Lunch Box Chronicles: Day One Hundred Sixty Four (I've Gone Bananas!)

SPELT BANANA BREAD WITH A SPLASH OF ORANGE JUICE

My intent was to write something funny, or inspiring, but I feel neither humorous nor inspirational, just a bit bananas.

Some of you know my story, others have bits and pieces, and many simply don't know or don't care. Don't worry, though, I'm not hurt. I get it! Everyone else's story can't become your own.

You would have too many layers to unfold, too many tangles to untangle. Life is too complicated. Inertia moves us from moment to moment. We do what we can just to survive.

And, we hope somewhere along the way that, if we work hard enough, hang tough, and remain dogged with our mission, we might actually achieve that which we set out to accomplish. But, I've been told that it also takes some luck.

Well, I've had some good luck. And have worked hard. And have hit some brick walls, experienced some bruises. But, I am still moving forward. My goal is to build a business - Spelt Right Baking - to have people chose better options for eating bread while having the grain spelt become a household staple - "Of course, I have spelt in the cupboard, right along side my quinoa, emmer, and wild rice." And to have Spelt Right be the brand that everyone associates with spelt. And, side by side with these goals, I hope to benefit my family and my business partners, for sticking by me, cheering me on, being a part of that essential luck, and keeping me from going completely bananas.

PS: Did I mention that Spelt Right is on its way. We did our very first demo in the NYC Whole Foods - Upper West Side - and we plan on doing many more. And, with a little luck, we hope to get into many more stores in this great city.

Here is a DELICIOUS recipe - whether you are going bananas or not.

SPELT BANANA BREAD WITH A SPLASH OF ORANGE JUICE

1/2 cup softened butter

3/4 cup organic evaporated cane sugar

2 TBL molasses

2 eggs beaten

1 cup whole VITA spelt

1 cup sifted (white) VITA spelt

1/4 cup orange juice

1 teaspoon aluminum free baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 ripe bananas mashed

Pre-heat oven to 350. Cream butter and sugar; add eggs; beat well. Add dry ingredients. Mix. Add bananas and orange juice. Mix well. Butter and dust with flour a baking dish. You can use a flat Pyrex type dish, 9" x 7"or a 5"x 9" loaf pan. For the flatter dish, bake for about 45 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. For the loaf pan, about an hour.

Lunch Box Chronicles: Day One-Hundred and Twenty-Six (On Turning Nine Twice)

Olivia’s 2^nd Ninth Birthday

Turning 9 is awesome, especially if you get to turn 9 twice. 

Olivia has had a tumultuous year between switching schools and having many transitions at home.  Age 8 will be memorable for her, but not for warm and fuzzy reasons. 

Mom was distracted often – trying to get her business to rise like a helium balloon, but often feeling the lead weight drag the balloon and her down with it – and dodging the pin that is ever present to burst that balloon. 

Grandma suffered many health challenges and moved in and then moved out of our house.

Mom was distracted again – making some major transitions in her business plans while managing  Grandma’s health crises, and cleaning out and selling Grandmas’s house.  

Dad was doing all he could do to support all of the chaos, while maintaining a sense of semblance.  

Emma was tucked safely away in college, able to avoid much of the fracas. 

And, Spencer dealt with the stress in a creative sweet fashion: he has become the in-house cake-boss.  He often spends free time planning the next cake he will make.

Cake-bosses are handy when you need to have two birthdays for turning 9 because your parents barely could swing a real birthday party on your real birthday (See Lunch Box Chronicle Day One Hundred Twenty-Two) and it took them more than a month  to fit  in a wild kid party. 

But really, what is in a date?  Isn’t it about the feeling, the hope, the joy of being born and then celebrating that birth whenever and where ever.  That leads me to think, we should celebrate our birthdays every day, forget just once or twice a year.   But, in order to keep our girth in check, we should reserve the cakes for just 10  or 12 of the celebrations,

Hopefully, Olivia’s 9^th year will be less tumultuous than her 8^th year.  By the looks of the picture, she is off to a good start.

And for the spelt cake recipe……we will have to wait for 13 year old Spencer to disclose his secrets!