banana pancakes.

The night before last, I made banana pancakes for dinner….and can I just say…. mmmmm…LOVELY.

I got the recipe out of Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything.  Basically you make the pancakes, and then slice banana on top after they are in the pan, but before they have cooked.   Oh.So.Good!!

The bananas I used were very ripe and on their way to the freezer, which of course meant they had a strong flavour, which I typically don’t like when eating a banana alone, but in this case, the strong flavour permeated the whole pancake, making it taste heavenly.

Oh, and today I popped a couple of the leftovers into the toaster oven to warm them up (we don’t have a microwave)…and they are even better today than yesterday.

Perfect for weather such as we are having.  We have SO much snow, more than I’ve seen in YEARS!!!   (see pics below)

Here’s the recipe, in case ya’ll wanna give it a whirl. 

Basic Pancakes:
How to Cook Everything
Mark Bittman

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 or 2 eggs (i doubled the recipe, so i used 3.)
1 1/2 to 2 cups milk (i used soy milk….tasted fine)
2 tablespoons melted and cooled butter (optional),
plus unmelted butter for cooking, or use oil.

**Preheat the griddle or a large skillet over medium-low heat while you make the batter. (I made mine an hour in advance and kept refrigerated).

**Mix together the dry ingredients.  Beat the egg(s) into 1 1/2 cups of the milk, then stir in the 2 tablespoons melted butter (if using).  Gently stir this into the dry ingredients, mixing only enough to moisten the flour; don’t worry about a few lumps.  If the batter seems thick, add a little more milk. 

**If your skillet or griddle is non-stick, you can cook the pancakes without any butter.  Otherwise, use a teaspoon or two of butter or oil each time you add batter.  When the butter foam subsides or the oil shimmers, ladle batter onto the griddle or skillet, making any size pancakes you like.  (at this point, add slices banana rounds….press them lightly into the batter.  turn more carefully than you would a regular pancake.)  Adjust the heat as necessary; usually, the first batch will require higher heat than subsequent batches.  The idea is to brown the bottom in 2-4 minutes, without burning it.  Flip when pancakes are cooked on the bottom;  They won’t hold together well until they’re ready.  

**Cook until the second side is lightly browned and serve, or hold on an ovenproof plate in a 200 degree F oven for up to 15 minutes. 

oh yum!

perfect for days like this:

our poor little birdhouse is so heavy-laden…

hard to believe we were sitting out here grilling just a few months ago!

the barbeque is under there somewhere…..

big, fun, fluffy snow.  I almost lost him in it!
 
 

i wanna switch back to blogger.

ok, call me stupid, but

i can’t figure out wordpress. 
it’s just not very user-friendly yet, and i’m just trying to embed something simple, and you wouldn’t think i’d need to be a programmer to do it.

grr.r.

frustrated.

sorry.

making the big switch.

well, i have been feeling a lot like i need to switch to cloth diapers lately.  wishing now that we had done it all along, but not having had a washing machine until now, it’s been something we really weren’t able to do, practically speaking.  (um….yeah, run on sentence. i know.)

anyway, i’ve been wanting to switch, because i really believe that what’s in disposable diapers can’t be good for our babes.  not to mention the huge amount of waste they create.  ick.  (although some areas actually do recycle them.  ours not yet.)  yesterday, i was reading andrea’s blog, and she listed all of the ingredients of diapers, and it truly confirmed why i need to do this. 

here are some examples:

MALE INFERTILITY Disposable diapers could be the cause of the sharp rise in male infertility over the past 25 years. It is thought that disposable diapers heat up boys testicles to such a degree that it stop them from developing normal.

SODIUM POLYACRYLATE, which is linked to Toxic Shock Syndrome and can therefore no longer be used in tampons, is the super absorbent gel in disposable diapers. You can find the little “gel balls” on the skin of your baby’s bottom. It is interesting to note that employees in factories manufacturing sodium polyacrylate suffer from female organ problems, slow healing wounds, fatigue and weight loss.TBT (TRIBULYTIN) In May 2000 Greenpeace found TBT in Pampers® Baby Dry in Germany. TBT is one of the most toxic substances ever made. It harms the immune system and impairs the hormonal system. There is speculation that it could cause boys to become sterile.

DIOXIN Traces of the carcinogen Dioxin have been found in disposable diapers. Dioxin causes liver disease, immune system suppression and genetic damage. It is a byproduct of bleaching with chlorine gas and is banned in most countries. Unfortunately, the USA still allows it.

ASTHMA In 1998 a study showed that childhood respiratory problems, including asthma, might be linked to inhaling the mixture of chemicals emitted from disposable diapers.

UTI INFECTIONS IN BABY GIRLS also seem on the rise with an increased use of disposable diapers.

BABIES POORLY DEVELOPED OUTER SKIN LAYER ABSORBS ABOUT 48 CHEMICALS if you use disposable diapers & wipes and standard baby products. This can be greatly reduced by using cloth diapers and natural baby products.

You can find out more about the above topics on our cloth diaper articles page or at www.borntolove.com and http://www.mothering.com/.

 **enough said!

 joshijah is 2 years and several months old, and can and will use the potty most of the time…but not at night yet.  during the day its often hit and miss….
hosanna is almost 18 months, and both yesterday and today she’s gone pee on the potty. 
so, they are both “on their way”, but not there yet. 
it’s a bit of an investment to buy cloth, but…then if/when we have another baby, we won’t need to buy them again.

so, the big thing to decide now is what to buy? 
so many options out there.

any ideas?

well actually…

yesterday i went to blockbuster to pick up a movie.

while i was at the counter, the clerk (guy) asked me, “have you always been that tall?”

huh? wha?  i eyed him curiously, not quite knowing what to say.  yes?  no?  maybe?  

well, actually, yes…  see, my mom had a really tough time giving birth.  she’s currently in the guinness book of world records for giving birth to a 6 foot tall newborn.     AND ACTUALLY, now that you mention it, i used to be about 7 inches taller, but just recently had surgery to have about half of each of my calves removed, which brings me down to my present height. 

ok, i know he was trying to find the right segue into a conversation about height, and so i’ll give him a break.  plus it had me chuckling to myself for quite awhile after i left the store.  haha!

(incidentally, i am 6 feet tall, and was wearing boots that made me taller.  the reason he asked is because his sister was 6 foot 3.5.  now that’s tall!)