Pumpkin and Spice

Bananas are one of my favorite fruits, especially at breakfast time. As just about anyone who has seen me prior to about 8am can attest, early mornings are not really my "peak hours". I like to keep breakfasts as easy as possible- grinding my own beans for my coffee is about as complicated as my breakfast gets. Usually, I just do a bowl of cereal (Grape Nuts are one of my favorites) with soymilk, coffee and a piece of fruit. Bananas are perfect for breakfast because they're easy to peel (unlike oranges- I'm not that patient in the morning) and easy to eat (unlike, say, apples... I'm like the slowest apple-eater ever.)

Of course, everyone has their own idea of when bananas are at the perfect ripeness. Kyle likes his pretty green, whereas I prefer my with brown speckles. Usually this works out well, because I buy a bunch of green bananas. Kyle eats the bananas when they're green, and as they turn brown, I eat what's left. Sometimes, though, Kyle leaves me with too many bananas to eat before they go mushy and black. I hate to throw them away, so sometimes I freeze them for smoothies, but, of course, the classic standby for squashy bananas is banana bread.

Hi! Remember me? I know I've been a bit negligent the past two weeks, but, well, a girl deserves a little vacation every now and then, doesn't she? Being back home in Florida has been wonderful! The weather has been fabulous- high 70s/low 80s, sunshine, cool breezes... a perfect "welcome home" present! While I have been doing my fair share of relaxing- enjoying my time with Kyle, grilling by the pool, sipping froufy tropical drinks on the beach, going out with friends and otherwise making the most of being home- I have also been busy updating the ol' resume (everyone's favorite activity) and starting my job search. It's been a little rough going, but I keep telling myself I haven't been looking for too long, so I'm trying to stay positive about things.

I've also been taking full advantage of being back in my kitchen, baking and cooking up a storm. I've made so many things in the past two weeks that it was hard to decide what to share with you first. After some thought, I decided to start with a simple favorite- my basic brownies. This is my go-to brownie recipe. It's easy, decadent and they come out perfect everytime. These brownies are the result of much experiementation and are exactly what I like in a brownie- soft, cakey and a little chewy, with a glossy, crackly top. They are a little darker and more bittersweet than many brownies, with an almost espresso-like flavor. They're perfect with a cup of coffee (and a scoop of ice cream... if you're into that kinda thing...)

 I wanna come clean about something- I don't like eggplants. When I say I don't like them, I mean I really hate them. I don't even like eggplant parmesan, and it's breaded, deep fried and covered in cheese and tomato sauce! I'd probably eat a sneaker if you fried it and covered it in sauce and cheese- but not an eggplant. I don't like the little seeds, I don't like the wet, spongy texture, I don't like the bitter flavor. Bleh.

I feel a little bad about my distaste for eggplants- I really hate to be a picky eater, and I'll taste dishes with eggplants in them, but I just have a hard time getting over my hang-up. One eggplant-centric dish I like (minus the eggplant, of course) is ratatouille. Ratatouille is a thick, hearty, French stew, made with lots and lots of veggies, most notably, eggplant. It's also fantastically inexpensive to make, as it tended to be, as the characters in the Disney/Pixar film Ratatouille point out, "peasant food". (And, as Linguine points out, it also sounds a lot like "Rat-patootie".) There's no meat, no cream, no butter, no exotic ingredients- just simple veggies, stewed and savory.

I don't often order it at restaurants, but I've made it at home before, with a little tweak- I substitute meaty portabella mushrooms for the eggplant. I know this makes it a less-than traditional version, but if I'm making it for myself, I see no reason to use an ingredient I don't care for.

Well, friends, my time in Utah has come to a close. It's been quite an experience, and I've been glad to have you all along with me. I really do appreciate all the support and kind comments- they really helped keep my spirits up.

As I was looking through my photo albums, I found lots of pictures that didn't make it on the blog. I thought I'd share a recap of my time in Utah in pictures...

I know I said I was going to post the winner at midnight tonight, but I had some time before my shift at work, so I figured none of you would mind finding out the winner a little early.

I used random.org to get my random number. I had one person who left two comments, so they counted as one comment, so I requested one random number between 1 and 25... And the winner is...