Foodie Love ~ Tried & True Banana Bread

If you know anything about me, you know that I am a banana bread master baker. 

I have been making banana bread and muffins for friends and family for years! I have tried so many recipes and adapted so many things about how I bake it that I think I have perfected it. I make it so often that I have memorized how to make it and we always have a loaf or two frozen for when we have people over or we just need a snack. There are two variations to this recipe. You can either add chocolate chips or create a cinnamon sugar crust. My preference is the latter.... but it's totally up to you. Here is the recipe. Let me know what you think!

Preheat your oven to 350C

The Ingredients:

~ 4 previously frozen bananas mashed

~ 1 large egg

~ 1 cup white sugar

~ 1 tsp vanilla

~ 2/3 cup butter or margarine

~ 1 tsp baking soda

~ 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

~ Cinnamon & Sugar for the crust or chocolate chips

The Process:

~ In a medium bowl mix bananas, egg, sugar, vanilla, and butter. Mixture will be lumpy.

~ Slowly mix in flour and set batter to the side

~ Butter the inside of the pan

~ Make a cinnamon sugar mixture consisting of two parts sugar to one part cinnamon

~ Coat the inside of the pan with the cinnamon sugar mixture, reserve some for sprinkling on top

~ If you are making muffins, it is easier to use cooking spray

~ Pour batter into the pan and sprinkle some more cinnamon sugar on top

~ Place in the center of the oven to bake

~ Bake times:

          - Banana Loaf ~ One hour or until a butter knife comes out clean

          - Banana Muffins - Half hour or until a toothpick comes out clean

~ If you wish to use chocolate chips instead of cinnamon sugar, skip the cinnamon sugar step and instead sprinkle chocolate chips on top of the batter before placing in the oven

~ Let cool and serve!

~ Muffins and loaves will freeze nicely when placed in plastic wrap and then a large zip lock freezer bag

Mrs. E

Hugh Cameron ~ Two Months

Two Month Stats:
Weight ~ 12lbs 8oz
Height ~ 23.5 inches

Hugh is a big man! He is growing like a weed these days and I am loving it. His rolls are multiplying at incredible rates and he is getting so heavy. Carrying him around is a serious arm work out, but he is learning to entertain himself more and more so I am not holding him 24 hours a day. He is still exclusively breastfed and loving every minute of it. I can't wait to see how long we will go!

Hugh is obsessed with his play mat on a serious level. He spends every morning in it playing around and kicking. He smiles all the time and is really starting to talk and babble a lot. He loves having baths and splashes around like a mad man. I think we may have a swimmer on our hands! Hugh is sleeping so well already. He naps on a schedule throughout the day and usually sleeps from 9:30pm - 4am before waking up to eat for 15 minutes before going back to sleep until I wake him up at 7:30am. Can't complain about that!

We are really loving his little personality and watching him learn and grow. Hugh really is a dream baby.

Mrs. E

Hugh's First Football Game

Football season is back!

In our family, we take football pretty seriously. We love the excitement of going to a game and try to take every opportunity to go to interesting match ups when we travel. David and I both grew up going to Eskimos games. It was a major part of our childhood that we were always excited to introduce to our own kids. The only problem with football is that it is hard to keep a kid interested for an entire game. This means that we have not taken them to too many games at this point. 

When the opportunity presented itself we decided to take Hugh to his first game. He is still so small and we figured that he would sleep in the carrier the whole time... this was not the case. It was POURING rain at the game. It was so bad that they actually had to postpone the game for a while. And Hugh hated it. He wasn't completely miserable but he didn't want to be in the carrier on me and was having a tough time sleeping.... poor little guy. We may have to revisit the football thing in a little while. We barely made it to half time before we headed out. Next time!

Mrs. E

Hugh's First Football Game

Football season is back!

In our family, we take football pretty seriously. We love the excitement of going to a game and try to take every opportunity to go to interesting match ups when we travel. David and I both grew up going to Eskimos games. It was a major part of our childhood that we were always excited to introduce to our own kids. The only problem with football is that it is hard to keep a kid interested for an entire game. This means that we have not taken them to too many games at this point. 

