What a huge week for me full of personal and professional growth. My bones are aching as I write this. My legs are sore and my body is exhausted. But I’ll adjust quickly. Our cafe / restaurant, Nomad, officially opened for the first time Saturday with a brunch service. It went well, and we had a good small group of visitors. I feel full emotionally from great reviews and inspiring interactions. I’m testing new recipes, too, so I made banana walnut muffins. 

Banana Walnut Muffins

Nomad has been slow to start with sporadic meetings and recipe testing here and there at home. I’ve officially served my beloved sourdough focaccia to several people and shared my love of food in person. One thing I came up with on the fly this week was blueberry breakfast sausage. A homemade blend of Boston butt, maple syrup, spices, and Maine blueberries. The recipe required a lot of elbow grease and ingenuity, but I made it work, and got great feedback. One woman said it was the best sausage she’s ever had!

I also made my chocolate orange cookies, which sat under a glass dome on the counter to entice guests. They were a big hit and came together quickly in the early morning hours before service. We’ve had many people ask about muffins, pastries, and grab-and-go items, since we’re located in an airport. So I’ve been on a muffin kick. I made carrot cake muffins last week that rocked, so I wanted to make brown butter banana walnut muffins that sang just as sweetly. 

Brown Butter Batter

I decided to go with banana walnut muffins because I was craving banana bread. My favorite classic, whipped cake base from Flour bakery that I’ve adapted. My goal was to see if I could turn it into a tender, moist, banana-packed muffin for people to have in the mornings. I had a few brown bananas on the counter, which felt like perfect timing. So I hoisted my stand mixer onto the counter one last time before carting it off to Owl’s Head and got baking. 

I started with a few conflicting ideas. I wanted to use brown butter, like I do for most muffins, which is a great opportunity for flavor and infusing spices and vanilla. It’s easier, too. The batter comes together quickly in one pan. But the classic banana bread I love is a delicate batter made with oil, not butter, which is cooked on a low temp for over an hour. I hoped to create a hybrid of banana walnut muffins that could stand up to the muffin liner but would also have the same tenderness of classic banana bread. 

Jumbo Muffins

I started with melting brown butter and infusing it with warm fall spices. Cinnamon goes so well with bananas. The warm notes of the brown butter also help impart flavor. I also wanted to incorporate texture by adding walnuts and rock sugar on top. I started the wet ingredients by mixing my bananas with sour cream in the stand mixer. It whipped for a few minutes to incorporate and then I scraped it out into another small bowl. My favorite banana bread starts with whipping eggs and sugar together, then slowly drizzling in oil. So I did just that. I also drizzled in the brown butter. 

When the wet ingredients were all done I sifted the dry ingredients. Normally I would use cinnamon and spices in the dry, but I had infused them in the brown butter. So it was just flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. I folded it into the batter with a spatula and had a soupy yet cakey texture – perfectly pourable. Lining jumbo muffin tins with haphazardly smushed parchment paper is my favorite method. They make an organic, flowery shape. I did just that by weighting each down with salt and pepper shakers, then removed the porcelain and poured in the batter.

Opening My Cafe

Before baking I topped each of my banana walnut muffins with coarse sugar and a sprinkle of cinnamon for more flavor and crunch. I always bake muffins now with crunchy sugar on top. The oven was preheated, so I popped them in and moved onto prepping other things for Nomad. And for my own personal research. I’m thinking of making a sourdough loaf with coffee. And I’m always dreaming of new danishes and hand pies. 

Speaking of which, the restaurant owners before us made killer hand pies. So I’ve been dreaming of them. My chicken pot pie hand pies. Gourmet pop tart flavors of my dreams. I found myself Friday doing prep for our big first day in Owl’s Head making homemade sausages, sauces, and pancake batter. I picked up a load of groceries at 9:30, then made my way to the cafe and put everything int he fridge. First I tackled the potato dishes – hash browns and latkes, roasting and peeling potatoes. I also made hollandaise, caesar dressing, pancake batter, refried beans, pico de Gallo. So much stuff. 

