Springtime comes to Halifax for a day

Today was so lovely outside, I could have sworn it was March. I didn't even need to wear a hat or a heavy scarf! It brought me back to that delightfully nostalgic state of mind with the day's warmth, scent in the air, the sun, yadi-yada... But then I heard that we are supposed to go into a deep freeze in a few days. Ahh, that's January for you!

Last week was considerably more proactive for me than usual, and I'm feeling quite pleased with myself. It's only four things, but just the fact that they were accomplished made me happy:

1. I booked an emergency first aid course for this past Saturday

2. I made a spontaneous late night batch of banana cookies (see below)

3. I completed my emergency first aid course and am now qualified for my summer job (and of course qualified to save someone's life)!

4. Caught up on my school readings

And there you have it. So far this week is going well (less proactive), but next week will (hopefully) be even better. Particularly, next Thursday:

YES YES YES YES YES FINALLY!!!!!!

Whew. I am sooooooo excited for it to start up again. I just wish they had better promos on television! All the better to tease us with, heh heh heh. If you're a Lostie also, I'll meet you in spirit on the couch with the popcorn.

Another show I'm excited for?

Click here for link

Ahh yes, I mentioned it in a recent post, but I've been really into it lately! I think it's the new Lost for me.

Speaking of food, last week I was letting my curiosity go browsing on the super cool Alicia's blog Bread and Honey, and it wandered on to what she had labeled under "banana". Lo and behold, the recipe for banana cookies was the first thing posted. Naturally, I had to try them out. And they were quite good! They tasted like banana bread... Only in the form of a cookie, and much lighter and chewier. Plus, the cinnamon and nutmeg added to the flavour. I would make them again most definitely!

Banana Cookies

Ingredients:



1/2 cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter, room temperature


1 cup of sugar
1 egg, room temperature


1 cup of mashed bananas (about 2 1/2 large bananas)


1 teaspoon of baking soda


2 cups of flour
pinch of salt


1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon


1/2 teaspoon of ground mace or nutmeg


1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves


1 cup of pecans (walnuts and chocolate chips are good alternatives)



Directions:
1 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and continue to beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. In a bowl, mix the mashed bananas and baking soda. Let sit for 2 minutes. The baking soda will react with the acid in the bananas which in turn will give the cookies their lift and rise.

Mix the banana mixture into the butter mixture. Mix together the flour, salt, and spices and sift into the butter and banana mixture and mix until just combined.



Fold into the batter the pecans or chocolate chips if using. Drop in dollops onto parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until nicely golden brown. Let cool on wire racks.

*If you don’t have any baking soda on hand, you can substitute with baking powder; just use two teaspoons.

This recipe is also from the Simply Recipes website.

**Teeny error: I thought Lost would be on Thursday, like it usually is, but it turns out that it is premiering on Tuesday. Oopsy-doodles. But on the other hand, huzzah!

Last Exam Itch

Ahh, 13 days into December, and I have breezed through two exams this week, finished up a masterpiece of an essay, and now I wait til Monday for the last exam of the (first half of) school year. More studying than waiting, rather (and blogging, as a means of distraction). On Tuesday, I'm heading home! Such a thrilling thought. I must say, I'm excited to see my family and friends once I'm home, and I can't, can't wait to see the dogs.

Now that it's December, it has been starting to feel more like winter here in Halifax. Today, it was super cold outside! We have gotten more snow (which often turned to rain), and it has been quite cold outside. It conveniently started to snow the night of my English exam, and when I came out of it, it was raining and the winds were turned up high. I was also feeling a bit achy afterwards (mentally and physically, haha), so the weather suited my mood, some what. But that's ok, for it's done!

I made myself a nice loaf of banana bread the other afternoon! I haven't made banana bread in a long time, but I woke up with a craving for it. I used a recipe that my Grandma had in her recipe box, but I added my own few little touches to it. She certainly put it straight forward on the card she wrote it on:

½ cup butter (melted)

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 cups mashed bananas

1 tsp. baking soda

2 cups flour

A pinch of salt

Bake at 350 50-65 minutes

The touches I added were a tsp. of cinnamon, vanilla extract, and sour cream (to keep it moist, but my friend tells me applesauce works nicely, too). Just mix the wet and dry ingredients separately, and fold in the wet with the dry, but not so much that the batter is lump-free. And there you have it! The kitchen (and the rest of the house) will smell fantastic.

*Update: Upon trying it, I thought it was pretty good--but dense. I looked up alternative recipes, and came across this one. Either that, I'll try out my Grandma's recipe again, and leave out the sour cream!

Other than that of papers and exams, I have been pondering what I want for Christmas. People have been asking me, and I have been having a hard time coming up with ideas. As I've gotten older, it's become slightly more difficult. When I was a kid, it was so easy! But I do have some ideas of what I want:

Either the soundtrack or movie

I'm surprised I even considered this, but I want to see if it's any good!

Something I'd love to recieve....

Thinking a little bigger here... (I used to play the violin back in grade school)

Good, good movie!

And probably anything from Club Monaco. Their stuff is lovely! But I think the best present I can ever remember getting was from when I was about 5 or 6:

Unless I get something like a Nikon camera, this one will still be near the top of my best gift ever list! (Crazy, I know, but at the time it was so awesome!)

Happy shopping....