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Humble Pie

At our house bananas just languish in the fruit bowl, looking unloved and neglected. We like bananas, we know they are all kinds of good for us but yet we buy, they brown, they get tossed. We start over again.

Every now and then I like to break the cycle by making banana bread (never have found that perfect banana bread recipe though, you know?) or muffins or seeing if the goats will eat them (yes they will, although they are somewhat suspicious of them).

Yesterday I decided to try my hand at Banana Cream Pie. I did my research on-line and then, combining suggestions and tips from various places, came up with what I thought was a fairly simple custard filling to be poured over a pre-baked crust lined with sliced bananas. It looked beautiful. Didn’t it? It looks like a banana cream pie.

Except it never set up. More like banana cream soup.

Poor sad bananas. I just need to stop buying them. Okay moving on.

I love that cherry tablecloth. I bought it about five or six years ago from The Company Store (they don’t have it anymore, I checked) and it is the happiest tablecloth I own. There is just something so inviting about it – like you may not be served the most gourmet meal on it but you will get something tasty, satisfying and made with love.

Maybe not a piece of banana cream pie, though.

Blowing the stink off

I don’t know why I love that expression so much. But that’s what I’m doing to Maison de Bleu Lune today. It has been absolutely gorgeous for the past couple of days. Sunny skies, mild temperatures, gentle breezes. I have every single window and door open to let the fresh air in and, well, the stink out. Goodbye stuffy Winter air.

It’s very hard to concentrate on getting anything productive done when you just want to go outside and check the budding progress of the lilac bush (no action there yet) and the roses (little pink swellings). The daffodils are in full, riotous bloom and I cut a modest armful for the house.

Bless the daffodil and it’s easy going nature. You go through the trouble of planting them just once and they come back year after year, in increasing numbers. This time of year we don’t spend much time outside where we can enjoy them so I don’t feel the least bit guilty about cutting them and bringing them into the house.

I think it is safe to start bringing out the Easter decorations. Or am I being a slacker and the rest of you have had them out for weeks now?

Puppysitting

Someone was being a little shy and not facing the camera. This is Remy, my niece’s puppy. She trusted us to puppysit yesterday.

There, that’s better.

Uncle Ozzie is not so certain about this teeny interloper.

How I work

It isn’t pretty. I should have entered in my sister’s messiest workspace contest. I coulda been a contender.

I’m working on an ATC swap with the theme of Makeup or Beauty products. This is my first swap and I am SO nervous. I feel like I am going to be blacklisted once they see my offering. I need a couple under my belt so I can see what others do. Then I’ll feel more comfortable.

Yesterday was one of those days were we stayed in our pajamas until the middle of the afternoon. I love those kind of days. It was stormy out and the house was warm and cozy. I just sat at the table all morning, making a mess.

Part of the time I was trying to bring up my new work laptop and it was not going well at all. I spent HOURS on the phone with the helpdesk and still managed to get no where. It would have really peeved me to spend an entire Saturday devoted to a frustrating work issue but since I could happily sit there, while listening to cheesy hold music, cutting out teeny lipstick tubes it was okay.

This ATC has a much more retro feel than I would normally go for but it seemed to fit the theme so well.

I love the slightly maniacal look in her eyes.

Friday muffins

Here is my $1.50 Japanese bread basket that ended up costing $89.48 after all the paint I needed to make it white. See? Looks cute with the basket liners which are the easiest thing in the world to make.

I think it would make a cute house warming gift – bake a batch of muffins and present them in a little basket with a pretty liner.

I am experimenting with Ina Garten’s tri-berry muffins from her Barefoot Contessa at Home cookbook. Only I made mine bi-berry since I didn’t feel like adding strawberries (blueberries and raspberries made the cut).

Ina, and this book, is my go to inspiration. Everything I have made from this book makes me look like an accomplished chef. This is my first foray in to the baking section though. I am going to make the cable TV guy test them out as soon as he gets here.

I used blueberries that I bought fresh during the summer and froze. And frozen raspberries from the store. I would recommend letting them thaw on a cookie sheet and then gently incorporate them into the batter. I just plunked them in frozen and they took way longer to bake then the recipe indicated.

Where is that cable guy, anyway?

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