Drafty Windows and Smelly Dogs

This weekend we had gusting winds up to 40mph - which doesn't exactly motivate me to leave the apt. The one problem with staying in is that our windows face north west (i.e. the direction of Canada-the-brutal-wind-factory). It is so drafty that sometimes I can feel a breeze while I sit in our living room. Not just a little cool air but an honest to goodness - I feel like Bob Cratchit huddling up to his single lump of coal - breeze. D made some valiant attempts to insulate but its a pre-war building and with high speed winds only so much can be done. 


Enter my solution: baking. It warms up the house while simultaneously combating the musty slightly dog-ish smell our apt has taken on lately - and its about a million times more tasty then giving Oscar a bath. Problems solved.


So this weekend I made these - banana bread muffins:

There were 9 but one did not make it out of the pan intact for its photo-op. I promise it was perfectly tasty in spite of being completely un-photogenic.

I followed this recipe with a few adjustments. First, I cut it in half - because as much as I love muffins I don't exactly need to eat 2 dozen of them. I only had one banana in the apt - and since the winds outside prohibited leaving I substituted about 3 tablespoons of apple sauce for that extra half banana. I'm sure more banana would have given it a richer banana flavor, but I didn't miss it. Maybe I didn't miss the extra flavor kick because I mixed up an ad-hoc crumble (approximately 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, 1 tablespoon butter, and a handful of dried oats) and sprinkled it on top before popping them into the oven and it baked up to sweat chewy-crispy perfection.


Temperature and dog stink crisis averted.