Reality Bites Banana Bread

This weekend I devoured Apron Anxiety.  You must read it, especially if you're at any kind of crossroads in your life.  It's just such a fun read & I found it totally relatable.  Plus, it has delightful little recipes between chapters that are very real & very accessible even if you're just beginning in the kitchen.

I also consumed some much more caloric banana bread a la  recipe from Apron Anxiety. I had a bunch of overripe bananas so I doubled the recipe & poured the batter into a bundt pan for a large ring-like loaf.  I have to say it wasn't the traditional banana bread that I grew up with (it has chocolate chips in it!) but is still equally delicious. I added some nutmeg like my mom always did & cinnamon for some fun.

Click through for the full recipe.

Foodie Reads

When it rains it pours, & it's pouring foodie reads at my house.  I got a little book happy & ordered a bunch yummy books (+ 1 magazine) right to my door step.

I dove head first into this tasty treat that I can't put down thanks to Heather's recommendation.  It's not all about food & cooking, although it's sprinkled with charming recipe.  I'm only a chapter in but so far the life of a celebrity journalist rich with stories of food & life has me laughing out loud on my commute to work, so much so that I wish my commute was longer (I don't really but you know what I mean... it's that good, read it!)

I love this magazine so much that I ordered it for my mom & sister because well everyone should get something in the mail that makes you excited to eat & live healthfully. The brussel sprouts on the cover are just calling my name.

I'm a sucker for a book by a blogger. They just seem more real to me & inspiring. They're real people (like me!) that have their very own book. The Sprouted Kitchen husband & wife blogging duo (he photos what she cooks) puts out the finest food porn   Hugh's pictures take you there & just make you want to eat whatever Sara's cooking. I'm proud to support these creative minds & I'm even more excited to do it when it's a cook book like this filled with delicious recipes & indulgent photos. Be sure to check back for the new favorites I discover, I will most likely be reflagging my versions of Sara's recipes.

I came across the Wednesday Chef  in my quest for delicious things. This blogger is a writer & home cook.  Her book is filled with a love story of kitchen-mad perfectionist who flipped her world upside down & found her way to a new life & a new world in Berlin—one recipe at a time. I can't wait to dip into this banquet of tales.

This pretty much sums up how I'll be spending my weekend, how about you? What are you reading this weekend?

Lean Green Beans

Fresh green beans are such a great spring/summer staple in our house.  These days I feel like the weather is still trying to decide which season it is. I whipped up these tasty green beans from my transitional produce and jarred items I had on hand.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb green beans, washed and stemmed
• 1 cup sweet grape tomatoes halved
• 1 large roasted red pepper, cut into small strips
• 5 cloves of garlic, sliced
• olive oil
• salt  and pepper

Make it:

1. Steam green beans and drain.
2. In a deep skillet sauté tomatoes and peppers in a couple tablespoons of olive oil.
3. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Add in drained green beans and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes and serve warm.

If you love green beans (or just food in general) as much as  I do, join in the foodie pen pal phenomenon!  TheLeanGreenBean.com started this great community based activity where you send a package of food to a pen pal and get one back in return! You're assigned a foodie pen pal on the 5th of the month.  Using a budget of 15 bucks you pick foods you think you're pal would love and send out your package by the 15th of the month. Then you blog (or guest blog) to the world about it by the end of the month! It's such a fun idea I can't wait to get started. This month will be my first time participating! Check back to see what I get (and give!).