Instant Microwave Banana Nut Cake

I've resumed cooking. It was something I had to do to bring in a sense of "normalcy" into my life. Attempting to cook in the serviced apartment without a pressure cooker was an experience in itself. I realized how much I took my kitchen in Gurgaon for granted. But I also realized that healthy meals are possible even if you have almost no appliances and only three utensils.

After we moved into our apartment, the first set of boxes we opened were the ones which would help me start cooking. Slowly, all my appliances came out of their boxes and I was thrilled to see the pressure cookers, the mixer-food processor and my wet grinder. Once I got into the groove of day to day cooking, I started missing baking. And I started missing my oven. For the moment, I only have a basic microwave. I decided to stick with it for the time being and invest in a combination oven in a couple of months. But (my friends know this) I needed to bake to feel really normal.

I've only baked two cakes in the microwave before this. I also don't have a fully stocked pantry as yet. So, I quickly stocked up on baking powder, baking soda and some vanilla essence. I started scouting for more microwave cake recipes with easily available ingredients. My research brought me to cooks.com and I found a banana nut cake recipe that seemed to call out to me. I decided to improvise with what I had on hand and also made several substitutions to make it a very healthy cake.

The final result was fabulous. The cake wasn't crusty on top, but I know not to expect that from a microwave cake. The texture of the cake was as good as, if not better than, most banana cakes I have baked in the past. This recipe is a sure shot keeper.

1/4 cup Oil

1/4 cup Low Fat Milk

1 Egg

1 Ripe Banana

1/2 cup Jaggery, grated

1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour

1/4 cup Flour (Plain)

1/2 cup Mixed Nuts, chopped

1/4 cup Raisins

3/4 tsp Baking Powder

1/4 tsp Baking Soda

In a blender jar, beat the egg until fluffy. Add the banana and blend until there are no lumps. Add the jaggery, oil and milk and blend again. Add the flours along with the baking powder and baking soda and blend for a minute or two.

Grease a microwave safe baking dish. Pour the batter into the dish and stir in the chopped nuts and raisins. Bake on high (800) for 8 minutes. Allow to stand for 10 minutes. Cut into slices and dig in.

I'm glad to be back to cooking, baking and blogging as well. I'm even happier to be able to send this to an event I regularly participated in: The Monthly Mingle. This month, Deeba of Passionate About Baking is hosting this event and I am sending this to Deeba as my entry to Fruit in Baking.

Rum and Raisin Banana Cake

These days, I'm on a high. There are lots of things happening, lots of good things. I celebrated two very important milestones this weekend and it is time for the third. All of you know that I started this blog on a holiday we had about two days after I joined my “new” place of work. I completed three years with the company and that is a first for me. In one of the jobs I’d held earlier, I switched jobs before I completed three years. So it was special. 


There was also this other plan of mine which, with some planning, fructified about 8-10 years ahead of schedule. So, we had to celebrate both these events. What better way to celebrate anything than to go to Earth and let everyone there just pamper us. And that is exactly what we did.


Close on the heels of these two milestones, on this quiet Sunday afternoon, my dearly beloved, The Singing Chef, turned T-H-R-E-E.


While I’ve not paid as much attention to this blog in recent times, I think the nurturing it received in the initial years is what keeps it going. Year 3 had me meeting the original inspiration behind this blog, Nandita, for the first time. It was a very short visit, but one that had been pending for so long that even the half an hour felt worth the effort. It was in this year that my namesake, Arundati and her husband came and stayed with us. We got along like a house on fire, went shopping, cooked meals and did all those things that one does when friends come over. Including hours and hours of chatting. I met Sra in the comfort of my own home in Chennai and have received foodie gifts, including a whole stash of parchment paper from Deeba.


In Year 3, I got my first cheque from Adsense. Like the small cherry on top of your sundae, there was some monetary gain. But the real happiness still comes from the friends I’ve gained. From the adulation this blog receives. From the thrill that comes out of people cooking from this blog and sharing pictures of the food with me. From almost unknown people telling me that they scan my space before deciding what to cook for dinner. And for all this, I’m more thankful than ever.


