GF Banana Nut Bread

GF Banana Nut Bread

2-3 very ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
3 large eggs beaten slightly
1/3 cup butter melted, then cooled
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups gf flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
3/4 cup nuts finely chopped pecans, walnuts, or hazelnuts

In a medium bowl, beat eggs, then add mashed bananas,
cooled and melted butter and vanilla extract.
Preheat oven to 350 F and grease a 8x5 inch loaf pan.
In a separate medium sized bowl
add flour, sugar, soda, nuts, and salt.
I used half pecans and hazelnuts. Stir well.
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and
stir untill just combined.
Pour into greased loaf pan, spread evenly, then bake
for 50 minutes till toothpick comes out clean.
Watch closely so bread doesn't burn.
Cool completely in pan then remove loaf
from pan and slice into 1/2 inch slices.
Each individual slice can be reheated before
adding a pat of butter. to serve.
Light and flakey but holds together well.
Of course it tastes delicious.

For a natural sleep aid, saw this on the net.

Boil the banana skins in 2 cups spring water for 20 minutes.
Remove peels and drink like a tea as a sleep aid before bed.
Have yet to try this, might work but can't hurt to drink it.

The Privilege of a Lifetime

The Privilege of a Lifetime by Agni Eickermann

The privilege of a lifetime It is not given like a crown.

It is not won like a war.

It arrives as a quiet permission

to stop becoming someone else’s idea of light.

For years you wear the names that keep the room calm.

You learn the smile that travels well.

You polish the story until it shines

and almost forget the face beneath it.

Then something older than ambition

taps the inner glass.

Not a command.

A remembering.

Who you truly are is not a costume

waiting in a better closet.

It is the grain of the wood

after the varnish cracks.

It is the voice that remains

when applause has gone home.

The privilege is this:

to disappoint the false life

without hatred,

to lay down the borrowed spine,

to let the unperformed self

stand in its own weather.

No trumpet.

Only the long courage

of becoming exact.

And when you finally inhabit

the shape that was always yours,

the world does not applaud so much

as recognize you—

as a river recognizes the sea

it has been running toward

all along.

That is the gift hidden in the years:

not to invent a self,

but to come home

to the one that was never missing.

Grilled Swordfish with Basil Cream

Grilled Swordfish with Basil Cream

2 swordfish fillets patted dry
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper
bit of flour to coat fillets
3 garlic cloves minced
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves

Sprinkle swordfish with salt and pepper and coat lightly with flour.
Grill or saute swordfish in hot olive oil till just barely cooked through.
Remove from pan and saute garlic, then add lemon juice and cream.
Heat till warm then stir in basil leaves till wilted.
Add swordfish back into pan and coat with basil cream.
Serve with your favorite side dish.

Eggplant Curry

Eggplant Curry

1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cloves garlic minced
1 inch fresh ginger micro grated
10 tomatillo, chopped
2 large tomatoes chopped
2 or more cups spring water
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried mustard powder
pinch of dried red pepper flakes
1 large globe eggplant, peeled and chopped

In a non reactive large saucepan on medium heat, saute onion in olive oil till soft and translucent. Add ginger and garlic and saute one more minute. Add tomatoes and remaining ingredients except eggplant. Cook till flavors are melded about an hour. Last add eggplant cover, and cook for 1/2 hour more. Serve over basmati rice. Quite spicy but satisfying none the less. I obtained the basmati rice at Aldi in town; it was the lightest (fluffy) and longest grain rice I've ever had.