Yes, we have old bananas!

I only like to eat bananas when they're green. If they're not firm, I like them blended up with milk and cinnamon, like a licuado from my Mexico City days. When they get past licuado stage, it's time for banana bread.

This is the 2nd or 3rd loaf I've made from the Bon Appetit Cookbook, I checked out from the library. It's the perfect recipe. Super quick and easy. The bread is sweet, but not too sweet and always comes out moist and perfectly formed. It even tastes better after a few days. The recipe makes 2 loafs:

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups sugar
1 cup solid vegetable shortening ( I use butter.... ymmmmm butter)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
1/2 c buttermilk
3 cups mashed very ripe bananas (about 6)
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter & flour 2 9x5x3" metal loaf pans. Mix flour, baking soda & salt & set aside. Beat sugar, shortening (or butter), and vanilla in large bowel ( I use my Kitchen Aide mixer). Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well in between. Mix in flour alternately with buttermilk in 2 additions each. Stir in mashed bananas & nuts and divide batter between prepared pans.

Bake until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool loaves completely in pans on rack. Remove from pans. Wrap loaves tightly in foil & store at room temperature at least 1 day and up to 3.

Yea... I've gone as far as 5 days, but I'm wild like that.

Moccasins!

These moccasins are a birthday gift from my mom. They arrived today and I couldn't wait to put them on. Never mind that my birthday isn't until next month. I'm not one for waiting. I've been wanted a nice pair of comfortable moccasins for ages. I saw these in a shop in Sun River, but they didn't have my size. I ordered these from Minnetonka Moccasin online shop. Yea, ok my mom handed me her credit card, but that's just how we do gifts sometimes. I was originally going to go with a pair with the thunderbird beaded design. My husband (and sometimes fashion advisor), let me know that they looked like something a 50 year old housewife would wear and to go with the plain red ones instead.

My apologies to any 50 year old housewives who read my blog. Personally, I don't consider that description to be a negative, but he's been questioning my 'taste level' since we started watching Project Runway. I decided to heed his advise this time and have no regrets. Since I scaled down my shoe addiction, I no longer have a red pair, and these are so versatile and comfy. Thanks mom!

One can never have too many moccasins, so I do still see a pair of these in my future. Maybe in pink or yellow for Spring?

angry goat people

I sat down to paint today for the first time in months. I was drawing on this left over block of poplar wood and kept erasing ideas. It went from bathing beauties to these funny looking goats with angry expressions. Eventually some of the underlying drawings merged together and the goat faces became people in a park. These photos are part of the same painting, but for some reason, when I shoot the whole thing, it's blurring, but detail comes out clear? I hadn't used acrylic in a while. I had forgotten how the quick drying time allows you to draw over things. The result is a sort of sketchy drawing/painting, which I like. I feel like I should have gotten more painting accomplished today, but I ought to be happy that I did anything. Maybe the goat people will lead to something. Baahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Prince and the Pea

Our cat Sebastian is in love with his brother Vinny. He took over Vinny's dog bed to be near him, and forced Vinny to the couch. Now he tries to snuggle with Vinny on the couch, so Vinny found a new perch atop three pillows. He likes to be comfortable and who can blame him really?

Err Where Did August Go?

Hard to say really...
It went swimming quite a bit.
It took a trip to the Oregon Coast.
It took an awful lot of naps and walks in the park.
It read some good books and watched some movies.
It went to the State Fair!
It didn't really make much in the way of art, but September is here now and I've got big plans. BIG PLANS I SAY!

Smoothies all week!

Friday we went berry picking at Kruger's Farm on Sauvie Island. At first we were a bit hesitant to pick a lot because we're not really jam makers and I'm not sure how many blueberry pancakes and boysenberry crisps I can eat. I can drink a smoothie however. In fact, I can drink one every day. So, we picked with the goal of having smoothies every day for a week. I may need to work on my food photography. I don't think the yellow table helps... but this morning's boysenberry, raspberry yogurt smoothie is delicious!

Tuesday!

Yep it's Tuesday. Now that I work 4 days in a row per week, Monday is the hump day. After that it's a breeze.

Here's a new encaustic painting. This one was done a little differently. I painted some of the flowers with oil paint directly on the wood, and then fused a layer of clear encaustic wax down. Then I painted a few more flowers in oil paint on the wax layer, and fused another layer of wax, etc etc. I like the way the oil paint goes on the wax, and then certain colors sort of break apart when you fuse wax on top of them. There are some cool effects to be had and I may try it with portraits.
24 x 11" encaustic & oil on braced birch wood panel. SOLD