It is thanks to all of you that I’m even blogging about a third birthday. So, please come and have a slice of this yummy Rum and Raisin Cake.




1 cup Flour
3/4 cup Wheat Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
¼ tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
2/3 cup Raisins (soaked overnight in dark rum)
3-4 Bananas (overripe), peeled
1/3 cup Oil
2 Eggs
Oil and flour for lining and dusting




Heat the oven to 350F. Grease and dust a cake tin. (I used two 6 x 6 tins)


Sift the dry ingredients together.


Combine the bananas, eggs, oil and brown sugar in a bowl. Using an electric mixer, blend all these to a rough paste. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and add the raisins. Mix well and pour into the prepared cake tin.


Bake for 35-40 minutes (or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean). Cool on a rack for a few minutes.


You'll find that a little sweetness goes a long way. Thank you - each and every one of you.

Masala Keli

I joined the Great Vega'N Vegetarian project some time ago. I noticed that Cynthia had written a post about steamed plantains for breakfast. It took me back to a time (and place, more importantly) when plantains were easily available. As a child, I don't remember having eaten steamed plantains. I ate them as an adult when someone told me they made for an ideal breakfast.

This dish, however, is one that my mother dished out whenever she could lay her hands on the nendrampazham. A very typically konkani dish that is sweet, spicy and sour, all at once. I asked a colleague to get me half a dozen of these plantains and when he did, I made this.

4 Ripe Plantains (Nendrampazham/Rajali Keli), peeled and diced

3-4 tbsp Coconut

2-3 Green Chillies, finely chopped

1 tbsp Jaggery, grated

2-3 tbsp Coriander Leaves, chopped

2 tsp Tamarind Paste

Salt to taste

For the tempering:

2 tsp Oil

1/4 tsp Mustard Seeds

1/4 tsp Asafoetida

1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder

In a pan, heat the oil and add the mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the asafoetida and the turmeric. Add the green chilli and the diced banana pieces and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and cover and cook for 4-5 minutes. Remove the cover and allow the banana pieces to caramelize a bit.

Enjoy this dish for breakfast or as a tea time snack. I can't seem to ever have enough of this. Let me know what you think.

Spiced "Fruit" Cake

This has been one long overdue post. I baked this “healthy” cake for Amma’s birthday in December. I cut it myself while wishing her over the phone and we promptly ate it. I took the cake to work the next day and it was gone in no time. I played around with this cake because I have seen a lot of people blindly bring ingredients together and bake a cake. I have always wanted to stick to a recipe. This time, I tried that and wasn’t in the least disappointed with this cake.

1 cup Flour

¾ cup Wheat Flour


2 tsp Baking Powder


¼ tsp Baking Soda


1 tsp Salt


¾ cup Jaggery, grated


1/3 cup Carrots, grated


1/3 cup Beetroot, grated


3 Bananas (overripe), peeled


1/4 cup Applesauce


¼ tsp Cinnamon


¼ tsp Allspice


2-3 tbsp Oil


2 Eggs


Oil and Flour to dust the tin
Icing Sugar to dust the cake

Heat the oven to 350F. Grease and dust a loaf tin.

Sift the dry ingredients together.


Combine the bananas, eggs, applesauce, oil and jaggery in a bowl. Using an electric mixer, blend all these to a rough paste. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and add the grated carrot and beetroot. Mix well and pour into the prepared cake tin.


Bake for 35-40 minutes (or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean). Cool on a rack for a few minutes and dust with icing sugar.

Banana Chocolate Chip Walnut Muffins

Happy Birthday Sachin!

We went to Kasauli to spend the "birthday weekend". But just as soon as we returned home, even though the birthday was almost over, I baked a blueberry cake. Birthdays just aren't complete without the customary "cake cutting", are they? I haven't had a chance to post the pictures of the cake I baked for S. That would warrant a separate post.

For today, I leave you all with a quick simple recipe of one of my favourite muffins. The addition of chocolate chips and walnuts take these otherwise plain banana muffins to an altogether different level.

