March Photo a Day Challenge - Day 21

Delicious

Banana Spring Rolls with rum sauce from PF Chang's - so good!

fear of pinterest?

Pinterest is awesome, don't get me wrong.  In the early days when I signed up to do the Pin-It-Forward challenge on SFGirlByBay's blog, I didn't quite understand the concept fully, but now I pin with all my might.  It's the perfect thing to do while rocking Mabel to sleep at 3am :)


But, does anyone else have the same tiny bit of anxiety that eats away at you about your pins that I do?  the pins which you have lovingly sorted into their right pretty pin boards suddenly. disappearing. never. to. be. seen. again???


No? it's just the control freak in me?  Oh, well I mostly have this fear about this board.  Especially the recipes I've already tried and love.  What if one day I click on that great recipe and ooops, not found... it's what nightmares are made of.


So, instead of printing it out and adding it to my recipes file (which is so 1995) here is the first of many recipes I've found on Pinterest. What better way to get back into the blog? (yes, I know.  it's been a while... )


enjoy the cake!

Bananas and Cream Bundt Cake with Brown Butter Glaze

original recipe here

1/3 cup butter (original recipe calls for shortening)

1-1/4 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-1/4 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium) (I used 4 because that's what I had going bad in my fruit basket)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1-1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Pre-heat oven to 350° F (180°C)

Grease and flour a 10 inch bundt cake pan

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Add bananas and mix well. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with sour cream, stirring just until combined. Stir in walnuts. 

Pour into cake pan and bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the centre comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Place a piece of waxed paper under the wire rack before adding the glaze.

Brown Butter Glaze

1/2 cup butter

2 cups powdered sugar, sifted (original recipe calls for 3, but I just found that is SO much icing for my liking)

2 teaspoons vanilla

4 tablespoons milk

In a medium bowl, add powdered sugar. Place butter in a small saucepan. Melt butter over medium heat until bubbly. Cook, stirring occasionally until golden brown. Remove from heat and pour butter into the bowl of powdered sugar. Add milk and vanilla, stir until smooth. (I had to sift mine through a sieve as I couldn't get the lumps out - both times I've tried this recipe)

Pour over the top of the cake and let it ooze over the sides. 

Saturday Brunch

this whole being a stay at home mum thing seems to be agreeing with me. now. it took me a while to get into the swing of things, but since I figured out that I don't have to be constantly holding Mabel every waking hour, or rocking her to sleep every time she needs to nap, I seem to actually have some time to get things done. she's quite happy to lay in her chair and watch me do stuff, and listen to me nattering away to her about what I'm doing. and she is good at going to sleep on her own. as long as you check in with her when she gets upset. sometimes there is a total meltdown which calls for some rocking, but generally she's good.

learning all these things has taken time, and trial and error, but I'm happy to report that we're finally getting it together over here. which has increased the sanity levels immensely!

so much so that I am starting to try new things. cooking new recipes. last week it was banana bread, and this weekend I tried these delicious pancakes. I mean, I can cook, I have no problems with it, it's just that I usually don't take the time. and when it comes to pancakes I usually just opt for the shake and bake variety - which, if you add the right topping can be yummy. (oh and these are awesome for camping!)

I've had this recipe on my pinterest board for a while now, so on Saturday we had brunch with the gang to try it out. Lemon poppyseed pancakes, fresh orange juice (from our trees) and espressos (made by Barista Bryce). it was a beautiful summer morning, under our newly refurbished patio and it was delicious - if I do say so myself!Savannah needed some shades. Mabel loaned her a pair.Daddy and Savannah
Mummy and Savannah
Hannah and Mabel - seems Mabel has to grow into this pair of sunnies...

