That statement makes it sound as if I am a responsible adult but, in all honesty, my knitting was pissing me off so I needed to put it down before i broke something.
I suffer from a fairly major setback for a knitwear designer. I can't count. Apparently. Also, I hate math. Even the simplest math conjures up images of my Grade 9 math teacher, Mrs. Christian and her pinched disapproving face.
All of this paper represents my efforts to correctly calculate 8 rows of knitting for my newest shawl, Gretyl. 8 rows. This is in addition to the computer spreadsheet I built to calculate stitch counts for every row, the computer generated stitch chart (which is also not working) and the actual sample which I have currently attempted to knit and ripped out three times. So far.
So, today I decided to cook.
Since I was already frustrated, I needed to cook things that would satisfy the following criteria:
- work the first time,
- be delicious, and
- not tax my fried brain.
I wanted low fuss, high reward.
So first up, banana bread.
I am currently obsessed with banana bread. Can't get enough of it. It makes me happy. I stumbled across a fantastic healthy-ish recipe from Cookie and Kate thatI think is awesome. Especially when you add 3/4 cup of miniature chocolate chips. As I do. And an extra banana. Which I also do. It uses whole wheat pastry flour which adds fibre but keeps things fluffy. It uses coconut oil which is a great healthy fat. Also maple syrup because I am Canadian and it is lower on the glycemic index than refined sugar. And the best part? One bowl. Score! Here's the recipe (with my modifications).
Cookie + Kate's Healthy Banana Bread a la Cathy
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 eggs
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup miniature chocolate chips ( minis are best 'cuz they don't all sink to the bottom)!
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
Whisk the oil and maple syrup together in a large bowl. Add the eggs, almond milk, and vanilla. Whisk away. Now add in the baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Whisk. Throw in the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until just mixed. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Pour batter into a parchment lined loaf pan and bake for one hour. That's it. You're done and you're welcome!
The next recipe isn't even really a recipe. It's just a quick "cheater's" Bolognese. The yum factor depends entirely on the quality of the ingredients.
All you do is chop half a vidalia onion finely and saute it in oil for about five minutes. Add in about 1 tbsp. finely chopped garlic and give it another thirty seconds or so. Add a pound of organic lean ground beef and brown it all up. Stir in a big jar of your favourite jarred pasta sauce. Mine is Victoria White Linen Marinara Sauce which is available at Costco and is the absolute best. Let the whole mess simmer on low while you cook up a bag of your favourite dried pasta. Today I went with veggie rotini. Add sauce to pasta, stir and you have enough pasta bolognese for a crowd or to store and eat over the next few days. Seriously, it makes a lot. If you love your family more than I love mine, you could even pour the whole thing into a greased baking dish, top it with shredded mozzarella and bake it for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Then you can call it "pasta al forno" and feel really superior.
And finally, because it's hot outside and I didn't want to heat up the house any more, I threw together a quick and easy chicken salad. I came up with this recently for a weekend at the cottage and now I want to eat it all the time. With banana bread. It's super easy, super healthy, and well balanced. Just serve on your favourite fresh greens and you can feel really virtuous while you wolf it down. Here's the recipe:
Cathy's Cottage Chicken Salad
1 pkg of cooked chicken breast strips, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup seedless green grapes, sliced in half
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 green onions, sliced
1/4 cup fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
Throw all the above into a large bowl. Then in a separate bowl, mix the following:
1/4 cup Vegennaise (or your favourite mayo)\
1/4 cup Plain Greek Yogurt
1 Tbsp. Honey
1 Tbsp. Lime Juice
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
Served on your favourite fresh greens, (and banana bread) this is a whole meal. Perfect for summer!
I tried to explain to Izzy that I couldn't share my banana bread with her because of the chocolate chips,but .....
And now, back to my knitting. Enjoy!
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