I have received literally thousands of emails* requesting my favorite Banana Nut Muffin recipe. Your pleas have not gone unnoticed, so here it is, from Food Network:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 overripe bananas
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and lightly butter 2 muffin tins.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Mash 2 of the bananas with a fork in a small bowl so they still have a bit of texture. With an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk, whip the remaining bananas and sugar together like you mean it, for a good 3 minutes. Add the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla and beat well, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Fold in the nuts and the mashed bananas with a rubber spatula. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins to fill them about halfway. Give them a rap on the counter to get any air bubbles out.

Bake until a toothpick stuck in the muffins comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before turning the muffins out. Serve warm or at room temperature.

*This is a lie. I have received literally NO email requests for my favorite Banana Nut Muffin Recipe.

Yes, it’s that time of year again. Time when my husband gets to drool over cheerleaders and scantily clad women in beer commercials. And I’m sure all of my faithful readers (Hi Mom!!) are wondering, “Kel! Who do you think will be victorious in this year’s Superbowl?”

First of all let me say that the only thing I know about football is that Tom Brady is wicked hot. He’s hot here:

and here:

and especially here:

Other than that? Football is a closed book to me. However, since custom demands that I choose a team here we go…

OK, since my hometown guys, the Patriots, aren’t in it this year and I know nothing about the Steelers or Seahawks I have to go by my tried and true method, which is to ask myself:
Which team’s uniform do I like best?

Seattle has Pittsburgh beat hands down.

*First of all, the Seahawk’s soothing blue is much nicer to look at than the Steelers’ austere black and yellow.

*Secondly, Seattle has that totally kick-ass hawk logo. Pittsburgh has three boring diamond thingys. WTF is that all about?

*Thirdly, and most importantly, when I was in the 3rd and 4th grades there was a boy in my class who teased me unmercifully. He always wore a Steelers jersey with “Bradshaw” written across the back. Therefore Steelers jerseys have painful associations for me and I have to give my wholehearted and unconditional support to the Seattle Seahawks.

With an eye to future cost, a company in Sweden has introduced the first female crash dummy.

Crash dummies have been around since 1949, but until now have been exclusively male. In addition to providing sorely needed information on how a female body reacts in a crash the new female dummy, along with several of her ‘sister dummies’ expected to be ready in a few months, will also provide sorely needed companionship for the hundreds of male dummies already in existance.

Execs are also hoping the arrangement will defray future costs in dummy production as nature inevitably takes it’s course. “This is really a win-win situation,” say representatives of Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg. “We are on the cusp of a bright future in the research of crash related injuries.” In a few months scientists hope to be in the position of studying with more accuracy the effects of crashes on a pregnant female dummy, and by this time next year confidently expect the arrival of the first ever naturally born baby crash dummy.

This will eventually phase out the artificial production of crash dummies, saving millions of dollars in production costs. Vince and Larry, pictured below, said in a joint statement, “We hope we can learn a lot from this dummy.”

Seven years ago there was this hippie sheep deep in the depths of New Zealand. He left home to find himself. Grew his wool out, smoked some weed, hung out in a cave with all the other outcast hippie sheep.

They found him about a year ago and named him Shrek. Sheered that sucker on International T.V., sent him to rehab and now he’s a fine upstanding sheep citizen once again. Poor guy. He looks pissed. I’d be pissed, too, if someone took me outta my cave and named me after a fat green ogre.