1 3/4 cup Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
¼ tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
¾ cup Brown Sugar
1/3 cup Toasted Walnuts, chopped

1/3 cup Chocolate Chips
3-4 Bananas (overripe), peeled
1/3 cup Oil
2 Eggs

Sift the dry ingredients together. Preheat the oven to 350F.

Prepare the muffin pans by lining them with paper muffin cases.

Combine the bananas, eggs, oil and brown sugar in a bowl. Using an electric mixer, blend all these to a rough paste. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and add the toasted walnuts and chocolate chips. Mix well and pour into the prepared muffin cases.

Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Enjoy these muffins warm (but I must tell you they taste great the next day or so). I was lucky I had some left over 2 days after I'd baked them. So, I really know. On that really sweet note, S, I wish you a very happy birthday and happiness always.

Banana Chocolate Chip Cake

Birthdays. They're never supposed to go by without a cake. To me, somehow, it has always been about the cake. It was also about the gifts for a long time. Nowadays, it doesn't matter if it is a store bought black forest cake or a home made sponge, I just feel that a cake makes a birthday complete.

So, in order to make his birthday complete, I'm sending this lovely banana chocolate chip cake to my brother who celebrates his birthday today.

1 3/4 cup Flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

¼ tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Salt

¾ cup Brown Sugar

2/3 cup Chocolate chips

3-4 Bananas (overripe), peeled

1/3 cup Oil

2 Eggs

Oil and flour for lining and dusting

Heat the oven to 350F. Grease and dust a loaf tin.

Sift the dry ingredients together.

Combine the bananas, eggs, oil and brown sugar in a bowl. Using an electric mixer, blend all these to a rough paste. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and add the chocolate chips. Mix well and pour into the prepared cake tin.


Bake for 35-40 minutes (or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean). Cool on a rack for a few minutes.

When I made this cake, we didn't eat all of it at one go. We had enough left for a few days to learn that this cake gets better with time. A nice twist to the usual banana walnut cake to celebrate your birthday, H. Happy Birthday!

Ripe Plantain Fritters

Tea-time. I've really forgotten about that concept. At my parents' place, we had coffee in the morning and tea in the afternoon. I had a glass of milk both times. There was always a stock of biscuits at home, and tea time didn't mean snacks of any sort. At almost all my relatives' places, tea-time was a ritual. So, while I can't say the concept is alien to me, I definitely don't relate it to it all the time.

We happened to be home one afternoon and I decided to make tea. I also found a couple of plantains in the fridge that didn't seem that raw to me anymore. I made these fritters that are usually made with Rajali Bananas (Nendrampazham). It didn't taste the same, but I we relished them nonetheless. And I was glad I didn't have to throw the plantains out.

2 Ripe Plantains, peeled

1 tsp Chilli Powder

1 tbsp Rice Flour

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

Cut the plantains in half and slice lengthwise. Add the salt and chilli powder and keep aside for 4-5 minutes.

Heat the oil in a kadhai. Add the rice flour to the plantains and mix well. Drop the plantain slices into the hot oil and fry until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel.

Enjoy these with a hot cup of tea. Just make sure the tea is ready when these fritters are. If you make these first and then make the tea, you may not have any left for you by the time you're done making the tea.

Chocolate Banana Muffins

Happiness comes in small packages. At least that's the message that muffins and cupcakes seem to keep sending out to me. With muffins, it always seems like there's more to go around. Of course, the fact that there's no greasing and flouring, and the fact that the baking time is a lot less does tend to give muffins an edge over regular cakes.

While I can safely say that I've mastered the banana muffin, I'd been reading a lot about how well chocolate and banana go together. I really had no idea. These low fat muffins showed me how two flavours that I like in muffins can come together and create magic. This recipe yielded 18 muffins and after distributing some among friends and colleagues, we ate the remaining over 3 days.

2 cups Flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

3 tbsp Cocoa Powder

1/2 cup Demerara Sugar

2 tbsp Golden Syrup

2 Eggs, beaten

4 tbsp Milk

4 tbsp Oil

3 medium over-ripe Bananas

Prepare the muffin pans by lining them with paper muffin cases. Heat the oven to 375 F.

