So I guess this is real life now.

A friend of mine from school was just hired THIS morning to a school district! We just finished classes on Friday! How crazy. I know I’m finished, and I have my teaching certificate but I still can’t believe that I can now apply for positions and TOC jobs. I still have to get my resume together and updated, and fill out a ton of forms and do paperwork but it’s feeling more surreal now.

I still have to take a couple courses this summer for my second degree, aBachelor of Education, but I could still be a TOC until the end of June since I’m only taking classes two days a week. Eek! No longer a student, I am now the Teacher!

Thankfully I have two weeks off before classes begin again, and there is a lot happening in those two weeks (aside from paperwork). This weekend is packed! Friday night we’re celebrating my Nonna’s 75th birthday with a great big italian dinner and dancing at a restaurant in Vancouver. Saturday I’m super excited to be making ‘Gender Reveal’ cupcakes for a baby shower, and Sunday is our House Warming with both our families. This week will be full of organizing, some painting, getting the house in tip top shape to show it off!

And on top of that, I have also decided to play baseball again this year! A friend of mine from school needed more girls for a Senior B Rep team, and asked if I wanted to join. I haven’t played in a couple years but I got pulled in! So there’s a practice and a game this week, and weekend which I might have to miss due to all our events! But I love being busy, and being home for two weeks after teaching full time in a practicum and classes would make me stir crazy.

We celebrated all day and night Friday after our last class of PDP, and then Saturday morning I woke up and had to drop off a few dozen cookies, banana bread and cupcakes to my elementary school’s bake sale to raise money for a new playground.

Caramelizing the bananas before adding them adds a rich deep flavour compared to regular banana bread. Great for school, bake sale’s or an afternoon snack.

Even better with a smear of Trader Joe’s Cocoa Almond Spread (Like Nutella, slightly healthier…sorta.)

Caramelized Banana Bread

Other Banana Bread Recipes Here and Here

• 2-3 well ripened bananas
• 1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 cup butter melted
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs room temperature
• crushed Walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray loaf pan with cooking spray.

Did you know February 23 is National Banana Bread Day? I saw on Twitter that is it also national Chili day?? Lots of yummy food options today. Any excuse to make a loaf is fine by me. DOLE Banana’s is celebrating today on their facebook page. Tastespotting is also dedicating their front page to Banana Bread, and my recipe has made the front page! Check it out.

You can also check out my other Banana bread recipes here, and a Zucchini Banana Bread Bundt recipe here, and Zucchini Banana muffins.

I made this banana bread last week for Adam. I was still on my allergy diet (you can read about it here, here and here), so I wasn’t allowed to eat it but had the banana’s around that needed to be baked into something. I usually freeze them when they get too ripe, but using frozen banana’s for banana bread never quite yields the same deliciously sweet taste. So I thought I would take advantage of the perfectly ripened fruit in the bowl.

I have had to veer from my allergy diet slightly to accomodate my recent dental surgery. *Wisdom Teeth Removal*…

I went in on Thursday last week for my wisdom teeth removal. All four needed to come out, as the bottom ones were impacted and would not come out on their own. I was pretty nervous beforehand, as I’ve never had any sort of ‘minor’ surgery, and I had never been put under with intravenous anesthesia. The second the needle went in I checked out. I did not remember a thing. It was nice while it lasted. The numbness lasted pretty much all day. The next day was swollen but the pain killers helped. Unfortunately, they also made me quite sick so I had to stop taking the codeine. I also developed a fever, with chills and sweats. It has been almost a week and I have yet to sleep an entire night since the surgery. I am not a night owl, and never had a problem sleeping. So only getting a few hours a night has sucked. Big time.

It got even better when I began having serious pain in my lower jaw. I went back to the dentist, and sure enough I had a lovely dry socket, something that commonly occurs (google it if ya like..). It is quite painful. I also have muscle and nerve damage which is like a throbbing numbing pain in my entire jaw running down my neck and collar bone. I feel like my head is about 10 lbs heavier and in a vice being pushed together. The ‘dry socket’ packing worked at first but the taste of it is making me sick. I hope it heals soon.

My ‘allergy diet’ now includes a lot of pudding. I don’t think I have eaten that much pudding in my entire life. And chicken noodle soup. I am also still eating my weight in mashed potatoes and cranberries. It sucks because of my dairy allergy I can’t have things like milkshakes or yogurt. Even the pudding has dairy in it, and while It makes my stomach upset I just take another pill to counteract that as well. I did try to make pudding with almond milk but it did not set.. haha. It was more like pudding soup. Any idea why? Is there something in milk that makes it set that is not in the almond milk perhaps?

This week was also extra special because another sort of ‘bun in the oven’ was finally born! Adam’s sister had a baby girl on Monday night!!! Adam and I are now an aunty and uncle =)=) She is absolutely perfect! It was so amazing to be outside of the room waiting for her to be born. We all screamed in excitment when we learned it was a girl (they hadn’t found out the sex of the baby before.) What a wonderful experience! We are eagerly waiting to go and see her sweet little face again. Adam already bought some pink things to bring over, as, as of now, we had bought safe colours such as yellow and greys. But, the girl needs something pink!

This banana bread is simple and delicious. I will be making a loaf to bring over to the new parents soon.

