Brooks and his girlfriend, Taylor
Taylor, Brooks, Alyssa, Mike
Brook's mother, Beth
Beth in her new shoes.
We are so blessed to have Brooks returning safely from two months of study in China. He brought some gifts...others are stuck in Chicago because he had to spend the night there instead of getting home on time. United Airlines is going to have to step it up. They are getting a BAD reputation. Have you tried to use your frequent flier miles lately? We have way over 100,000 and using them is simply useless to even try. (I figure they plan it that way.)
Any way, In China if you want to be exclusive (go steady) you ask if you would like to match. That means matching shirts and other matching clothes. If you click on the pictures one at a time you will see the logos and they are really well made clothing.
He brought his mother, Beth, a beautiful hand made pair of shoes. She is proudly wearing them in these pictures.
Brooks will be a junior at the Citadel this year. He is studying Chinese as one of his majors and went there to study in total immersion this summer. We are glad he is home safe and sound. He loved it and I image they adored him as well. He is easy to love.
I have this in the oven right now. It is so good I just baked another one to take to Cincinnati. It is excellent the 2nd (or more) day(s).
Cinnamon swirl bread 
Ingredients
- 3 over-ripe bananas, smashed up
- 1/3 cup melted butter
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp baking soda
- dash of salt
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 Tbs cinnamon
For the bread:
For the swirl:
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350. Butter and four a loaf pan. Mine was 9 x 5, but you could use any sort, I suppose. Just keep a close eye on it in the oven, and adjust the time as needed
- Mix bananas, butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla together. sprinkle baking soda and salt around on top of the banana mixture. Then gently stir in flour. Be careful not to over-mix!
- In a small dish, mix together the 1/3 cup sugar and 1 Tbs cinnamon.
- Add 1/2 of the batter to the loaf pan and then sprinkle half, or a little more than half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture all over the batter in the pan. Add the rest of the batter, and then sprinkle the leftover cinnamon-sugar on top.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes, but remember, if you’re using a different-sized loaf pan, be careful and keep a close eyeball on it!
I’m pretty sure most of you have encountered a layered salad, or two, in your lifetime. They’re popular for picnics and church basement potlucks. One thing that always amazes me is how silly it is to put a layered salad in a deep bowl. They’re ridiculously pretty, so I understand that part, but try to get some of every layer and you end up with an arm full of mayonnaise.
Sooooo…. I thought why not make it more simple? Everyone still loves how this salad looks, and it’s much easier to serve. Just layer, chill and cut into cake-like pieces. Voila!
serves 8 to 12
1 head iceberg lettuce
1/4 cup chopped purple onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped, fresh mushrooms
12 oz. package frozen peas, thawed
2 cups real mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons sugar or honey
1/4 lb. grated cheddar cheese (I like extra sharp)
1 lb. lower-sodium bacon, fried, cooled and crumbled
Remove core from head of lettuce. Cut head into quarters. Carefully seperate the lettuce layers. Put half of them in the bottom of a 9 x 13, glass cake pan. Top with half of the onion, half of the celery, half of the green pepper, half of the mushrooms, and half of the frozen (thawed) peas. Combine the mayo with the sugar. Spread half of the mayo mixture over the salad. Top with half of the cheese and half of the bacon. Repeat with another salad layer, starting with lettuce and ending with bacon. Cover cake pan tightly with foil. Place in refrigerator and chill for at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours. Cut into 8 to 12 square pieces. Salt and pepper to taste. Serv
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