Boldly Going….with Banana Muffins

I tried a new spice combination in these Banana Nut Muffins: cardamom and clove. I have not used cardamom previously, but had purchased a bottle of the vitality oil to use for some holiday diffusor blends. But what exactly is cardamom? I couldn’t have told ya until today!

Cardamom is commonly used in Indian, Middle Eastern, and Nordic cuisine. It comes in three varieties: green, black, and white. This spice is a member of the ginger family. It’s seeds are small and black, but the pods that hold them differ in size and color depending on the species. The complex flavors and aromas of cardamom make it usable in both sweet and savory dishes. Popular recipes to find cardamom are chai spice blend, garam masala spice mixture, and Turkish coffee.

The green variety of this spice is called “true” cardamom and is used in Nordic and Middle Eastern dishes. This is the most common type of cardamom so is the one sold in supermarkets. It is grown in tropical areas such as India, Malaysia, and Costa Rica. Green cardamom’s zesty, citrus, sweet, and spicy flavors make it most favorable for luscious desserts, but also can be used in savory dishes as well. Grown in the Eastern Himalayans, black cardamom has larger pods that are dark brown. It has a smoky element so it flavors savory dishes well. Black cardamom is used in cooking in areas of India and Asia. White cardamom started out as the green variety, but has been bleached resulting is a less flavorful spice. Because of their distinct flavor characteristics, black and green cardamoms cannot be used interchangeably in recipes.

Going back centuries, the Egyptians used cardamom as a mouth freshener, and the Greeks used it as perfume. Cardamom has antioxidant and antiemetic properties. It may help with blood pressure. It has also been used as a diuretic, in weight loss, and to combat bad breath. (Cardamom was used as an ingredient in Wrigley gum at one point).

I thought cardamom vitality essential oil added with clove vitality essential oil would make a great pairing for the banana nut muffins. Of course I love the cinnamon and nutmeg combo, but I wanted to switch it up for this batch.

Banana Nut Muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup almond meal flour
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 medium bananas, mashed
• Cardamom vitality essential oil
• Clove vitality essential oil

Preheat over to 375 degrees. Grease or line 12 muffin cups

Combine the dry ingredients of flour, almond meal, baking soda, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl. In another bowl, combine the sugar, oil, vanilla, eggs, and mashed bananas. Add this wet mixture to the flour mixture. Stir just until combined.

Now for the vitality oils. Clove and cardamom can be strong so you want to go slowly when adding them. One drop of each may be too much! I start with a toothpick swirl of each. I swirl a toothpick in one of the oils and then circle it around the batter in my bowl. I do this same thing for the second oil. After adding both oils, I do a quick taste test. I usually end up using another swirl of each oil, but just make sure you are using a clean toothpick each time you dip it into the oil.

Fill the muffin cups evenly with batter. Bake them for about 20 minutes. After removing them from the oven, allow them to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan.