“Can I throw these away?” my husband inquires. I look at the bunch of dark bananas in his hand and scream, “Noooooooooooo!” Guilt washes over me at the thought of wasting food. I come from a long line of “savers.” Nothing gets wasted, everything is saved. So when my husband sees a bunch of ugly and disgusting bananas, I see something with potential. Normally, if I’m on top of my game and I see brown bananas with freckles sitting on the kitchen counter, I’ll put them in the freezer for future baking projects. But occasionally, I’m too preoccupied to notice their demise and I end up sending them to the compost bin instead. When I came across this recipe for banana sorbet, I was thrilled. The only ingredient in this recipe are very ripe bananas! You’ll need a blender or a food processor – no ice cream maker is required. This frozen treat couldn’t be easier, healthier, and less wasteful!
Fresh Banana Sorbet
Recipe from Chocolate and Zucchini
Ingredients:
Very ripe bananas
Directions:
1. The day before, peel the bananas, slice them, and place them in a freezer-safe container in the freezer.
2. Remove the frozen banana slices from the freezer and process them in a sturdy food processor or blender. At first it will look like a mess, but if you press on, it will soon come together and become smooth.
3. At this point, you could choose to add mix-ins, such as candied nuts, chopped chocolate, dried coconut flakes, caramel sauce or melted chcolate to create swirls, etc.
4. Serve immediately or return to the freezer for later consumption.
Yields: A single medium banana will yield two small scoops or one large scoop.
Linnell’s Notes:
1. My husband likes to eat ice cream while watching television at night. I think this sorbet would be a healthier alternative for him. For the initial taste test, I presented him with a bowl of banana sorbet with chopped candied pecans sprinkled over the top. He gave it a thumbs up.
2. Because this sorbet does not contain anything artificial, it would make a great frozen treat for babies and young children. You could make a large batch and freeze it in small paper cups to make mini fruit pops for the kids.
The breeze swirls around the daffodils and makes them nod their heads in unison. “Yes! Yes! Yes!” they seem to say with their up and down movement. For a moment I wonder, if the breeze had come from a different direction, would they have said, “No! No! No!” instead? But then I smile and say to myself, “Silly woman. Have you ever seen a daffodil with a negative attitude?” Nope. Never.
#1 – Garden Tips
Here are two gardening tips I used last weekend while planting flowers and vegetables. They’re not earth-shattering (pun intended), but they make life easier and reuse things that normally go to waste.
The Scoop:
Digging deep into bags of soil with my hand trowel only seemed to bring up small scoops of dirt at a time. Thinking there had to be a better way, I went into the kitchen and brought out a large, empty, plastic container that once held imitation whipped cream. It scooped up substantial amounts of soil well, but it was awkward to hold within the confines of the bag. What I needed was something more like a scoop, something that I could grip better. I had another idea. I went back into the kitchen, grabbed a pair of kitchen shears, and I cut a 3/4-inch wide slit halfway down the side of the plastic tub. It worked perfectly! Now my thumb sticks insides while my remaining fingers support the outside. I have better leverage and control while scooping. Because I wear thick gardening gloves, I’m not worried about cutting my hand on the plastic edges of the tub.
Coffee Filters:
Container planting can be messy. As you are pouring dirt into the container, some of it comes out through the bottom hole. I use paper coffee filters to cover the holes in my planters before I add soil. They let water through, but not dirt. Even better, you can place used coffee filters on the bottom of your planters – your acid-loving plants will be most appreciative!
#2 – Toy Stories
For his collection of photographs titled Toy Stories, photographer Gabriele Galimberti photographed children from around the world with their toys. Galimberti says his project revealed that, “The richest children were more possessive. At the beginning, they wouldn’t want me to touch their toys, and I would need more time before they would let me play with them.” As for poor children, he says, “In poor countries, it was much easier. Even if they only had two or three toys, they didn’t really care. In Africa, the kids would mostly play with their friends outside.” More importantly, Galimberti says, “Doing this, I learnt more about the parents than I did about the kids.” By studying these photos, you’ll recognize how family values affect children’s playtime.
