Coconut banana bread with lime glaze.

When I saw this recipe on Made, I knew I had to try it.  It has many of our favorite ingredients:  coconut, banana, citrus.  Plus, it's a lower calorie recipe.  We still love the banana blueberry bread recipe that I previously posted, but this is a wonderful way to vary the bread box.  I made our first loaf on Friday and it was gone before dinner that evening.  I then made two loaves on Sunday, thinking they would get us through the week.  They were gone by Tuesday.

On the first batch, I only glazed half of the loaf because I wasn't sure if the boys would take to the lime glaze.  It turned out to be their favorite part, so for the following batches, I used a skewer to poke holes in the loaves before glazing.  Yummy pockets of lime goodness ensued.

Dana has great step-by-step pictures over on her site.  But I make my quick breads a little differently.  Basically, I do things in the order my cooking guru, Alton Brown, tells me to do it.  I'm posting my take on the recipe here.

Coconut banana bread with lime glaze

care of Cooking Light Magazine, via Made

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) softened butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 bananas)
• 1/4 cup yogurt (I used vanilla)
• 3 Tbl apple juice or applesauce (I used apple cider)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup coconut flakes
• 1 Tbl coconut to sprinkle on top of bread
  
  Glaze 
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbl fresh lime juice (approx 1 lime) 

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Prep loaf pan (spray with a baking spray that has flour incorporated or grease and line loaf pan with parchment paper)
• Mix the 2 cups flour, 3/4 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp salt in a large bowl, whisk, and set aside
• Place the 2 eggs, softened 1/2 stick of butter, and 1 cup sugar into a mixer bowl (I just used my hand mixer) and beat on medium for one minute
• Add the following ingredients:  mashed bananas, 1/4 cup yogurt, 3 Tbl apple juice/applesauce, 1/2 tsp vanilla, and 1/2 cup coconut flakes;  mix just until everything is incorporated
• Dump wet ingredients on top of the dry ingredients and hand stir until just blended (no dry pockets)
• Scrape batter into prepared loaf pan, sprinkle remaining 1 Tbl coconut on top, and bake for approximately 1 hour (mine was perfect at an hour but my oven is true to temp--do not over bake)
• For the glaze, stir together the juice of one lime with 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• After removing loaf from oven, allow it to rest for 5 minutes in the pan
• Remove the warm loaf from the pan and drizzle with glaze (I used a skewer to poke random holes through the loaf from the top before glazing because we loved the glaze)

I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Sandra 

Winter hat 1 of 5, check.

I finished knitting Charlie's winter hat a few weeks ago.  But I never got around to posting about it because I still need to steam block it--our iron is dying a slow, leaky death and I have yet to pick up a new one. 

The pattern is called "Turn a Square" by Jared Flood. More details and my notes can be found on Ravelry by clicking the image

Mother Nature, however, apparently cannot wait for me to run my errand and has decided to go ahead and make it cold outside.  She seemingly is also ignoring the calendar because temperatures at certain times of the day are dipping pretty low considering it is only October.  Now, I've lived in Northern Virginia for quite some time.  And so I'm pretty used to erratic weather.  But this shift was completely without warning--we were wearing tees and shorts during a pop up heat wave merely a week and a half ago.  And I'm pretty sure that a neighbor went so far as to put out their slip n slide.  But now it's cold. 

And that, my friends, is the story of how the unblocked hat was placed into immediate service during some late night furniture painting in the garage.  The End (because I have moved on to knitting winter hat 2 of 5 and there is no chance that hat 1 will ever be blocked).   

Sandra

39.

Have I ever mentioned that for an entire year, I had my age wrong?  As in, I thought I turned 39 last year?  And that I kept telling folks I was 39 up until someone who knew better overheard me and corrected me?  I don't think about it much, I guess. 

But I'm straight now.  And so I can finally report that my last birthday as a thirty-something-year-old did indeed happen (right?  I think I'm right) and it was really nice.  I was awoken with a cupcake and heard from lots of friends and family.  Thoughtful notes and emails peppered my day, making sure I was smiling (I was).  And of course, plenty of snuggles from these munchkins made me feel extra special...

as did receiving a gift certificate to a local yarn store and several craft books, including this one (!)...

