banana bread

origin

The unaltered version of this recipe is my family recipe for banana bread. Although clearly biased, I think it is the best banana bread I have ever eaten.  Here I’m presenting two versions – original and modified versions. The modified version is super healthy. I love either version hot out of the oven with a bit of butter. This recipe also makes great muffins that can be frozen and pulled out when needed. 

original recipe

-Dissolve: 1 tsp baking soda into 1/4 cup buttermilk (or 1 tsp lemon juice plus milk to equal 1/4 cup)

-Beat: 1 cup sugar & 1/2 cup soft butter

-Add: 2 beaten eggs & 3-5 mashed bananas

-Add: baking soda and buttermilk mixture

-Add (but do not beat): dash of salt & 2 cups flour

modified recipe

-Dissolve: 1 tsp baking soda into 1/4 cup buttermilk (or 1 tsp lemon juice plus milk to equal 1/4 cup)

-Beat: 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar & 1/2 cup plain applesauce

-Add: 2 beaten eggs & 3-5 mashed bananas

-Add: baking soda and buttermilk mixture, 1 tsp vanilla & 1 tsp cinnamon

-Add (but do not beat): 1/4 cup flax seed, 1/4 cup wheat germ, 1 cup wheat flour & 1/2 cup white flour

-Add (optional): 1/3 cup pecans chopped finely

instructions

-Make batter as above described. 

-Grease bread pan or muffin tin and pour in batter. 

-Bake at 350 degrees until toothpick comes out clean – bread for about 1 hour or muffins for about 25 minutes.

Last weekend I spent part of an afternoon wandering Historic Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta with my siblings. Absolutely beautiful, especially as spring is starting to show her face.

origin

Two of my college roommates made this recipe, and I believe, that should the relationship web be untangled, the origin of this recipe is either JP or (the now) ST, who, at one point in time dated. College relationships; I need say no more. What matters is that this is easy and good. I have modified the recipe slightly to add a bit more spice, a little more veggies, and a little less chicken. Next time I am contemplating making it a vegetarian dish. Enjoy!

ingredients

-2 chicken breasts diced (or less if they are the massive, genetically enhanced American versions)

-4 cups broccoli, diced

-1 Tbsp veggie or olive oil

-2 or 3 cloves garlic

-1 1/2 tsp red pepper

-1/2 cup peanut butter (creamy is better)

-1/2 cup water

-1 Tbsp brown sugar

-2 Tbsp soy sauce

instructions

-In a wok or large frying pan heat oil, garlic, and red pepper. Add chicken and cook until just done. Add broccoli and stir-fry until bright green (if needed, add a little water to help cook the broccoli.)

-Push chicken and broccoli away from the center of the wok creating room to mix the sauce. Add to center of wok and mix until sauce is created: peanut butter, water, brown sugar, and soy sauce. When sauce is created, mix with the chicken and broccoli.

-Serve over rice.

I love Peter Pan. I love him because he lives in Never Never Land and because he flies. He lives in a world in which pixie dust and happy thoughts enable one to fly, and that is something I find wonderfully appealing. This body would not be trapped by roads and paths, and my perspective on the world would take a new form as I looked down at skyscrapers on my way towards the stars. It would be topped off by the experience of moving effortlessly and silently through the night sky. Magical. 

Tonight I asked JM, “If you could have a magical power, what would it be?” Tonight he replied, “To be able to change any one thing into another thing.” (I say tonight because I have asked this question before, and will ask it again. One’s answer should, most definitely, depend on one’s mood… this is magic after all.) His potholder would become his misplaced car keys and a book his wallet. In a sudden downpour a bracelet could become an umbrella or a blazer a raincoat. At that moment, I believe he would have changed his plate into a fully cooked, hot, and delicious dinner. All in all, a wise choice. 

I love water, and I love being in water. And so, rivaling my desire to fly is my desire to be able to breathe under water. When I once suggested that this would be my superpower of choice, JM said that he could already do that – SCUBA diving. But it’s not the same. I love to dive, but to be completely free of gear and gauges would be magical. When I go into the blue water and flip summersaults there would be no shifting of a weights, a large vest, and heavy tank (yes, somehow breathing under water does equate to being neutrally buoyant too). Rather, I would swim freely with my saltwater friends. 