#3 – Something Good
Something good happens when you share your heart with another – in this case, a cute rescue dog! Watch this two-minute video that is “dedicated to all rescues” and encourages the adoption of pets. Even if you don’t love dogs, you’ll love the feel-good spirit of it!
#4 – Art Lessons
This week I told a friend that I’d love to paint, but that my creative bent did not bend in that direction. All my previous attempts to paint have been disasters. She reminded me that there is no right or wrong in art and that I’ve judged myself too harshly. So with renewed spirit and brush in hand, I will try again. Before I start, I’m going to watch painting videos for additional inspiration and motivation. The internet is a wonderful source for “how-to” videos. Here’s a link to 100 Awesome Art Lessons on YouTube that will help the artist in you get going!
#5 – The Gift
“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” Pablo Picasso
To justify collecting “stuff,” I try to think of as many ways as possible to use my collections. For example, every March and April, I use my eclectic collection of egg cups to bring spring joy to my home. I fill them with sweet treats, flowers, or candles and use them as decorations. If you don’t already have a collection of egg cups and you’d like to start one, now is the time to start looking! Egg cups are normally inexpensive, unless you buy rare antique ones. Most of mine were treasures found at peddlers’ fairs, flea markets, antique stores, import stores, department stores, and discount stores, such as Tuesday Morning, T.J. Maxx, and Marshall’s. If you have any ideas or suggestions on other creative ways to use egg cups, I’d love to hear about them!
Egg Cups as Individual Candy Dishes: Whether you use egg cups that match your china or you use a variety of egg cups, they are the perfect size to fill with sweet treats for your guests. Don’t feel restricted to filling them with jelly beans – a single chocolate truffle would add elegance to your table!
Egg Cups as Candle Holders: Start by spreading a small amount of paper grass on a platter, tray, or serving dish. Arrange your egg cups on the platter, trying to vary the heights and colors of the cups. Put tea lights inside each of the egg cups. If desired, sprinkle Easter egg candy on the grass around the egg cups. I particularly like Cadbury’s Mini Eggs!
Egg Cups as Mini Vases: This is my favorite way to use my collection of egg cups. After arranging the egg cups on a tray, again placing the taller ones in the center and surrounding those with shorter ones, I use a measuring cup to fill them with water. Then I go out into my yard and look for small flowers and little bits of greenery. I try to keep the flowers and greens to scale with the size of my egg cups. Obviously, putting a camellia blossom inside an egg cup wouldn’t work, because the blossom would topple over. Most herbs work well in this case, because they have small leaves.
Tucked away and wrapped around the scars of sawed off limbs, lays an oasis of flush, verdant growth. Young leaves glow brightly as the sun weaves its way through heavy branches and highlights this little piece of heaven. Despite its injury and its scars, this tree found the strength and the resiliency to prove that it’s still alive and beautiful. Alexander Pope said it best, “Hope springs eternal.”
#1 – From the Brink of Extinction
Imagine your excitement if you were an exploratory botanist and you noticed a tiny plant that had been thought to be extinct for the last 60 years growing on the steep slope of a volcano. Read the article about this amazing discovery on Mother Nature Network.
#2 – A Poet Who Knows It
Whether you have a daughter or not, you will appreciate poet Sarah Kay’s heartfelt, sometimes rambling, but always thought-provoking TED presentation titled “If I Should Have a Daughter . . . “
Here are some examples of her thoughtful prose:
“Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.”
“Put the star in starting over . . . and over.”
“There’s nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline no matter how many times it’s sent away.”
#3 – Art and Nature
Painting by Moki
German-based artist Moki combines humans with nature in some of her artwork. Learn about this talented artist and see more of her incredible art by clicking here.
#4 – With a String of Lights . . .
With a string of lights you can do a ton of fun and interesting things – well, at least the 46 Awesome String-Lights DIYs For Any Occasion that are shown on BuzzFeed. I really think the doily wedding garland is cute, but there are just too many clever ideas for me to choose a favorite!
