A little baking

I baked 2 loaves of quick bread this evening.  The first one is banana bread - I used  a recipe from my friend Elizabeth.  It is a pretty basic recipe that calls for a teaspoon of cinnamon - the cinnamon with the banana and pecans is a very nice combination. 

The second is a very nice bread that calls for no oil or shortening.  So if you are watching your fat intake, or if you are short on butter and can't go shopping right now, this might be a recipe that works for you too. 


Nut Bread

1 egg

1/3 Cup sugar

1 Cup Milk

2 C flour
2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 Cup chopped walnuts ( pecans are good too)

Preheat the oven the 350 degrees.

Beat the egg and sugar together with a whisk. Whisk in the milk. With a spoon or spatula, mix in the dry ingredients. Add nuts.

Pour into a very well greased 8x4 bread pan.

Bake about 35-45 minutes or until it tests done.

Serve warm with a little butter. Jeff likes it toasted.

Rain! clean slate and more seeds

 We woke up rain this morning and have had showers off and on all morning. It has been a hot dry summer so the water and cooler temperature are very much welcome.

Clean Slate -

  I got tired of the way our dining room was set up.  I took everything off the walls, then patched all the nail holes and touched up the paint.   For now, just the table and chairs are in here but they won't be looking like this forever.  I am not sure what I will do,  I just know I want some color this time.

 any suggestions?

More seeds

 I hope to have more seeds.  These are some pink and red geraniums drying.  I bought them as small plants and they looked beautiful blooming all summer.  I am not sure if their seeds will "work" though.

these are zinnias that I grew from seed - I am pretty sure their seeds will grow next summer.  Each flower has so many seeds in each one, it is really amazing.

Brown bag lunches

Jeff takes a lunch box full of snacks and his lunch everyday to work.  When I worked, I also took snacks or lunch as needed with me.  Debbie  says she packs lunches and she asked me how I do our lunches.   Debbie this might bore you,  Jeff takes almost the same thing everyday.

A travel mug of coffee

a bottle of water to take with him when he is on the road

his entree is either a dish of last nights leftovers or a sandwich.  This lunch was a sandwich and dish of veg soup

2 servings of fruit - he has plums and cantaloupe in this one

1 serving of nuts and 2 string cheese

a bunch of grapes - I bag them into to serving sizes and store them in the fridge like that.

Nuts are one of our favorite things to snack on.  But it is really easy to eat way more one serving without even realizing it.  2 summers ago,  I got a case of 1 ounce portion cups at a yard sale.  The  portion cups are perfect for holding 1 ounce of nuts.  So when I open a new can,  I get out those little cups and divide them.  Then they are ready to put in a lunch box or a snack.

Jeff is a big fan of Del Monte peaches canned in light syrup.  When fresh fruit is not plentiful,  I open a big can of peaches and divide them into little jars for his lunch box. A big can will yield about 14 jars full.

Bananas and cantaloupe waiting to be eaten,

In the fridge,  bagged up grapes, cabbage soup in mugs, watermelon cubes in containers.    Fixing lunches is easy in the morning when things are ready to just pick up.

Jeff's string cheese.  Actually, everyone in our family likes them except me.

His lunch all gets packed into a little Rubbermaid cooler that he has been using for about 10 years or more. 

When I worked,  I liked sandwiches, fruit, nuts or high fiber granola bars. 

My favorite snack was hard boiled eggs with a few celery and carrot sticks and just a dab of ranch dressing for dipping.

for me,  the way to have healthy and easy lunches on the go is to plan and package ahead.

Catfish and a mystery

We are still pretty much dieting at this house but on Saturdays, we eat what we want -with in reason anyway.

Tonight, we are going to have fried catfish with a few hush puppies and a big green salad.

The catfish was caught, cleaned and packaged by my parents, brother and cousins that like to fish. 
They usually go on 2 annual fishing trips in Arkansas, one in the summer and one in the fall. 

 I don't like to fish and don't really like to camp - but I do like to eat fish! 

The mystery is that our sink stopper disappeared.  I am not sure what day I noticed it was missing but I've looked every place I thought it could possibly be and have not found it.  How many places could a stopper be anyway?   I never use mine for anything else except to occasionally run it through the dishwasher. 

Jeff thinks I probably threw it in the trash by mistake.

But whatever,  we will be stopping at Lowes on the next trip to town to get a new one. 

If you are wondering why I did not post much this week - here is why. 

Sweet Elizabeth, 2 months, and Cute Gavin, 18 months, have been spending some of their days with me while their mommas and daddies go to work. 

To Fly Above The Sea

I have known Joanne as a very good internet friend for more than 10 years.  She has a big love of the sea and is an avid stitcher.  So I was very happy  when she posted that she had completed and published her first book of counted cross stitch,.   If you also love the sea or want to make a gift for s sea-lover,  you should look at her designs. 

Joanne is also an Ebay Seller and right now,  she has some great listings on very nice fat quarters and quil books. 

and one more thing about Joanne,  today is her birthday!  So if you stop by her blog or Ebay shop,  you might want to leave her a birthday greeting.