Brown Butter Banana Strawberry Bread

Hello all! And Happy Tuesday to you.

As promised, I’m here to share one of the best sweet bread recipes I have ever made! This sweet bread is otherwise known as Brown Butter Banana Strawberry Bread, inspiration found here. This is the perfect treat to compliment late night hangouts with friends, a work potluck, or a relaxing morning with tea. This bread is stellar. I can’t say it enough. Hope you love it!

Ingredients:

½ cup browned butter

2 cups flour

¾ cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

¾ teaspoon cinnamon

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (try to avoid
getting imitation vanilla; it’s just not the same)

¼ cup plain yogurt (I used greek yogurt because it’s what I had in my fridge)

1 ¼ cup mashed bananas

½ cup diced strawberries

1 strawberry super thinly sliced for the top of the bread


Directions:

1.      Heat oven to 350 degrees

         

2.      In a skillet, melt and brown butter. You will know it is done browning when it has melted completely, stopped crackling and popping, and starts to smell nutty.

3.      Grease and flour a loaf pan

4.      In a mixing bowl, whisk flour, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together

5.      If the butter is done, remove from heat and allow to cool in a little bowl

6.      In another bowl, whisk eggs, vanilla extract, and yogurt together

7.      Gradually whisk the smashed bananas into the wet ingredient bowl

8.      Then, if the browned butter has cooled, gradually whisk it into the wet ingredient bowl

9.      Add the wet ingredient bowl to the dry ingredient bowl, folding together

10.  Fold in the diced strawberries (do not over stir!)

11.  Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan

12.  Top with thinly sliced starberries for decoration

13.  Bake for about an hour, but monitor towards the end to ensure you don’t overbake

14.  Remove from oven when skewer comes out clean and allow to rest for 15 minutes

15.  Slice, love, and share with friends and family!

Take a deep breath and savor the blessings of today, friends.

Until next time,

XO.

Wish List

There are a handful of splendid things that I don’t have but make my lifelong mission to own someday. These include, but are not limited to:

1. An adorable, teeny bundle of cuddliness to chase butterflies and take naps with.

2. Children! My, oh my. And hopefully a husband to go along with them. Mom, I’m kidding.

3. This beautiful picture. Oh Anthropologie, you tease me.

4. An extremely expensive Nikon camera, complete with too many settings and lenses to count

5. A loaf pan

 

Surprised that this is on my wish list? Don’t be. Close to everyone in their right mind has one, except for me [poor Kristin]. Consequently, I’m using Lauren’s pan to bring you the details of a tasty, sweet bread...tomorrow. Lauren and I have wonderful times together. We like to eat TV dinners, watch movies, and chat. Thanks a million for sharing, Lauren!

Bloggers, be in suspense for tomorrow’s yummy post.

Hope you had a happy start to the week!

XO.

Orange Pepper Glazed Carrots and Rice

It’s weekend time once again, loves. If you find yourself with a free afternoon, I have a brand new recipe for you to try your hand at! I came across this recipe in an Oprah magazine (also found here!) from years ago and adapted it to fit the ingredients in my fridge and cabinets. After all, budgeting and being frugal are on the top of my “to do” list this summer. Hope you get a chance to try out this yummy combo.

Ingredients:

1 lb baby carrots

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

1/3 cup orange marmalade

2 teaspoons grated orange rind

3 tablespoons fresh orange juice

About two tablespoons fresh, chopped basil

Salt and pepper

1 cup brown rice

Mint for garnish

Directions:

1. Start cooking the brown rice on the stove in lightly salted water

2. Grate the orange and chop the basil

2. Cook baby carrots and a pinch of salt in hot water on stove for 15-20 minutes until carrots are tender

3. Once the carrots are done, drain

4. Then combine carrots, butter, a generous amount of salt and pepper, orange marmalade, orange rind, orange juice, and basil in the sauce pan

5. Stir until all ingredients are incorporated and warm

6. Once brown rice is finished, combine all and garnish with mint

7. Enjoy with loved ones!

Happy trails, friends! And a merry weekend to all.

XO.

Recipe Cards

Hello, all! I hope this eve of Friday is peaches and cream for you.

