This is the recipe that my mom used to make delicious banana bread. I haven’t made it in years but recently found it beneath some other recipes in my very unorganized recipe binder. And the very overripe bananas in my fridge were calling out to be used up. It will certainly make it’s way back into being a frequently baked item in our household now that we’ve rediscovered this recipe.
Ingredients
1/2 cup oil
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed bananas (about 3)
3 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup chocolate chips (optional) (I prefer the mini chips)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350′ F
Beat oil and sugar together
Add in eggs and beat well
Add in mashed bananas, milk and vanilla, mixing well
Sift together dry ingredients
Add dry ingredients to liquid ingredients, mixing until just mixed
Optionally gently mix in chocolate chips and nuts
Pour into loaf pan(s)
Bake about 1 hour if using a 9 x 5 loaf pan. Bake less if using 2 smaller pans (e.g., 3.5″ x 7.5″).
Notes
This freezes well. You may want to slice before freezing so you can take out a few pieces at a time.
These are the three cards that we made in my 10:30 online class for Dementia Society today.
I was trying to figure out how to colour in ladybugs and am not yet quite happy with the result. At dinner I consulted with Roland and Kevin. Tomorrow I’m going to try to colour the head in black and perhaps add eyes (and maybe other facial features) with a white marker.
Trying to figure out which colours work best for the flower and ladybug. I really enjoy colouring with these watercolour brush markers. This could potentially be my Picture This Year prompt 105 (brush) photo but I have another idea in mind which I may add to the end of this post tomorrow.A trial card inspired by one of my bee cards. But a few adjustments are necessary. I’m making these for the Arts for All program at Canadian Mental Health Association. It think black dots with red sentiment may be better.Starting to work on my next card (Card 32) for my Altenew Let it Shine course. An adaptation of that ladybug card using the Color Throwdown Challenge 830 colours.Adding some shine to my ladybugs with some Crystal Glaze. I turned one over by mistake.
Tulips on Tuesday
Here I am starting my writing at 9:40; again up past my ideal bedtime. So this will be pretty short. I have a fair bit to say but I think I will at to this tomorrow.
Heidi bought and arranged some tulips for her friend, Hannah, last night. So my theme for today is tulips. It’s a good thing I took the photos last night because Heidi and the tulips were gone before I came downstairs.
It was a busy day; it’s a good thing that the Arts for All class at Canadian Mental Health Association that I had in my calendar should actually not have been there. I spent some time getting ready for that class before my 10:30 online class and was happy when I found out that it’s another day because I really wasn’t as prepared as I should have been. I did some more work on it after class and did some work on my 100DayProject but don’t yet have another finished card to share. I will share the photos of the 3 cards that my 10:30 online class assembled. The nice thing about having uncomplicated cards to assemble is that we get a lot of time to talk together during class rather than mainly focusing on making sure that everyone can follow along with the projects.
I went with Roland mid-afternoon so he could pick up his car after the tire swap. I did some groceries at Costco on the way home then did a baking and cooking spree before Kevin came for 6:00 dinner and I had my 7:00 walk then dropped some baking off at Louise’s for her to take to Collingwood to share with Stefan, Georgia and the rest of the gang over Easter weekend. I also dropped another Lego set at Karen’s to round out her birthday gift since we were about 10 days short of Lego pieces in her daily envelopes. Then it was time to clean up the kitchen when I got home and to put the chili that I made into containers to put in the freezer, get the corn bread into a plastic bag in the freezer, put away our lemon squares and our banana bread (I’ll type up and post that recipe soon). I’ve left my chicken bone broth on simmer for overnight. I usually make a broth after buying a Costco roasted chicken. I’ll make some type of soup with it tomorrow.
I didn’t follow a recipe for my chili today; hopefully it’s good because we have a lot of chili to eat.
My metal pan of chicken turned out darker than Louise’s which she cooked in a glass pan.It was interesting how much lighter Louise’s batch turned out which she cooked in glass rather than metal.It was also interesting how her chicken browned a bit more after it had been sitting. We transferred all of hers to another container and put the sauce in mason jars so she didn’t get sauce sloshed all over her car when she drove home.
Background
This is a recipe that I have refined a bit since it was given it my my cousin Leila about 35 or 40 years ago. The original recipe I jotted down was 3 pounds of chicken wings, ginger, salt, pepper, garlic and soya sauce, 300 degrees, covered. I have since decided to make it using chicken thighs and have specified some quantities and added a few cooking instructions.
Ingredients
1 large (Costco size) tray of chicken thighs (about 25-30 pieces)
grated ginger (a piece about 1-2″)
minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup vinegar
2 tbsp soya sauce
2 tbsp corn starch
Instructions
Place the chicken thighs reasonably tightly together in a baking pan. I use a 10.5′ x 14.5″ pan for a single batch and a 12″ x 18″ pan for a double batch.
