Happy Earth Day to you Yummy Yogini reader! I hope you’re celebrating the Earth by drinking lots of water, planting a tree or a flower or a tomato plant (like me!) and by picking up your trash. The Earth is not your garbage pail so stop throwing things like cigarette butts out the window and your chewing gum too!
My Ma used to hoot and holler when we would see a litterbug in the midst of the act. She would shake her head and tell us why it was wrong to leave your trash wherever you wanted and whenever you wanted. I got the gist at a young age and I carried that attitude with me in Chicago where people would litter everywhere every though there were trash bins on every block! One time Andy and I saw this guy stop his car and drop a huge bag of McDonald’s on the ground and then drive off. We caught up with him and were yelling “LITTERBUG” at the top of our lungs much to his display. Jerk.
So imagine my surprise the first time I ever had a banana in the car and my Ma told me to “toss the peel out the window” when I was through snacking. What? Really? How come? Back then… and this was probably 1984 or so… it was totally acceptable to toss biogegradable items from your car such as apple cores, orange peels and banana peels alike. Everyone thought the nutrients from the peels were adding to the Earth I guess when this really isn’t the case. Did you know it can take six months for an orange peel to break down? Crazy right? Also, the peels can attract rodents or other wildlife and when the animals venture near roadways, they can cause accidents. Roadkill anyone?!
Oh! And one last nerdy fact for all you cigarette smokers- YES! YOU- Did you know it takes between 18 months and 10 years for the plastic filters to break down? That’s TEN freaking years! Please! Close your windows! Use your ashtrays or do like my best friend Lynn does and attach a small trash bag to the side of your clutch and you’re good to go! Better yet, start a compost pile and drop your peels in there!
In honor of peels and Earth Day and the fact that I had three ripe bananas sitting in my freezer and a ton of Gluten-Free flour leftover from Christmas, I made the healthiest Banana Bread recipe I could think of- and then I added some unsweetened cocoa, just because! And there’s no sugar in this recipe- just applesauce because it works just as well. I never throw my “bad” bananas out- instead, I toss them into the freezer and when I need them, I stick them in the oven for five minutes at 350 degrees and then peel and mash! Also, I used my cast iron pan for this bread mainly because I’m obsessed with cooking in it. Nothing ever burns and I tend to burn things ALOT so this helps!
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Chocolate Banana Bread- serves as many as you’re willing to share with!
Ingredients:
-1 and 1/2 cup of flour (I used Gluten-Free)
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 tsp baking powder
-3/4 tsp baking soda
-1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa (I used Gheradeli’s)
-2 eggs
-1 cup applesauce
-1/4 cup honey
-1 T vanilla
-1 tsp each of cinnamon and nutmeg
-3 bananas. mashed
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Mix the flour, salt, spices and baking powder and soda together and set aside.
3. Mix the eggs, vanilla, applesauce and honey together and then add to the dry ingredients.
4. Add the mashed bananas and the chocolate and stir well until there are no lumps.
5. Lightly spray your bread pan or cast iron skillet and pour into.
5. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Enjoy, guilt free!
Corduroy licks the bowl, as usual.
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Last weekend I took another trip to the ArtBar in SLO to celebrate my friend Lori W’s birthday. It was so fun and we made this cool piece of the sun setting over large ornate trees. Bob Ross, I am STILL not! But I’ll keep trying to create “happy trees” forever!
Halfway.
The finished product!
And a Saturday night is never compete without some drinks and dancing at Alex’s BBQ!