#5 – The Negative Is the Positive
“Life is like photography. You need the negatives to develop.” – Unknown
Stout? Liqueur? Guinness? Baileys? Stout? Liqueur? Guinness? Baileys? The debate went back and forth as I tried to decide which Irish beverage to highlight in a recipe for St. Patrick’s Day. The moment I found this recipe, for a cake that has Irish cream in the cake batter and the glaze, the decision was made. Want a better visual of this culinary delight? Click on the photo above and you’ll get a tempting close-up of a moist cake soaked with a buttery glaze that glistens over toasted pecans. It’s so rich, the leprechauns in your home will surely think they found a pot of gold!
Irish Cream Bundt Cake Recipe by RecipeNut on Food.com
Ingredients for the Cake:
1 cup chopped pecans
1 (18½ ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 (3½ ounce) package vanilla instant pudding mix
4 eggs
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup Irish cream
Ingredients for the Glaze:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup water
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup Irish cream
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. Grease and flour a 10-inch bundt pan.
3. Sprinkle chopped nuts evenly over bottom of pan.
4. In a large bowl, combine cake mix and pudding mix.
5. Mix in eggs, 1/4 cup water, 1/2 cup oil, and 3/4 cup Irish cream liqueur.
6. Beat for 5 minutes at high speed.
7. Pour batter over nuts in pan.
8. Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
9. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then invert onto a serving platter.
10. Prick top and sides of cake.
11. Spoon glaze over top and brush onto sides of cake.
12. Allow to absorb glaze. Repeat until all glaze is used up.
To Make Glaze:
1. In a saucepan, combine butter, 1/4 cup water, and 1 cup sugar.
2. Bring to a boil and continue boiling for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
3. Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup Irish cream.
Serves 8
Linnell’s Notes:
1. To bring out the flavor of the pecans, toast them in the oven first.
2. Thanks to deceptive shrinking packaging, both the cake mix and the instant pudding did not contain the specified number of ounces required in the recipe. The cake mix had only 16.5 ounces and the instant pudding box contained only 3.4 ounces. I used these down-sized portions with good results, though.
3. Instead of using butter and flour separately to grease the pan, I sprayed the pan with a cooking spray that contains flour – so fast and easy!
4. My cake was done at the end of 50 minutes, so you may want to set your oven timer to check the cake after 45-50 minutes.
5. Temporarily place strips of waxed paper under the cake/on top of the serving platter to catch dripping glaze and to help keep the serving platter clean.
6. This cake serves way more than the 8 servings the recipe states!
Spring promises hope with its mix of weather. Rain washes away dusty days and dim outlooks. The sun hastens growth and invigorates. Renewal and rebirth for all – inside and out. Life is transformed on many levels.
#1 – Women Unite! Women unite! We have the power to change the world! By sharing a daily post on the Global Mom Relay site everyday, we are helping a woman or a child somewhere in the world.
The United Nations Foundation states this about its Global Mom Relay: From now until May 8, moms are powering an online conversation about motherhood to unlock donations. Every time you share a relay post on Facebook, Twitter, or email or donate $5 or more as part of the relay, a $5 donation (up to $8,000 per day) will be donated by Johnson & Johnson and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to one of four initiatives that are helping women and children lead healthy and happy lives – Girl Up, the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action (MAMA), and the Shot@Life campaign. Led by co-chairs, Arianna Huffington, Jennifer Lopez, Lynda Lopez, Elizabeth Gore, and Sharon D’Agostino, the relay is in support of Every Woman Every Child, a movement launched by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to save the lives of 16 million women and children by 2015.
#2 – The Joy of Books
Hey book lovers – you know how books have a way of coming alive? This video is for you!
#3 – An Eight Letter Game
Get those cobwebs out of your head. Play Eight Letters! It’s a little like playing Boggle. You must create as many words as possible with the eight letters you are given, in the allotted amount of time. There are extra challenges, too. Each level has a target amount of points for you to reach, plus after every five levels there is a bonus anagram to solve.
#4 – Find Your Passion There are only ten questions in the Find Your Passion exercise. The first one reads, “When I was a kid, I dreamed of _______.” Working through these questions, I surprised myself with some of my answers. The answers were so obvious, but evidently not to me, until now. It’s taken me decades to come around full circle and to finally see that the things I have passion for are the same things I enjoyed doing as a kid. The Find Your Passion exercise is part of O’s 4-Step Guide to Discovering Who You’re Meant to Be.
