Hey, Y'all!

Comfort Food Saturday: Banana Bread

I'm guessing from all the emails I got about last week's recipe that you liked black beans and rice.  I'm so glad! It is awfully tasty.

Let's switch gears to something sweeter this week.  I've been on a mission for a while to find a really good banana bread recipe.  When I was living in New York, my supervisor at Lincoln Center made THE BEST banana nut bread I've ever had.  One of the people who worked with us was on a diet and always yelled at him when he brought it in, so he started sneaking it to me.  I'd open a desk drawer one day and find a loaf.  And then I'd go to a dark corner backstage and eat the entire thing.  This recipe is as close to his as I can seem to get. 

Right about now, many of you are going "Hey, doofus, why don't you email him for his recipe?"  I tried. I begged for the recipe the entire time we worked together.  It's apparently a family secret with some sort of lucious secret ingredient and he won't give it to anyone.  Boo.   This one's awfully good, though. I'm going to keep experimenting with it to try and figure out the secret ingredient.  Have it with your coffee for breakfast, for a hearty afternoon snack or with a little ice cream for dessert.

BANANA BREAD (Makes 2 loaves)

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 large ripe bananas, peeled

2 large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

3/4 cup chopped walnuts (can be omitted)

Confectioners' sugar for dusting (optional)

Heat oven to 350.  Coat two loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.  In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.  Make a well in the center.  Mash bananas in a medium-sized bowl.  Add eggs, sugar and butter and beat until fairly smooth. Pour banana mixture into the well in dry ingredients and stir until just blended.  Fold in walnuts, then divide batter evenly between two loaf pans.  Bake loaves at 350 for 35 minutes, until browned and when top springs back when gently pressed.  Remove to wire rack for cooling.  Dust with confectioners' sugar if desired.  Slice and serve.  Excellent with fresh strawberries!

NOTE:  If you omit the nuts, this is a very toddler-friendly recipe!  What kid doesn't love bread and bananas?

Enjoy and have a great weekend!

MMMMMMMMM...Toes!

I painted my toenails over the weekend.  I guess Dean's never seen my toenails polished, so he was really excited and curious when he noticed their bright pink color this morning.  And then he tried to eat my big toe. Once he spit his monkey out, that is.

   

Mooooooooooooooooom, you got bubble gums on yer toes!!!  I eat it.

Nice sprouts!

The seed package said "usually sprout quickly, often within 7-10 days."  Sprout quickly?  UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE CENTURY!  How 'bout these brussels sprouts?

 

I'm about a day away from having to uncover their little greenhouse starter home.  I'm just so happy they aren't dead!!  I also have several sprouts in my basil section, a couple of sprigs of dill and chives and one tiny little nubber of a lavender sprout.  All my little plant babies are currently residing on my living room coffee table, which is being protected from their possibledrippiness by a cow-print throw blanket.  Once our weather warms up again, the sprouts and basil are going straight into the garden and everybody else will hang out in their greenhouses on the deck until they sprout.

Dean's had a big day.  This morning, we were in the living room, he'd just finished eating and we'd come down for me to eat breakfast and drink my coffee and for him to do the Hot Dog Dance with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  He was standing next to me by the couch begging for bites of my bagel.  All of a sudden, he just walked over to the tv and picked up his truck.  HE WALKED! More than four steps!  He's been doing a few steps here and there for a couple of weeks, but has decided every time that crawling is just faster.  Everyone keeps telling me he'll walk when he's ready.  I guess he was ready today.

He was also ready to try fresh mango.  And he looooved it.

 

Moooooooooooooom, where has this BEEN all my little life?  THIS STUFF'S AWESOME!  Keep it comin'.

See? Sometimes it pays to be a foodie!

Over the weekend, I was invited to become an editor on the site Foodie Mama!  I love reading Foodie Mama, and am thrilled to take over editorial tasks for the Feeding Toddlers section of the site.  Part of my responsibilities will be to contribute one new article a week, so I'll try to remember to let you know here when I've posted over there.  It's a really fun site, whether you're a mom or not, full of recipes, an age-to-age feeding guide, tips and menu ideas.

