Today's definite favorite . . .

God is like a mirror. The mirror never changes, but everybody who looks at it sees something different.

- Harold S. (Rabbi) Kushner

Finished product . . .

Just finished my proposed project of today - Banana Cupcakes. I also found a zucchini that needed a goal in life and they are the currently unfrosted cupcakes. My teen son just ate three in rapid succession (yes, he is skinny as a rail!) so I guess I can claim success.

For your information, if you double the Banana Cake recipe to make cupcakes, you will get two and a half dozen cupcakes.

The cupcakes are iced with tart lemon frosting - a favorite flavor of mine!

Great explanation of Love . . .

Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get, it's what you are expected to give -- which is everything.

- Unknown

U.S. Diaper Legislation?

The United States is in turmoil on many fronts yet someone is trying to push through legislation to give diapers to the poor. On the surface, this sounds like a caring idea, however, there are already many organizations specifically involved in helping with this. Another flaw in this legislation is that it is not the government's job to be a nanny to us. Even more serious is the fact that the diapers will only be distributed from day care centers . . . to people leaving their children at the day care centers. Mothers that stay at home and manage their lives on one income will not be included. Doesn't that show an agenda in the making? I remember one of the first women libber spokeswomen saying their goal is to get every woman in the work place . . . whether they like it or not.

You have to wonder about the liberal mind set who sees it a better option to have one's child basically raised by a stranger rather than making is easier and more possible to have a parent be home with their young children. Family is is the foundation of society and minimizing it doesn't bode well for the future outcome of the world.

You also have to consider what will happen if the stay-at-home mothers decide to claim discrimination over this benefit for only a certain segment of society. I'm willing to bet . . . nothing.

You get what you work for . . .

"The heights by great men reached and
kept, were not attained by sudden
flight, but they, while their companions
slept, were toiling upward in the night."
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Good reminder about our jobs in life . . .

Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.

Banana Bars

Found a second, fast way to save the old bananas and preserve my conscience about wasting food! This one calls for chocolate chips and nuts so it is perfect for my wants/needs.

Banana Bars

3/4 cups butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 cup pureed bananas
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chocolate chips of your choice
1/2 cup chopped nuts, your choice!

Vegetable oil spray a 15x10x1-inch baking pan or two smaller ones.

In a mixing bowl beat the butter with the sugars until light and fluffy. Add the baking powder and salt, mix. Beat in the pureed bananas, egg, and vanilla until well combined. Stir in the flour. Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts.

Spread the mixture into the prepared baking pan(s). Bake at 350 degrees about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and set. Cool on a wire rack before cutting into bars.

Ideas . . .

When the cookies come out of the oven, scatter white and chocolate chips over the top. When they softened, you can spread it out into a marbled pattern.

1/4 cup raisins would turn it into a chocolate nut fruit bar.

Banana Cake!

Found an easy recipe to productively put those aging bananas to rest! I will probably double it for my purposes because I have more than one banana to use and several people to surprise with something homebaked for the weekend. The following recipe has not been doubled.

Banana Cake ( or cupcakes!)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup pureed ripe bananas
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup shortening
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
2 eggs
1/2 cup finely chopped nuts, your choice

This recipe will make two 8-inch round cakes or a 11x9x2-inch baking pan. The measurements don't have to be exact. You can go within two inches or so of the given numbers. Light spray your chosen pans with vegetable oil spray. I'm estimating the recipe will make 12-18 cupcakes so if that is your choice, line your muffin pan with cupcake papers.

In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the eggs and nuts. Beat with a mixer until combined. Add eggs and beat until just mixed. Fold in nuts and pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 25-30 minutes depending on the size pan you chose. Cupcakes will take a lot less time so be watchful.

Ideas . . .
Some people like raisins in their banana cake. I like dried cranberries. I do, however, grind them up so you get the taste without the clumps of raisins.

Mini-chocolate chips (about 1/2 cup) would be good in this recipe. Some people might prefer butterscotch-flavored chips.

A lemon glaze wouldn't hurt!

Sewing aside . . .

No sewing today! A bunch of rapidly aging bananas have cast my future - baking! I'm thinking of banana cupcakes with orange frosting. I'm also making some pumpkin/cranberry cookies. Even with three of my four children away from home, I have two neighbors and a friend who would not mind a plate of goodies to begin the weekend.

I did get everything done on my latest crazy quilt and just need to cut and prepare the binding around the edges to have it completed. I've got a horse quilt ready for quilting. Not a HORSE quilt but a quilt with pictures of horses on it. Just clearing the possible misconception there! I did have a relative ask me to make a quilt for her dog, once. I declined politely! The dog had absolutely no sense of color! :-)

Off to begin the day with Mass and Adoration. Overcast this morning but the weatherman promises high temperatures this weekend. I'm being patient about the arrival of winter but often wonder, is it possible in Southern California.

Messy end to Libya's dictator yesterday. You raise yourself above all, you aim for a fall. I did say a prayer for his soul but know that he has a lot to make up for in this world and God is in charge of the next.

They all make sense . . .

"The cure for writer's cramp is writer's block."
-- Inigo DeLeon

"Historians are like deaf people who go on answering questions that no one has asked them."
-- Leo Tolstoy

"It has been said that man is a rational animal. All my life I have been searching for evidence which could support this."
-- Bertrand Russell

"Where a calculator on the ENIAC is equipped with 18,000 vacuum tubes and weighs 30 tons, computers in the future may have only 1,000 vaccuum tubes and perhaps weigh 1.5 tons."
-- unknown