Kitchen Diary: Banana Bread

I'm crazy for Bananas!

I've made a chocolate chip banana muffin before and it was a hit with my husband. So this time, I decided to give Banana Bread a try. This recipe reminds me of our drive through Hana Highway in Maui. What is the connection between Hana Highway and Banana Bread? Well, if you've driven through Hana Highway, you'll notice all these signs from mom and pop shops offering Banana Bread. Every time we stop by a shop, the Banana Bread is gone - that's how delicious they are.

To be precise and exact for my banana bread - sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, sour cream, mashed bananas and of course - my recipe book.

I find it easier to bake when all my ingredients are ready and portioned.

My mixer finally left the basement.

My first banana bread and it filled the house with the most wonderful scent.

There's something rustic, historic and beautiful about this recipe. My gratitude to the person who made this recipe and passed it down to family, friends and now to me.

Gotta have thick slices.

These thick slices are great for french toast as well.

The bread was moist and delicious. It was perfect for our afternoon coffee and tea.

Since I made this Banana Bread, I've baked it twice already and the outcome is consistent. I did tweak it a bit and increased the Bananas and less nutmeg.

This recipe is a keeper.

A Dollop Of Daisy

"Daisy Daisy... just goes with family so do a dollop do do a dollop of Daisy do a dollop do do a dollop Things taste better with a dollop of Daisy do a dollop do do a dollop of Daisy do a dollop do do a dollop of Daisy do a dollop do do a dollop of Daisy." (Daisy Sour Cream Commercial Jingle)

Lately, I've been finding myself singing this commercial jingle. I have no intent on advertising this product but it's like one of those round songs that keeps going on and on. It's crazy!

There are two reasons why this commercial keeps popping into mind: (1) my next project is to bake mini biscuits with sour cream and (2) we just adopted a dog named Daisy.

I won't delve into the sour cream biscuits this time, but I will introduce you to Daisy. She's a senior at 12 years of age, and she comes from West Virginia. We adopted her from Hedgesville Hounds, and she arrived on May 31st.

Kepi gives Daisy a welcome home hug. That's until he "thinks" he's allergic to dogs.

Daisy having time for herself.

Resting after playing ball.

Relaxing at the yard.

It's funny but at 82 pounds, she owns the kitchen floor.

Playing fetch and catch with Dad.

After her bath...of course, she rolled on the grass after all that cleaning.

An afternoon nap.

Daisy's been well-behaved and she knows her commands - sit, lie down, stay and more. The tough part is introducing her to our Dizzy, the cat.

Before we took Daisy home, we took a towel and rubbed it on her during our initial visit. The whole idea is to bring home the towel and introduce Dizzy to the new scent. At that time, it seems that Dizzy was curious about the new scent; we did that for almost a week to give Dizzy ample time to know or get curious to Daisy's scent.

We've also created a safe zone for Dizzy, unaccessible to Daisy, accessorized with a baby gate. So far, there's been only one incident when Daisy and Dizzy met in the living room, did a staring competition which ended with a playful chase. For now, it's just been Dizzy coming down in the mornings to check on this big furry creature who sleeps downstairs.

We're hoping that soon, they'll both find a common ground and in all positivity, become friends. As for the husband's allergies, that is yet to be determined. We're trying to determine what is he allergic to - pollens or dander. Spring here is late (really short) and allergy season came with a vengeance.

Daisy is a great dog, but with a great dog comes big responsibilities.

We're in the initial phase and we're figuring out how things will work out. As for any stories, we're hoping for the best because the best is yet to come.