BANANA BREAD ...

My dream of domestic bliss includes the idea, that my children would arrive back from school daily, to a pristine home .... all neat and sparkly clean, with freshly laundered clothes hung perfectly in closets .... and to a homebaked snack, ready waiting on the table. My reality is something completely different ... I obviously failed housework 101 dismally, the laundry piles up quicker than I can get it done, .... but occasionally I do get the homebaked snack thing right. Today was one of those days.

A loaf of delicious banana bread, freshly baked and out of the oven awaited my children on their return from school. I have baked this same recipe, since the day I got married. It comes from a cookbook, that I'm sure every young South African woman owns or will own .... The Complete South African Cookbook. My copy was given to me by my very dear granny, as a gift for my kitchen tea (do brides to be even have these anymore?) .... because of this fact, I treasure this cookbook even more. It's cover is now falling off, it's pages are stained, but not a week goes by ... 17 years later ... where I don't pull it out and use it.

It is truly a delicious snack, and so, I thought I'd share the recipe with you .... enjoy!!!

- 1 stick butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 large very ripe bananas, mashed
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- pinch salt
- 65ml water
- 5ml baking soda
- 7ml baking powder

- Cream butter and sugar together, until light and creamy
- Add mashed bananas, and mix until well combined
- Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition
- Sift flour and salt together over butter mixture. Stir together until well combined
- Dissolve baking soda in water. Once dissolved add to mixture together with baking powder
- Mix until well combined
- Pour into a well greased loaf pan
- Bake at 350 deg F for 1 hour

This is a great recipe to make if you have bananas to use up that are very ripe - my kids won't eat bananas unless they're firm ..... in this heat, they become very ripe, very quickly!!!
So, go ahead, and give it a try. I promise you, you wont be dissapointed!!!
EDIT - My mom has just told me that you can freeze bananas. They will need to be used for banana bread or muffins (they soften in the freezer), but the banana taste also intensifies in the freezer. What a great idea, to avoid having to throw them out or having to bake with them straight away!!! Thanks mom - I had no idea you could do that:-)

PANDAMANIA ...

Hello bloggy friends, It's been a while. Sometimes, we all just need to take a break - August has been one of those times for me. However, the kids head back to school on Monday, so we'll be getting back to some type of routine around here.
Let me give you a quick pictorial summary of what we've been up to, before I share with you, a creation, that I'm rather proud of.

We celebrated Girl Childs 13th birthday ..... I can't believe she's a teenager already!!! Where have the years gone!!!

We attended a Back To School Bash for our school, at a local waterpark ... great way to beat the Texas heat.

The boys did a spot of EARLY morning fishing ... any later in the day, and the fish go into hiding.

We doned our skates, and took to the roller rink for a bit of roller skating.





And we visited a new aquarium that has just opened.
It's been a fun summer, albeit, a VERY hot one.
Now on to all things crafty .... Girl Child and I took part in a Panda Swap. It took me a while to decide on what to make. I've always wanted to give quilting a try ... I've done a little, but never any that required putting little bits of patterned fabric together ... so what better time to give it a try!!! The result, this table runner, of which I am very proud.


I found the pattern for this applique block on www.weefolkart.com. I think that it all sewn and quilted looks really cute. For the backing fabric, I used the same green fabric that I used for the grass. It was a lot easier to make than I thought it would be. I also added this to the swap package ...

I never tire of making these pincushions .... each one is so different. This is Mau Ling ..... half the fun for me is deciding on a name for the creature that gives the pin cushion its personality.
Wow, this has turned out to be a lengthy post!!!
Enjoy your weekends, and if your kids head back to school next week .... Happy School Year

WELL, HELLO .... I'M BACK ...

We took a little trip last week, to Missouri. As many of you know, we've only lived in the US for 6 years, and haven't seen too much of this big country. Missouri, was a first for us, and we had a great time.

Before we set off, I had a mermaid themed package that I needed to send off. I included one of my pincushions .... I love making them. It always amazes me just how different each one looks when it's done.

I named this queen of the sea, Marina:-D
I also made this little tree ornament to go with the package .... so very cute.

I have used this method of making little people so often .... It's easy and so adaptable. I use a wooden bead for the head, and pipecleaners to shape the body. I then dress them in felt, to make them look like the creation I want them to be - the only limit is your imagination!!!
Thank you for stopping by. Hope your summer is going well .... here in Texas it's miserable. Today was our 30 something consecutive day of triple digit temperatures (110 deg F today!!!), and we haven't seen a drop of rain in nearly 2 months!!! Roll on winter!!!