ugly banana bread

i don't think banana bread ever really looks that appetizing. it's usually a light brown color with little brown specks (from the middle of part of ripened bananas) and sometimes studded with toasted walnuts, also brown. but holy heck, when it's baking, does your kitchen smell good!

i actually took the time to make banana bread today. already, and it's only 11:30am. it was mostly a procrastination strategy against working on the accounting case problem on activity-based costing. and since i don't want to "waste" time by just sitting on the couch, i made the world's ugliest banana bread (so no pics, also b/c i don't really know where the camera is and even if i could find it, it probably doesn't have space for new pics and then i'd have to download the current content and blah blah blah).

my own personal ugly banana bread:

1 1/2 cups mashed banana (i only had 1 cup from two small bananas, and so had to use 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree, only adding to the ugly color thing)

3 tbsp melted butter

2 tbsp milk

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/3 cup white four

1/4 cup bran flakes or oatmeal or whatever you had on had to give this recipe a fiber boost

optional: 3 tbsp cocoa powder + extra tbsp milk (again, adds to the ugly color thing, but gives it a nice, not too powerful chocolaty taste)

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp salt

cinnamon and/or nutmeg

preheat oven to 375

dump everything into your lovely standmixer

turn on standmixer and let it do it's job (on low) for about 30 sec or until JUST combined.

banana bread is essentially a muffin - so don't overmix!!!

at this point, you can stir in toasted walnuts or chocolate chips. i chose chocolate chips. you should put in about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of whatever you choose. me, on the other hand, as a busy graduate student, have not bought chocolate chips in a while and had only about 1/3 cup left to mix in. totally not enough.

pour mixture into pre-greased loaf pan.

takes about 40-45 min in the oven, but do a toothpick check at 40 min.

after it comes out of the oven, wait a good 10 minutes before diving in.

10 minutes . . . make some coffee (not only does it go wonderfully with banana bread, but it will ensure i can power through the accounting case AND the operations case)

cut a piece of banana bread and shove in mouth.

cut another piece, slather with nutella, and shove in mouth.

contemplate going to gym and putting off homework . . .

day in the life of an MBA at Ross

I've been at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan for a full semester now. I've completed 1/4 of an MBA degree.

and what a trip/adventure/wacky ride it has been!

it's like they set it up so that there is no way you can do everything you want. class, studying, recruiting, networking, hanging out with friends, spending time with hubby . . . no way to do it all. spending time with hubby however, comes a little easier than hanging out with friends. we're BOTH at Ross together.

and yes, we pay a boatload every semester for tuition. but we just keep saying to ourselves, it's an investment, it's an investment, it's an investment.

so what's a typical day like for me? what's my schedule like that prevents me from blogging (b/c i barely have time to cook!)?

6:15 am Wake up, get ready for the day

7:15 Leave house to catch shuttle

7:30 Shuttle to Ross, read NYTimes on my phone

8:00 MO 503 - Leading People & Organizations

10:20 FIN503 - Financial Management

12:40pm Grab a really quick lunch

1:00 Cover letter review, Resume review or Mock Interview

2:00 Finance group meeting

4:00 Marketing reading

5:00 Head home

6:00 Dinner, then head back to Ross

7:00 MO group meeting

9:00 Head home again, do some chores to clean up apartment

10:00 Continue Marketing HW

11:00 Sleep and start over again the next day

this would be a not-so-bad day. probably even some minutes to chat with friends or call my parents here and there.

when hubby and i were visiting campuses during application season, we received a brochure from another school that had a student's "typical day" outline. we thought they must have been exaggerating. i mean, nobody can be this busy ALL the time. we were very wrong. we really are this busy ALL the time. i'm tired just thinking about it

but it's currently winter break. no academic assignments. just the other responsibilities that we signed up for. i will be spending the next two weeks on vacation and working on:

- grant process for Orchards Children's Services, i'm their Board Fellow

- market information for next round of Michigan Business Challenge for WestView Education Institute, a new company I am working on with a kick-ass team

- cover letters so that i can land a summer internship that i will love and that will love me

- holiday cookies b/c we didn't get gifts for anyone other than immediate family this year (that double-tuition payment!)

so, with a little luck and slightly more sleep than i've been getting this past semester, i'll hopefully get everything done and even check back to blog about it. hmm . . .

crunchy granola

Really good granola costs anywhere from 4-7 dollars for a few servings at the store. But most of us actually have the ingredients for granola just sitting in the pantry. No extra cost. And, it’s actually a really simple process to make granola.