I spent the better part of last night working on getting my Foodie Mama profile up to snuff, which included adding a picture. (It hasn't shown up on the site just yet.)  I actually ended up going with an old standby because I couldn't get the size of the pictures we took to cooperate with the site, but  I wanted you all to know that on a Sunday night, after Dean was in bed, I put on a full face of makeup, straightened my hair and put on a cute top (So what if it was a maternity top? I like the color!!) and had Marcus take a series of pictures of me.  I tried to do a collage on my newly downloaded Picasa, but I obviously need a tutorial before I actually start using that software.

Here are the highlights:
   

This one is actually my favorite.  I know Marcus and probably my mother do not like it because I am not smiling with teeth.  But my nose crinkles when I smile with teeth.  See?

 

Marcus and my mom both liked this one best.  I guess it's ok, except for the obnoxious strand of hair on my neck.

I know what you really want, though...OUTTAKES! (And for me to get an eyebrow wax!)

 

Spirit fingers:  A sure way to make your toddler eat his veggies.  Or to scare the ever loving life out of him.

 

Hmmmm...I wonder if Dean would like chicken piccata or  rib roast for dinner?

 

AAAAAAAAAAAND that's enough of that!

WELCOME! Comfort Food Saturday: Black Beans and Rice

If you're just joining us from the blogspot blog, WELCOME!  Turns out all my glitches over here got worked out pretty quickly and Typepad IS all I wanted it to be!  I'll be working for a while to move my archives over her--a pretty time-consuming task--but eventually everything you saw over there will be over here, with the possible exception of comments from the old site, which I can't seem to figure out how to move.  I'm currently using a pre-made template I chose for my masthead, but will eventually have my very own design that's a little more ME.  For now, though, I like this one.  The bottom right corner looks like a NYC skyline shot and the books remind me of prompt scripts, which I do for work, grade books, journals and good ol' literature.  If you're a regular or would like to be, please re-bookmark me at this site, as I'll start posting here from now on.  Also, if you're not on my blogroll and would like to be added, just let me know!

Now...on with the recipe!

I've recently come to realize that some of the most comforting foods come in bowls.  There's something nice about curling up on the couch with a hot bowl of soup or a big bowl of ice cream.  This recipe is one I made by throwing a bunch of stuff in a pan and hoping for the best for the first time on Thursday.  My version was REALLY spicy, even for us.  Marcus said it opened his sinuses, though.  I had to eat 3 Tums.  Use whatever sausage you like best.  I used andouille, but you could also use regular smoked sausage, Italian sausage, or even ground beef, pork or chicken. Marcus wants me to make it with bacon next time. (Of course he does.)  This dish is also excellent without any meat at all.

BLACK BEANS AND RICE

1 cup uncooked white rice (or brown, if you prefer)

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

approx. 1 pound andouille sausage

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1-each small red and green bell pepper, chopped

1/2 white onion, chopped

3 cloves minced garlic

Cajun seasoning (if this isn't your cup of tea, use black or red pepper and spice to your liking)

Bring chicken broth to a boil.  Add rice and reduce heat.  Let rice simmer 20 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.  While rice cooks, cook sausage, onions, garlic and peppers in a skillet over medium heat.  Once rice and sausage are cooked and vegetables are crisp-tender, add rice, beans and seasoning to skillet.  Mix well and heat through.  Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Internet, can you hear me?

Yay! It looks like the lovely tech support folks at typepad fixed my glitches, so I am up and running again!  Happy Jen, Happy Jen.  Now to get on the huge task of moving my archives over.  I took a great online course last weekend, kind of the ins and outs of getting started on typepad, so I'll be working on the site more this weekend.  Anyone who has a typepad blog:  How do you do your own header?  I'm using one of the ready-made templates right now, but I"d like to have my own design for a header. Any advice? I'm technically inept, sort of.

Let's add a picture!

 

Moooooooooom, what's a typepad?  Can I chew on it?  I'm Spiderman, you know. Except at night when I'm Batman.

