Banana Bread

It was a perfect day for a bike ride…but I had other plans. I do not regret missing the last ride of the season because after the cold that was Saturday, I really didn’t expect to get out on the bike in this country until Spring.  Hopefully, I will be doing another foreign country cycling trip with Exodus (Chile, Sri Lanka, or Laos) or maybe a hiking trip in Peru with G Adventures.  I will let you know when I have decided.

So, what does all this have to do with Today’s Perfect Moment? Absolutely nothing.

Today’s Perfect Moment is about teaching someone how to make one of my favourite and most useful recipes; banana bread. I heard a collective sigh over my readerdom.  What’s there to making banana bread?  It’s probably the easiest recipe on the planet.

Sometimes, helping someone is merely being there to nod encouragingly and being supportive. For my part, I did a little mixing and I lined the bread loaf with parchment paper.  I also did some shrugging and waving away when it turned out that we didn’t follow the instructions perfectly–order of mixing and beating eggs separately.  Please.

It turned out quite delicious and the baker is now thinking of ways of improving it. I voted for chocolate chips, but she wants to put various kinds of fruit and nuts in it.  I don’t know who will win this battle, but I suspect that it will taste good nonetheless.

Over Easy

Cooking shows have come a long way since the early days of television. I especially remember Wok with Yan on Canadian TV.  It was a much simpler time and so different from things like Hell’s Kitchen, Top Chef, and the British Baking Show.  With the exception of the original Japanese TV show Iron Chef, I am not sure things are better.

What has this got to do with Today’s Perfect Moment? Everything and nothing is the best answer I can give you.  Hopefully after reading a bit more you will understand.

Today’s Perfect Moment has to do with omelettes. I love making and eating omelettes. On my fantastic bike trips to Vietnam and Cambodia I had them as often as possible.  At home, I have them less often, but I still enjoy them on weekends when I have a chance to have them.  If you follow my instagram page, you have probably already seen photos of them.  You might even have read my post Omelette Revisited.

Today’s Perfect Moment is not about making the perfect omelette. There are lots of perfect ones. My omelette creations are dictated by what I have in the fridge and who I might be making them for.  Usually they are pretty good and sometimes they are even great.  Though I hate to brag, I have to tell you that today’s omelet was great.  Sadly, I didn’t have the forethought to prepare some good sides to go with it.

So if Today’s Perfect Moment is not about the perfect omelette, what is it about? Today’s Perfect Moment was about the perfect omelette flip out of the pan and onto the plate.  Nothing stuck. The omelette was cooked perfectly–the vegetables cooked but not too soft, the cheese melted, but not runny, and the eggs just fluffy enough.  When it came out of the pan it hit the plate in a perfect half-moon without breaking.  I muttered a “Ta Da!” to myself.

Everything comes full circle. This was something I had learned from one of those early cooking shows.

If you want to read more about my cooking adventures, I recommend the following blogs.

The Chicken Sandwich

An Oversight

Turkey, the Day After