Preheat oven to 350

2 cups oatmeal (any kind of oatmeal will do, just not the instant kind)

1/4 cup oil

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

Mix it all together. Spread onto a baking sheet and bake for 10 min.

Then sprinkle on about 1/3 cup almonds. Bake for another 5-7 min.

Take out of oven, let it cool down for about 30 min and then break it up.

I like to mix in 1/2 cup of dried cranberries. Or mix in whatever you want. Enjoy!

i realize it's getting cold

but the back-to-school thing has me craving classic things like pb&j, except i have it in the form of ice cream.

right, peanut butter and jelly ice cream.

you can eat it for lunch.

it contains healthy fats. and NO cream. just milk. and peanut butter. and strawberry (or any flavor you'd like) jelly.

1 cup peanut butter

2 cups whole milk

1/3 cup sugar (i like less sweet, so use 1/2 if you like things sweet)

1/2 cup grape jelly or strawberry jam or raspberry preserves, whatever you'd like

that's the whole ingredient list.

blend the pb with the milk in a blender. add the sugar. blend again. stick in fridge to cool.

freeze according to your ice cream maker's instructions. it takes mine about 20 minutes.

layer peanut butter ice cream with the jelly. freeze for a few hours to get the "swirl" effect when you scoop.

no need to cut crusts, so much better than a sandwich.

once upon a time, i used to bake

and waayyyy back then (all the way back to august, oh my!), i made a coconut cake with my sister. it was for my dad's birthday. we tried to make it really pretty. tried to see if we could trick my dad into thinking we bought it. i think it might have worked.

new title for "case of the mondays"

so here's the thing, i'm no longer working and am no longer susceptible to a "case of the mondays." i LIKE mondays. it's the beginning of a whole new week with endless possibilities (and endless recruiting events, endless group meetings, endless coursework . . .)!

but i'm loving it.

it's great to be a michigan wolverine (again)

being a ross mba is an adventure and i'm glad hubby and i are traveling down this road together.

we actually drove across country this summer. the cadotte's very own m-trek.

so in case you're having a case of the monday's, take a cross-country trip and visit our beautiful national parks, even if it's just visually.

driving "across" the country from west to east: Yosemite National Park

Arches National Park

Canyonlands National Park

Pike's Peak (Colorad0)

Badlands National Park

Hope you enjoyed the short tour of our beautiful nation!

another late case of the mondays

beautiful utah

a couple weeks ago, hubby and i went to st. george, utah for his sixth ironman.

that's right, his sixth!

in case you are unfamiliar, an ironman consists of:

2.4 mile swim

112 mile bike

26.2 run

swim, bike, run for a long, long time.

hubby can be a little intense.

(that jacket, btw, is from a 50 mile ultramarathon that hubby completed)

in the past for races, we've gone to florida, idaho, arizona, etc.

but utah is by far, the most gorgeous place out of all his race sites.

here's some proof . . .

view of the the lake where the swim portion of the race was held

the area behind our hotel, with a trail in a lava field

view of a canyon nearby

wildflowers growing in the lava field

beautiful utah

(late) case of the mondays

destination: london

recently got adobe lightroom

played around with presets

here is my favorite so far

coming up next: flatbread and hummus

case of the mondays - santa fe

going crazy here folks.

my top choice for an MBA is sending out decisions on this Friday. however, if you're accepted, they start making phone calls a few days prior. so i wasn't going to start to worry until wednesday afternoon. then, some jackass on the online forums actually pretended that he/she got a phone call today and threw everyone into an anxious panic, including myself. until i read a few posts down that they were just kidding and that we should all relax. my response to him? go to hell. i was relaxed until you posted, shithead.

so for today's case of the mondays, i'm imagining going to a calm, peaceful place while i push away the demons in my mind.

i've posted on Santa Fe before - http://doughmesticity.blogspot.com/2009/02/our-santa-fe-trip.html, but i'm really just taking you to one place on our trip

let's all go to Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument.

here's a view from hiking among the rocks

in particular, i'd like to escape to this narrow passageway. the rock walls were tight and high. i remember feeling like this was my own space. my own world of hard earth.

if felt like there was nowhere to go, but up towards the sky.

the laziness continues

actually, i've been baking up a storm, but since the actual baking is taking quite a lot of time, this blog post will be about a very simple, but delicious pasta dish that can be thrown together in less than 30 minutes.this is what hubby likes to call a one-pot meal. just everything thrown together. there are many variations that i go through, but this is one of hubby's faves. and mine. it's tasty, easy, and like most of our other food, somewhat healthy.