I think that I have been on a craft spree lately. My reasoning behind this thought is tri-fold: 1. I have been making lots of crafts; 2. I have been spending excessive amounts of dolla’ on craft supplies; 3. I have been viewing real life situations as though they could be crafted upon (crafted upon: a recently coined term by yours truly that encompasses all creative actions, i.e. decorating, cutting, stamping perforating, coloring, painting, rearranging, cropping, labeling, etc.).

Most recently, I have taken a liking to making my own recipe cards using cardstock and other pretty papers. In fact, the other night, my dear friend Anne and I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning making these while watching Step Up. I know you won’t judge me ;) Needless to say, my future recipe box is looking to be stylish in all the right ways. Try some for yourself! You’re sure to be pleased with these precious cards.

Here are a few that have already been filled in with some delicious recipes:

 And here are a few that yet to be filled:

And! If you are looking for some great recipe blogs to fill those cards, don’t take another step without looking at Pioneer Woman, Bake at 350, and Joy the Baker! They’re the best.

Thanks for reading and happy Thursday!

XO.



Beaded Bottles

Good morning, Wednesday goers! On this beautiful day, I thought I would share a little spark of creativity with those that are interested.

For a portion of my last vacation (as described in earlier posts), I had the pleasure of staying the night with my grandfather’s sweet girlfriend of seven years, La Verne. They are both 89 years old and could not be cuter together.  La Verne shared with me pieces of her incredible story of being the wife of an army general and moving around the world with two young kids. She then showed me old pictures, keepsakes, and family heirlooms that were special to her. We chatted, had cookies and tea, and finished off the night with an episode of NCIS. It was lovely.

But to my point. One of the treasures La Verne showed me was an antique perfume bottle that was her mother’s from the early 1900s (as pictured below). Immediately I fell in love. Thus, I set on a quest to recreate this look and try to capture a glimpse of the vintage beauty.

Original inspiration!

You will need: 

a variety of beads- choose whatever tickles your fancy!

dishes to hold the beads- I use miniature cupcake liners

a hot glue gun

glass bottles of any kind- I prefer the smaller kinds but mason jars would be cute!

ribbon and scissors (optional)

1.       Put out your materials



Beads



I suggest Joann's Fabric and Craft stores for mini glass jars on a budget

 

2.       Choose the most appealing combination of beads

3.       Organize them on the table in a rough pattern of what you would like on the jar

4.       Hot glue the beads onto the jar

Basic design

5.       Compliment the beads by tying a ribbon around the neck of the jar

6.        Marvel at your creation!

These jars are so versatile; try using them to house flowers, be given as little presents, be filled with potpourri or white sand, or a number of other uses.

Enjoy exercising your creativity!

XO.



Where the Heart is

 Home, sweet home. What a true statement! I recently returned from a week long family vacation. I will use the term “vacation” lightly because this busy week consisted of 4 states, 4 places of residency, 6 airports, and over 20 hours flying. Oh, boy. Some serious relaxation time is in order for me! But overall, the trip was spectacular and spending time with my dad and brothers was even better. It’s a tragedy how rarely we get this quality time, especially since we all have graduated and are, as they say, out in the real world now. However, amidst the separations, I identify one ray of sunshine, one string of silver lining. We all have the same home in common. This means that despite living in different cities, attending different schools, leading separate lives, and becoming enveloped in diverse cultures, we all come back to the same place. The familiar smells, sounds, lights, colors, and cozy atmosphere are ours, unique to the bonds within our family. My home feels safe to me. It is my prayer this week that each person remembers there own special place of safety. And if something has polluted this place for you, then I sincerely hope that one day you will explore and create a home of your own to share with others. So, if you have a quick minute, say a prayer of thankfulness for the place that you rested your head for some very magical, growing years in your life.

Preach it, Dorothy.

Happy Tuesday to all!

XO.

Pieces of Oregon

Hello blogging world! I bring greetings from Zig Zag, Oregon. Zig Zag is one of the smallest, greenest, and highest towns in all of Oregon. While we are here visiting relatives, my family gets to enjoy clear air, brisk weather, green landscape, no cell service, dial-up internet, and sweet memories with family. It seems like worlds from Phoenix, AZ and suburb life; breaks from the heat and vacations like this are few and far between! I’m trying to savor every moment. Please enjoy some of the every day sights that are apart of the lives of the Zig Zag dwellers.

plane ride to Oregon

view off of the back porch (takes my breath away!)

 

the driveway

hummingbird

Eric and I

Happy Friday to all! Missing you all down there in Phoenix!

XO.