Moist Banana Tea Cake

 

Nothing’s better then a Homemade Banana bread to use up those brown spotted bananas that no one wants anything to do with. Well what if I told you I have a perfect recipe to do just that. What If I told you this recipe is not only homemade and delicious, but moist, filling, and healthy! This recipe is honestly so good! By adding oat and whole wheat flour and cutting the sugar in half, this recipe has a great texture and perfect sweetness! next time you have any unsightly bananas crowding your counter top don’t chuck them! make this yummy little tea cake!

Moist Banana Bread: adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup wheat flour
• 1/2 cup oat flour(make your own by putting old fashion oats in food processor and process till semi-fine)
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 2 flax eggs ( 1 egg= tbsp flax to 3 tbsp water)
• 1 1/2 – 2 medium mashed ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup plain fat free yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Cooking spray

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.
3. Place sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute). Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add honey, banana, yogurt, and vanilla; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist. Spoon batter into an 8 0r 9 inch  square pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

DIY Turban Headband

 

Please enjoy this picture tutorial of how to make your very own super cute and easy Turban Headband! I used an old small cotton shirt but feel free to experiment with any fabric of your own! This craft is so simple and you end up with a really cut head band, like this one, just doesn’t cost $30! 

I cut strips about 21″ by 4.5″

Voila!

 

Bridge of Flowers

The Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Mass has got to be one of the most unique and beautiful flower displays I have ever seen. I love the usual flowers like peonies and hydrangeas but these flowers were something else. Yeah there were the standards, like  lilacs and roses, but many were unique flowers in magnificent bloom. Shelburne falls seemed to be a small town stuck in the past. Although we didn’t get a chance to walk around the town much because they were filming a movie called “The Judge”, we were still able to walk the short little beautiful bridge of flowers. It is honestly a hidden little gem that is so worth it, especially if you have a camera.

Rustic Apple Crostata

On the rare occasion that we have fruit in our house long enough for it to go bad, recipes like this Apple Crostata are a perfect way to use up any of those little imperfections. Before this I have never made a crostata, not for fear or difficulty, but because my family goes crazy for a good simple apple pie or crisp. Now that I finally got a chance to branch out a little I decided to give it a try.

This was probably one of the simplest baking recipes out there. Although I don’t have an exact recipe to give you all you need to make it is your favorite pie crust recipe, an optional jam layer(I used peach only because I was trying to use it up), apple pie spices, and a little egg wash. Thats really it, so quick and simple and the more rustic it looks the better, well thats what I tell myself anyways. Next time you have a few flawed apples, break away from a traditional pie or crisp and try an super simple crostada. But Im warning you, It might be gone as soon as you take it out of the oven, I had to fend some people off to let me get a few pictures.

an artsy one for the road