Community + Good Food

We ended up leaving at 7:30 that night. Needless to say I was exhausted. My whole body ached. I’m not used to working so long. Especially without a break to fuel my body or relax my mind. But I stubbornly worked nonstop for over 10 hours to get my mountain of tasks done. Chopping onions, tomatoes, herbs. Washing my hands 100 times. Squeezing limes and grinding pork. It was a total slog. But I was so proud of myself when it was over! I didn’t manage to do everything on my list, but Saturday morning started with a quick batch of cookie dough and breaded chicken.

During service I also made haddock chowder. One of my favorite things to eat. It all started when I first entered the airport to meet the cafe owner. The woman in the gift shop talked to my dad for an hour or so about me, my art, and my food. She was fascinated, so when I entered she exclaimed “is this your son?” I explained that I was hoping to bring my own recipes and creations to Owl’s Head. She held my hands and prayed for me. I’m not religious, but I was grateful for her kindness. 

Haddock Chowder

We talked more and she told me about her love of haddock chowder. As a “test” she asked how I made it. Leeks, scallions, bacon, cream, haddock, fish stock, potatoes. Sour cream, too. Salt. Simple! She threw her arms into the air out of pure excitement and I knew I passed the test. She said she couldn’t wait to try it. I remember hoping that I could eventually make it for her. Saturday was the day! She stopped by around noon during a lull in the day. She congratulated me again on successfully landing the opportunity. And I plated her soup.

She ate it in her studio, so I didn’t see her reaction. But when we were packing up for the day, after our first successful service, she eyed me from across the room. I saw her throw her hands up again, pressing her face into her palm, and she told me it was perfect. “Aces” she said. “I can’t describe how good it was!” She said. And she insisted that she doesn’t say that to just anyone. I told her I was flattered. I told her about my cookies. My plans for banana walnut muffins and pastries. She loved the focaccia too. And when she walked away she yelled “I’m in love!” 

Growing + Resting

Throughout the day I also met a lovely couple who said I reminded them of someone they knew. We had a few kind retired couples sharing early weekend meals. Hot coffee and orange juice with hash browns, sausage, and focaccia. Huevos rancheros was a big hit, which felt great after I prepped so much for it. The sausage was also popular, as were my chocolate orange cookies. They flew out the door! The potential is feeling overwhelmingly positive. But the location and place is still humble, so I’m not worried about getting too big for my britches. 

We still have a lot of adjusting to do and there are big plans for more menu items. Weekday lunches and supper clubs. I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to cook for people like this for a long time, and I’m really proud of myself for doing it. Not letting the daunting amount of work and stress overwhelm or discourage me. I’ve met some great people, too, and felt more community lately than I have in a while. For now I’m planning to delay my blog by a day to give myself more rest. After Sunday we’ll have the first weekend under our belts, and I’ll be even prouder. I’m looking forward to time off Monday and Tuesday. Catching up on sleep. And TV.

Thank you for reading! Be sure to check out my Etsy for 100’s of art prints and recipes cards. Use code THEFORKEDRING for 25% off.

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Banana Walnut Muffins

Banana bread muffins with walnuts, brown butter, and spices.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Keyword banana, banana bread, muffins

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author theforkedring

Ingredients

• 4 very ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 2 whole eggs
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 1/4 cup AP flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
• 2 tbsp turbinado sugar

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325 °F. Line a jumbo muffin tin with parchment paper squares or muffin liners.
• Peel and mix bananas with sour cream until a smooth paste forms. Set aside.
• Cook unsalted butter in a sauté pan on medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes until golden brown.
• Remove from heat and add vanilla, 1 tsp cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Let cool to room temperature.
• In a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment, whip eggs, white sugar, and brown sugar on high speed for 5-7 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
• In another large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• Continue mixing your eggs and sugar on medium speed, slowly drizzling in vegetable oil until fully incorporated and emulsified.
• Fold in the dry ingredients and chopped walnuts with a spatula.
• Spoon batter into each muffin liner and top with turbinado sugar and the other tsp of cinnamon, divided amongst the tops.
• Bake for 35 – 45 minutes until the tops of the muffins spring back when pressed.

Notes

• For garnish, add a slice of banana on top of each muffin – it’ll caramelize and crisp in the oven!
• You can add chocolate or peanut butter chips to this batter and bake the same amount of time. Highly recommend!