P52 / 08 / spirit

My friend Katrina hosted a Dominion tournament for her birthday, and when she first announced the party I followed her around announcing that it would also be a costume party. I started rumors on Facebook, telling everyone who RSVP'd to the event that they needed to wear a costume. She laughed, thinking I wasn't serious. I convinced a few others to go in costume with me - after raiding the drama closet we put together costumes representing various action cards: the Schmied (smith), the Dorf (a royal villager), the Jester, and the Hexe (witch). I also brought along Katrina's monk costume, which represented the Kappelle card (the chapel). The ones who didn't think to wear a costume jockingly mocked us, but we know that deep down, they were just jealous of our epic costumes.

I dressed up in costume to play a strategy card game tournament on a Saturday night.

I am officially a nerd.

P52 / 08 / spirit

P52 / 07 / love

This week I received an outpouring of love from friends, colleagues, and parents of my students on Valentine's Day. Here's just a taste of all the goodies!

P52 / 07 / love

foody friday: breakfast cookies

Foody Friday is late this week! I made these last weekend because I had a craving for cookies and wanted an excuse to eat cookies for breakfast. They are delicious, and I think somewhat healthy if you only eat one for breakfast.  The peanut butter and banana make them somewhat chewy, but they are quite thick and heavy so I recommend eating them with a large glass of milk.. :)

I found the recipe at eatbetteramerica.com. Here is the link to the original recipe. Below are my adaptations.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mashed banana
1/2 cup chunky natural peanut butter (I didn't have chunky, so I added 1/4 cup crushed peanuts)
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk powder (I substituted Hazelnut powdered coffee creamer)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup dried cranberries or raisins (I didn't include these for two reasons - twoo many flavors, and the dough was too dry to add them anyway!)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly coat two cookie sheets with cooking spray; set aside. In a large bowl, stir together banana, peanut butter, honey, and vanilla. In a small bowl, combine oats, flour, milk powder, cinnamon, and baking soda. Stir the oat mixture into the banana mixture until combined. Stir in dried cranberries.

Using a ¼-cup measure, drop mounds of dough 3 inches apart on cookie sheets. With a thin metal or small plastic spatula dipped in water, flatten and spread each mound of dough to a 2¾-inch round, about ½ inch thick.

Bake, one sheet at a time, for 14 to 16 minutes or until browned. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container or resealable plastic bag for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 2 months; thaw before serving.

**Following these directions I got 12 cookies. You could use a smaller scoop to get more, but then you would have to eat more than one cookie for breakfast. Which wouldn't be the end of the world.

P52 / 06 / lines

P52 / 06 / lines

P52 / 05 / cold

This week I chose a generic prompt from a list I found, which turned out to be very appropriate! Temperatures dropped and snow fell throughout the week, creating a winder wonderland here in Kandern. The top right pic in this collage is my car thermometer one morning (It says -6.5*C), but the temperature has been as low as -11*C at times!! BRR!!

P52 / 05 / cold

**Yes, the snowflakes are fake.

foody friday + recipe: banana bread with a hint of coconut

This week for small group I used up the bananas in my freezer on banana bread. I've had the recipe in my stash for years, and I honestly cannot remember where it came from. This loaf of deliciousness brings back fond memories of baking with my Houghton 4 girls during my Moody days!

I was feeling adventurous so I threw in some coconut! I wasn't sure how strong the flavor would be after baking, so I just did a quarter cup. I would probably add more next time because honestly, there was hardly a hint of coconut! My girls gobbled it up!


2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
4 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In large bowl, cream eggs and sugar. Stir in bananas, vanilla, oil, and cinnamon. Gradually add flour mixture, stirring until just combined. Bake for one hour in the lightly greased or parchment-lined pan of your choice: muffin tins, loaf pans, etc.