A Dark-ish Day And The Smell Of Banana Bread

We had the most amazing summer here in the Northwest. It was sunny and dry the whole summer except for a couple days of drizzle and fog. Yay!!! Then about two weeks ago it changed for a few days. It got cloudy and dark-ish and it actually rained on and off for a couple days. Ohhh... I was afraid summer had packed up and gone. So I guess that gave me the bug to bake something. At first I started looking for something apple or pumpkin because, after all, it was the end of September and summer was technically over. (I have the worst time accepting fall in the Northwest! Don't get me started about winter in the Northwest!) A lot of people in the Northwest are very outspoken about fall being their favorite season so you need to be careful not to step on anyones cold toes by disagreeing out loud. I prefer year-around summer and am looking forward to enjoying year-around summer again. Until that day, I will make the best of it... which leads me back to banana bread. I noticed 4 very ripe bananas in our fruit bowl and they were begging to be used. Banana bread! I remembered I had a new banana bread recipe I wanted to try so I made it because it was cloudy and dark-ish and the day needed banana bread.

The recipe went together very well and before too long we had the smell of banana bread wafting through the house. We even opened up the windows to share the lovey smell. The bread turned out very moist and it was full of flavor. I didn't snap a pic of that loaf but you can take my word, it looked good and tasted amazing.

Fast forward to Monday of this week. Again, I noticed 4 very ripe bananas begging to be used in some way so you know what I did. I made another loaf of the amazing banana bread. This time I took a couple pictures. 

I have lined a baking pan with parchment paper maybe twice in my life, but since the recipe said to do it, I did! And I am sold on it! It takes a couple minutes but it is really worth it. There is nothing worse than trying to remove a fresh baked good out of a pan and having it crumble because it is still too warm and should have been left alone. You know what I'm talking about. I guess my rebellious side decided that I didn't need to take the time to line it lengthwise so I didn't and it worked perfectly this way too.

Look how handy that is to get the bread out.

Here is the finished product.

After it had cooled completely, I sliced it up and put together a nice platter for my hubby to share at work the next day. Our son came over later that morning to hang out with me for a while and I was happy I had saved a couple inches of the bread so that he could enjoy some with his coffee.

If I have talked you into adding this excellent banana bread recipe to your collection, here you go.

Bon Appetit Banana Bread 

My MO still seems to be making changes to recipes. I just can't help myself. I only made a couple changes and I have one product recomendation:

I don't keep marscarpone cheese in my fridge so I substituted with reduced fat cream cheese.
I added a teaspoon of Watkins Vanilla Nut Extract
I sprinkled chocolate on top
I didn't add the walnuts because I didn't have any 

My sales pitch is for Trader Joe's Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunks. If you haven't tried them you really should. You will love them. They taste very good. They are under $3.00 for 10 ounces. They taste better than Nestles Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips. They all have their own personality.

Did you notice the words at the bottom of the bag?  Left side says "Ideal" ~ Right side says "snacking."

I love using them for their angled shapes and random sizes. Some times you need chips and sometimes you need chunks. Banana Bread and Chocolate Chip Cookies need chunks. Just saying...try them and you will like them. If you buy them, try to disregard the little message they have placed on the bottom of the bag.

You can also find this recipe on my Pinterest page. Just click on the Pinterest button and look for the board "Recipes I have made."

Enjoy!

 

I'm Back

Wow, I just looked at my calendar and saw that it's October 2nd, 2014! It took me a little longer than I expected to get back here, but hopefully it's better late than never! I'm glad they didn't shut down this place. I have a few recipes to share in the future, but for today I will get my feet wet by seeing if I can still download pictures. I'm doing this on the fly...so here goes...not necessarily in the order I lived them...

Sorry, that old plan is not happening! This is what is happening. I am in transition from my older, long-time laptop to a new fancier, faster laptop and now I know I need to complete that transition before I take on this blog back full time or even semi-part time. I will post with the pictures I have on my iPhone and my iPad which takes a little time but not as long as this old, dog-tired laptop! These pictures took over 25 minutes to download from my photo stream from the laptop and that just doesn't work for me long-term or short-term or ever.

