tubbles: Fitting in Some Sewing, with Some Baking Disasters

Today, while pottering around the house, couldn't get my mind off some bananas on the bench that were turning black. They were screaming to me, "Bake me! Make me in to some delicious!" Who was I to argue? I had already asked Stay At Home Mums for some recommendations for the bananas, and while I got some awesome suggestions, I decided to make some "Low Fat Banana Bread". I should have known it was too good to be true!

Firstly, I didn't read the instructions before I had committed to making it. Leave it for several hours? DAMN! I wanted some for lunch.. oh well, all the ingredients are already in the bowl. So after several hours, my dough doesn't look like it has expanded, or risen, or whatever it is that yeast causes your concotion to do. Hmm, maybe its because I used instant yeast instead of "normal" yeast. Maybe my yeast has been open too long? I am not sure if I even remember when I opened it. Read the can again, and maybe its because I didn't keep it in the fridge. Damn. Another lesson learnt, I guess. I'll just follow it through and hope for the best. Maybe I should've googled to see if there was something else I could have done. Maybe added some baking powder or something instead? I'm not sure.. guess that's why I never thought I was good at baking.

After following the baking instruction, I prick the bread with a toothpick, and it comes out with heaps of stuff stuck to it, but the outside is hard like a rock. What number of damns am I up to now? I put it back in to the over on a low temp.

While all this is going on, I also have had a sewing project on my mind. I figure I should do a 'trial' of what I want to make. I want to wait til my daughter is asleep til I even attempt to do this, as she has been clingy and whingy of late. Once she is asleep, I trace out the pattern, find some fabric and get them cut out. I hear a stir, which looks like its the end of my sewing attempt until either later tonight, or after we go away. But luckily, she goes back to sleep. I start to get my sew on, and once it all starts coming together, I am wondering why I ever doubted I could sew. Lily wakes up, and wants to use the sewing machine. Giving me things to sew. So I give her some material to hold and I finish the pants (with out the elastic or hem, as I am going to attempt to make the pants reversible, and have to go get the other material tomorrow). They actually look like pants! STOKED! Hopefully the rest of my idea will work out.

Oh crap! The banana bread!! I run over to the oven and take out the banana bread, or should I call banana rock? Do the prick test again, and it seems a bit better, so I put it on a cooling rack. Man, this bread looks really hard. Hopefully it is just like those crunchy rolls. Might be a bit hard on the outside, but will be delicious on the inside. I wait for it to cool down... Cool down already!

After getting dinner cooking, I decided it was time to have a little snack of banana bread. I cut off the end crust, and cut a slice for me to eat. It seems really "thick", kind of what I would expect gluten free bread to be like. I put some jam on it, and think, this possibly could taste like gluten free bread too.

Once Chris got home, I cut another slice to get his opinion. No jam or butter this time. Ew. What is this crap? I think this was my WORST baking attempt ever. Just when I had started to think that maybe I wasn't so bad at baking. Just started to think that maybe it was harder to fuck up a cake, bread or muffin recipe.

So now I wonder what I should do with this banana rock. Its some pretty expensive bread, with bananas still being almost $8 a kg. But there is no way it is going to be eaten. Maybe I should keep it to use as a weapon if I ever get an intruder in the house.