And if you are wondering about those muffin cups, they are the wonderful and reusable silicone baking cups from NY Baking Company – I’ve tried other brands and these are the best for releasing muffins easily. My mom adored strawberries, and my dad ate blueberries every day, so this is for you mom and dad, reunited once again.
- 3 ripe bananas, mashed
- 8 ounces honey yogurt (I like Noosa)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ cup agave or honey
- ¼ cup canola oil or extra virgin olive oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup blueberries, plus more more garnish (fresh or frozen)
- 1 cup chopped fresh strawberries
- Combine the bananas, yogurt, vanilla, agave, oil and eggs in a medium bowl ad mix until smooth. Combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and stir together. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture until well combined.
- Stir in the blueberries and strawberries and portion batter into 18 muffin cups. If desired, press 3 blueberries into the top of each muffin before baking. Alternatively, pour batter into a loaf pan and garnish the top with blueberries.
- Bake at 375 degrees until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 12-15 minutes for muffins and 40-50 minutes for a loaf.