* You want your loaf to rise, and crack on top, not to be hard and flat. Make sure eggs are at room temperature, and whisk thoroughly. You want a nice peak when it bakes. Add the flour/dry ingredients in three parts, ending with dry and mixing well*

Old Fashioned Hand-Mixed Banana Bread with Pumpkin Seeds

Recipe slightly adapted from Joy of Cooking 75th Anniversary Edition

I used to be afraid to use yeast in baking. I only really tried using it last summer for the first time, making pizza dough. I think after a few tries I have gotten the hang of it. The very first time I ‘killed’ the yeast because the water was too hot, you know they’re quite sensitive to heat. But after a few tries you get the hang of it, and realize how warm the water/milk should be for the little yeast granules to ‘live’ and foam up. I make pizza dough quite often now, and I don’t even think I have ever bought a pizza shell from the grocery store since Adam and I began living together last september. Or really any time before then. This month, we decided we wouldn’t spend any money eating out. November and December were both quite busy, and we seemed to be eating out quite a lot. While it is not only costly for the wallet, it’s also not healthy to always be eating at restaurants or fast food. While I don’t think I’ve eaten at a ‘fast food’ restaurant like McDonalds for quite a few years now, we did begin eating a lot of Tim Horton’s this past summer. We have never even ordered take out to our apartment, no pizza deliveries, no Chinese food. The only thing we really ever go out for, or bring back to our house is Sushi, because lets face it you cannot make it as well, or for as cheap as they can at a restaurant. There is no ‘take out menu’ drawer at our place. Only fresh ingredients in the cupboards and fridge.

Adam had to work on the island for three weeks in November, eating out every meal of the day. So when he would come home on the weekend he was happy to be eating healthy meals made at home. So far this month we have not spent any money going out to restaurants. We have however gone out twice now, once with Adam’s parents who took us out to dinner, and once this weekend to the Secret Supper Soiree which I won tickets to. It has been nice not going out to eat. While I do enjoy dining out, I also love to cook myself so it’s not a big deal to stay in. Many people think of going out as a convenience, but making a homemade meal is quite convenient, and there are always leftovers for the next day. We’ve been eating a lot of soups, such as the Italian Ribollita soup I made before, and chili. I have also found that there are many things we buy from a store that we can make ourselves. I even began making granola bars, instead of buying them, as Adam takes a couple with him for lunch every day. They are much healthier, and you can add things like pumpkin and flax seeds.

I remember when I was younger my mother would make pizza dough, and then use the extra to make my brother and I cinnamon buns, and of course my dad who was always wanting ‘something sweet’ for dessert. She would always add raisins and nuts, usually walnuts that we had on hand. It was a special treat when she did. I remember they would disappear quite fast. My mom came over today and got to taste them, I think they are as good as the ones she made us. There’s just something about warm cinnamon buns right from the oven. I had wanted to make these for a while now, but had yet to get around to it. They are worth the wait, and take about two hours from start to finish. We also brought a few over to Adam’s sister, who has a bun of her own in the oven. Adam could become an uncle any day! But for the sake of his sister, not too soon haha. These are perfectly fluffy, and just sweet enough. I didn’t use a large amount of sugar in the dough or in the filling, so you don’t feel too bad eating them ;) And the whole wheat dough makes them healthy..ish.

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Buns
adapted from Cate’s World Kitchen 

Time: 1 1/2 hours to rise, 20 minutes to bake.

Recipe:
1 cup milk (I used 1%)
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
4 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

Filling:
brown sugar
cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, melted
raisins (optional)
walnuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Warm the milk in the microwave for about 30 seconds, until it reaches 105 degrees. I suggest using a thermometer, I love mine since I bought it and it has come in very handy.
2. Pour the milk into a mixing bowl, I used my kitchenaid bowl. Add to the milk 2 1/2 tsp. of active dry yeast, and a pinch of sugar. Let the mixture stand until it begins to look foamy, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the 1/4 cup sugar, 1/3 cup melted butter, 2 eggs, and flour. Using the paddle attachment mix for 30 seconds. Switch to the dough hook, and continue for about four minutes until dough becomes smooth. Alternatively, you can knead dough by hand.
4. Shape the dough into a ball, place in a large bowl that is well greased, and cover with a tea towel. Let rise in a warm place about 1 hour or until dough has doubled in size.
5. Once it has risen, sprinkle some flour on to the countertop and lightly flour a rolling pin. Roll the dough into a large rectangle that is about 1/4 inch thick.
6. Brush the dough with 1/3 cup melted butter using a pastry brush and sprinkle evenly with sugar and cinnamon. I just used a handful of sugar, and a lot of cinnamon. You can make them as sweet as you like. Cover with nuts and raisins evenly.
7. Roll the dough up starting with the longer side and cut into approximately 12 rolls.
8. Arrange the rolls in a lightly greased 9×13 inch baking dish. Cover again with a tea towel and let rise for about 30 minutes. I also used a muffin tin for the extras, and baked them in that. It worked really well for small cinammon bun/muffins.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake until golden brown, about 18-20 minutes.

You can leave them plain, or mix cream cheese with icing sugar to make an icing.

Do you eat out quite often?

Do you prefer cooking at home than dining out?

Have you baked with yeast before? What are your favourite recipes?