Going Bananas

With 3 interns for the summer just arriving and some very ripe bananas sitting on the kitchen table, I figured it was time to make some bread or some other baked yumminess. Eggs were taken out of the fridge to warm up for best baking performance. The flour and sugar were untucked from their usual resting place in the cupboard. Vanilla, baking powder, and bowls were brought out adding to the accumulating ingredients on the countertop. I peeled three quite soft bananas and mashed them into to something like gerber graduates baby food. Happily mixing away I forgot one important thing. I began to wonder why the batter was so thick and then I realized I neglecting to add the oil! Attempting to remedy the situation, I added the necessary ingredient and stirred with disappointment at my blunder. It did not seem entirely the right consistency, but I continued and hoped that the bread would not bake up like bricks in a kiln.
Slowly, but faithfully, a familiar aroma filled the air and wafted about the kitchen, filling it with it's simple sweetness. The scent beckoned me to peek in the oven, as if comfort itself glowed inside. After one inquiry~and then another~ and a poke from a butter knife, they are baked and ready for a taste test. Dry. Edible, but unusually crumbly and almost like a banana scone. With much confectionary sugar glaze it was a quaint after dinner dessert.

Dressing for Success

With ripe tomatoes and spinach piled high in the markets, it is only fitting and proper to enjoy the bounty of produce by making super sized salads. Cucumbers, red onion, crunchy carrots and boiled eggs atop a mound of mixed lettuces and fresh bacon~compliments of neighboring country Macedonia~make for a savory meal.
Limited salad dressings are available so I am adorning my jollification of veggies with homemade versions. Mustard, local honey, and red wine vinegar begin the sauce. Rich aroma bursts into the air as I whisk hearty amounts of garlic into the mixture. A dash of cilantro bespeckle the sides of the bowl, blending the flavors of sweet and savory perfectly in my now completed dressing. A thirty minute chill in the refrigerator made it ready to be a choice condiment for any salad.