RECIPE: Banana Bread

It's kids week on the blog which means another treat from one of the Minions of Mayhem.  Goobie was supposed to get his turn this month but alas, he's still in California visiting with the grandparents.  I was in a panicked bind when a few other things worked out to my advantage so I simply switched him and Munch around.  With Munch doing all the book reviews this week as well I feel like it should be called Munch instead of Kids Week.

We talked bout options and then chose to dip into my Grandma's recipe collection.  Let me tell ya, Grandma Atkins was quite the cook, but especially quite the baker.  I've been promising the Minions banana bread for a while, and have a freezer full just waiting to be utilized when Munch decided it had to happen.  This week.  So that's what we did, or should I say he did.  There were a few hiccups with leveling over the counter and floor instead of the container or perhaps pulling the mixer out of the batter still on, but that just means he gets to clean up. Right?

Ingredients:

 1/2 Cup butter
1 Cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 Cup mashed bananas (I use more as I like a stronger banana flavor)
1 Cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 Cup chopped pecans (we left them out, I want to live)
I also added about a Tablespoon of vanilla (sorry Grandma but vanilla makes everything better!)

Directions:
Beat all ingredients together.  Pour into greased 9x5 inch loaf pan, leaving center lower.  (I used mini loaf pans instead).  Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes or until done (mini loaves about 30 minutes).  Let stand 20 minutes.  Serves 10. (Or one Munchkin twice.)

Let's talk about measuring ingredients.  It was a great opportunity to teach him that not only do we need to measure but that baking is really based on proportions and that leveling ingredients is important to ensure that the same amount is used each time.  It was easy with the little stuff, the big stuff...well easy yes messy yes-er.

I brushed on just a bit of butter as they came out of the oven and after letting sit we shared some with our friends next door and then feasted ourselves!

BOOK REVIEW: Who Was Thomas Alva Edison? by Margaret Frith Illustrated by John O'Brien

One day in 1882, Thomas Edison flipped a switch that lit up lower Manhattan with incandescent light and changed the way people live ever after.

The electric light bulb was only one of thousands of Edison’s inventions, which include the phonograph and the kinetoscope, an early precursor to the movie camera.

As a boy, observing a robin catch a worm and then take flight, he fed a playmate a mixture of worms and water to see if she could fly! Here’s an accessible, appealing biography with 100 black-and-white illustrations.

I first discovered this series of books at Barnes & Noble while birthday shopping for Munch.  I knew it would be perfect for him and with a sale going on I picked up several of people I knew he admired, because he talked about them all the time.  And a few that I thought we could enjoy together as I wanted to expand his knowledge base and open his eyes to other things from our collective history.  He took to the like Munch to a book, splendidly.  He wants more.  This particular book tells the life of Thomas Edison, not just his accomplishments but his life.  It tells the story of his successes, as well as his failures.  It tells the story of his spirit and his attitude to keep on going.  This is something I want my Minions of Mayhem to embrace.  Failure is giving up not in lack of success.

OK, Munch thinks it's his turn now.  His thoughts... I honestly think it's kind of cool since it has my first name in it.  It's kinda cool to learn about all the things he invented and not just the one thing everyone knows - the light bulb.  It's cool to learn about his childhood and what he did to make money.  It teaches you and tells you about his children and his family.  Tells you of the places he went and the things he did.  Another thing cool is the people that Thomas was with and this book tells a little bit of their story as well (like Henry Ford and George Eastman who made the Kodiak camera). I like that he thought his greatest invention was the phonograph.  

From the adult perspective I like that the illustrations and side bios are integral to the story and help to develop the story for the young reader.  This book takes someone historically famous and makes them approachable and easy to understand.  An interest in science is not born of graphs and formulas but of personal-ability and approachful-ness.  I'm glad I discovered this series for Munch and hope to add to it for him and to the other Minions as well.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About Margaret Frith
Margaret Frith is the author of numerous children’s books, including several titles in the Who Was? series, such as Who Was Thomas Alva Edison?, Who Was Louis Braille?, Who Was Franklin Roosevelt? and Who Was Woodrow Wilson? She lives in New York City.

Website | Goodreads

About John O'Brien

John O'Brien, whose illustrations for children have been called inventive, whimsical, witty, wacky, and just plain wonderful, is a prolific, wide-ranging artist.He has contributed to The New Yorker, Cricket, Highlights for Children, The Washington Post, and Omni, and his cartoons appear weekly in the New Jersey section of The New York Times.

John was born in Philadelphia, received a B.A. in Fine Arts from Philadelphia College of Art. When John isn't busy at his drawing board, he plays banjo evenings on a paddlewheel boat at the New Jersey shore. He is also a lieutenant on the North Wildwood Beach Patrol where he has been a lifeguard since 1970, and he recently learned to play the bagpipes. He lives in Delran, New Jersey. 