Sift the dry ingredients together.

Combine the bananas, golden syrup, milk, eggs, oil and brown sugar in a bowl. Using an electric mixer, blend all these to a rough paste. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients. Mix until just about combined.

Pour this batter into the prepared muffin cases and bake for 15 minutes.

Fresh out of the oven, these muffins make for a great breakfast. And a great breakfast is always a good start to the day. Just as having a great birthday celebration is a good start to the year. To me, a great birthday means having family, friends and loved ones close by. All of you have been with me through the last year and a half, looking out for me when the going got rough, sharing in my joys and my excitement. And for that reason, I chose to make muffins for you all. There's always enough of them to go around. Just the way all of you have always been there for me. On my birthday, I invite you all to my little party. And all you have to do is sing, "Happy Birthday!".

Methi Thepla

Amma came across this recipe some 10-12 years ago on a Sanjeev Kapoor show. I was at the hostel then and when I went home one weekend, she made these along with a creamy mushroom curry. While, I don't get to eat that mushroom curry much these days, the thepla is a standard feature. And I love it best with this sweet and spicy Gujarati Gorkeri pickle. I haven't bothered to get the exact recipe from Amma or from Sanjeev Kapoor's book. (I'm fairly certain it is in there!), I only know the ingredients.

1 cup Wheat Flour
1/2 cup Besan
1 Ripe Banana, mashed
1 tsp Green Chilli paste
1/2 tsp Ginger paste
1/2 tsp Garlic Paste
1 tsp Cumin-Coriander Powder
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Chilli Powder
1 cup Fenugreek Leaves, chopped
1/2 cup Curd
1/4 tsp Asafoetida
Salt to taste
1 tbsp Oil + oil for frying

Mix all the ingredients, except the oil for frying, together and knead into a dough, adding a litle water if necessary. Allow this to sit for about 15 minutes. Divide the dough into small balls and roll each into a chapati. Heat a tawa and toast evenly on both sides using a little oil. I'd recommend about a half a minute a side on a moderately hot tawa.

The banana offsets the bitterness of the fenugreek and he resulting thepla is not sweet not bitter. This is great for brekfast, lunch, dinner or any of those in between times!

Banana Nut Muffins

Six months ago, I hadn’t tasted a Banana muffin. I’d been hearing a lot about it and I finally made it last December. I have a much better recipe now (adapted from Abigail Johnson’s The Weekend Baker). I made this one morning to take with us on a long journey by road. Although the NH1 from Delhi to Amritsar is full of Dhabas, Café Coffee Days and McDonald’s, this was a just-in-case measure.

We had a couple of muffins fresh from the oven, but they tasted much better the next day. (Maybe we were just hungry after driving for 3 hours.)

1 cup Flour

¾ cup Wheat Flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

¼ tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Salt

¾ cup Brown Sugar

2/3 cup Toasted Walnuts, chopped

3-4 Bananas (overripe), peeled

1/3 cup Oil

2 Eggs

Sift the dry ingredients together. Preheat the oven to 350F.

Prepare the muffin pans by lining them with paper muffin cases.

Combine the bananas, eggs, oil and brown sugar in a bowl. Using an electric mixer, blend all these to a rough paste. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and add the toasted walnuts. Mix well and pour into the prepared muffin cases. This recipe makes about 18 muffins.

Bake for 15-20 minutes.

After eating these muffins, I doubt I'll ever buy one at Barista the next time I'm there. I find them so easy to make that I now stash away two bananas from each purchase just to make these muffins. Try them, I am certain you'll fall in love with these little baked goodies.

Banana Nut Loaf and a Personal Note of Thanks

I was always told that the journey was more enjoyable than the destination, that that was the way with life. When I embarked on this journey, I had no destination in mind. I was sitting at home in the middle of the week as I got the day off for Buddha Poornima. Barely two days after starting a new job. I quit the one I had even though the commute was a mere 3.5 km and chose this one 27 km away. As most people who have interacted with me through this medium would know by now, I love my job. Anyway, I had absolutely nothing to do and, as always, I was blog hopping. Then I did it. It was one of those “spur-of-the-moment” decisions. I didn’t give the URL or the blog name much thought. I didn’t give anything much thought that afternoon. The only thing I thought about was the background colour. It had to be green as this was going to be a vegetarian blog. Cliché!


