New Beginnings & Finding Home through Banana Bread

I know I haven't been on my traditional blog page in months. Our family has had quite a huge period of adjustment and transformation.  In order to keep things balanced for us, I had to take a bit of an internet break.  Things have finally settled down... a bit so I'm getting back to doing what I love.

In mid February my husband received a job offer that was a complete surprise to us. it seems too good to pass up. As with any situation like this it had a catch.  We had less than 3 weeks to pack up what we needed immediately and move to Charlottesville, VA.  We have been ecstatic but also very stressed at the same time. My son had just turned one and the house was still recovering from his first birthday. All of a sudden I had to figure out what we needed to get started in a new city, pack it up by myself and take care of a toddler all at the same time.  Sometime in all the chaos we also had to keep returning to Harrisburg (about a 4 our drive) to continue packing up our home and put it on the market as soon as possible.

This is  a huge task for anyone and it was about to get harder.  We arrived in Charlottesville excited about all the new possibilities this new city offered.  After all, here is a city known not only for wonderful education like UVA, great hospitals, especially for children, lots of participation in the arts,  an area with a ton of American history and a proud tradition of locavore chefs.  (Guess what I was most excited about?!)  When we pulled up to the apartment we had found in a hurry it all went horribly wrong.  The space was not what we were told we would be living in at all.  It was a dark basement apartment with moisture issues, fleas  and a very funky smell..... not exactly where you want to live with a 1 year old.  We unfortunately didn't have anywhere to go and had to sign the lease.

After a few weeks of injuring myself in a kitchen that no one could cook in, cat acquiring fleas from the apartment and finding any excuse to get out to be around people &  fresh air,  we had had enough.  We had been spending every other weekend heading back to Harrisburg to work on packing up our home and getting it market ready.  My husband was settled at work and I'd been researching places to move to the entire time. Our son definitely was getting frustrated and all three of us started getting sick from the air quality in that awful living space (despite purifiers running 24/7.) We found somewhere we actually wanted to live that was available right away. The decision was made to break our lease (a very expensive move that I don't recommend unless truly necessary) and carry on.  I am happy to say that 3 weeks ago we made our move and today is the first day I truly can begin feeling at home.

For me, being able to cook comfort food for my family is how I begin to feel at home.  Today I am starting that process by making banana bread.  We had a ton of ripe bananas from running around so much (easy to carry in bag and purses, no refrigeration needed), so I'm making a double batch. I divided the batter in half. The first half I'm turning into mini muffins for my son. They 're convenient finger food for toddlers on the go. The second half I have added chocolate chips and walnuts to bake into a loaf of bread for my husband and I.   I have made a lot of different versions of banana bread over the years, here is my current favorite.

You will need:
1 2/3 cups flour ( I like organic whole grain white flour for this recipe)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp cardamon
1/2 cup organic cane sugar
1/2 cup coconut sugar
2 eggs (I prefer extra large organic)
1/2 cup oil ( if you don't mind a tropical infusion I love coconut oil. It also gives the bread a beautiful rich color.  Avocado oil is a great alternative to keep in your healthy fats without changing any flavors as well).
3 1/2 very ripe banana, mashed
2 Tbsp Organic Greek Yogurt
1 tsp Vanilla
2/3 cups nuts or fillers of your choosing***

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Line the bottom of a loaf pan with parchment paper.  If making mini muffins, I like to use silicone molds and I spray them with coconut oil.  First sift together the baking soda, flour and spices. Set these aside in a bowl.  Then, beat the eggs and sugar in a mixer with the whisk attachment and run for about 10 minutes, until light and fluffy. Next, drizzle in the oil and add the mashed bananas, greek yogurt and vanilla. Fold in the dry ingredients and any fillers.  For the mini muffins bake about 40 minutes or if you're baking a loaf 45 minutes to an hour.  Let cool a bit and enjoy! If you have any left at the end of the day, the slices of bread and mini muffins freeze well for future grab n go snacks.

***Note: a few optional fillers other than nuts that our family enjoys are raspberries, blueberries, strawberry pieces or chocolate chips. Sometimes I make a tropical version with macadam nuts, coconut chips and crushed pineapple.  The batter is fairly versatile.

Channel Your Inner Lorax

Happy Earth Day! This is a holiday that has always been an important holiday to celebrate in my household. I feel like this year, it can't be a more appropriate time with so many headlines in the news of chemical & oil spills, fracking and all the controversy surrounding what is actually in our food supply. It is so important that future generations understand how important it is to live in balance and harmony with our planet. My son may be too little to understand what we're doing today but I feel the exercise is still important, so I'll tell you about my plans for the morning and maybe it will inspire you to incorporate some of these activities into your day, week or even month. It sounds cliche but we really should live our lives as if it were Earth Day every day.

We are starting our morning off by heading to a local farmers market. Not only will be getting some really yummy food from framers and local food artisans (in my neck of the woods there are a lot of Amish food crafters), but we'll also be reducing our carbon footprint and supporting our local farmers. Be sure to remember your reusable shopping bag when you go.

Then we'll enjoy a nice long walk outside (weather permitting) , enjoying all the signs of spring that are finally blooming and appearing all around us. My son enjoys seeing the pops of color and hearing all the birds chirping.

Next we'll be focusing on growing things. Planting a tree is always a popular activity in celebration of Earth Day. We don't have much room for another tree in our yard so we're working on our yard instead.  This is a great day and time of year to plant seeds for your summer garden. This is a perfect activity to get little ones involved and teach them where their food comes from. if you don't have a nice yard to plant in, start a container or windowsill garden.  The kids can have fun painting the pots that their plants will grow in. We're making some keepsake pots like this one to give to our parents' for Mother's Day.  I love the butterfly wings made from little feet.  Little hands also make a great tree trunk and then the kids can paint on leaves of a tree with their fingerprints.

Finally we'll wrap up the day with a nice home-cooked dinner. You can introduce the family to a new vegetarian dish or if your family are meat eaters, introduce them to some grass fed meats, often available at your local farm market. Grass fed beef is not only better for the environment but its better for you as week. Its a great source of Omega 3 fatty acids and it tastes amazing!

However you decide to celebrate Earth Day, I hope you have a happy one.