Buttery Honey Sandwich Bread

*Keep reading for some exciting news.

I'm not a very emotional, touchy-feely, mushy-gooshy, let's all hug kind of person. I never have been, but that doesn't mean I'm incapable of loving someone. I just express this love in other ways.

After 9 months of marriage, Patrick and I are realizing how we give and receive love as individuals. It's not something I thought too much about before being married, but after some trial and error (which has been the first 9 months of our marriage) we're beginning to pick up and reciprocate this "love language" that we each distinctively have.

For example, I love to cook, so preparing a meal for my husband doesn't feel like an obligation, it's me showing him that I love him. On the other hand, Patrick knows that this "acts of service" is the way I give and receive love, so he'll clean the apartment on the weekends, take out the trash, and do the dishes. All in which he obviously doesn't enjoy (who does?), but it shows me how much he loves me by doing these things. Like I mentioned earlier, I'm not a touchy-feely person, so I'm not the kind of girl who needs the kiss good-bye or  a two hour cuddle session on the couch. For goodness gracious, just pick up after yourself! I promise I have a heart.

Okay, sorry about the rant. I just wanted to set up what I've been working on lately. I've had an itch to bake bread for a while now, so I finally decided to...you've got it...scratch this itch of mine. Due to my love showing tendency, I pack the hubs lunch every night. Even if we have the best left overs waiting to be devoured in the fridge, he'll say, "I just want a sandwich." In my mind, I'm thinking, "How boring!" "Don't you get tired of the same thing EVERYDAY?" But I grab the loaf of bread and carry on. Doing this 5 days a week, plus a sandwich or two on the weekends add up. After noticing how much bread we go through, that's when I said, "Enough is enough. I'm making my own!"

I searched and searched for just the right recipe, and I finally found one that was adaptable. Drool over this...

The bread is oh-so-yummy with some honey baked deli ham and a slice of American cheese, or a big spoonful of chicken salad (recipe coming soon), or just however you prefer your sandwich. I can now understand why the hubs wants a sandwich for lunch EVERYDAY.

This recipe yields 3 loaves, so after the first rise, wrap the loaves in plastic wrap and put them in a freezer bag. When you're ready for the next loaf, set it out to thaw (2 hours). Then form into greased loaf pan and let rise before baking. Since the dough is cold, it will take the yeast several hours to rise (about 4-5), so be patient!

I adapted this recipe from http://www.thebakerupstairs.com/2013/01/honey-wheat-sandwich-bread-with-orange.html

Okay, you've kindly been scrolling long enough. So for the good news: I'm a housewife no more!

After a long, maddening job search, I've finally found a great job. Last week, I started at an early intervention day care for kids with special needs. It's going to be a challenging, but I thank God for providing a rewarding job for me to spend my time while in Maine.

Twinings

There are many differences from New England and the South. One of the most obvious is sweet tea. I lived in Florida the summer after I graduated college, and it's safe to say that I stopped by the McDonald's to get a sweet tea before work about 90% of the summer. This was before I became a coffee addict of course. Luckily, I knew better than to come up here and ask for a sweet tea like a redneck tourist. And honestly, I think sweet tea tastes best on those hot, southern summer days so I haven't been too tempted yet.

Lately, Patrick has been a hot tea snob. He'll brew a cup of hot camomile, honey & vanilla tea almost every night. Hey, I'm not complaining though because I get the left over hot water for my hot chocolate. Nothing seems to warm up these cold, winter New England nights like a hot drink after supper. 

Since developing this habit, Patrick has claimed his favorite tea brand is Twinings. I'm not sure if it's a Northern brand or not, but I never heard of it before moving here. So, when I saw it on sale at my favorite store, Christmas Tree Shops, it gave me an excuse to waste an hour browsing through cheap junk treasures. (If your curiosity is getting the best of you, check out my CTS findings here.) While throwing the camomile, honey & vanilla tea (hubs favorite) in the cart, I noticed that they make peach tea too. Sigh! Anything peach is a guilty pleasure of mine. So it quickly made it's way to the cart as well. It's been waiting patiently in the pantry for weeks, and tonight was it's grand debut. I made it just like I would a pitcher of sweet tea, but I didn't add as much sugar. It was a perfect blend and is easily my new favorite drink. It may not be the traditional sweet southern tea, but it's just what I needed this evening, which makes me happy.

              Sweet Peach Tea

1. Brew 8 cups of water in kettle
2. Remove kettle after whistle and add 4 tea packets
3. Let brew for 5-7 minutes
4. Meanwhile, add 3/4 cup sugar to pitcher
5. Add water to pitcher until it covers the sugar, then stir to dissolve sugar in water
6. Mix in brewed tea and ice
7. Enjoy

Moist Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

I'm an addict of two things: bargains and chocolate. When you mix those things together, this is what you get...

The most moist, chocolaty, banana-y? banana bread ever. 

Before I reveal the recipe, I want to give you a tip. I love buying in bulk and freezing foods. It just makes sense if it's a food you eat regularly. And let me tell you, the hubs and I go through some bananas. Recently, I've found myself going to the store at least once a week for bananas, so when I saw a three pound bunch of bananas for around $1.60 at Sam's, I knew I had to stock up. Without thinking much about it, I threw one of the bunches in the freezer. I peeked in the freezer a couple hours later and this is what I found.

Black bananas. 

After my endless research on the art of banana freezing, I found out that it's totally okay to freeze whole bananas. It's normal for them to turn black/brown pretty quickly, and the inside is fine to eat once you thaw them out. But before you go freezing your bananas, just know the texture is not so appetizing. 

Don't you wanna just dig your spoon into that mush? 

Okay, sorry about the indecent photo. Though a normal person wouldn't eat the remains of a frozen banana, they're great for baking. So, that's just what I did. 

If you're more a visual person, as I am, here's a quick run through of what the process should look like. 

Sifted dry ingredients

Mixed wet ingredients.

Ready to rise.

Easy enough, right? 

Don't let the red chips fool you. The Valentine's chocolate chips were on clearance at Target. They're just plain ol' semi-sweet chocolate chips.

This recipe was adapted from Foodie Crush.

2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon table salt

3 bananas, very ripe and mashed well (about 1 1/2 cups)

1/4 cup plain greek  yogurt

2 large eggs, beaten lightly

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled (I used salted and it turned out just fine)

1 1/2  teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease and flour all sides and bottom 9''x13'' loaf pan.
2. Mash bananas in a bowl; set aside.
3. Sift all dry ingredients together. (Flour, sugar, baking soda, salt)
4. In a medium bowl, mix mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter, vanilla, and chocolate chips together. 
5. Gently fold wet ingredients and dry ingredients. Don't over mix because it will result in a dry, tough bread.
6. Scrape mixture into loaf pan and sprinkle sugar on top. This gives the bread a sweet crunch. 
7. Bake for 50-60 minutes. It's done when an inserted knife or tooth pick comes out clean. 

It tastes best warm, so we just heated a piece in the microwave for a few seconds and enjoyed with a cup of coffee or milk. I hope you enjoy it as well.