Why am I thinking of that afternoon today? All that was a year ago. That, my dear friends, is the whole point of this post. The Singing Chef is a year old today. The last 366 days were eventful, to say the least. I shared, I explored, I laughed, I cried. And it wasn’t just about food. Food, at times, seems incidental. But I’m amazed at the friends I’ve made across the globe. People I have never met (except one), but people that I can call, email, chat with. And all the while get the feeling that these are people I have always known.


The journey was initially slow, with a little skepticism here. Then suddenly went into the 5th gear with one Saturday seeing 17 posts on my blog. Participation in events added to the enthusiasm and then it was confirmed. I was thoroughly addicted. The month of July 2007 saw 53 posts while this year’s YTD count is a mere 50. Thank heavens for work. Else, I would have run out of ideas months ago and this would have become one more of those “also ran” blogs. I got well meaning advice from some friends and with time, I have settled on between 10 and 15 posts in a month.


Events in the food blogging arena are really something else. From sending my very first entry to WBB, I have come a very long way and I’m actually guest hosting it next month. I have been a regular with several events: WBB, RCI, JFI, AFAM, TST, MBP, A-Z and I try to participate in as many as I can. At one point, I’d fret over trying to make something to fit in. Now, I’m wiser. I’ve even reached a point where I have loads of dishes in drafts and I just match them to events. But at the end of the day, if I can’t participate, I know that it is not the end of the world. I know that my fellow bloggers won’t be mad at me. I know I won’t be shunned by the blogging community.

The love I’ve received won’t be forgotten in a hurry. The acceptance, the appreciation, the adulation is what I’m thrilled to get. The love and the friendship is what I’m grateful to have. The gifts I’ve received will be cherished forever. It has been a great year, and it couldn’t have been even a tenth as great had it not been for all of you. I cook more, share more, and learn more with each passing day. Thank you all.

Here’s a simple, healthy cake to celebrate this big milestone.

1 cup Flour
¾ cup Wheat Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
¼ tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
¾ cup Jaggery, grated
2/3 cup Toasted Walnuts, chopped
3-4 Bananas (overripe), peeled
1/3 cup Oil
2 Eggs

Oil and flour for lining and dusting


Heat the oven to 350F. Grease and dust a loaf tin.

Sift the dry ingredients together.

Combine the bananas, eggs, oil and jaggery in a bowl. Using an electric mixer, blend all these to a rough paste. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and add the toasted walnuts. Mix well and pour into the prepared cake tin.

You can omit the egg and use 2-3 tsp sour curds and 1/2 tsp baking soda.

Bake for 35-40 minutes (or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean). Cool on a rack for a few minutes.

Cut into slices and share with all your blogging friends. (Also send it to Not Quite Nigella's Banana Bread Bake-off.) My lactose intolerant friends can have a big slice of this lactose free cake.

Happy Birthday Singing Chef. I am, both, proud of and grateful for, what you have come to mean to me.

Maple Banana Walnut Loaf

I grew up in Madras. It remains my favourite city in India. I can defend it to the last drop of blood I have flowing in my veins, should the need ever arise. Thankfully, I doubt I'd have to. I have so many wonderful memories linked to that wonderful city. I have lived almost all over the country except the East. I have enjoyed living in most cities that I have called home since I left Madras. Delhi/Gurgaon is the only exception. I lived here before and when I left, I almost swore never to come back. I do remember telling my mother that I'd love to come back in 5 years' time as long as I'm making at least three times my (then) salary. Little did I know that my words would come true. I left in 2001 to come back in 2006, married to S. To a place I had never liked calling home. And after about a year and a half here, I still don't. One of the things I realize now is that I keep comparing this place to Madras. So, this time around, since I knew we were here for a fixed period, I decided to focus on the things that I do like, few and far between as they may be.

