Gettin' My Fall On

For all the people who complained about not having a summer, I hope you are happy. It is wicked hot out, nothing compared to California or anything but still pretty warm for us NWsters. The humidity is an added bonus? I love the post a FB friend wrote today. "It's like I'm breathing soup." Well said. I will not be deterred however in preparing for fall. I thought I would kick summer in the butt today and celebrate the beginnings of fall, heat be damned! I started with doing something I NEVER do and I mean NEVER because I thoroughly dislike them. I bought Mums. Mums always remind me of tacky football decor, maybe because I have seen them on parade floats and I hate parade floats. They also remind me of funerals and I hate those as well. Don't even get me started on Carnations. De.Press.Ing. Whatever it is, I just haven't liked them for years. You can tell I was desperate though so off to Lowe's I went and bought Mums (?) Pretty cheap decor (1.98) They had a nice Autumn hue and I thought it would spruce up my front flower pots. Course I realized once I planted them that my planters are blue. So, in the end I still look like some sort of football junkie with the whole "Team Bronco" thing of orange and blue goin' on. SIGH Then I decided to hang a wreath on my front door. I got this for 2.00 at Target and thought that was quite a steal. When I hung it up I noticed it looked really small. Uh... yeah... that would be because it is a CANDLE WREATH! Oh flip, leave it to me. I don't care, it's staying put. People squint at it and ask what it is. I just tell them it's the latest thing I bought off Etsy.

Finally I thought I would make banana bread. Not too smart in the heat but oh well. Like I said, I'm kicking summer in the ass. Oh, sorry. I meant butt. I really don't like my banana bread compared to all the good varieties I have tasted. Since no one magically appeared at my door step with a freshly baked loaf I had to take matters into my own hands. This recipe is really, really easy. It is great for after school snacks and the chocolate chips don't hurt either. I use the base recipe from my favorite bread book, "The Bread Bible" by Beth Hensperger. I owe a lot of my baking education to this woman. I put my own twists and changes in and I like how it turns out so I stick with it.

I take 1 and 1/4 cup of all-purpose, unbleached flour, add 1 tsp baking soda and 1/4 cup ground flax meal. Whisk together and set aside.

Then mix together 1/2 cup canola oil, 1/2 c granulated sugar, 1/2 c brown sugar, and 2 large eggs. Beat with a whisk until light colored and creamy. Add 2 tsp pure vanilla extract and 3 large, overripe, mashed bananas. Beat again until well combined.

Add your flour mixture to the banana mixture and stir gently to combine. Pour into a well greased 9x5 inch loaf pan. Take about 1/2 cup chocolate chips or mini chips and sprinkle them on top of the batter. Take a butter knife and gently swirl the chips in. Don't mix too much so they won't sink to the bottom. Bake for about 50 min at 350 degrees or until firm to touch. Let it cool before you slice into it. One thing for sure, unless you burn it, your house is going to smell amazing.