Mix all remaining ingredients together.
Pour the liquid over the chicken and move chicken around gently so that the sauce seeps between all the pieces.
Cover the pan.
Bake at 300-350′ covered, stirring occasionally, about every 30-45 minutes depending on the size of batch you are making and the temperature you bake it at.
I usually move the outer pieces in towards the centre and move some inner pieces out towards the edges of the pan partway through cooking to ensure they are move evenly cooked. I also turn the chicken over for a while to facilitate even cooking.
I usually use an instant read thermometer to test the chicken doneness (165’F / 74’C) to prevent over cooking.
Notes
This freezes and reheats well.
We tend to serve this over instant/ramen noodles (such as Mr. Noodles brand which we just cook without the flavouring package) or spaetzle noodles. And often serve with canned corn.
This is our family’s go-to recipe to drop off as a meal for friends. We make a big batch and divide it into labelled 2-cup cottage cheese / sour cream / yogurt containers. Then we package those freezable containers with some canned corn and instant noodle packages. That way the receiving friend can choose to have some within a day or two and/or to put the chicken into the freezer.
When warming up in the microwave, check it and stir frequently and separate the pieces of chicken as soon as you can to help prevent the chicken pieces at the edges getting overcooked. You can also thaw it out in the fridge beforehand to make it quicker and easier to reheat.
We had a relaxing, slow start to the morning. Cathy left about 10:00 after a simple but delicious breakfast of granola, yogurt and fruit. Danielle left closer to noon then the remaining 4 of us walked over to the Chateau, the trails through the forest and along the river are very pretty with snow still covering a lot of the ground and the paths not too messy from the melting yet. We came back for a simple lunch of soup, veggies, cheese, crackers and cookies. Flora and I walked into town for coffee and milk while Karen and Sheela stayed back to read. We had a delicious soft taco dinner inspired by the delicious dinner that Nancy had served us last Wednesday at bookclub. Flora whipped up some mango salsa to go along with the roasted cauliflower, the fried halloumi cheese and the avocado dip. We had no room for dessert. We played Bananagrams as well as Code Names. A great day filled with lots of activities and friends.
Throwback Thursday – 2010 04 10 – Hide and Seek
Saturday: Roland and Heidi had soccer practice from 9:00-11:00. I took Stefan out to Embrun for his 11:40 game (we took a bit of a scenic route since I missed a turn). Another loss. After the game, Stefan had lunch with his team out in Embrun and I headed home for Heidi’s 1:00 book club. She baked cookies and the other girls brought lots of goodies. They spend more time eating and chatting than discussing the book (Sketches by Eric Walters). I sent them out to do some sidewalk chalk art (which was in the book) since it was a beautiful afternoon. Roland went out to see Stefan’s second game. After book club, Joanne drove Heidi, Emily and Emma to South Keys for a movie. I picked up some veggies which we brought with us to the Jordan’s where we had a fun filled evening with friends including the Mortimores and Lams. After dinner and watching the ceremony for Daniel Alfredson’s 1000th game) the boys played XBox while Emma and Heidi (dropped off by Rosemary after the movie) watched a video in the basement. By the time I got around to seeking the boys out for my picture of the day they were playing hide and seek. A great day filled with lots of activities and friends.
And a photo from his parents’ negatives that Roland has been scanning.
I must have turned my watch alarm off at 7:00 without realizing it because I woke up at 7:30 to the sound of Roland showering. And so we weren’t out early enough to get our garbage, recycling and compost out so they’ll have to wait another few weeks. It’s a good thing I decided last night that I wouldn’t be able to get up early enough for a swim before picking Flora up at 9:15. I did enjoy the walk to the train bridge and back in the conservation area with Roland and Luna but it did make things a bit tight for me to finish getting ready to leave for our Montebello trip. Travel conditions were great and the drive flew by. We had about 10 minutes to sit inside in front of the gorgeous fireplace before Karen and Cathy arrived from Ottawa and Sheela and Danielle arrived from Montreal. We then walked along the river to the town of Montebello and wandered through the town with Marketa who arrived about noon. We continued walking until our 1:00 lunch reservation which was timed for Arianne’s arrival. A great lunch was followed by some more wandering in the woods. Then we walked back to get our cars and went to our Airbnb for a bit before our 6:00 dinner reservation at the Chateau. Another great meal with great conversation. We shut the place down. Marketa and Arianne had to drive back to Ottawa but the rest of us stayed overnight in the spacious Airbnb. I bought a lovely pack of kitchen towels at Costco so we could each take home a memento our girls getaway – my idea is that we will all think of each other and this trip when we are using the towels.
100DayProject Day 45
Another day with no crafting progress, but we did give a non-retirement themed card to Sheela to celebrate her retirement. I think it’s actually a very appropriate card for the way in which we chose to celebrate her retirement: a day with friends wandering together in the snow.
Creative Treats 