Most of my childhood memories are linked to Madras. The school I went to. The college where I realized I could be all that I wanted to be, if only I tried. The part time jobs I held that helped partially fund my years at University. The bakery from where my birthday cake arrived promptly, year after year. This bakery was also where where we'd rush after dance classes before catching the IIT bus back home. Adyar Bakery House is one place that I will never be able to forget. Their cookies and puffs were beyond description, but it was their cakes that really took the cake. They don't make much of the stuff they used to. They're probably changing with the times. I loved their walnut cake and tea cake. When I was going through my books to find a nice loaf to bake, I came across this recipe which instantly transported me to Sardar Patel Road in Madras.

I modified the recipe to make this loaf today.

1 cup Flour

3/4 cup Atta(Whole Wheat Flour)

1/3 cup Brown Sugar

2 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/4 tsp Salt

2 medium ripe Bananas, mashed

1/3 cup Maple Syrup

3 tbsp Oil

2 Eggs, beaten

2 tbsp Milk

1/4 cup Walnuts, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350F (180 C).

Grease and flour or line a loaf tin.

Combine the flour, wheat flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt.

In another bowl, mix the mashed bananas, eggs, maple syrup, oil and milk until the mixture comes together. Pour this into the dry ingredients and mix until the dry ingredients are mositened. Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf tin. Sprinkle the chopped walnuts and bake for 50-55 minutes.

Today happens to be the birthday of one more of my partners in crime since my college days: Mangalam. It is almost amazing to see people call the college I went to the most boring of colleges in Madras. The four girls that I have been closest to over the last decade and a half all happened to be in the same college. And three of them walked into my life right there. I have enough and more memories linked to these friends that have Madras as the backdrop. And sometimes I wonder if I might have had as much fun back then if it wasn't for these girls. So, here's to you Manga. I hope you have a wonderful year ahead.

Banana Muffins

I was chatting with Nandita a few days ago about how I'd never tasted banana breads, cakes or muffins. She really couldn't bring herself to believe me. I can understand how she felt as the banana bread was the first cake she baked. I'd been eyeing Anita's banana muffins for a while too. In the last 4-5 months, I think we've brought home bananas half a dozen times just for this. And just when they were really overripe, I got extremely busy and so in they went along with some milk to become our smoothies for breakfast.

On Sunday, I went to a bookstore to use up a voucher I got from my workplace for my birthday. I'd decided which book I wanted to buy. But there was a 10-90% discount sale on. I bought The Weekend Baker by Abigail Johnson Dodge at an 80% discount. I also bought 2 other books, one about cookies, one about decorating cakes and I got a third book free. I picked one on making cakes. That's a lot for someone who doesn't bake much these days. But I fully intend to start real soon. To add to my thrill, a copy of Nigella Lawson's "How to be a Domestic Goddess" is also on its way. I've lent a few cookbooks to my friends over the years only to find my collection rapidly depleting. I have had to buy second copies of books I've had for years because the person who borrowed them has simply forgotten about them. My new year resolution is that nobody is going to be allowed to carry any of my books outside my home. Should they want to read or try something out, I can hand them a pen and paper and they can make all the notes they want.

The Cookie Book carries this recipe for Banana Muffins and I tried them last morning. The reactions have been mixed. I quite liked them. My colleagues fought over the last muffin in the box ( I think that says a lot!). But S said it wasn't the best he'd eaten of my cakes and muffins.

I adapted this recipe from this book.

3 large overripe Bananas

2 cups Flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

1/4 cup Brown Sugar

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1/4 tsp Nutmeg

1 Egg

1/3 cup Raisins

1/4 cup Oil

Sift the dry ingredients together.

Mash the bananas using hand mixer. Add the egg, oil, and brown sugar and mix until well blended. Pour in the dry ingredients little by little, mixing well after each addition. Add the raisins and stir well with a spoon.

Pour into 12 lined muffin cups. Bake at 350 F (180 C) for 20 minutes.

I used an egg replacer instead of the egg. I wanted to try it out for a long time and yesterday, I actually ran out of eggs!!

Off this goes to Sunita for this month's Think Spice... Think Cinnamon event and also goes to the Yum Blog for this month's A Fruit A Month event.