3 links of turkey sausage (we like jenny-o, sweet italian style)

penne pasta (you could use whole wheat to up the healthy factor)

2-3 cloves of garlic

1 tsp olive oil

~ 3/4 cup frozen spinach

jar pasta sauce, about 1 cup

break out the Forman grill, heat it up and put on the 3 turkey sausage links.

while that's going, start pasta water

chop the garlic

heat pan and oil

saute your garlic, then add the frozen spinach and saute, then add pasta sauce

pasta water should be ready now, add penne

turkey sausage should be done by now. take off the grill and let it rest for a minute on a cutting board.

slice turkey sausage, add to garlic/spinach/sauce and cook on low until pasta is ready.

drain pasta, but keep a little water and add it all to sauce mixture.

mix and let cook together for just a minute.

check to see if you need any more salt/pepper.

that's it!

the whole thing should take about 20 minutes.

you could add other things if you want. it's just a very casual weeknight sort of dinner.

lazy cake

sometimes, i want cake. but i don't want to bake. so i microwave.

yes, microwave chocolate cake.

it's not fantastic, no, but it's quick, easy and you only need to clean one cup, and two spoons.

take a microwave safe mug and add:

1 tbsp + 1 tsp cocoa powder

2 tbsp flour (i use whole wheat)

1/8 tsp baking powder

tiny pinch of salt

2 tbsp sugar (i actually like 1 heaping tbsp instead of 2)

1 large egg

1 tbsp milk (non fat)

1 tbsp plain yogurt (non fat)

1 tbsp chocolate chips (or more, however much you feel like)

mix it all together and microwave it for 1:30 min on high. my microwave's pretty strong, so if your microwave isn't, maybe 2 min. i like to spri

nkle a few more chocolate chips on the top when it comes right out. b/c i use non fat milk and non fat yogurt, i admit, it's a little dry. also, if you don't eat it within 30 min, it gets hard b/c it was microwaved. but, the whole thing is done in just a few minutes and there's so little cleanup.

and it's still pretty tasty.

case of the mondays - lanai

today sucks. not because it's monday. but because it's dec. 14th and one of the MBA programs I applied to released it's decisions.

and i did not get positive feedback.

so, instead of wallowing about this, since it's pointless and i'll just eat a lot of food and get fat even before the holidays are here, we're going to lanai!

lanai is one of the islands of hawaii

there are only 3 hotels on the entire island, and two of them are four seasons resorts.

hubby and i honeymooned on lanai (among other islands).

we stayed at the gorgeous Four Seasons Resort Lanai, The Lodge at Koele.

and because i was so enamored with the place, i totally forgot interior pictures.

but this is part of the property in the back.

when we got there, they gave us fresh-squeeze pineapple juice. it was delicious. of course. they had fruit in the lobby and i grabbed an apple on our way out to explore.

i mean, i guess it could be said that i have a small head (but i'm kind of short, so it's totally proportional). but this apple was gigantic. i didn't stand a chance.

we drove on this red-dusted road to get to the Garden of the Gods (Keahiakawelo).

so named because to rocks bring to mind god-like images. fields of this. some had much bigger boulders.

what i loved was that from one of the small hills, you could see Molokai.

we did also visit the other Four Seasons resort and went snorkeling there. while i was resting, hubby was out trying to get close to the dolphins. yes, that speck in the middle is a dolphin.

the view of Manele Bay, where we were snorkeling. ahh, lanai was a beautiful island.

there's a lot to do on the island, tiny as it is. we didn't do it all and what we did actually partake in, we don't have lots of photos. but still, i can think back to it and see it very clearly in my mind. one particular restaurant was great (and amazingly, not connected to four seasons, though those were all wonderful too). the Lanai City Grille, part of the one other hotel on the island, Hotel Lanai. not only were the portions generous, but it really was delicious. i can still remember that i had pork chops. with a pureed vegetable. and greens. there was garlic.

for the rest of the day, i will think about lanai. the chocolate-covered pineapple spears from our four seasons resort. the dinner and music at lanai city grille. beautiful, enchanting hawaii.

case of the mondays - venice

do you have a case of the mondays?

i do.

i have a case of the mondays every monday.

i just have that kind of job. do you?

if so, would you like to travel with me?

every monday, let's take a trip.

i've been to a number of places in my short life and each monday, we'll visit a different place.

to start, let's go to venice.

ahhh, beautiful, amazing venice.

with it's gondolas

many, many gondolas

and markets, just brimming with produce. none of which are actually from venice. most not even from italy, like the pineapples in the corner and the bananas hanging up top. but a vibrant scene, nonetheless.

the swordfish head looked particularly appetizing . . .

mui mui, trying to blend with the local scene. too bad we didn't buy it. the packaging and transporting thing would have been an issue. but the guy who owned this store was great! we went back to his place several times to buy little masks as souvenirs for friends.

mui mui eating a cream puff in a square. lots and lots of squares in venice. the streets, canals, bridges, etc. are all a bit confusing. but if you are ever lost, just keep walking until you get to a square. locate the square on your map, and you are all good.