Lemon Poppyseed Buttermilk Pancakes with Macerated Berries Berries Just add a bit of sugar to your berries, and let them sit at room temperature while you make the pancakes.   Pancakes 2 cups unbleached (all-purpose) flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/3 cup sugar pinch of salt 1/3 cup poppy seeds zest of 4 lemons 2 cups buttermilk 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 2 tablespoons butter, melted butter, to serve (and for pan) To make the pancakes combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt in a large bowl. In another bowl the buttermilk, eggs, butter, lemon zest and poppy seeds. Add the wet to the dry. Stir all the ingredients until they are just combined. Don't worry if the batter is a bit lumpy, you don't want to over mix. Heat your skillet, pan, or griddle to medium-hot and brush it with a bit of butter. Test for the right temperature. If a drop of water dropped onto the pan starts to dance, you are in the ballpark. Pour about 1/3 of a cup of batter into the skillet. Wait until the pancake bottom is deep golden in color, then flip with a spatula and cook the other side until golden and cooked through. Repeat with the remaining batter.  Keep the pancakes warm on a baking sheet in a 200 degree oven until you are ready to serve.

happy friday!

this weekend they have predicted snow in California. they got 4 feet in Tahoe last night and they say it might snow in San Francisco - but I'll believe it when I see it :)

none the less it is still pretty cold here and I am looking forward to the weekend in. I am feeling the creative vibe so am going to try making this soup

this necklace

and this slow cooker recipe

I'll let you know how they turn out.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend whatever it is you're doing!

Bento Cuteness

We had dinner with Kate and Bryce this weekend and I admired their vast collection of food storage options. I've been looking at different food storage stuff for awhile now that we have the kitchen basically completed (the cabinets are in anyway) and I've wanted to get some nice Tupperware or something to store food. Then today I came across this site that has the most adorable bento boxes I've ever seen! They also give 365 lunch combination ideas that all look super healthy and fun to eat - and they're all in the perfectly portion controlled bentos. Not only are these cute and perfect for toting healthy lunches, but they're also eco-friendly and contain no phthalates, BPA, or lead.

you say tomato

I'm so happy to report that our roma tomatoes are ripe and ready to eat, with still so many more on the vine. our cherry tomato plant has tripled in size since we planted it (it's almost 5 feet tall!) and has the cutest little bunches of baby tomatoes on it - I am just waiting for them to ripen up.

here's a tomato salad I made the other night which is sort of a different take on a caprece salad which was delicious!
I cut up some cherry tomatoes (and the two ripe romas from my plant), baby mozzarella cheese, fresh basil (from my garden) and some sun dried tomatoes, drizzled some balsamic vinegar glaze, sprinkled some pepper and salt, then shook the whole thing in a salad bowl.

so easy. so fresh and delish!

cupcakes and caravans

what could be a better combination than caravans and cupcakes?

how about cupcakes + caravans + rustic outdoor wedding??? doesn't that sound like perfection?

I came across these gorgeous lovelies at oh joy and was instantly in love. check out the flavours of cupcakes though, wine based, chocolate based and vanilla based, there must be over 100 different flavours... Enjoy Cupcakes - how could you not!?

sunday brunch

avocado, bacon, poached egg and melted cheese on top of an english muffinwith freshly squeezed orange juice (from our tree)= perfect Sunday brunch!

krispy kremes - what's the deal?

I got this sent to me at work today...I just don't get the Krispy Kreme thing... I mean they're ok, but I've heard people describe them as being 'as addictive as crack cocaine' is there something wrong with me?

go here for your free doughnut

I didn't do very much..

..but I did manage to eat. A lot. I'm back online and feeling peppy after my touch of appendicitis last week and am ready to take up some of the blogging duties from Kate. Unfortunately, nothing much happened last week since I basically laid in bed for six days doing nothing but popping pills and getting up to eat. I did remember to take some pictures though and am sharing them now. I was a little disappointed that my liquid diet only lasted six hours and my appetite returned with a vengeance. Why is it I never get the illness that makes you skinny Here are egg whites scrambled with mushrooms and vegetables

with a side of ketchup smothered potatoes

Egg and zucchini fritata with tomatoes and feta
Blueberry trifle = creamy and delicious.
I need to make a note to eat more trifle this summer.

It started out healthy. I was cooking plain cabbage and thought,

"Bacon and sausage would make this even better."

Taco salad is one of my favorite things to eat. This one had lettuce and cabbage, avocado, salsa, beans, turkey, taco seasoning from the little envelope thing and light sour cream.

Even adding pumpkin puree, cinnamon and brown sugar could not make me like oatmeal.

