Matthew's No Nut Banana Bread

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 4 bananas, finely crushed
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation:

Grease and flour one 4 1/2 x 8 1/2 inch loaf pan or two mini sized loaf pans.  Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream together butter and sugar.

Add eggs and mashed bananas.

Combine well.

Sift together flour, soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture. Add vanilla.

Spoon mixture into prepared loaf pan(s) and bake for 60 minutes, or until browned and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of a loaf.

Cool on rack before slicing.

Spiced Banana Raisin Walnut Bread

Ingredients:

• 6 large, very ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (1/4 cup sufficient)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar (one cup sufficient)
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups raisins
• 1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preparation:

Grease and flour two 4 1/2 x 8 1/2 inch loaf pans.  Heat oven to 350 degrees.

In medium bowl, mash bananas and mix with oil.

In separate bowl cream sugar and butter.  Add eggs and vanilla - mix to combine.  Stir in banana and oil mixture; mix well.

Combine  dry ingredients in another bowl and then add to the creamed banana mixture.

Stir in raisins and walnuts.

Spoon mixture into prepared loaf pans and bake for 45 - 50 minutes, or until browned and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of a loaf.

Cool on rack before slicing.  

Together - Then and Now

THEN - July 17, 2010

In July 2010, I found Forever & Ever® Together Hydrangeas at Lowe’s with crisp, drooping leaves.  I am a sucker for clearance plants and so, for less than $30, I snatched 3 pots of hope to plant along my fence. 

Up until then, I had been reluctant to appreciate the beauty of hydrangea blooms or of most shrubs in general.  However, in 2010 the few hydrangeas in my gardens came into their own, and I was in awe!  Plant breeders had made great strides in developing hydrangeas with repeat and/or double blooms in a kaleidoscope of colors. 

So, four years later, my puny clearance shrubs have filled in nicely. These hydrangeas have a compact, rounded habit and large, deep green leaves.  They reach only 2-3 feet tall with 3-5 feet spread.   I am looking forward to the 8 inch clusters of double mop head blooms which can open a light green in early summer and mature to pink, blue, or a variety of violet/purplish colors as they progress throughout the season.  

Bluebirds of Happiness

The Bluebirds of Happiness showed up in my backyard on February 13th and stayed for ten days.  Now,  they seem to have flown on in search of insects, berries and nesting cavities elsewhere.  Their presence in my gardens was magical.  Their brilliant blue and russet plumage, sweet warble, and joyous flittering flight above the snowy cold landscape was an unexpected gift.   Their eloquent expression of beauty and grace lifted the doldrums caused by a dark, frigid spell of New Jersey winter.  How rewarding to offer nourishment to these beauties as they took respite from their journey.  

So…I bid them well, carry their song in my heart, and long for their return… Bluebirds, if and when you return, you are cordially invited to tour the newly constructed Paradise Nesting Development.  These sites, designed and built by Jeff Libert, are located in a wooded garden setting and feature the exceptional style and craftsmanship you want in a home!  Rental fees waived!