Banana Banana Nut Bread

Here is a recipe for all to enjoy!

My Husband has a deep love for Banana Nut Bread, and since the winter season is upon us i have decided to pull on my apron, collect all of my mixing bowls, and gather up my measuring cups and spoons, because it's time to enjoy the

BAKING SEASON


Here is a Marvelous recipe for Banana Banana Nut Bread compliments of:

Chef Joanne Chang of Flour Bakery in Boston


Ingredients:

• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup oil
• 3 1/2 bananas, very ripe, mashed
• 2 tablespoons creme fraiche or sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

Directions:

Set oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of a loaf pan with parchment paper.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Beat sugar and eggs with a whisk until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. Drizzle in oil. Add mashed bananas, creme fraiche, and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients and nuts. Pour into a lined loaf pan and bake for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

*Hint* :
I changed up the recipe a little bit by adding honey glazed nuts to the banana bread batter after you place it in the pan. Lightly sprinkle the nuts on top of the batter so that it sits on the top of the batter. Adding the nuts in the batter i have found makes the nuts sink to the bottom!!

ENJOY!!!

Good bye summer & HELLO WINTER !!!

As i see the falling leaves shower the beautiful walking paths on the woods near my home, a feeling of excitement begins to peak within my heart and soul! Believe it or not i was born on an island in the Caribbean called St. Croix, but i prefer the cold weather that is about 50 degrees and at times depending on my mood below 30 degrees with a light, fluffy shower of snow!! My husbands family is Canadian, and it seems that their love for Hockey, and the cold weather has rubbed off on my daughter and I. We long for the day that we are able to see the first snow hit the tips of the beautiful grassy fields near our house.


The coming of winter and the ending of summer means to me that a time of new loves and memories are about to begin. Now that my daughter is older, she is able to understand the meaning and preparation of Thanksgiving and Christmas. I have made it my goal as a mother to teach her the reasons behind the season. Coming from a cultural family, our kitchen during the Holidays is the main setting for many of the memories that i hold dear to my heart! It has made me very proud and excited to see that my little girl has developed a LOVE for cooking, just as i have, and loves being part of the kitchen atmosphere!! She is always one step behind me and we have even started calling her "Little Chef" like the rat in the Disney movie Ratatouille.























I can't wait to enjoy the AMAZING food that my mother and i will be making ( with the help of my little chef), it is the best part of Thanksgiving! Sitting down as a family and embracing the hard work that went into every dish, makes every bite so much more gratifying!! My goal for this year is to change up a favorite......but in my family that could be a recipe for disaster!! :) Hearing the sweet melody of west Indian music in the background or my favorite Michael Buble CD is all the motivation that we need to make the most delectable, and scrumptious dinner possible!!! My brothers watching the Annual football game on one television while my daughter sitting in the lap of my Husband as they marvel at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on the other telly are some memories that i look forward to this year!!

Christmas is above all my favorite holiday!! I love the Christmas Carols and going to church to hear the most WONDERFUL story of the birth Christ!!! Spending time with family and the ones you love makes this Holiday the best!! Being with my little family, and then traveling to my parents home, and then to my husbands grandparents is such a great memory of family and comfort that i have and look forward to every year!!

Now that i am a mother i love to sit around the Christmas tree and see the jubilation and the overwhelming excitement that pours out of my daughter as she tears into each gift that she has received from Jesus because she was an excellent girl this year!!!

This year my daughter actually has a list that she wants, and it is possibly the easiest gift list ever!! She has made it clear for the last 5 months that she wants the movie size doll of Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, Woody, Bullyseye the horse, and possibly slink the dog! If you haven't already guessed it, my daughter is OBSESSED with the characters from the movie Toy Story!! Its very cute how she gets excited to see them on the telly when watching the first two movies. The way that she can quote majority of the movie and can tell you who says what and when! I love that passion that she has. My daughter definitely loves with all her heart!!!

So with the changing seasons, many memories will develop and with the out pouring love that we share i can't wait to see the new ones that we will make this coming Holiday season!!!


So the question is for you, the reader, what are your memories that you will make to never forget the ever so quickly changing seasons?

I AM: this is me

I am mother, a women's child, and someone who is loved. I am a Christian who believes in one God who comes from above. I am a sinner who knows how to repent when I am wrong and continue to work everyday on being strong.

