B-A-N-A-N-A-S

When we were in the process of selling the house and moving, I came across a book that I had bought off amazon a couple years ago. For some crazy reason I had yet to pick it up and read it. It is a memoir slash cookbook from blogger Molly Wizenberg, Orangette. Her book, A Homemade Life, is so full of great recipes that it was torture to read and not be able to make a mess in the kitchen.

This recipe immediately caught my attention because banana bread is one of Andy's favorite foods and I LOVE ginger. Yesterday, I talked Andy into to letting me change up his traditional banana bread and make this. It is awesome! I may have had 2 slices for breakfast this morning plus more with dinner.

Banana Bread with Chocolate and Crystallized Ginger
Makes 1 loaf or 1 8-inch round cake
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
2 large eggs3 large ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup well-stirred whole-milk plain yogurt (not low or nonfat)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Set a rack in the center of the oven, and preheat to 350F. Grease a 9- by 5-inch loaf pan or an 8-inch round cake pan with cooking spray or butter.
2. Melt the butter on the stove or in a microwave and set aside to cool slightly.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add the chocolate chips and cystallized ginger and whisk well to combine. Set aside.
4. In a medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs with a fork. Add the mashed banana, yogurt, melted butter, and vanilla and stir to mix well. Pour the banana mixture into the dry ingredients, and stir gently with a rubber spatula, scraping down the sides as needed, until just combined. Do not overmix. The batter with be thick and somewhat lumpy, just make sure all the flour has been incorporated. Scrape the batter into the loaf pan and smooth the top.
5. Bake into the loaf is a deep shade of golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 50 mins to an hour. If the loaf seems to be browning too quickly, tent with foil.
6. Cool the loaf in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Then tip out onto the rack, and let it cool completely before slicing. The loaf freezes well wrapped in plastic wrap and again in foil to protect from freezer burn.

Always Sunny

We are slowly unpacking boxes and getting organized. I have gotten numerous requests for pictures of the new house, so here is one room at a time.

This is my favorite room and what really won me over. When we put an offer down, I couldn't remember what the front of the house looked like but I could describe the sun room in detail. This is where I get to drink my Saturday morning coffee and curl up to read.  Shego loves the windows and spends hours basking in the sun beams.

Hello, My Name Is...

I've been thinking about starting a blog for the last few months. My sisters both have amazing blogs that are impossible to top or match. Em is a graphic designer and currently finishing up grad school at SCAD. She is extremely trendy and creative in ways I can only dream to be. Hanna is in Chicago working in publishing and is always witty and creative and unique. She is always posting the latest music she is loving, books that are must reads, latest amazing projects, and of course Chicago is just a great town to live. I am an engineer in Ohio. Yawn. As you can see, it seems that I am the only left brained Scott girl. I am constantly trying to prove that I am just as creative as my sisters. And yes, in my own way I know I am creative too and just as interesting...   

Anyway, I will be 30 in just shy of 6 months. It has gotten me thinking about the things I want to accomplish. Everyone has heard of the 30 before 30 list. I've contemplated it, but I realized that I have had a very full and busy past couple years and many of the items would have made the list had I written it on my 28th birthday. Just a few being:  get married to the most wonderful guy on an island, go on an adventure honeymoon (New Zealand), start nesting, and fall in love with the 2 most adorable boys ever (Ryan and Mark). I also realized that there are numerous things that I don't want to squeeze into the next 6 months to just get done so they can be crossed off a list.   

Don't get me wrong, there is 1 thing that has to happen before my 30th birthday. Until it gets accomplished, I am not going to share but I promise tons of pictures and full details later.   

But, back to blogging. Andy and I recently moved into a new house that will hopefully be "the one." It was built in '84 so there are various projects already started and renovations slated for the future. I thought this would be a good time to start documenting our life for family and friends that are interested.  

Photo by New Day Photography

Napier, New Zealand