for japan with love.

so deep what is happening... mama earth is talking to us in a language that will get our attention... i want to wrap my entire spirit around the people of japan... and all of us fear fighters here, all of us mamas wanting to start family bed in the house so everyone can stay together.... 'just in case' becomes a mantra when this kind of tragedy strikes... what would we do, when will it happen, and on and on.... your mind can really go on a whirlwind... trying to calm the mind, allow the body to feel & send light and love to japanxxxx

banana bread.

have you noticed the trend in banana bread lately? i feel like it's everywhere! with the inspiration of 3 pretty ripe bananas on the table, i had to do something. i could not allow them to turn into the brown mush they are destined to become...and yes, the feeling to make something came from the crazy urge to not let them die that way. i am not an every week buyer of the banana because of the expensive flight they have to take to make it to my glendale whole foods... some weeks are more popular for a banana snack then others in our house. i tend to buy them more often in the hotter months because of smoothies and fun, cold things like that...

what's great about banana bread is.... you can put all sorts of things in it and make it your own, it's always a fan of the hot tea and it lasts for a week or so in a sealed something. i love having a sweet like this in the house so when a friend comes over you can share some yum with her because you just happen to have some to share.

banana bread (somewhat taken from smitten kitchen)*

3 to 4 ripe bananas, smashed

1/3 cup melted salted butter

3/4 to 1 cup light brown sugar (depending on the level of sweetness you prefer, I always use the smaller amount)

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 1/2 cup of flour

add any chips, nuts etc...

Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, vanilla and bourbon, then the spices. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4×8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes to one hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

*there is a slight possibility i went nuts (& chips) with the extra add ins... not sure if i loved all of it together.. just plain is also quite divine*

see you in the kitchenxxxx

cube it.

cube yams, keep the skins.

butternut, no more staring.

a teaspoon of each spice & let the oil flow a bit...

a wide rimmed bowl for freedom & some sage.....

mix, dance, work it all together....

roast on 400 or 415, for 20 or so minutes, check in with a fork and enjoy...

i am swimming inside days that are almost pasted together.... each day, like kids art left in the rain, magical moments on paper, one on top of another, stuck together. impossible to separate the pieces or the days... impossible to clarify what is happening in each 8 x 10 & in 24, 48, 72 hours... and what is stuck together makes a new kind of art, kinda like paper mache days: nebulous, foggy, surreal, exhausted... and then there are moments of bright color, surprise hours of sleep that catch me deep & off gaurd... a smile, the cutest fist in the air, a milky tongue ...

there is nothing like roasting vegetables...it's incredibly easy and satisfying. cubing the veggies is another story... you say: 'i have no time to make those cubes?' yeah... i get it. i think when it comes to time, it's all about what we choose to do with the little, precious amounts that we have...

on this day, beauty napped and i had yams that were calling me into the kitchen... oh and a butternut that would not stop staring at me from the dining room table... she was so incredibly bored sitting on the table (for a few weeks) and i was tired of the looks.... so i peeled her, scooped out her seeds and cut/diced her into cubes... the peeler for this job is here.

i keep the skin on the yams because it lends a slight crunch and yummy taste to the finished product. and yes, there was some care in this prep....

i needed to be in the kitchen, simple happenings with a bread knife that took about 15 minutes.

it felt good for hours. i guess that's where i live... if it takes a little more time (i am not making a phyllo dough folks) and will nourish me: sign me up.

it's rustic, easy & almost had a self soothing affect.

it always feels good when food is made, warm under a beautiful towel you love, sitting on the stove top like a gift, as though someone came over and made you food... that is the feeling i am talking about... loving yourself through cubes and an extra ten minutes...

try it.

see you in the kitchenxxxRM

romanesco.

what beauty! the creative force of our amazing earth, the perfection of numbers, spirals, a color that holds your hope for spring, licking your lips for something light, maybe clarity (dare i say it) and a name that feels like italy...romanesco.

i want to hang these all over the the ceiling like fancy chandeliers, i want to wear them like a bling bling necklace around my neck, i want to say: "move over artichoke there is a new friend in town"......

if you get a chance, stop by weiser farms at the sunday hfm or wednesday sm market and pick up one of these gorgeous art pieces. adorn your table with it, roast it, try something new...

you can roast these on 400, cut into pieces (florets) or whole, casserole dish or anything oven friendly, pour some olive oil in and around, 20 - 30 minutes...

ps: this is also how my breasts are feeling these days...getting closer to seeing you in the kitchen.... i hope you are tooxxxRM