#5 – Dare to Bloom
And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. Anais Nin
In my best “Fretalian,” my own blend of French and Italian, I asked my waiter “Scuzi, qu’est-ce que c’est?” as I pointed to the menu. He obviously did not understand “Fretalian,” because he looked at me questioningly. While traveling through Italy, I noticed an oft-appearing item on menus and I wanted to find out what it was. I tried again, this time in English. “What is rocket?” The young Italian waiter continued to give me a puzzling look, so I tried gesturing. I pointed to the menu and then shrugged my shoulders with my palms facing up to the ceiling. “Ah,” he said and motioned for me to wait and then ran off to the kitchen. A minute later he came out with a green leaf in his hand. I looked at the leaf and smiled as I nodded my head in recognition. “Rocket,” the mysterious menu item, was none other than arugula. “Grazie,” I said to him as I placed my dinner order. This little story came to my mind, while I was preparing this low fat and impressively nutritious salad. The arugula or “rocket” adds a nice peppery punch to the salad and it texturally balances the other ingredients.
White Bean, Shrimp, and Arugula Salad From the Essential Low Fat Cookbook by Antony Worrall Thompson
1 (14 oz) can cannellini beans, drained
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Juice and zest of one lemon
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 mild long red chili, seeded and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, mashed to a paste with a little sea salt
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 stick celery, thinly sliced
6 button mushrooms, thinly sliced
16 cooked jumbo shrimp, peeled
2 handfuls of arugula leaves
Directions:
1. Heat beans with a little salted water for 3 minutes. Drain and then tip into a bowl.
2. While they are still warm, combine beans with olive oil, lemon juice and zest, honey, pepper, and chili.
3. Allow to cool and then combine with remaining ingredients.
Serves 4
Linnell’s Notes:
1. Instead of using a mild long red chili, I chopped up half a red jalapeno to give the recipe a little kick.
2. Not being a big fan of raw onions, I used less than half of a red onion and found this amount to be perfect for my taste.
3. I used large shrimp that came de-veined. I cooked them in water and Old Bay seasoning, drained them, and then peeled off their shells. Do not overcook the shrimp or else they will be dry and tough.
4. You might have noticed in the photograph, that there are no mushrooms. I had a mental “blip” and totally forgot to add them. It’s too bad because the mushrooms would have been delicious in this salad, not to mention the added nutrients they would have supplied!
The sun, like a shot of whiskey, warms my face and soothes my bones. My old dog Romeo sits on the deck and squints his eyes to block out the bright light of morning. A choir of birds provides background music, while a red-bellied worm snake slithers slowly across the pavement. And providing color to an otherwise monochromatic canvas, camellia blossoms command attention. With the spring equinox only a few weeks away, spring’s potential is poised to reveal its splendor. I appreciate this lovely first day of March and hope that the month brings many more joyful moments.
#1 – Life’s Detours
“A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.” This anonymous quote opens an essay titled, “Circumnavigating Life’s Detours,” written by Alina Williams, M.SC. Everyone faces detours in life, but some people seem to navigate around them more skillfully. What characteristics and skills are needed to help us navigate challenging moments? Read the article and find out.
#2 – Re-Purpose Those CD Cases! I love this DIY CD Jewel Case Frame project I found on the site Photojojo. Who doesn’t have a stash of CD cases taking up space somewhere in his home? I think the key to this wall art is to have a cohesive element in the CD cases, whether it be color or subject.
#3 – Beautifully Imperfect
This three-minute promotional film, made for Think Family, reminds us to appreciate the small imperfect things that exist in a relationship. The message is told through a humorous and touching eulogy a wife gives for her husband.
Print, cut, dip, rub, dry, and voilà you’ve just made custom tape! Use your custom tape to personalize greeting cards and envelopes. I first learned about the process of transferring photocopy ink from my oldest son when he was in high school. Back then I thought it was a pretty cool artistic process, but one that I could never see myself using. Now fifteen years later, I’m personalizing envelopes using a technique similar to his. Thanks to the site Lil Blue Boo for the inspiration. I can’t wait to experiment more with this technique and to try using it in other ways.