I think I"m about to give out this blog address on the blogger site and let everyone take a little sneak peek at what's happening over here.  Be kind and patient...she is a work in progress. :)

If anyone needs me, I'll be over here in the Haz Mat suit...

Marcus is sick with what can only be described as "The Crud." Apparently that is a medical term here in Alabama. It's what the urgent care doctor told me I had last time I was sick. The Crud. And one of our co-workers thinks she has the shingles. Half our students have pneumonia or some version of the dreaded Crud. Welcome to February in Alabama! 70 degrees one minute 21 the next. And how 'bout those 50 mph winds and tornadoes? Good times, I say, good times.

I'm currently obsessed with the idea of keeping myself and Dean healthy. I chugged a big glass of juice today and shoved countless Zicam swabs up my nose. I even gave Dean two servings of juice water. (All "the stuff" I've read about juice and obesity and aaaaaaaaah, evil suuuuuuuuuugaaaaaaaaaarrrr has sufficiently freaked me out, so I give Dean 1 part juice to 2 parts water. It's just how I roll. Yet I let him eat Gerber baby fruit roll ups. Go figure.) Anyway, we are all up on our vitamin C now.

I knew Marcus was really sick when he asked me to call in and let the secretary know he wouldn't be teaching class OR having rehearsal today. Usually he'll just try to push through. Not so much today. He got up long enough to eat some Fruity Pebbles and sit with Dean while I showered and got ready for work. When I came downstairs, they were watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Well, watching is a generous way to describe it. Dean doesn't really watch it per se, he mostly just plays til the Hot Dog Dance comes on, then goes nuts. Marcus was conked out on the couch and Dean had his little hand on his Daddy's knee. It was kind of the cutest thing I've ever seen. As I got closer, I understood just how clogged Marcus's nose must be because MY GOD the poop. I quickly took Dean up for fresh pants and dragged Marcus back to bed. Once he was settled, I closed our bedroom door and sealed it with Lysol. Oh, yes, I did.

I do not want to get sick. I will not get sick. (knocks frantically on wooden tray table) I deny the existence of The Crud. And now I go to stick another Zicam swab up my nose and chug one more glass of juice before I settle in for the night. In our guest room.

Not what I expected

Yeah. So this isn't going so well.  I'm having major problems fixing my layout and such. I keep getting error messages.  I'm going to keep trying to get help from tech support, but if the problems don't get resolved really soon, I may be forced to stay with blogger. STINKY.

Rehearsal Widow

Last night I began my latest stint as a rehearsal widow. This means Marcus is starting rehearsal for a new show and I'm at home. It's been the other way around in our home a lot, where Marcus was abandoned while I worked on a show. But this time? I was reminded of one of the many reasons why living here in Alabama has improved our family's definition of quality time.

Marcus's commute from our apartment in NYC to his rehearsals: 2 hours ONE WAY
Marcus's commute from our house in Alabama to his rehearsals: 15 minutes ROUND TRIP

God bless Alabama.

Easy Like Sunday Morning

We had a great day. I started my herb garden, FINALLY took a moment to paint my toenails, then we went exploring at a state park nearby. There were also slushies from Sonic at some point in there. We finished off our evening with a great dinner cooked on our brand-spankin' new grill, which was part of my birthday/Valentine's day gift.

DISCLAIMER: Readers living in colder areas of the globe may ending up cussing and hating me after seeing these pictures. Should you choose to continue, you will know why Marcus and I wanted to move back to the south. (we don't like snow much) Behold the 70 degree February day:

 

 

 

 

Planting herbs. Anybody need chives? Because I should have a TRUCKLOAD soon. That starter greenhouse thingy I'm planting? One of four!

And now, the 2 most beautiful parts of my weekend:

 

 

Dean was just happy he got to eat his YoBaby outside.

Moooooooom, what's an herb? (or "a herb" if you pronounce the h...)

 

 

My new favorite picture of my son.

 

My son who discovered pine cones today.

 

 

A perfect day.