Venice's most famous square - Piazza San Marco, or St. Mark's Square. mui mui, mom, and dad, among the throngs of tourists there.

one of the things i loved about venice was that you could look up at anytime and see beautiful carved details like this

the food at this one restaurant, something with pumpkin in the title, was also very much loved. completely forgot to take a picture of the food before we started to eat. this was towards the end of the delicious meal.

Venice was a beautiful, lovely place. bye. sigh.

our thanksgiving

this year, we celebrated thanksgiving in london. so before we went, we had thanksgiving with friends. the whole spread - turkey, mashed potatoes (which sort of looks bigger than the turkey), asparagus, sweet potato biscuits, stuffing, brussel sprouts with bacon, pecan and caramelized apple pie, cranberry sauce, cornbread stuffing, gingerbread and pumpkin cheesecake with caramel sauce. mmmm, lots of food.

our friends digging in

my favorite dish of the night (almost, i liked them all actually) - cornbread stuffing with sausage, butternut squash, craisins and parsley

caramelized apple and pecan pie - it's hard to see the apple, but it's in there

gingerbread and pumpkin cheesecake

another shot of the gingerbread and pumpkin cheesecake, this time, with caramel sauce. and let me tell you, it wasn't easy to take that picture. one hand with the caramel sauce and the other one trying to steadily take the picture, all while the sun is setting outside.

green goodness

pesto couscous with veggies. very fast, very simple.

1 cup couscous

1/2 cup veggie broth

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup soybeans (edamame)

1 zucchini, diced

1/2 onion, diced

1 tsp canola oil

salt and pepper to taste

~2 tbsp pesto

bring veggie broth and water to a boil. then turn off heat, stir in couscous, cover and leave alone while you make the veggies.

saute onion and zucchini. add edamame at end to heat through.

fluff couscous with fork. add veggies. add pesto. stir and you're ready to eat!

you can add more pesto if you want it more heavily seasoned.

we also added some slivered almonds on top too.

the crunch of the almonds is a nice contrast.

this is really a very versatile dish. if you want some meat in it, add some diced chicken. i like it as a vegetarian dish though. mmm, yum.

perhaps a little ambitious . . .

but here is what i plan to serve for our "thanksgiving" dinner

it's in quotes b/c we're really having it this saturday since hubby and i will be visiting mui mui in london over thanksgiving. but i couldn't bear the thought of missing out on turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, etc. so we're having our own gathering with a few people this saturday.

here is the plan:

turkey (duh!)

gravy

stuffing (the kind my dad makes)

cornbread stuffing (with sausage, onion and cranberries)

mashed potatoes

sweet potato biscuits

cranberry sauce

green beans

roasted brussel sprouts (with balsamic vinegar and bacon)

caramel apple pecan pie

pumpkin cheesecake and ginger molasses cake mini trifles

and i'm doing it all from scratch. as in making the cornbread for the cornbread stuffing. making cranberry sauce tomorrow and freezing it until saturday. making pie dough friday night. nice thing about having furlough this friday - gives me time to prep.

new recipe and photos to come tomorrow. finally have time to blog and play around with editing photos again. the MBA application process is almost, almost over. so not complaining about it - having it be almost over b/c i got invited to interview is a wonderful (and relieving) feeling.

dear world, it's been too long

picture courtesy of my friend Aneesh (photo-editing from me)

hello again!

here's what's been happening: MBA applications. that's about it.

i've been writing lots and lots of essays.

spending lots and lots of money on MBA applications.

and now i'm spending lots of lots of time waiting for a decision.

just before i dropped off the face of the earth, we did manage to make it to the San Francisco Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival. we went with Lisa and Chris (btw, i'm tired of using just first initials, it gets too confusing for me) and met up with Aneesh and Jimmy. fun and yum in the sun. okay, fine, no sun. we were in SF after all.

Lisa and Chris

here's a picture of me and hubby

the Chocolate Festival was delicious. the deal with the Festival is that visitors pay a fee (can't remember the amount, this was almost two months ago, i'm a little behind on blogging) for 10 tickets. then, we visit each booth to trade a ticket for a goodie. like the ones below. (photo below courtesy of Aneesh. our camera was not working. the pictures of Lisa and Chris and me and hubby are from my iphone.)

oh, and now i'm hungry.