When the opportunity presented itself we decided to take Hugh to his first game. He is still so small and we figured that he would sleep in the carrier the whole time... this was not the case. It was POURING rain at the game. It was so bad that they actually had to postpone the game for a while. And Hugh hated it. He wasn't completely miserable but he didn't want to be in the carrier on me and was having a tough time sleeping.... poor little guy. We may have to revisit the football thing in a little while. We barely made it to half time before we headed out. Next time!

Mrs. E

Milk Mommy

I have a major issue.... I have way too much milk. 

This happened with the other kids too. I have a serious oversupply in the beginning. Breastfeeding is the best thing I have ever done but it is so hard to figure out how to store all of this extra milk. I would donate it, but the rules make it very difficult for me to casually donate. I would have to make a minimum commitment to the milk bank and unfortunately I can't do that. So every morning, when I pump at least 6oz of milk after feeding Hugh I have to find space for it in the freezer. We are running out of room but I don't want to throw it away! So far my best storage solution has been a medium sized rubbermaid container and a diet coke box. Both are now full. Suggestions are welcome!

Mrs. E

My Little People

It has taken me a couple of months to get used to being a mom of three. I am still completely overwhelmed when I am along with them.... but I am also incredibly proud. These are my people. We made these beautiful tiny humans and whenever I look at them I am in awe. They are challenging and sweet and I can't handle how cute they are. They love each other so much and I am loving every minute of watching them learn from each other. They have made this the best summer ever so far and I can't wait to see where we go from here!

Mrs. E

Foodie Love ~ Summer Pavlova

Yay for conquering a dessert that has terrified me for years!

We were introduced to the pavlova when we were in Australia. It is the ultimate summer dessert. A giant marshmallow meringue with whipped cream and fruit on top that looks beautiful. My problem has always been getting my meringue stiff enough to hold it's shape while baking. My recent education on learning how to make macarons gave be just enough insight to give it a try. My meringue was perfect! The only problem was that I had to pull it out of the oven early to get it ready for guests instead of letting it cool down slowly. This caused the meringue to crack. The plus side is that it still tasted amazing. 

Here are a few photos from the process. Henry was the ultimate little helper and was so excited to be able to lick the beater after I made the whipped cream. If anyone is interested in the recipe I used please comment below. It got rave reviews from everyone and I can't wait to experiment again with different fruit combinations. I may even try to create a fall flavoured pavlova in the next couple of months. I will let you know how it goes!

Mrs. E

An Interview with Sydney ~ End of Kindergarten

I had every intention of posting this as soon as kindergarten was done.... but I had a baby.

I finally found the time to do an end of school yer interview with Sydney. We had asked her these same questions at the beginning of the year and wanted to see how her responses would change over the duration of the school year. Getting straight answers from her was challenging... but I think it's fun to look back on her responses. If you would like to look back at her original interview, go HERE. 

What is your favorite food?

~ Tacos

What is your favorite color?

~ Purple/Dark Blue

What is your favorite TV show?

~ Toopy and Binoo

What is your favorite drink?

~ Apple Juice

What do you want to be when you grow up?

~ Police Officer

What is your favorite sport?

~ Hockey

Who is your best friend?

~ Poppy &; Arassay

What is your favorite fruit?

~ Strawberries

What is your favorite game?

~ Busy Town Board Game

Inside or Outside?

~ Outside

Puzzles or TV? 

~ TV

What is Mama's job?

~ Keeping the house clean and the books organized. Getting the house ready for guests.

What is Daddy's job?

~ Working at ATCO Pipelines

Favorite Toy to sleep with?

~ Unicorn

What is your favorite shirt?

~ Navy blue chevron dress

What is your favorite movie?

~ Beauty and the Beast

What is your favorite book?

~ The Pirate Book

What is your favorite treat?

~ Lollipops

What is your favorite toy?

~ Leap frog Computer

What is your favorite animal?

~ Elephants

What is your favorite song?

~ McDonalds. Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hot song

What is your favorite Holiday?

~ Halloween

Mrs. E