Bananas

     When life gives you lemons, make lemon-aide. 

     When life hands you scraps, make a quilt. 

     When life gives you brown bananas, make banana bread.

     There are any number of ways 'out there' on the net for keeping bananas from turning brown. But let's face it, regardless of all your efforts, bananas will turn brown.

     

     We've been told for years to throw those brown bananas in the freezer, then when there are enough collected, thaw them and make banana bread. Saving instead of tossing IS good. But . . .

     Have you ever tried to handle frozen bananas as they thaw? They remind me of okra. Or snails. Or slugs.

   

     My youngest daughter offered a simple, yet brilliant idea. Peel the bananas BEFORE freezing. Stick them in a plastic-for-freezer bag. Then, when you have enough, thaw and make banana bread. You can even mash them IN the bag!

     Share your great ideas with me and I'll share them with the world.

     Here's my email address . . Just click on that link and you can email me. I will never sell or spam your email.

© 2016 Cat Brennan

A Country Gal Can Repurpose

Zipper-style plastic bags are a wonderful invention.  Personally, I don't like the ones that come pre-packaged with frozen foods etc., mainly because the zippers are narrow and often don't track, lock and zip shut easily.  I usually end up tearing them and just opt for a clothespin or an office clip to fasten the bag shut. 

Let's move on to your ideas for re- purposing 'clear' zipper-style bags.  These come in sizes from tiny snacks to large 2 1/2 gallons - maybe  larger, for all I know! 

A friend here in Virginia took "salad-in-a-bag" to a pot luck dinner. Everything but the dressing was in the bag, ready to eat. No mess, no bother.

Some of my grand children do NOT like milk on their cereal, so mama in Maryland gives them cereal-in-a-bag.  This is a fun way to get the little ones to eat their morning meal and a great idea for grab 'n' go breakfast.

From Colorado, "The only thing unusual to me is that we put leftover spaghetti in plastic storage bags. works fine."

From another friend in Virginia, "I volunteer at a gift shop where I often unpack new jewelery that is in little tiny zip lock bags.  I recycle the bags by placing one set of my earrings in each bag.  The bags keep the pairs together, are easy to see through, and lie flat in a plastic box that fits in my drawer (the plastic box once had delicious chocolate in it).  I also use sandwich size bags for necklaces that hold their circular shape and often have beads attached to them."  She continues, "I use and reuse sandwich size zip lock bags for all of the items needed for craft projects for children.  I recycle them so much that I only throw them away when they are totally ripped down the side." 

Daughter in Illinois uses these "magic'' bags for a plethora of things ... I got to see her very well organized craft and sewing room where she had all the items for various projects separated into these bags in all different sizes.  These make it easy to find the project she is working on and keeps everything corralled.

Further, she has small bags held with 

magnetic clips on her refrigerator; these hold her coupons, boxtops, twist-ties and such. 

Also from Colorado: Friend VM develops and designs web sites. She stores the products associated with her clients in large, gallon size bags and files as a much neater file folder.

How about you?

Hoping you can keep it Country as the summer winds down, whether you live in the country, or simply wish you did!

© 2011 Cat Brennan © 2011 Aunt Cat's Place

Country Spring Days

March is full of Country Spring Living days. We’ve already been blessed with some deliciously warm days. Just a couple of weeks ago, we all were wearing heavy coats with our necks toasty; scarves wrapped or knotted in place. Today, here in Central Virginia, all of God’s creatures were out in short sleeved shirts and I saw a lot of shorts while trying not to be blinded by the neon-white legs.

Don’t forget to set your clocks forward this Saturday night, March 14th before you go to bed. Day Light Savings Time kicks in and you don’t want to be an hour late for church.

Saint Patrick’s Day and all its green glory is this coming Wednesday on the 17th, and of course the first day of Spring is Saturday, March 20th.

Open up the doors and windows in your home for a good airing-out. Even if it rains, the warmer temperatures will allow this; time to do wash or dry clean curtains and draperies. Don’t forget to change the batteries in your smoke alarms. Check them at least twice a year. Can’t remember? Put it on your calendar along with the doctor and dental appointments. Speaking of changing … turn your mattress every three months. Perhaps not a life-saving issue like the smoke alarm, but definitely a comfort issue so put it on the calendar; turn it to “the other side” and "end to end" for true rotation.

While exorcizing the winter blahs from your home think about “stuff” that has collected. Do you hang on to lone socks (this is where my adult children would truly groan because I was once famous for my “sock basket”. Please note the PAST TENSE form!). If you just can’t throw out a loner, give it a time limit .. three strikes (3 laundry days) and it’s out. Or, at least turn it into a mitten style dust rag. Just don’t expect the mate to show up; it’s gone like a kid’s allowance at a candy store.

When lists were invented, your's truly chaired and masterminded the committee! Keeping a “master” packing list in your computer to print on demand will save time and worry about what to pack when traveling. This works well for business and leisure travel. You should also have a “don’t forget to do” list for those extended times away including items such as: turn down the heat or a/c, unplug small appliances, shut down computer, check locks on all doors and windows.

Make some green drinks for the kids, add a few drops of green food coloring to water or soda or cookies and frosted cup cakes. This makes the wearin’ o’ the green more fun for all. Let’s face it, on March 17th, everyone is Irish.

Have a green Country spring.                                                                                            © Cat Brennan

Kudos to Lowes & More Country Lore

Kudos and grateful thanks to Lowe's ® on West Broad in Richmond Virginia. This crazy Country Gal lost her check book recently. In all honesty, I thought I had accidently thrown it away when I was paying bills. The return address on my checks was an old post office box number. With that and no telephone number printed on them, I wasn't worried about someone using the checks. Apparently the check book fell out of my purse, was found and handed over to some honest soul at the big store.  Lowe's sent the check book to the post office box that I had had closed over a year ago. The package was returned to Lowe's with the standard YELLOW post office label as the forwarding time had expired. Again, Lowe's mailed it to me, this time using the address that was listed on the yellow label. That, dear friends, is CUSTOMER SERVICE ... the kind we used to find in an old Country store or mercantile.

Moving on to more good Country Lore. Don't toss out that dried out bread, or even the heels. They can be salvaged. Dry them to crisp in a medium oven, then make bread crumbs in your food processor. Add a few dry herbs of your choice, such as: basil, oregano, parsley, ground pepper, garlic powder, onion power, rosemary, or sage. Use any combination that pleases your palate.

If life gives you dry French bread, make tasty French toast. Whip up an egg with rich whole cream adding a sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg and voila! Ready to cook and serve with butter and honey or maple syrup. For a real country touch, serve with molasses.

Kids fussy at the table? Be a party smarty with your kids. Instead of serving a ho-hum lunch, have a party. De-crust the bread and make their favorite sandwiches; PBand J, bologna, cheese or egg salad - what ever. Cut into triangles or fingers or rounds and call them party sandwiches. For even more fun, decrust the bread, and make sandwiches either 3 or 4 slices thick. Then slice into either fingers or triangles. An electric knife makes slicing easier, but is an option. However you slice it, you're the hero!  ©2010 Cat Brennan