Ok, on with the new plan!

The following pictures are ones I shot as we were driving through downtown Portland, Oregon last Saturday. We were headed up from the river and I saw this guy get out of the drivers seat of a really cool car! Really, really cool car! Once I took my eyes off of the cool car, I saw the driver walk around the back of the car and I told my hubby, that looks like Jerry Seinfeld ... and Fred Armison! Well, it was. So, as we drove past them I had my phone so of course I had to take a few pictures. These pics aren't to bad considering they were shot from a moving car!

This beauty is a SAAB 850cc 3-stroke Monte Carlo circa 1966-67

 As we drove past we could hear their voices as they talked and laughed. It was definitely them. And...how often do you see a guy in a suit with brilliantly white tennis shoes or whatever they call them now!

I digress for a moment. When we heard David Letterman would be retiring this coming year, we started recording his shows. We like to sit down and watch one for a good laugh. So, on this past Tuesday we sat down and watched last Thursdays show. Jerry Seinfeld was the guest and he said he was going to Portland to shoot an episode of his new show, "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee." He has traveled to around the country to shoot shows with comedians in a different classic car each episode.

Now we know why he was in Portland. We had assumed it was for Fred Armison's show, Portlandia that has been filming it's next season around the Portland area this summer. We have since heard and read that Jerry and Fred shot scenes around the city, including a food cart in SE Portland where one of my nieces happened to see him also. 

Jerry's new show will be available on Crackle in the near future. I guess Crackle loves it because I just read this morning that they renewed the show for a second season and the first season hasn't been seen by the public yet. I'm guessing it will be funny.

Well, this is not much but this is what I have for today after more than a year away. 

Have a great day!

P.S.

I just looked over at the TV and on "Live with Kelly and Michael," I saw Kelly's bestie, Jessica Seinfeld on the screen! She is Jerry Seinfelds wife! She is there to celebrate Kelly's birthday today! How nice! The Seinfelds seem to be all over this post! Happy Birthday to Kelly Ripa!


 

Hello Again

I know, I have been MIA! I have found a new interest and that interest is called Pinterest! Click on either Pinterest button I have added here and it will take you to my boards. Click on the "Follow All" button and you will have access to all my Pinterest Boards. You will find many recipes and you will also find many other interesting things too!

I hope to see you there!

More Life in Pictures

 Woodpecker that often wakes us up with his rapping on the house

Mommy Starling on the bottom feeding her baby

Baby Starling waiting to be found

Parents mid-air fighting over the food

One of the babies figures out how to feed himself

Still waiting...

I felt like the babysitter!

Wheat fields in Southeastern Washington

Wheat

The Blue Mountains in the background

The wheat will be ready around August

The pea fields roll on and on...

I love the amazing clouds patterns in the Southeas!

My 2013 Life in Pictures

Like everyone else, our life has been very busy. I did manage to shoot a few pictures every once in a while. My dear hubby gave me an iPad for Christmas and now I am more likely to take pictures from it rather than digging out my camera. I always have my iPad in my handbag! It is lightweight, slim and oh so easy to use! All last year, my dear hubby asked me if I would like an iPad. I always said no, no, no, it would be a waste of money, I have my desktop and my smart phone and I don't need any more electronics!! Well, he disregarded my protests against having an iPad and surprised me with one anyway. There has been no looking back! I love it!! The "how did I ever live without it" kind of love! If I can figure out how to get all my pictures from my iCloud into my blog via my desktop, I would really be in business! Until then, a few pictures downloaded from my camera.

A few winter shots...

There was constant conflict at the feeders all winter

Our dark and naked woods was alive with wildlife activity. I still have not captured a picture of the deer that graze next to the fence. If I see them through an upstairs window, the camera was always downstairs, and vice versa.

This little guy spent most of the winter sitting right on that branch

Dad surprise 80th birtday party...