I am one happy birthday girl.  Who is about to gain 20 lbs. from cake pop mania because I'm totally going Julie/Julia Project on this book.  Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Sandra

Birthday present stash idea.

In my world, having a birthday-gift closet is a blessed thing.  It's not that I don't try to tailor a gift choice to the recipient--I do indeed.  But my to-do list is much more manageable if I try to shop ahead for items that I believe will make nice gifts.  Then, all that is left is some personalizing. 

Case in point--I happened upon quite a confection of a tutu while in Costco the other week.  Yes, Costco.  I knew it was a perfect gift-closet choice because:  a) my boys wouldn't touch it; and b) I could add a few embellishments and accessories to make it a one-of-a-kind gift.

The skirt was really full, more like a petticoat than a tutu.  And as a crafter who has made her fair share of tutus for gifts, I was impressed.  To make it a little more special, I added a fabric rose and some streaming ribbons...

I also decided on a larger size because I knew I could manage a quick alteration--a hidden ribbon belt to make the skirt wearable for many years.

Next up was making a felt-topped wand to properly equip any princess, fairy, or other tutu-wearing magical creature...

I hear it was a hit. 

As an aside for any locals out there, the birthday girl's party was held at the Lorton Workhouse Arts Center.  It was our first visit and I thought it was really something.  The children thoroughly enjoyed themselves and are quite proud of their masterpieces--I recommend it, especially if you have an art lover.

Sandra

Just life these days.

Why is it that I feel just as busy, if not busier, now that I'm "home" than when I spent most of my day at the office?  Maybe that's unfair to say--I'm definitely not busier with busy work.  But I am up to my ears with certain things I've chosen to take on. 

It's the usual stuff for many moms:  PTA, volunteering, family duties, etc.  But I've also decided to co-chair a certain community committee for our school board.  Did I mention that the report is due right after the holidays?  The very time of the year, if history tells us anything, that I become smitten with every holiday craft, recipe, and activity I happen upon...which leads to a gazillion false-starts and piles of abandoned projects, handmade gifts, and children stuffed into cutesy sweaters?  It should be interesting. 

Until then, here are a few highlights from the week.

Quick and easy Nutella brownies, recipe from here.  These aren't terribly rich, just so you know.  And since I prefer a gooey and fudgey experience if I'm going to have a brownie, I thought I wouldn't make them all too often.  But because they require only four ingredients (which happen to be pantry staples in my kitchen), they are a great choice for impromptu baking with the kidlets.  And because my kids love treats--even more so if they're involved in making them--Nutella brownies seem to be everywhere these days.

 

I also did some serious organizing around the house in preparation for a casual dinner party last weekend.  Every time our living room is clean I swear I am a nicer person.  Is it just me who gets crazy by the sight of clutter?  I'm not completely unrealistic...I know that it is impossible to avoid clutter when you share your space with small children.  But still.  There are only so many times that I can shuffle and reshuffle piles of mystery toy parts before I default to communicating soley through deep, huffy sighs. 

The boys have been kind enough to keep it this way for days.  It is such a treat to be greeted by this sight when I walk through our front door--I don't have a before picture but just imagine a scene that might make you question whether I run an in-house daycare. 

I should probably mention that my birthday was Monday and that maintaining this "clean zone" was my special birthday request (although I also overheard the oldest asking Charlie where he could get some "peace and quiet" for me, ahem)...

The dinner party was lovely.  It's been a few months since we last entertained, so it was nice to set up the dining room, make a big batch of sangria, and settle in for a nice night.  It was a full Tex-Mex menu for the very dearest of Texans.  I hope to reconstruct some recipes to share--especially my sister-in-law's marinade for the fajitas.  If we can recreate it, my search for the perfect marinade is over.  And to know me is to know what a huge statement that is.