I am a writer, a poet, and a musician at heart, these are all a muse for me they are my forms of art. I am headstrong and honest, and i am not afraid to say what i feel, but at least you know where I'm coming from, and its real.

I am stubborn and determined in every possible way, these are my flaws, but at times they are strengths that are here to stay. I am growing and learning every single day, as i continue to mold and shape my life into all that i have prayed.

I am currently going through motherhood, and that's where I'm meant to be. Growing, nurturing, and developing the future makes me happy you see. I am the happiest when i see my daughter, who is the spitting image of me, she is so full of life and constant laughter sometimes i wonder how this could be.

I am always in wonder what passes through her mind, and how she sees the world with a smile on her face all the time. With life's ups and down dancing around her, its hard to believe she can still find laughter. I am in love with how she has made me so carefree, and with that in mind, her + me + my hubby makes me so happy.

I am for certain that all of this is me, take it or leave for what its meant to be.
Their will be no changing any part of me, for i am content with what i see.

Love: Misunderstood

Here is a poem that i have been working on recently. I woke up one morning and poured all of my emotions of my life's recent events onto paper. It was extremely therapeutic, and i many ways inspirational. I haven't written music or poems since High school, so i have decided to go back to my roots on this one.

So now i give you :

Love: Misunderstood

I never really understood why things have to change, but now I know in many ways they will never be the same.

I love you, I love you not is a child's game we play, but now it seems that it has become reality for many these days.

Anger and frustration is all that comes to mind, but I know in sometime it will eventually subside.

What do I say to her, that's my biggest fear. When she ask where u went, I'll do my best to hold back all those tears.

She loved you more than life, I want to let you know. Your the memory behind all of those beautiful photos.

"she'll forget, she'll forget, she's young you see". But does it make it easier on the heart, soul, and mind for you and me?

To not have to whisper that family destroying phrase, Is goal that I yearn and hope for each day.

Why does life have to be so hard, cold, and twisted. Wasn't our life good? Was it something that we said or did to make you not want to miss it?

Seeing all of this makes me really question Love. What is it truly, do we even know?

Is it beautiful memories that we shatter and throw to hell? Or is it promises that we pretend to keep, know all is not well? Or is it running off to be next to those who are only blood deep, because for me silly me I thought Love is all we need.

But for me Love is this beautiful angel face that sleeps next to me. And no matter what I could never shatter her world, even if it meant a sliver of some type of happiness that I seek.

Love for me is sticking it out when times are rough or hard, and knowing that we will always be together, that's what marriage is for.

So as I turn and stare at the setting sun, I take in some of the deep cool air into my lung. I wipe away one lone tear from cheek, standing still not wanting to speak. I then turn to yell out into the world "why" ,as i gaze at the stars in the now dusk sky. Knowing deep down that the answer i seek will never come, but then i turn and smile because a new and better chapter has begun.

Enchiladas a la King

Ingredients:

• 1 Can of Las Palmas 28oz can of Enchilada sauce
• 2lbs or ground turkey (lean) or beef
• 1 can of corn
• 1 yellow onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 packet of taco seasoning
• 1 casserole dish
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 2- packets of 8 count large flour tortillas
• 2- packets of 8oz of Mexican mixture cheese
• 1 tablespoon of Parmesan cheese
• ranchero garlic sauce (recipe below)
  

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Add 1 tablespoon of olive. Heat the pan so that the oil is warm and evenly coats the frying pan. Chop the 1 yellow onion and 2 cloves of garlic up until they are evenly minced, then add them to the warm oil in the frying pan. Cook them until they are translucent and soft, make sure not to let the garlic burn or the onions!! Then add the 2 lbs of turkey or ground beef. Constantly mash the meat until all the pink is gone and the meat is finely minced. Add the packet of taco seasoning, and follow the directions on the back of the packet.