A surprised dad arriving at his party

Dad, mom and their seven kids

Grandpa Don and our son Alan

Singing with my sibs - something we grew up doing on a regular basis (that's me peaking out 4th from the left)

One of the many beautiful centerpieces courtesy of baby sis

My overwhealmed dad thanking everyone for attending his surprise party

Wiley with a handful of balloons from dad's party

Finally, signs of spring...

A little green on the little tree in the middle

Doggies and my two favorite grandsons...

My two babes

Dogs and boys

Ivan LOVES Lucy!

Wiley loves Buddy!

I love these boys!

Brother love

Wiley showing us his moves

Funny faces

Hoping I can figure out whats going on with the crazy spacing issue!

Now we have caught up through early March.  

More pics another time...

Happy, Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Alan!

How is it possible you are 38 today!

I look forward to celebrating with you!

I love you, I love you, I love you!!!

Happy Birthday Dad!

It's the big 80!

So happy we get to celebrate your milestone birthday with you!

I love you very much! 

Granola....mmmmm good!

I am always looking for new and unique granola recipes. In November, dear hubby and I were on the road when I opened up an email on my phone from Relish Magazine. As I looked through the message, I found a link that looked interesting, and it took me to a web page were I saw the most amazing looking granola! Unfortunately, I didn't save it and when I returned home, I couldn't find that link again. I searched for hours, googling, trying everything to find that recipe.

 

Finally, after many attempts to find it and lots of frustration from not being able to find that specific recipe, I got an idea. I put an actual thought together and sent a message to Relish Magazine, asking about a link to a granola recipe that I had seen on an email from them. The editorial department responded within an hour and sent me the following message:
 

Oh goodness Connie! We have many granola recipes on file so tracking down
the exact one may be a bit of a challenge, but I'll try my very best! Was
it any of the following?

http://foodonfifth.com/2012/02/19/e-a-t-easy-as-that-granola/
http://relish.com/recipes/camp-beckwith-granola/
http://blogs.relish.com/sweetly-spiced-roasted-pumpkin-seed-raisin-snack-mi
x/
http://relish.com/recipes/jills-granola/
http://relish.com/recipes/cinnamon-granola-bars/
http://relish.com/recipes/peanut-butter-granola-clusters/
http://relish.com/recipes/yogurt-and-fruit-parfaits-with-maple-granola/' 

How amazing is the editorial department at Relish Magazine!!!! The recipe I had been searching for was the very first one! You can check it out right here. I was so happy!! And in addition, you can see they also sent me several other amazing granola recipes that I look forward to trying very soon, and I decided to share them with you too! I went out and bought the ingredients I was missing and made that amazing looking, much sought-after granola. It was well worth all the effort! Even my dear hubby scoops a bit out in the morning to enjoy as an afternoon pick-me-up. 

Inside our granola jar

The aroma that came out of my oven was amazing! I kept the oven light on so that I could peek in every so often. Oh my, it was a beautiful thing as they went from moist looking pieces to shiny, glazed pieces of crunch! Of course, I made a change to the recipe, and yes, I added vanilla! A whole tablespoon! The smell of the vanilla and orange marmalade layered on top of the aroma of the toasty nuts was amazing. I wanted to open my doors and windows to share the smells with my neighbors. I decided not to because it was below freezing outside and the neighbors were snugly warm in their air-tight houses!

There was one big disappointment. The next morning I headed downstairs and went straight for the oven where the granola had spent the night. As I stirred it around with a spatula, I could see that the granola in the center of the pan was stuck to the pan! I was really disappointed but scraped it off anyway. As you can see from the pictures, some of the scraping made dents and bumps on the nuts.  I didn't want to loose a crumb. From now on, I will bake this granola on a sheet of parchment paper. Problem solved. Other than that issue, every piece was perfectly separated and ready for crunching.

Another look inside our granola jar

This recipe is very easy to make and it yields lots of granola. You will do the happy dance if you make this granola. Just saying!

Enjoy!