Bryan decided to have just banana bread for dinner.  Caitlin and I were having soup. Caitlin looks at her dad, and says, “Dad, you can’t have banana bread for dinner!”

Bryan: “Yes I can.”

Caitlin: “No daddy you can’t.”  She then refuses to eat.

Bryan: “Caitlin you need to eat your soup.”

“No daddy, not until you get your dinner.”  Love it!

Recipe Adjustments:

* 1 1/2 cups of banana

* 1/2 cup white sugar

* 1/2 cup brown sugar

* 1 TBS of vanilla

* 4 TBS of milk

* 1 cup dark chocolate chips

Baked at 350deg for 1 hour 5 minutes.  Enjoy!

Below are some of my favorite quotes from the evening (and Caitlin, please don’t kill mommy for these when you are a teenager – just remember – you were only 3!)

She looks around the room at all the people my husband and I are chatting with and says, “Mommy, you have so many friends!”  How cute is that? 

While I am talking to several co-workers, she looks up at me and declares, “Mommy, I have to go poop.”  This was met by much giggling by said co-workers, who were not yet parents.

After 3 failed potty attempts, she finally goes to the potty with daddy.  While sitting on the potty in the men’s room, she hears someone going to the bathroom in the stall next to her (who also happened to be a co-worker), “Daddy someone is going pee over there. Can I go under go under and look?”  DOH!!

Caitlin, always remember you are my favorite, and I will always love you most:-)

Acka-bar: aka a granola bar (this one took days to figure out)

Punk-a-latern: aka a jack-o-lantern

Yogi: aka yogurt

Birfday: aka birthday

Crap: aka clap (really funny when used to say -”Mommy look I am ‘clapping’”

Fancy Hancy: aka Fancy Nancy

O’Brien: aka the constellation Orion; or a constellation she name after her dad:-)

The Cauliflower Ragu is so simple to make, and transforms the cauliflower into a spicy, rich ragu.  I was told that adding the home made breadcrumbs really makes a big difference, but I have to admit I skipped that part. I also forgot to add chopped fresh rosemary (oops!) and it was still delicious. I stuck to 1 1/2 tsp of chili flakes, but it would be easy to raise the heat.

I served it with fresh heirloom tomato (also from Farm Fresh to You) with basil from the garden, fresh mozzarella and drizzled with good balsamic, and white wine. Delicious! Thank you for the recipe recommendation, Russ!

First, we made this Peanut Butter Blondie recipe.   When reading it to Grandma Fran, she thought it might be

a little too sweet, but they are surprisingly fluffy and not too sweet.  I did use 70% chocolate chips though, and next time might use more Reese’s on top.  Hubby loved them!

Today we started the day with Oatmeal Pancakes.  They are bar none the best pancakes I have ever made.  I did make a few changes to this recipe. I used white flour, not wheat, and omitted the cinnamon and nutmeg and replaced it with a generous splash of vanilla.  I also added an extra buttermilk to thin them out just a tad.

If you try them, enjoy!

Scene: Dad and Caitlin were late arriving at class due to a car fire on the freeway. Dad also had a pinched nerve in his lower back and had trouble getting in and out of the car.

Dad, as he tries to get out of the car: “Son of a…!”

Caitlin: “Daddy I want to walk to class.”

Dad: “Caitlin we are late so I have to carry you.”

Teacher: “Hi Caitlin, how are you today?”

Caitlin: “Good.  Daddy carried me, couldn’t walk, because Daddy had a Son of a.”

Scene: Dad and Caitlin were watching a Caillou episode about growing up.

Dad: “Caitlin what are you going to be when you grow up?”

Caitlin: “The Cat in the Hat!”

Scene: It was awful quiet and Caitlin had slipped into mommy’s bathroom.

Mom: “Caitlin, where are you?”

Caitlin, as she is uncapping mommy’s lipstick and applying it to her lips, “Just fine, Mommy!”

Caitlin’s top reasons for getting out of bed:

The kids outside are too loud. (kind of liget)

Fire truck get me! (probably not)

Mommy want Tinkerbell blanket.

Want blue blanket.

Mommy want Dora.

Mommy not tired, can’t sleep.

I’m freezing! (even though it’s 77 deg in the house)

I’m too hot (the air conditioning is on)

Mommy strange sound outside (it’s a chainsaw – pretty annoying actually)

Mommy, need another hug and kiss (how can you resist that one??)

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness is a bit like Twilight for adults.  Again, not a book I would recommend my husband read, but if you read Twilight, and liked The Da Vinci Code, this is a bit like the two combined.    I have to admit I was engrossed; it’s a guilty pleasure for sure.  I did have one gripe with a plot turn towards the end.  One aspect that bothered me: I am not sure I understand the author’s take on time travel.    If you are going to go there, which I think is fine,  then at least try to have how it happens make sense.  That said, I will still read the second book when it comes out.

Across the Universe by Beth Revis is a YA scifi novel.  It’s the story of a ship that is launched for a 300 year journey to a new, inhabitable planet.  They call it a “generation ship” since it will take many generations to reach their final destination.   It is an interesting thought – how to run a society while trapped in a tin can for 100′s of years.  How would government work, how would society and the various jobs that must be done be handled, how to control population, how to try and not go mad while basically trapped?  It’s a good read, if not necessarily an extremely happy one.

Odd Thomas by Dean R Koontz is the first Koontz book I have read in probably 10 years.   I wasn’t sure what to expect, and at first had some trouble getting into it.  I would describe it as a combination of Sixth Sense and a mystery novel.  I eventually liked the characters, but not sure I will read the rest of the series. It’s a bit too sad for me.

Switched by Amanda Hocking is, yes, another YA novel. This one was a first a self published novel on Amazon.com, available on Kindle, then later got picked up by a publisher once the novel became quite popular on its own.  The writing and story were engaging enough for me to read all 3, but you have to liberally suspend your disbelief.    I may pick up a couple of her other books, which sound interesting

Emily, Alone by Stewart O’Nan was recommended by EW, if I recall. It’s the story of an older woman, living alone, and her internal monologue. With her children moved out with children of their own, a widow, it can be at times amusing, often times sad, sometimes a little slow, but worth reading.  Not sure it’s the best summer read, as it’s not exactly a happy, fun novel, but then, it is not meant to be.

A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin surprised me a bit. I read it because it was finally going to be on HBO (of course, since we don’t get cable I will probably have to wait another year to rent on iTunes – arg!).  I was expecting more of a fantasy novel, which I suppose it is to some extent, but it is more a story of warring tribes and strategy, loyalty, and trust, and fear.   I enjoyed it, but it is long, and I have yet to read the second book.  If you like epics, and battles, and strategy and interesting characters, it’s a good read.

The List by J. A. Konrath was a book my husband found.  Imagine if we could clone famous people from the past, only they didn’t know they were clones. Who would they turn out to be?  Would they be the same heroes or villains they were originally?  This is the bases of the book, which is mostly a thriller with some pretty good humor intermixed.  It’s a quick light read, good for beach reading.

Ingredients

2 cups milk (whole milk recommended)

3/4 cups of sugar

1/2 cup all purpose baking mix (like Bisquick)

4 eggs

1/2 stick butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp coconut extract (optional)

1 1/3 cup flaked coconut

Put all ingrediants except the coconut into a blender (seriously!). Blend on low for 3 minutes. Pour into greased 9″ pie pan and bake at 350 deg F for 40 minutes, or until golden brown and set.

The amazing thing is the Bisquick sinks to the bottom to form a crust, and the coconut gets evenly distributed into the pie.   Enjoy!