Add the Corn to the meat mixture and simmer for about 15 min. Remove from heat and place pan on a cooling rack to prevent the meat mixture from drying out. Prepare a rolling station that has the tortillas, cheese, and enchilada sauce that you need. Open the can of enchilada sauce and mix it up so that all of the flavor isn't at the bottom. Take 1 pot spoon full of enchilada sauce and evenly coat the bottom of the casserole dish. Then take one tortilla and add 1 1/2 tablespoons of the taco meat mixture to the tortilla, then add some cheese, and the roll the tortilla up and place it in the casserole dish. Repeat this step until all of the taco meat mixture is gone! :o)

After you have finished rolling all of the tortillas up and your dish is full. Take the can of enchilada sauce and spoon the remaining sauce over the tortillas so that they are evenly and totally coated with the enchilada sauce. There should be no parts of the tortillas that are bare, bc they will dry out and burn quickly.

Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the enchiladas. Make sure the cheese evenly coats the enchiladas, and keep in mind, the more cheese you put on top the cheesier it will be!!! ;o)
Sprinkle the 1 tablespoon of Parmesan cheese on top of the enchiladas as well!
Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees.
When the enchiladas are done baking, remove them from the oven and place them on a cooling rack. Then pour the ranchero garlic sauce over the enchiladas!!!!


Ranchero Garlic Sauce

• 1 cup of sour cream
• 2 tablespoons of ranch dressing
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 tsp of black pepper
• 1 tsp of garlic salt
• 1 tablespoon of Parmesan cheese (optional)
  
• 1 tsp of Tabasco sauce ( optional)

Combine all the ingredients into a food processor or a blender, and mix until it is well mixed and the garlic is pureed. Take a spoon and mix it once through to make sure everything is mixed thoroughly! Then spoon the mixture on top of the enchiladas or per serving.

Suggestions: Serve with a nice salad and Spanish rice.

ENJOY!!! BON APPETIT!!!! :o)

Boeuf Bourguignon

I want to thank Ina Garten for this wonderful Recipe! I chose to use this one instead of Julia Childs because i found that their is more flavor and also the meat is not as stringy! Sorry Julia, you are still GREAT in my book, but i prefer Ina's Recipe!!! :o)

I omitted a couple of things out of Ina's recipe. She added Cognac and 1 whole bottle of wine. As you see below, I didn't used Cognac and i only used 1/3 - 1/2 bottle of wine!!.......Sorry folks, but im cooking with a child in the house!! heheh!


This is one of my Favorite entrees to make, because it takes me back to a small warm house in the country-side of France on a cold winter day!! You can make it anytime of the year!! For a special date night, wedding anniversary, or just to enjoy by yourself with a special someone!!!

Boeuf Bourguignon

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 1 tablespoon good olive oil
• 8 ounces dry cured center cut applewood smoked bacon, diced
• 2 1/2 pounds chuck beef cut into 1-inch cubes
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound carrots, sliced diagonally into 1-inch chunks
• 2 yellow onions, sliced
• 2 teaspoons chopped garlic (2 cloves)
• 1 (750 ml.) bottle good dry red wine such as Cote du Rhone or Pinot Noir
• 1 can (2 cups) beef broth
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (1/2 teaspoon dried)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature, divided
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 pound frozen whole onions
• 1 pound fresh mushrooms stems discarded, caps thickly sliced
• 1 oven safe dutch oven
  

For serving:

nocoupons

• Country bread or Sour Dough, toasted or grilled and rubbed with garlic clove
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, optional

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add the bacon and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is lightly browned. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a large plate.

Dry the beef cubes with paper towels and then sprinkle them with salt and pepper. In batches in single layers, sear the beef in the hot oil for 3 to 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove the seared cubes to the plate with the bacon and continue searing until all the beef is browned. Set aside.

Toss the carrots, and onions, 1 tablespoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of pepper in the fat in the pan and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Put the meat and bacon back into the pot with the juices. Add 1/3 - 1/2 a bottle of wine....It just depends on how crazy you want to get with this meal!! Or you can just say you added half but really just drank it!! hehehe!

Then add the beef broth to almost cover the meat. Add the tomato paste and thyme. Bring to a simmer, cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and place it in the oven for about 1 1/4 hours or until the meat and vegetables are very tender when pierced with a fork.

Combine 2 tablespoons of butter and the flour with a fork and stir into the stew. Add the frozen onions. Saute the mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of butter for 10 minutes until lightly browned and then add to the stew. Bring the stew to a boil on top of the stove, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Season to taste.

To serve, toast the bread in the toaster or oven. Rub each slice on 1 side with a cut clove of garlic. For each serving, spoon the stew over a slice of bread and sprinkle with parsley.

