Best Banana Bread Ever

See that deliciousness? Moist, flavorful, yummy. The only thing that could have made it even more tasty would have been adding walnuts. I forgot. Bummer.  At any rate, there's only about two slices left, and I baked it yesterday. Everyone knows banana bread is better the next day.

This is the banana bread my mom always made, and although I've tried other recipes, this is the one I always come back to, because it's the best banana bread ever.


Banana Bread

2/3 C. shortening (I always use Spectrum organic non-hydrogenated)
1 2/3 C. sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
2 1/2 C flour (I used white whole wheat)
2/3 C buttermilk (or sour milk by adding 1 Tbl vinegar)
1 1/4 C. mashed banana
2 eggs
*note: more milk might need to be added if you use whole wheat flour

Stir shortening to soften. Sift in dry ingredients. Add bananas and half milk and mix. Beat 2 minutes. Add rest of ingredients and beat. Bake@350 for 1 hour. Makes one large loaf, depending on the size of your bread pans. Or fill muffin papers and bake until top springs back when touched.

Back in the Kitchen Again

Back to school means more time in the kitchen. My kids take their lunches every day and I try very hard to give them healthy lunches. That’s not to say they don’t have chips or a cookie, because they do sometimes. Usually they take a tortilla wrap (yummy uncooked ones from Costco) filled with beans or lunchmeat and cheese, or grilled chicken, etc. Other times it’s a sandwich. This year they have bento boxes (Easy Lunchboxes) so it’s fun coming up with stuff to fill the sections. The only drawback to this particular bento is that the lid isn’t leakproof, so that does limit the menu a bit. I actually have more freedom/fun making the little guy’s bento for breakfast and lunch. He’s not that great of an eater, being 3 ½, but seems to like having a choice, and he gets excited about the bento like his older brothers and sisters.

Tomorrow is food shopping day. I’ve always struggled with making menu plans for whatever reason, so this time I am going to make menus after the trip instead of before. That way I already know what I have and can plan accordingly. I need to do some prep work this week for breakfasts and lunches, just to make my life easier. J

I have a bunch of coupons and a list of all the deals at the stores for tomorrow, but I’m not sure how many we will get to all in one trip. Even though they are only 6-8 miles away, with the traffic, it seems longer.

So we shall see how this menu planning after grocery shopping works. I will post pics of my haul and later the menu and let you know how it went.

Reflections on the first day of school

By 8:40 this morning all four of the school age kids were gone, leaving me with my 3 yr old, henceforth referred to as 'shadow'.  It was a good morning, no hissy fits or fighting, all the lunches were packed the day before, so this morning went as smoothly as it could.

The main thing I notice once all the kids were gone was how absolutely quiet it was. No chaos, no interruptions, screams, yelling, etc etc. Nada. Zilch. Nothing. Not that Shadow was silent all day, but as noisy as he is when his siblings are around, he's a pretty quiet guy by himself. Plus, all that annoying obnoxiousness only emerges when he has to compete for attention. To his pleasure, he had Mommy all to himself today.

And it was a good day. I missed the kids, but it was nice all the same. Summer was wonderful. I think maybe the school year will be a good one as well.

On the black board I wrote a question: How was your first day of school?
 Here are their answers:

K--Easy (12th)
E--loooong (9th)
N--Long and really stressful (not sure what's stressful about a 2nd grader's day, but oh well)
J--Easy (5th grade)

Both girls collapsed and took a nap and woke up refreshed.  They both got up at 5am to catch the bus @ 6:40. Not sure if they will continue to get up that early. Time will tell.


Three days of schoo this week, then the weekend. I'm thinking that if I want to go to the library Saturday morning it will just be me and the boys. :)

Yummy Oatmeal Squares

I found this recipe on another site,  Oh She Glows, and while it was good, the addition of Nutella and the removal of the banana has made these bars particularly outstanding. So here's the recipe with my changes.