This is Cody's plate from last night's dinner (I had mine w/out bread).

I made Italian chicken sausage with Gashouse eggs. I think this style of

eggs has lots of different names, but no matter what you call them they are delicious. I made mine on the new griddle from Cost Plus and they turned out great.

First Dinner Party

Kate, Bryce, Cooper and McKenzie came over last night for our first impromptu dinner party and to admire the new TV in it's place of honor - towering above the fireplace. Since it was Veggie Tuesday I made eggs Benedict with an assortment of toppings - tomato, spinach, avocado, asparagus, and a very lemony Hollandaise to drench the whole thing. I also make some bruschetta that had small sourdough toasts w/asparagus and melted fontina with a drizzle of truffle oil, sauteed sweet potatoes (I smothered mine in ketchup), and a French blueberry tart for dessert - proving that Veggie Tuesday is delicious, especially when butter is in every nook and cranny of the meal. We ate dinner, watched all four dogs scamper around until finally I snapped, and watched part of Avatar (until realizing that 9:30 on a work night is too late to try and watch a 4 hour movie).

eggs benni - the easy way

grainy toast + canadian bacon + poached eggs + 2 slices of spicy smoked gouda melted in the toaster oven = easy eggs benni

Doesn't this look delicious?

We got our awesome fridge delivered on Saturday and I've been going through what sort of delicious and beautiful foods I should get to stock it. After months of eating take out, going to restaurants, and eating junk food I'm looking forward to actually having food that's fresh and tasty. I came across this blog while poring over the pictures on Tastespotting (which I can do for hours and hours) and can't wait to try this recipe!! I love how everything is separated into their own groups within the cabbage cup instead on jumbled together. For some reason I'm anti-mixed up foods which may be a little strange, but I hate swirled food and cringe whenever I share something and the other person (usually Cody) dives in with a fork and mixes the whole thing together into one homogeneous mass. I much prefer to have each bite remain unique and am always on the lookout for the "perfect" bite. Anyway, the point is, this blog is awesome and this recipe looks like it's full of perfect bites.

greek goodness

since Hannah, Vicki and I were all feeling the same monday blah today, we decided a delicious lunch was in order - nothing like copious amounts of garlicky goodness to cure the mondayitis... so off to Athena Grill, our favourite greek restaurant we headed. it's an unassuming looking place in the middle of an industrial area, but if you're in silicon valley, you really should try it out (there is a reason the line up is out the door)

chicken souvlaki pita with extra tzatziki from athena grill with friends = much better monday

veggie tuesday

bryce and I decided to make a change in our diet, and introduce veggie tuesday's starting today. he works with a few indians and this is a tradition that some of them keep, we thought it sounded like a good idea. so, this afternoon we had the usual conversation before we left work of what should we have for dinner, and bryce said he'd pick something up - and here's what he brought home. a zillion little styrofoam cups filled with lots of different flavoured goodies, some sweet, some spicy, some fruity, some creamy, some curry puffs, some rice and some sort of pancake. we're not really sure exactly what we were eating, but it was really delicious!

Blog Crush

I took a little break today from obsessing about what color to paint my walls and spent some time fantasizing about my soon to be awesome and amazing garden. We've got a yard specialist coming by this week to go over a game plan for how to arrange the yard and are setting up some time this weekend and next for a massive yard clean-up. The basic plan is to install a dog run on one side of the house that has an attache doggy entrance to our utility room so the kids can come and go as they please into a protected area in the house, but still have access to their play area outside. I also want to install the dog run so we can finally spruce up the yard and plant my vegetable. So as I was looking up pictures of vegetables on-line and making my never ending lists of what I want to grow I came across Apples and Butter, a really good site with wonderful pictures and lots of recipes for using up all the beautiful fresh produce I hope to have this year.
One of the things I love about this site is that all the food looks delicious and flavorful, but it's also wholesome and made with food that I can basically take straight from the garden. Very inspiring! I'm making my lists right now of what to grow and hope to have some great pictures of the yard and garden progress to share.

Daily (ish) Macro

Delicious and tender baby beets with micro greens and fresh mozzarella.