I hope you enjoy this, and as dear Julia Childs would say:

BON APPETIT !!!!! :O)

To Inspire or Not to Inspire is the Question!!!!

So recently i have had this craving to paint again........

A little known fact about me is that, as a child i was never the artist in the family....it was my sister. She could draw, and design things like nobody's business!! But when it came to me, music and writing was my thing. In high school i began to get stressed about school and life in general, so i began to paint!

I was Inspired by the quarter long study that we did my senior year of different popular paintings in history. We had to memorize over 100s of paintings and their artist for class. Many students hated it, but for me it was an eye-opening experience!!! I loved it, and i fell in love with one particular artist, his name is Edgar Degas! He was well known for painting ballerinas! I loved them, and through his paintings i was able to see that we shared a same interest of ballet, and dance.

So with that in mind i was inspired to begin my journey of attempting to paint! For me it was the most relaxing and wonderful experience and feeling. I could release all my negative energies and problems onto the canvas that i was painting on, and i would walk away stress free and carefree! Life was good again!!!

I would paint whatever i saw, or a scene of the day that really stood out to me. When i got my guitar at Christmas in 2003, i began to paint things that always had a guitar in it. Then later i began to focus on scenery. I would always paint the beach, and waves, because for me that was always home, since i was born on a Island. It was never anything Amazing like Da vinci, or Monet, but it was decent for my liking.

With summer break upon me, i have decided to take up this love that i once had. My only problem is Space, because my little apartment already has so much stuff in it!! So any suggestions?

Like music and writing, Painting has always been apart of me. I just never really took the time to let it come to the surface and release itself!!

My Story of Toy Story

Its hard to believe that it has been 15 years since Toy Story had its first movie debut! I remember everything like yesterday......

I was 8 years old when the movie first hit cinemas all across the world, and even though my parents couldn't afford to take my siblings and i out to the movies to see this film, i was still excited to hear that the movie was out and soon following will be on VHS. Yes, I said VHS, it seems so weird saying that since everything now is Blueray or DVD format. But back to my story, One day after school my mom surprised my siblings and i with the long-awaited Toy Story on VHS, and i was ecstatic!! i could remember running over and quickly putting the VHS into the player, sitting impatiently through all of the movie previews, and then smiling with delight as i saw the famous Disney castle appear with the Disney jingle to go along, and then followed by the Pixar's mascot. For the next 80 minutes i was absorbed by the plot, and characters of this movie, falling more in love every minute that the movie went on. Woody, Buzz, and the gang were officially my new best friends. After the movie, i remember walking into my room, and taking a good look around at all my toys, thinking that maybe they were alive when i left the room...... Secretly, Hoping they were alive, after i left the room! lol!


A couple of years later, in 1999 Pixar/Disney rocked my world again with another addition to the Toy Story saga, by coming out with Toy Story 2. I was 12 when this film came out, and unlike many girls i was still an avid fan! Again i had to wait till the movie came out, and just as before my mother came home with this movie on VHS. And again i sat through the whole movie, and loving every minute of it. I was like a moth to a flame, but in this case it was a Toy story flame. hehe! But unlike the first movie, i began to experience something that i didn't before. I began to relate and form a friendship bond with these characters. I cried when they did, and laughed with them when they were happy, and cheered for them when they were in for the fight of their little toy lives. I loved each one of these characters, and just as before they continued to be a friendly sight.



Now we are in the year 2010, and i am 23 years old, married, and i have a beautiful daughter of my own, who reminds me
( as much as i try to shake it) of myself. When she sees something she loves, she loves it with all her heart and soul. So yesterday, my husband and i took our beautiful daughter to see Toy Story 3 during an afternoon matinee. We hopped in the car, with her stuffed Buzz light year in tote, and drove to the cinema. Upon arrival we bought our tickets, popcorn, bag of M&M's (her choice of treat), and a extra large drink to share. We walked into the theater not knowing what to expect, but as i glanced around it seems that many other Mom's had the same idea as i did, because the theater was FILLED with little children. We found our seats in the front so my daughter had some room to walk around, because all mothers know that a 2 year old can't sit for very long. We sat together as a family for the whole duration of the 103 minute film. Every now and then i would glance over to see my daughter sitting on my husbands lap, and staring up at the screen in awe with those big beautiful blue eyes, just as i did 15 years ago. It was great to see the whole gang back in action again, and just as i have, it was great to see Andy all grown up. The movie was wonderful!! I laughed and cried, and cried more than i laughed. It was great to see that buzz still has those old moves, and to see him tango with Jessy was probably my favorite part. This film was my favorite one, because it gave me the closure that i needed.
Yes, i said closure, because for the last 15 years i had a longtime friendship with the characters of these movies. These movies taught me that their are no better friends than those simple toys that we collect over years. They are always there for us, through good times and bad. They are there for us to play with as we consume ourselves into our own imaginary worlds, just for a little while, so that we may get away from this reality one that at times may be filled with despair. With my toys i have been to my own imaginary world of France, Italy, England, and Spain. I have been a princess, astronaut, teacher, and most importantly a best friend.