Oatmeal Squares

2.5 cups rolled oats, divided
3 Tbl chia seeds
1/2 cup + 1 Tbl ground flax
1 tsp cinnamon (we like cinnamon, so it's a heaping tsp)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1.5 cups milk (any kind; I've used almond and cow with the same results)
1/2 cup maple syrup or any liquid sweetener (I've used molasses and honey)
heaping spoonful or three of Nutella or peanut butter or almond butter, etc
1 Tbl vanilla
*side note: did you know that most vanilla contains corn syrup? I was shocked! Now I buy Spice Islands brand, which contains no corn syrup)

1. Preheat oven to 350 and spray an 8 inch square pan or line with parchment paper (why is that stuff so oversized? Why isn't it the same size as wax paper?)

2. In a blender or food processor, blend 1 cup of the oats until a flour forms.

3. In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients first, and then add the wet and stir until combined. Taste the batter and add more sweetener/nut butter to taste. Add nuts if you like.

4. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth out. Bake for 35-40 minutes until it springs back slowly when touched. Baking time will vary. Cool before cutting.

The kids don't really like these, but the husband and I think they are yummy. They're filling and a good snack.

Trees are amazing

I'm sitting on a bench at Civic Park while the boys climb and jump and have a great time on the play equipment. A maple tree shades most of he area, which is a good thing because it is H.O.T. this morning. When I took my walk this morning at 6, it was 79*.  Yep, pretty sweat-inducing. Now, it's 93, but not here in the shade. It's actually quite pleasant.

But trees....they are one of the most amazing things in Creation. Look at all they do: provide shade, food, building materials, writing materials, peace, and let's not forget beauty. Everyone's yard looks better with a tree or six. :)

Instead of taking trees for granted, take a moment to really notice the trees today. It's the small details that can give a lot of pleasure sometimes.

Too long

I can't believe it's been well over a month since I posted an entry. (You'll notice I didn't say 'since I blogged'.  I despise the word 'blog' and all of its incarnations.)  What can I say? It was the usual stuff, life, lack of interest, lack of a subject, yeah yeah, whatever, right?

So we finally broke down and turned on the A/C, which promptly broke at the beginning of July. Nice, eh? But we were really blessed and got a new motor without it costing us anything. God is pretty amazing!

I've been outside mostly, and I don't do a lot of writing during the summer, so I'm not sure when I'll write again. Heh.

Here's some photos of what's been going on this summer:

Our one head of broccoli--delicious! Next year I'm going to plant a ton of it.

K's wildflower garden. The finches love it.

A recent visitor.

 I'd add more photos, but my stupid camera's date is messed up and I'm tired of trying to find the picture I want! Frustrating!  Hopefully I'll update sooner next time. :)

Summer Goals and no A/C

Summer is officially here; school has ended and there's been a collective sigh in the house. Now if only the weather will clue in...

It's always a good thing to have goals, so here are mine:

*work on potty-training with Foo-Foo. Not exactly a fun time (is it ever?) since he doesn't really seem to care too much, but he does like wearing underwear, so it's a start, anyway

*walk at least 5 days a week, I'd like it to be 6. These walks are normally 60-70 min, unless I have the boys with me and we go to the park. Then and easy 30min.

*Keep writing. I've submitted to six agents so far, and have plenty of manuscripts to work on, so all's good in that area.

*have activities for the boys to do a couple of days a week. Right now tin can robots are in the works.

*Finish painting entryway, dining room and bathroom, then get to work peeling off border in the boys' room. I swear, wallpaper hates me. Really, it does.

That's it for now. Wait, what's that about no air conditioning?

It's no secret that I hate the stuff, and it keeps kids from going outside in the summer. We had a few days of brutal heat last week, and we were probably the only ones who didn't turn on the A/C. I'm not sure if we're saving any money running fans, but the benefits are pretty good. The boys went outside where it was cooler without me having to shoehorn them out the door, as I've had to in the past to get them out of the coolness.  Pretty awesome, I'd say. Plus, at least for June the weather appears to be in the upper 70's-to upper 80's, not a problem.  To me, it's worth it.

I really believe being dependent on A/C makes people not so tough, not able to handle the heat. Don't get me wrong, I like having it on in the car and when I go places, but at home I quickly tire of it. I hate being cold when I want to be warm, like when I get out of the shower. Hate that so much.


That's what's happening around here.