Three Twisted Stitches

I have profess'd me thy friend, and I confess me knit to thy deserving with cables of perdurable toughness ~Othello, the Moor of Venice

Thursday, April 05, 2007

Apples, Bananas, and Honey...colored yarn

THE BAKER IN ME

This issue has very little to do with knitting.

WARNING: Mouth watering may occur.

Banana Bread has been my signature baking treat for the past couple of years. Ever since I was little, I used to beg my mom to make banana bread. As soon as the banana's on the kitchen table turned a little too brown to be eaten, I'd start working on her, eroding at her, hoping that she would break down and bake. When I was old enough to start exploring the magic of the kitchen (to be honest, when I was brave enough. I was old enough years before I actually started...) I made the decision to take those old, brown bananas that had just turned a little to sweet, and make my own banana bread.

I pulled down the "ancient" Better Homes and Garden's cookbook from the shelf in our pantry and flipped to the banana bread recipe. Flour, sugar, eggs, baking soda and mashed bananas. The main ingredients to any banana bread recipe. As I got more adventurous, I added powdered cinnamon, and then a little ground nutmeg. The result? An addiction. My dad stashed the really ripe bananas in the freezer for when I come home, in the hopes that I will find the time to make a loaf for him. My aunt, who normally doesn't like banana bread, can't get enough of it. It's been awhile since I made a few loaves for my family, but periodically I sneak a loaf for my dad. Today, I had 5 bananas that had turned just a little too ripe. That itch for baking crawled into my arms and the project started.

Soon, the richly sweet smell of baking banana bread filled my apartment, spiced with the sharp scent of cinnamon and nutmeg. I can still smell the lingering aroma as I type...

The dinging of the timer set my mouth watering like Pavlov's dog, and I rushed to the oven, hot pad in hand, and pulled out the savory treat.

Oh, it smelled so good, and I KNEW it was going to be a good batch. I let it cool for a moment, then went to the fridge and pulled out a tupperware container of sweet cinnamon apple topping that I was left over from a birthday cake for my friend Nicole.

I sliced the bread and spread a spoonful of the apple topping over the crust. With trembling lips, I took a bite.

Lord, that is the BEST banana bread I have had in a long time.

And for you, I have the recipe for both the banana bread and the apple topping!



(I warned you... now stop drooling and start baking!)

Get the recipes here and here too.

IN KNITTING NEWS

I don't believe I haven't told of my misadventures with the baby sweater. When I left on Friday for home for the shower, I managed to leave the remainder of the yarn in the stash drawer of my apartment. Unable to finish the sweater, I took an emergency trip to the LYS with Jessica to grab some last minute baby soft yarn. While there, I recalled that I had two skeins of white and one purple in the Misti Alpaca DK 4 ply-- 80% baby suri alpaca, 20% silk. So amazingly soft, it reminds me of kitten fur. I borrowed a book of baby knits from Jessica, and whipped up a striped hat, mitts, and white booties with purple i-cord ties to give at the shower.

Since then, I've gotten this far with the sweater, and intend to finish this weekend:

This post is way over due, and I can't postpone it any longer.

Binding Off.

1 Comments:

  • At Wed Apr 11, 07:07:00 AM 2007, Blogger Pixie Purl said…

    the sweater looks so cute!
    Oh, and this is kind of funny. I just finished making banana muffins and while they are baking noticed you had a new post up about banana bread lol
    Now I'll have to post my muffins on my blog :)

     

Post a Comment

<< Home