Sandra

Sweater No. 2.

As I mentioned, I started and nearly finished my second handknit sweater while on vacation at the beach.  I finished it last week and after blocking it, I'm very happy that it fits (I was worried).

I will wear it over my favorite layering tees (Target tissue tees...which, by the way, if you are like me and like to kick off the cooler season with a fresh batch of layering tees, might I suggest you hurry and get them?  My Target was almost out already!).

I haven't added buttons yet because I haven't found the right ones.  But that should make the pocket edges look a lot better--they're pretty loose right now but I'm too lazy to add a crochet edge to tighten them.

My notes are on my Ravelry link, here.  Not sure of my next project--I want something special to work on while away on our anniversary trip in a few weeks.  I'm thinking a cowl or a shawlette (those seem to be all the rage--worn like a scarf...)

Sandra

Fly by sewing.

You might think, considering my lack of effort on the sewing front, that when I finally got back into the seat, I'd do things right.  As in, with a pattern.  With my rotary cutter at the cutting table.  With my iron at the ready (I'm a firm believer that ironing is the secret to sewing well).  

But no.  Today when I got the inkling to fire up the machine, I decided to wing it.  I grabbed some scraps, sewed up some rectangles, boxed some corners, sandwiched some handles, and called it a day. 

There was no plan, but I did have an idea.  I wanted to make a simple bag to house small knitting projects.  I finished a hat for Charlie over the weekend and definitely see more handknit hats in the future.  And I wanted something other than a Ziploc to tote around single-skein projects--even better if it were cute and could hang on my arm, because why not be ready to knit while standing?  Bonus points if I used stash scraps. 

There are many adorable knitting project bags on Etsy but I figured I would just make my own.  So I used a combo of features inspired by the ones I found online, guessed on a size that would work and otherwise kept it simple (no zippers were hurt in the making of this bag).  I'm happy with the end result and will definitely make more, tweaking the size and adding in some pockets I suspect.  I might even write down the measurements so I don't have to reinvent the wheel every time--now there's a thought!

Sandra

Linking up here:

{this moment} They make me laugh.

{this moment} - A Friday ritual.  A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  Go to Soulemama to play along.  

Preschool.

Our littlest one started preschool this week.  I'm not going to pretend that it isn't nice to have a handful of hours to myself to get things done at a normal pace.  But I miss this guy.

Him?  Miss me?  I'm not so sure.  Because he had no problems marching right in and putting away his basket as directed...

...and then he found some toys and barely had time to say bye to me...

...though I did get this look as I backed towards the door.

It lasted 2 seconds. 

It's not that I wanted him to scream or fuss or carry on about being left.  But really?  Nothing from the same child who will not let me drift even one room away from him at home?  Hmmmph. 

Well at least I had the decency to be predictable by getting weepy when I glanced at the backseat and saw an unfamiliar sight...

I did some sewing and some thrifting for distraction.  It worked; I'll show you later.

Sandra

The thought only counts if you actually do what you were thinking.

I finally, finally got around to addressing a dear friend's "vintage" quilt.  It's a family treasure.  But to be fair, I did not know that when she gave it to me with the hopes that I might find a way to mend it.  She gave it to me forever ago.  As in, before I had Will.  And then I forgot about it (for shame!) until she sheepishly emailed me asking about it (for double shame!!).  And then--due to a variety of summer happenings, travels, and other medical distractions (every one is fine)--it still took me several weeks to pop it into the mail back to her (for oh-my-word-you-didn't triple shame!!!).  I feel horrible. 

She has a niece who can sew a bit, so I figured I'd best just get it back to her.  I did manage to put on a new backing and fix a bit of the binding to prevent any further deterioration.  You know, just in case her niece has a baby or three and ends up sticking it in a to-do pile, then promptly forgetting about it, for years. 

So to my friends out there who often send an eyeroll my way about my ambitious tendencies...you are right.  Lessoned learned to maybe not take on so much.  Otherwise, things like this will inevitably fall through the cracks and it kills me. 

Sandra