J has spent the last several days rebuilding a car engine with a seminary friend whose car just died and was facing a huge bill from the garage to fix it. (Further evidence that men and women are fundamentally different species: both guys seem to be having a blast spending days doing the dirty and tedious work of rebuilding an engine. J: "I feel like I'm slaying a dragon." Friend: "Or doing open heart surgery. It's awesome.") They decided to try to wrap it up last night, starting at 10 p.m. (they are working in a large and heated garage, don't worry), and they got home at 9 a.m. this morning. The engine is back together but something seems to be wrong with the timing, because it isn't working.
I meanwhile was gone yesterday from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. for a whirlwind trip to DC in which I didn't even leave the airport (the city is still clogged with snow, my meeting moved to the airport)... after a night in which I got very little sleep... and waking up today I also just wanted to head back to bed.
So we have postponed the daytime part of our Valentine's Day date (a surprise for me, I don't know what it was) to another day, and are headed back to bed. But first, I made us a great breakfast. And while I am waiting for the final loaves to come out of the oven, let me share a recent find, the most amazing banana bread ever.
Banana Bread with Coconut
This is a Martha Stewart recipe, lightened by me. Martha's original recipe was fantastic, but after healthifying it a little it is still fantastic-- I don't think anything was lost. It is the coconut and pecans (and tons of vanilla) that make it. If you want Martha's original version, replace the applesauce with oil, up the sugar by 1/2 c., and use all white flour. If you don't have white whole wheat flour I would use 1 c. whole wheat flour and 2 c. white flour. But try to find white whole wheat flour-- it substitutes for white flour so well without being too heavy. I buy unsweetened coconut in the bulk section of an organic market, so I don't know how hard it is to find in a regular grocery store. It is finer than sweetened coconut-- more of a powder than strings of coconut.
3 large eggs
1 1/2 c. sugar
2/3 c. oil
2/3 c. applesauce
2 T. vanilla
Beat together.
2 c. white whole wheat flour
1 c. all purpose flour
1 t. baking soda
3/4 t. salt
Whisk together and add to the egg mixture, beating just til combined.
1 1/3 c. mashed ripe banana (about 4)
1 c. unsweetened coconut
1 c. pecans, toasted and finely chopped
1/2 c. buttermilk or plain yogurt
Add to flour mixture and beat til combined.
Pour into 2 greased loaf pans and bake at 350 for one hour.
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A meeting in an airport... so how did the people who already live there get to the meeting? Or did they? :)
I think we had our Valentine's date last weekend after going to the Home Show, we went to school to watch The Bachelor on the internet there and then to dinner at a fun little place we hadn't been to before. Cory stayed with my parents.
Oh, and thanks for the pool, it's so nice that it stores small!
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