Spring, New Life, and Banana Muffins, Zucchini Muffins

Depending on where I live, I love different seasons. In the Great North, I LOOOOOVED Winter!! I miss Winter, and even when I lived up north I longed for Winter all year long. Years ago when I lived in California, I loved the Summer -- I mean seriously, 75 degrees most of the time, right on the beach in San Diego? You've gotta be crazy not to appreciate that!! And, in our current state, more than loving Spring, I need Spring. The Winter here is sooooo depressing and the sweet green buds and flowers awaken my heart.

I also love babies. It seems that there are more babies born in spring, which makes the season even more delightful =)  One of my dearest friends just had her second baby. We've been pregnant at the same time with each of our children, first girls, now boys. We both lost pregnancies in between children  born, and both of our boys were HUGE surprises, pretty much a month after loosing our pregnancies. I love identifying with someone's story so closely. I hate that we've both been through these things, but I love that we are able to understand each other, and she's one of two people who really truly understand what I mean when I say I'm still having a hard time accepting that this child's coming soon - at 6 months pregnant!

And so, I was more than happy to cook food for her family when she recently had her son. I made tamales... which they've never had... (I hope I don't ruin them on them!) And banana bread, which turns out to be her favorite! That just makes my heart jump when I make something for someone and it turns out to be something they love so much!!

Hopefully she loved this one... I don't know if it's my pregnancy hormones and taste buds or what, but even though my husband told me it was the very best banana ANYthing I've EVER made, I really didn't like them that much. For me, there was just an odd after-taste. Oh well, if you wanna make them, you be the judge =)

I got this recipe from two separate recipes and mixed them up, changing them up. Here's what I got in the end:

Chocolate Chip Walnut Banana Muffins

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup Ghirardelli 60% Dark Chocolate Chips

3/4 cup walnuts

1/2 cup Crisco

2/3 cup sugar

3 TBSP mayo

2 *rotten* bananas

2 TBSP fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Makes 12 muffins. Bake 350 degrees, 18-20 minutes. Cool in pan.

And then I actually found myself desperately craving more. Not so much the banana part, I think just the awesome mix of chocolate and walnuts. So today I tried the recipe again, a little different, and replaced the banana with zucchini (convincing myself that it's healthy if it's full of vegetable!) They still left a weird after-taste, but like I said, it might just be me... And here's what came out:

Chocolate Chip Walnut Zucchini Muffins

2 cups self-rising flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 oz. Ghirardelli 60% Dark Chocolate Chips
1 1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup Crisco
2/3 cup sugar
2 TBSP brown sugar
3 TBSP mayo
3 small zucchinis, shredded
2 TBSP fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoons vanilla extract

Makes 23 muffins. Bake 350 degrees, 18-20 minutes. Cool in pan.

These are FULL of chocolate chips, and I'm actually a little jittery writing this... Oops! The baby's doing a caffeine dance, too =)

Honestly, I want to learn how to make a really fabulous zucchini bread, especially one that's not loaded with sugar!! So, if you have a great recipe, feel free to send it to me =)