At the end of the movie Andy leaves for College, and when he donates the toys to a little girl he tells her the stories of his adventures, and then gets back into his car and looks back before driving off. He then smiles from the driver seat of his car and says the most fitting phrase of the entire movie, " Thanks guys". After driving off all the toys come alive, and Woody responds with " see you later partner". I have to admit, during these two scenes i was BALLING my eyes out. So Thank-you for the tears and laughter, because just as the toys found a new owner in the movie, my love for these films have now found a new place in the heart of my daughter. They will continue to be loved, for many years to come, even after i am gone!! So from me to them.......... " Thanks Guys".

Florence & The Machine Dog Days Are Over (LIVE)

The Dog days are over!!!

My Itunes download recommendation:

Music has always been my biggest influence. Whenever i hear a good song, i can't help but dance in place...or in my mind. I have for so long wanted to break out in song in many places like in the Show Glee! hehehe! But recently one song has just been on repeat for me, and it is "The Dog days are over" by Florence and the Machine. I discovered this band through the Twilight Saga: Eclipse soundtrack and a good friend recommend them as well. This song is the only one recently that i can relate to 100%. When the singer Florence Welch is singing the lyrics, i feel like she is singing about me and my bad past relationships!! I haven't always had the best relationships, but now that i am Married i know that my "Dog days are over" !!! Her beautiful voice has a rustic, earthy feel to it, and with music added it is the PERFECT match for this very catchy song. Here are the Lyrics:

Happiness hit her like a train on a track/ Coming towards her stuck still no turning back/ She hid around corners /and she hid under beds/ She killed it with kisses /and from it she fled/ With every bubble /she sank with her drink/ And washed it away down the kitchen sink /The dog days are over /The dog days are done /The horses are coming / So you better run Run fast/ for your mother, /run fast for your father /Run for your children, /for your sisters and brothers / Leave all your love and your longing behind /You cant carry it with you if you want to survive / The dog days are over / The dog days are done/ Can you hear the horses?/ Because here they come/ And I never wanted anything from you/ Except everything you had/ and what was left after that too, /oh Happiness hit her/ like a bullet in the head/ Struck from a great height/ by someone who should know better than that / The dog days are over/ The dog days are done/ Can you hear the horses?/ Because here they come/ Run fast for your mother,/ run fast for your father/ Run for your children, /for your sisters and brothers/ Leave all your loving, /your loving behind/ You cant carry it with you/ if you want to survive /The dog days are over/ The dog days are done/ Can you hear the horses? / Because here they come/ The dog days are over /The dog days are done / The horses are coming /So you better run ./

Everywhere i go i hear this song in my head, and i just hum along. It is def a song that lifts my spirits and makes me feel more optimistic about life. Especially when things are not looking up! I love to cook, and bake. So when i am in my place of happiness ( my Kitchen) I have this song on blast!! My daughter and i dance around as i mix together my dinner or dessert ingredients. Music is my muse, and my inspiration. This song has so much meaning to me. I see it as when the good things are here, and you have happiness you need to grab it as fast as you can and go with it. The "dog days are over" meaning all the bad has come to past, and you need to let go of it all or you won't be able to continue life happy and content. I am newly married, so my "Dog days seem to be over" and i am very excited for what is to come!! Thank you so much Florence for this song, it is def one that i will love for a long time to come!!

<3 CHECK OUT THE VIDEO OF THIS SONG THAT I HAVE POSTED!!! <3