Warming Up Winter With Some Reds

We got more snow last night....  *sigh* ....maybe I should just have a standard post of a snowscape on my blog since nothing much is changing outside in the garden.  Watching the Winter Olympics in Vancouver and reading about how mild things have been in the Northwest I'm considering packing my bags and moving out west.... (just joking Andy if you happen to be reading this.... my guy loves the Northeast!).

Luckily there are some nice blooms going on indoors.  The paperwhites came up super fast.  They bloomed in only 9 days.  I planted them on February 7 and 4 days later on February 11 they looked like this.

 

Today they look like this.... all but one stalk is in full bloom. 

 

 

 

Red Lion Amaryllis has been a winner this year.  I love the large red trumpet-like blooms.

 

  

I also have some nice red warm color on my kitchen window sill.  I always decorate this for the holidays.  Here it is decorated for Valentine's Day.  I'll take down these hearts in another few days but for now I'm still enjoying the color.

 

Another Snow Draped Landscape

Another storm made it's way up the coast and hit us last night in Massachusetts.  We didn't get as much snow as expected but it was more than enough for me. 

The raised beds and perennials have been made snowy white yet again as the frozen ground is not anywhere near being ready to till for spring.

 

  

The trees hung low and heavy with cold, wet, snow.

 

 

  

The bright red holly berries stood out proudly against the white veil.

 

 

The birds dug through the snow to grab a bite to eat.

 

 

 

Nesting birds are still over a month away, but the snow topped bird house still looks like a cozy shelter.

 

Our house is snow drapped and laced with icicles.

 

But I'm still dreaming of spring and flipping through a wonderful bulb book to add some warm color to my day.

Going Bananas!

If you've got some leftover bananas and don't know what to do with them I've got a wonderful recipe for you!  Usually I make banana bread with over ripe bananas, but this time I decided to try a cake.

In searching for a good banana cake recipe I went to my favorite recipe site - All Recipes.  I love this site because there are reader reviews of every recipe so you get to see how a recipe performs in the kitchen as well as what modifications people have made to make it their own.  The recipe I found I modified a bit to accommodate the ingredients I had on hand (ok... I'm lazy... I'd rather use what's in my cupboard than make a trip to the grocery) and I think I ended up with a happy surprise!

This banana cake is so moist that it holds up well even after almost a week of sitting in the fridge (although I doubt it will last that long!).  Topped with homemade cream cheese frosting it has a consistency that's somewhere between cake and banana bread, and is so delightfully smooth it seems to melt in your mouth.

The cake bakes on the denser side so don't expect a light, fluffy, cake.  As you can see in the photo below the cakes doesn't bake up high like some cakes do, but because it's so moist you can eat it without icing and even enjoy it for breakfast with a nice hot cup of tea or coffee.  I haven't tried it yet, but this looks like a cake that would freeze well (I'd freeze it without the frosting.)  You could also bake it in a 9x13 pan, but you may want to experiment with using a pan that size since the cake may be too thin using that type of pan.

If cream cheese frosting is too rich for you, try it with a lighter frosting or even whipped cream with some slices of bananas.  If you like nuts you can add some to the batter before baking.  I think even semi-sweet chocolate chips added would be yummy..... now that's something that would cheer me up on a cold winter day for sure!


Banana Cake

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sour cream (I used low fat)
1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 bananas)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon allspice

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter/margarine, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.  Set aside.
2. In another bowl sift together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and allspice.  
3. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture.  
4. Add the sour cream and mashed bananas to the batter and beat well.  The mixture will be on the dry side and seem too thick until you add the sour cream and bananas. If it still looks too thick after adding the sour cream and bananas, pour in a little bit of milk to loosen up the batter.
5. Grease and flour 2  - 9-inch round cake pans.  
6. Bake in a 350 degree pre-heated oven for 25-30 minutes (it took 27 minutes to bake in my oven so you may want to set your timer for 25 minutes and then insert a clean toothpick to test for doneness.)
7. Cool for 30 minutes in the pan and then transfer to a cooling rake.  You will notice that this cake doesn't come out of the pan easily so if it doesn't come out the first time you turn it over, gentle take a butter knife and loosen it up around the sides as well as the bottom and then flip it again.
8. Once completely cool frost it with the frosting of your choice.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

2 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese (softened)
1/2 cup butter or margarine (softened)
2 cups sifted confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, cream together softened cream cheese and butter.
2. Add in the vanilla and then gradually stir in the confectioner's sugar.
3. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.

A Sight For Sore Eyes!

I was in Lowes the other day to pick up something totally unrelated to gardening and saw this!

A seed display!  What a sight for sore eyes in the middle of frigid winter.  I love browsing through all of the seed packets and looking at the pictures on them.  I do a little happy dance because it means that the count down to spring has begun.  Although I've been browsing at seed catalogs for a few weeks now, when the gardening and outdoor displays start popping up in the all the stores I literally jump for joy!  I'm sure my fellow shoppers thought I was nuts when I just stood at this display and stared at it glary eyed dreaming of spring.  Although I always hate it when the stores put out Christmas stuff too early, I never get upset when gardening items start showing up in January.

There was also a beautiful table of orchids.

I really should have bought one because the price was right, but I didn't because I wasn't sure if Lowes-quality orchids would really last. 

Well I've better in gear with my spring planting plan.... I keep saying that but I just haven't had the time.  Instead I'm still after comfort food....  The other day I made a banana cake with cream cheese frosting that Andy loved!  I have to share that recipe with you.