Supplies: 1. Photo images on paper
2. Scissors
3. Clear packing tape
4. Straight edge
5. Bowl of water
Directions:
1. Select the photo image you want to use. Make a photocopy of the photo or print it up using a laser printer, not an ink jet printer. Larger images work better than smaller images that contain a lot of details. Images with a fair amount of contrast will also show up better. If printing the image from your computer, you can format it to have multiple copies on one page, thus creating a strip of photos. This technique also works with images from a magazine.
2. Cut out your image and lay it face up on your work surface. Cut off a piece of packing tape about four inches longer than your piece of paper. Center the tape over the paper with sticky-side down and 2 inches of extra tape at each end. Press tape down gently on paper. Rub a straight edge, a ruler, or a paper boning tool over the entire surface of the tape-covered paper to ease out any bubbles and to make sure the ink is evenly and securely adhered to the adhesive.
Place tape over photos
3. Holding the two ends of the tape, immerse the paper-side of the tape into a bowl of water until the paper absorbs water and softens.
Place tape with photos in bowl of water
4. Using your fingers, gently rub off all the paper from the tape. You may need to dip the paper in the water several times to remove all of it.
Rub paper off of tape
5. When all the paper is removed, the tape will resemble a clear photo negative (even though it is a positive). Hang to dry.
6. Press the dry tape to your desired surface.
Linnell’s Notes:
1. I made custom tape to decorate Valentine’s Day cards for my favorite couples and for anniversary cards, but I think personalized tape would be cute for other occasions, such as baby showers, birth announcements, etc.
2. You are not restricted to photos. You could also create personalized text. Again, just make sure you use either a photocopy or a print out from a laser printer.
3. I also transferred a color image from a page out of a magazine. That opens a whole new realm of possibilities!
4. This process would be a fun activity to do with children!
If you walk up to my front door right now, there’s a gift waiting for you. For, at this very moment, the sweet fragrance of Daphne flowers infuse the air. Such a delightful way to be greeted, but how will you reply? Will you bask in the moment or will you move on?
#1 – Tolkien’s Ents?
Photo by Rick Goldwasser
From a flower-strewn bush of Daphnes to the sky-high tops of trees, nature’s gifts always impress. Mother Nature Network assembled this photo series of “The World’s 10 Oldest Living Trees.” Looking at these photos of ancient trees, one has to wonder if any of them were the inspiration for Tolkien’s wise Ents?
#2 – A Bright Idea Here’s a really clever decorating idea that was inspired by a creative person’s shopping trip to Home Depot. These lanterns are made from aluminum sheets and require minimal supplies to construct them. Looks like a fun project for the weekend!
#3 – The Skinny on Salad Dressings
Eating a salad for lunch or dinner is a nutritious and low-calorie meal, right? Well, that all depends on the salad dressing you’re pouring over those fresh greens. Not only do many salad dressings contain fat, many of them are also high in sodium. Here’s registered dietician Joy Bauer’s recipe for a low calorie (59 calories per 2 tablespoons) and low sodium (40 mg per 2 tablespoons) salad dressing:
Joy’s Skinny Balsamic Vinaigrette
Ingredients:
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup water
1 Tbsp mustard
1 tsp honey
1 tsp garlic powder
Directions:
In a jar, combine all ingredients. Shake until everything is well combined. It’ll stay fresh in the fridge for five days.
Makes eight 2-Tbsp servings
#4 – Made Me Smile Just looking at this graphic made me smile, but I loved the introduction to Marc and Angel Hack Life‘s post “7 Things Happy People Say Every Day.” The introduction reads, “You have the right words within you to make every day a happy one.” Words have power – say the right ones!
#5 – Flowery Thoughts
Couldn’t decide, so here are two:
“The earth laughs in flowers. ” e.e. cummings
“Every flower is a soul blossoming in Nature. ” Gerard De Nerval
Once you click on the share button, you will be see a window with lots of choices. The easiest way to share this blog is to scroll down through the list to one of the "email" options you subscribe to. After you click on that option, you can enter the email addresses of people with whom you'd like to share this blog.
What about this? 
You must be logged in to post a comment.