Afternoon Tea

This past week I learned something new. Well, a few things, but no, this post is not going to be on Syria (though that will be coming sooner rather than later, beware!)

I had 3 bananas in the fridge that were turning pretty brown. Chloe and I came home, she looked in the fridge, and said "Let's make banana bread." I sort of looked at her for a second, my look telling all... 1)I have no idea how to make banana bread 2)even if I did, I doubt we have the ingredients necessary.

Ignoring my silent, yet desperate plea, she said "Let's make it right now."

She marched upstairs to drop off all her things and we reconvened in the kitchen 5 minutes later. (Now to most of you this seems like a silly little story since.. duh.. everybody knows how to make banana bread.)

For me, and my lack of domestic skills (I can second Katie's post on this one), this was a HUGE step. We just mixed a little flour, sugar, butter, egg and vanilla and added the bananas. Oh, and baking soda. Best part: we don't have measuring cups here, so it was really off the cuff.

The finished product was a delicious banana bread that we subsequently split with a delicious cup of lemon and ginger tea. It certainly turned out to be a most delightful experience because I learned to make bread and, better yet, it came right in time for Afternoon Tea.

P.S.

Well, who knew there was a postscript to this story? There is! Today I woke up determined to use the dried cranberries I had left over from Thanksgiving (it is true). So, I decided to make cranberry orange bread! Basically the same gig as banana bread, but I pushed my boundaries this time by adding oats instead of so much flour, using agave syrup instead of so much sugar (and the sugar I did use I chose to use unrefined cane..), and the rest of the sweet was definitely made up for in the orange juice and zest. I think as a result, the cranberry bread was equally delicious and even errs on the side of.. dare I say... healthy? Or at least its not... UNhealthy. In moderation of course.

So, if any of you have a desire to stop in and have a cup of afternoon tea with me, I can nearly guarantee that a good dose of homemade, fresh out of the oven, cranberry/banana/(what's next) bread will be served up alongside that good cup of [herbal] tea.