But tonight I said that my power would be to transport myself instantly from one place to another. I could stop in for dinner and be home in time to crawl between my sheets. My weekends could be spent wherever with whomever my heart so desired. No lamenting about hours in the car or on a plane. The mere thought of this makes me smile. This would be topped off by the ability to transfer this power to others. Next time I was on the phone while cooking up a feast, you too could join if I had this power. 

Those are our choices for the night – changing one thing into another and instant travel. Together, we would be unstoppable. And so I wonder, what superpower would you choose today? 

Title: The Island of the Colorblind

Author: Oliver Sacks

Genre: nonfiction, medical case study

Form: hardback

Recommended: Definitely. 

Thoughts: Oliver Sacks is a neurologist, botanist, world traveller, author, and, I believe, cultural anthropologist. In The Island of the Colorblind, he presents the stories of two island with unique medical problems, colorblindness and a neurodegenerative paralysis, at unusually high prevalences. Although I am a scientist, it is the rich descriptions of the islands and his interaction with people’s stories that give this book its strength. At times he over-displays his love of details, but I appreciate that he clearly contained this love as the books is followed by some 60 pages of interesting notes well worth skimming. This book is a beautiful balance of academia and novel. This is the first novel of his that I have read and I would enjoy getting my hands on some of his other books.

Title: A Painted House

Author: John Grisham

Genre: novel, historical fiction

Form: paperback

Recommended: Yes, for an enjoyable, light read.

Thoughts: I have read many Grisham novels and love that I can reliably pick one up and get lost in the story. Nothing fancy or daring – just a reliably enjoyable story. Straying from his typical legal thriller novel, in A Painted House Grisham tells the story of life on an Arkansas cotton farm in the 1950’s through the eyes of a Luke, young boy. For one picking season, Luke brings this world of hard labor, migrant workers, farm debt, dueling churches, unacceptable love, and baseball on the radio come alive. Not a masterpiece, but an enjoyable piece.

I have been given the appropriate flak for not writing about Powell’s Bookstore. This is my response. 

For those of you who have not had the honors of wandering the seemingly endless aisle’s of Powell’s, it is grand. It is floor to ceiling books. It is a sign the size of a billboard telling you where to find what types of books. It is rooms that are color coded and it is signs directing you to the different colors. It is used books and new books commingling. It is an entire grocery store of cereal aisles.

When I have been living across the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans and suddenly land myself State-side, the first trip to the grocery store is ruled by my shopping list. My shopping list looks something like this:

-Milk

-Fruit

-Bread

-Raisin Bran Cereal. Name brand. Small box.

If my list is not that specific I walk up and down the cereal aisle trying to figure out what to buy. Raisin Bran. Raisin Bran Crunch. Banana Nut Crunch. Life. Cinnamon Life Shredded Wheat. Mini Shredded Wheat. Honey Nut Shredded Wheat. The list is never ending. I try and figure out if something is on sale. Decide if it has enough fiber. Is that too much sugar? Maybe some extra protein is needed or maybe a little freeze-dried fruit. And suddenly my head is spinning with options and I walk out of the store with nothing. Absolutely nothing all because I did not stick the list in the cereal aisle. And at that moment I dream of walking in a grocery store with 2 aisles and 3 cereal choices. 

That is what Powell’s is like. Glorious and overwhelming. And I almost walked away without a book in hand because I only had 40 minutes to spend there and I did not know what to do except walk the aisles and stand in awe. I somehow managed to decide on two books.

And then, a few days later, I wandered into a little independent bookstore in Port Townsend. It felt good. I had a few minutes and wandered the aisles. I stumbled across a shelf with the subject titled “Africa.” I found a book that looked interesting, and bought it. And I was not, for one minute, overwhelmed. 

All of that to say that Powell’s was great. But next time I will bring a list of specific books that I want to look for and I will plan to spend the day walking the endless aisles. And if I don’t have that list or that time, I might just go find a little, one room bookstore. For now, all three books are in my to-read list.