Makin’, Bakin’, Tastin’, and Heat-Breakin’…

Makin’, Bakin’, Tastin’  And Heat-Breakin’…..

Dear ones, I hope you are staying cool in your neck of the woods.

Here in SW Florida, it is HOT!!! 

The all-time high temperature at Tampa International Airport was broken on Sunday when the thermometer hit 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The previous record had been 99 degrees in June 2020.  AND Tampa is about 150 miles North of us ….so it stands to reason that it is a bit cooler up there???   Maybe…Maybe Not.

‘The National Weather Service said Tuesday the prolonged heat is expected to peak in the Southeast at midweek. A strong upper ridge also was generating a “dangerous and prolonged” heat wave in the central and eastern sections of the country. An extreme heat warning was in effect through Wednesday night in New Jersey counties outside New York City, and the mercury hit an unseemly 97 degrees  in Manhattan.’

Here in the Cape…in Florida…it is very hot and humid.

So there you have the Heat-Breakin’ weather report although one does not need a meteorologist to tell us when it is hot outside. 

The Captain and I ate breakfast outside (we love alfresco) but it was very early in the morning.  Still, the temp was already at 80 degrees.  We do have the advantage of 3 ceiling fans on the Lanai and a waterfall in the courtyard…. which believe it or not cools the area a little bit anyway. And we do have the coastal breezes of the Gulf every now and then.

Inside my Air Conditioned kitchen, while it was still fairly cool, I did a makin’ and bakin’ of a Banana Nut Bread with chocolate chips….I preferred not to heat up my kitchen, but it really was a necessity….only because I had three bananas that were turning black and I really couldn’t wait another day to use them.  (I had already used the excuse of leaving them one more day until I finally had to admit “that” day had come and was fading fast so I had better get the banana nut bread made.). And yes, I have tossed a black banana or two in my freezer to “save” the bananas til a later date.  And that would have been the easier thing to do but I had already made up my mind to make a banana nut bread…so I took one for the team, if you know what I mean.

The recipe is one I have had for years and it has always turned out moist and delish. The addition of chocolate chips made an already great tastin’ Banana Nut Bread even tastier.

And I must say that the sky opened up while the bread was bakin’ and a much needed rain cooled it off some.   Of course after the rain, stepping outside was like stepping into a sauna….so to sample the banana nut bread with chocolate chips meant a tall glass of iced sweet tea in the air conditioned house.

You may eat the banana nut bread plain or top it with cream cheese or slather it in butter.  Yummy!  It is so moist.

My recipe follows below but perhaps you have a favorite banana nut recipe that could use the addition of chocolate chips.  Why not make the bread just a little more decadent? 

Thank you for reading Makin’, Bakin’, Tastin’, and Heat-Breakin’,

Have a Blessed and wonderfully cooler week.

 

They shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them down, for he who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them.  (Isaiah 49:10)