Website | Goodreads

BOOK REVIEW: Jack Ferrington and the School for Swabbies by Clint Perry

Where do pirates learn to be pirates? Pirate school of course! Welcome to School for Swabbies where the highest grade you'll get is the Sea. Jack Ferrington dreams of cannons, parlay, treasure hunting, sword fights and more. He’s had his fill of elementary school and is ready to move on to Moray Middle, home of the “Fighting Eels”, where adventure awaits in the unlikeliest of places. Real pirates are the instructors! Real danger around every corner! Are you ready to join Jack on his first day at pirate school? We can't wait to have you join Jack and his friends at Moray Middle School, home of the "Fighting Eeels"

So, let's talk about this interesting book that I let the Munchkin pick out from NetGalley to read and review with me.  He's not done a review in a very long time and well, the other Minions of Mayhem are not around.  I was pretty excited when he chose this book from the list I'd put together for him and we jumped in reading pretty quickly.  We managed to read it in a few hours over two weekends.  It was a bit wordy for a middle grade book but that doesn't deter Munch at all, unless of course it was his turn to be reading out loud.

As he's reading over my shoulder he's insisting its his turn to tell me what to write.  I'm half tempted to make him write it himself but alas, I don't really need grammar and typing errors to have to go back and correct.  Here's his say.  He wants to rate it 4.5 stars.  The reason being is that he thinks he knew from the beginning the big mystery of who a certain character (Max) is.  "It's kinda cool because I really enjoy pirate books and I also like it because it had all the feelings of school.  From the awkward bus driver, the yelling principal, and the size of the school makes their sneaking around hard but so much like real school."  He also things that it's really cool that the first graders get to go to sixth grade. Getting to handle things like gun powder and the fun math game would be cool.  He laughed at the food fight which he feels gave a light moment of funniness.  He thought it was weird to wear a hollowed out octopus as a backpack.  Honestly, if the chance to go to pirate school here in the Midwest came available he'd be all over it.  He thinks they should make a movie out of it.

From the grown up perspective.  I really did enjoy the book.  It was lighthearted and perfectly aimed at this new 9 year old Sheldon Jr driving me nuts as I write this.  It was an easy read giving a struggling reader the confidence of reading a 'chapter' book, though I do feel that the chapters were ever so long sometimes.  The story dragged a little for me and seemed so wordy for one day of school.  However, I really liked this story line and hope to see additional books to perhaps make this a series.  


I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by NetGalley.  I was not compensated for this review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.  I was not required to write a positive review.


Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About Clint Perry

Clint Perry, lead singer and writer for The Boo Hoo Crew and Author of both picture books for toddlers and preschooler as well as middle-grade novels about pirate adventures. He also writes and produces CCM songs that can be found at www.clintjustclint.com. For further information on his other projects please visit www.boohoocrew.com or www.schoolforswabbies.com

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

RECIPE: Eggy Sauce

So, a staple for me growing up is something called Eggy Sauce.  Now work with me a minute as it only got that name about 7ish years ago.  I always just said scrambled eggs with sausage and sometimes cheese.  Nope, not good enough for the Munchkin.  Perhaps because he couldn't say it?  Who knows now but at the ripe old age of 2ish he named that particular treat Eggy Sauce and the rest is history.  Seriously, everyone even remotely connected to me that I know about calls it that!

Since today is all about the Eggy Sauce it only seems right that we have a guest contributor.  If you know me in real life then you've known him his whole life.  I first introduced him on the blog back in 2012 when he was an obnoxious 4 year old. (See original post here) Now he's closing in on 9 and probably slightly more obnoxious, if that's possible?  Seriously though, I love this kiddo.  He's still too smart for his own good, we now call him Sheldon Jr (from Big Bang).  His attitude is still his greatest detriment.  And gravy help me, I still love him.

Thomas first made his first Eggy Sauce when he was 2, standing on a chair at the stove with me stirring and insisting I hadn't put enough cheese in it.  Below, all these years later, he's doing in on his own.  Me supervising him as opposed to him supervising me.

Ingredients:
Sausage
Eggs
American cheese slices
salt, if needed
butter, if needed

Directions:

Cook enough sausage for how many you are feeding, approximately 2 ounces per serving. Just like with the gravy cook it thoroughly, no pink!   Once the sausage is thoroughly cooked there should be a small bit of fat in the pan.  Not enough to float the sausage but also your sausage should not be dry.  We used a pork and bacon sausage which gives just the right amount of fat. If you have too much drain a bit off.  If you have too little add some butter.  Sausage cooked?

Add eggs. (He begged for me to take a picture of him cracking the eggs.)  Again, add eggs based on how many you are serving.  I generally allow two eggs per serving.  Now stir.  Mix it all together and keep mixing while the eggs start to set.  For some reason eggy sauce tastes best when there's not big chunks of egg and sausage but that it's tightly mixed.  When the mixture is about halfway cooked add the cheese.  I allow one slice per serving.  Keep stirring.  Once the eggs are completely cooked and the cheese melted in completely you are ready to eat!  I will frequently serve with biscuits.  Biscuits with butter and/or jelly, eggy sauce biscuit sandwiches, the options are limitless!