Prezzies!

Holy Turmeric, Batman! Yesterday Iain received an entirely unanticipated gift from Miss Clare. She sent him the 4-jar curry box from Penzey's.

So I made banana bread, of course.

What? You say. Be careful, dear, you're showing your ignorance.

Penzey's packs their gift boxes so that the glass jars won't wiggle. What do they use as packing? Styrofoam? Paper? Fairy kisses? NOPE!

They use cinnamon sticks, whole nutmegs, and dried Turkish bay leaves.

Is everything becoming clear now? No?

I did not have on hand all the ingredients I might need for curry (next stop: the store), but what was sitting in my fruit bowl? 3 half-rotten bananas. And what's in the fridge, leftover from making lemon-buttermilk sherbet? Buttermilk, obvy. And what's on the back of the enclosed recipe card sent by Penzey's? Grandma's recipe for banana bread. And where is Penzey's located? Wisconsin! Mid-westerners know baked goods, y'all.

So I used my new nutmegs to make banana bread (and banana bread muffins because mid-westerners bake in quantity, y'all). It's really quite good.


Wait...

Does that mean...

YES! I baked something here (at 4500 feet) and it did not suck. YAY! I am no longer a total failure.

Thanks, Clare. You've restored my mojo. I'd stay to chat but I've got tandoori spice to rub into chicken breasts.