Pat, thanks so much, the recipe sounds yummy. You knew I'd like it :) I did the C+P, now I just need to find an excuse and the time to make it. Nancy

Oh Jimminy! Must be in the air, the muffin thang. :D PB and Banana muffins? The thought give me the heebie jeebies, but my husband would likely LOVE them. Maybe I'll be nice to him this week and give them a try!This isn't one of the requested recipes, but a very good muffin recipe which I developed as a (relatively) healthy muffin alternative to bran muffins when those were really popular...never found a bran muffin I liked. These contain enough fiber from the veggies & fruit to compete, and filling enough to work as a quick breakfast. Muffin Meals 2 c flour (white or a 2 to 1 mix of white & wheat...I've played with oat flour, millet flour, rice flour and barley flour with mixed results) 1 1/4 c sugar (white, brown or a mix) 1 T cinnamon 2 t baking soda 1/1/2 t grated orange peel 1 t vanilla 1/2 t salt 3 large eggs 1 c vegetable oil 2 c shredded carrots* 1 c shredded zucchini* 1 Golden Delicious apple, chopped* 3/4 c raisins* 3/4 c shredded, sweetened coconut* 1/4 c chopped nuts* Now, the thing about this recipe, is that as long as you keep overall amounts the same, you can play quite a bit. All of the ingredients followed by a * are substitutable or interchangeable. As long as you end up with appx 6 cups of ingredients, you can pick and choose...1 c carrots + 2 c zucchini? 1 c carrots + 1 c zucchini + 2 apples? 3/4 c nuts +1/4 c raisins? See what I mean? You can also sub mashed banana for a cup or so of the carrots, zucchini or apple, if you have an overripe one hanging about. Now, naturally, if you do something like substitute 2 c of nuts for the carrots, you'll probably have trouble, but I think you get the pic. I like using different dried fruits as I'm not really a raisin fan (except for just eating them as a snack). Dried cranberries, mango, pineapple, cherries etc work fine, cut in raisin sized pieces. Sometimes I use cardamom instead of cinnamon (1 1/2 t or so instead of a T, as cardamom is quite pungent), or pumpkin pie seasonings (1 T), once I even used Chinese 5 spice, which was interesting. Likewise, the orange peel can be lemon or lime or even grapefruit. The vanilla can be almond or citrus or whatever. You can substitute unsweetened coconut, if you can find some that is moist. Anyhow... Grease muffin tins & set the oven for 375 degrees F. Mix all the ingredients together except for the eggs, oil & vanilla. In a separate bowl, blend the eggs, oil & vanilla and then fold into the other ingredients. These muffins don't rise very much...too much stuff in them I guess...so fill the muffin cups to only slightly under the top. Bake for 25 minutes, and do the clean toothpick thing to make sure they're done. Cool a bit, and then gently remove them to a rack to cool completely...you might have to sort of pry them up by sliding a fork down one side to the bottom and using it as a lever, they're very tender and break easily if you try to just lift them out.

agmss15 - what you wrote ties in with what I just found on this site: https://www.leaf.tv/articles/can-you-substitute-peanut-butter-for-butter-in-baking/ "Substituting Peanut Butter for Butter Unlike other fats and oils, butter, depending on the style and salt content, is at least 80 percent fat, with milk solids and water making up the remaining 20 percent; on the other hand, peanut butter is only 50 percent fat. It contains 25 percent protein, fiber and other carbohydrates in addition to fat. To effectively substitute peanut butter for butter in a recipe, first combine equal parts creamy peanut butter and oil; use the mixture cup for cup as you would use butter in cakes, muffins, cookies, brownies or quick breads." Thanks! I'll go ahead and do it, but I think I'll use canola rather than coconut oil.

I do not understand your love of peanut butter - perhaps you can explain it. I have not bought peanut butter since I was in my 20s and bought it at a health food store. I do not remember ever liking it, even then, although at one time I used to buy dry roasted peanuts to add to certain Chinese stir-fry dishes, but I quickly switched to cashews. I have only bought peanut oil once and got rid of it because of its flavor - I expected it to be neutral - it is not. I do buy cashew butter and almond butter (but rarely), and perhaps these might work for you as substitutes. I do not hate peanut butter or peanuts, but I do love cashews, almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, Brazil nuts, etc and therefore have no interest in peanuts. I think I was turned off by supermarket peanut butter from when I was a child, and I always felt sorry for children in my elementary school who had to eat peanut butter sandwiches for lunch. I have a somewhat similar experience to yours with tahini, which I store in the fridge after opening with the container upside down. When I open it, the oil is on top, and I stir it back in with a knife honing rod - wooden spoons would break.