Daisy's Custom Dog T-Shirt

Today I 'made' another T-shirt for Daisy. This time, we used a plain white shirt. This took just a few minutes once I planned out where to put things and warmed up the iron.

I used 4 iron on daisy/flower patches and several hot fix Swarovski rhinestones placed around here and there.

Customizing a dog T-shirt is easy and a fun way for your dog to have a unique shirt!

Daisy sat so still for these pictures! She's a real poser!

Sucanat Banana Bread with dates and walnuts recipe

When life gives you old bananas, make banana bread!

Don't toss out your brown bananas! I never seem to be able to eat bananas fast enough after I buy them before they start getting a little too old, but that is a great time to make some banana bread. The older they are ('riper' might be a nicer word), the better flavor for the bread. Just make sure that no fruit flies have started enjoying them, in which case, they'd have to be disposed of.

The 'ripe' bananas I used today.

I have loved making banana bread since I first learned how to bake (we won't go into how many years ago that was). My husband says my banana bread is one of the things that reminds him fondly about when we were first getting to know each other (awwww, guess it's true what they say about the way to a man's heart).

These days, I use Sucanat (or Rapadura), which is organic cane sugar, instead of using white sugar. Not only does this impart a wonderful rich flavor, but also has many vitamins and minerals that white refined sugar is void of. However, in this recipe, it is possible to use regular white sugar if you wish.

So why don't you try my recipe next time you have let your bananas go!

Banana bread tips:

*Greasing only the bottom of the pan helps the loaf have a slightly rounded top.

*Beat eggs, chop fruits and/or nuts before you begin making the batter. If you stop to do something after you have mixed the batter, it can get too stiff.

*Never use an electric beater, always mix by hand and just until the ingredients are well mixed.

*Don't worry if cracks form on top the loaf while it's baking. It's normal.

*Cool loaves completely (about 2 hours) before slicing otherwise it will crumble as you try to slice it.

Banana Bread with Dates and Walnuts

1 1/4 c Sucanat or Rapadura (organic cane sugar)
1/2 cup butter softened
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/2 cups mashed very ripe bananas
1/2 cup buttermilk* (can use soy milk or cow's milk if necessary)
1 tbs. vanilla
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup all purpose whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
*optional:
1/2 tsp apple pie spice (I buy from Penzeys Spices, www.penzeys.com)
*optional:
up to 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (I break them into pieces by hand)
*optional:
up to 1/2 cup of chopped dates (or raisins or craisins/cranberry raisins are also good too)

Move the racks in your oven so that the bread pan will be in the center of the oven. Heat oven to 325-350 F (180-190 C) depending on your oven.

Grease the bottom only of a 9x5 inch loaf pan. I use one made by Airbake. You can make muffins instead of a loaf/bread with this recipe. Use Sili-cups or a paper lined muffin tin for muffins. You will need to reduce the baking time a bit for muffins.

In a large bowl, stir together the sugar and butter, mixing well. Stir in the eggs, mixing well. Stir in the bananas, buttermilk and vanilla, beat with a spoon until smooth.

Stir in the flours, baking soda, salt and apple pie spice. Stir just until all is moistened.

Fold in nuts and dates gently just until distributed throughout the batter.

Pour into loaf/bread pan and bake for about 1 hour (may take more than 1 hour). Check for doneness when a toothpick or butter knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Loosen the sides of the bread from the bread pan. After about 10-15 mins or so, carefully turn the loaf out of the pan and cool on a wire rack (about 2 hours).

Slice and enjoy!

Storage:
Wrapped tightly or placed in an airtight container, the bread will keep up to 4 days at room temperature. It can be refrigerated for up to 10 days (though it never lasts that long in our house!). You may also freeze it for up to 3 months.

*About "buttermilk".....
The emulsifiers in real buttermilk makes baked good have better volume, a lighter and more uniform texture, fine crumb, golden brown crust, extended freshness and a fragrant aroma of churned buttermilk.

Most of you in USA or Europe know what buttermilk is and will be able to find it in your local supermarket. It is not sold in Japan for the average consumer. I'm told only large bakers or food producers can get it/use it in Japan. Even when fluid buttermilk is available to me, I have read that what is sold in today's dairy case, is merely cultured skim milk and contains no real buttermilk. Instead I always use a dry/powdered buttermilk that is made by Saco foods (click here to go to their website). This can be mixed with water whenever you are ready to use some and in just the amount you need at that particular time. Once opened, the container of powdered buttermilk will keep in the refrigerator for quite a long time. I've kept it for over a year before without any loss of flavor or spoilage. Saco claims on their website the shelf life can be several years when stored properly.

Here is a photo of the container it comes in below. It can be found at most supermarkets in USA. In Japan, to my knowledge and after some research, it is only available at Kinokuniya foods/supermarkets.

Soy Yogurt Sweet Cornbread Muffins

Today I was craving some home made biscuits or cornbread. But, not having any shortening and wanting to make something as healthy as possible, I came up with the following recipe for a sweet cornbread using soy yogurt and soy milk.

These are sweet and moist! Good served hot, sliced open (as in the photo above) with a little butter inside. Drizzle with some honey if you like!

Soy Cornbread Muffins

1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 soy milk (plain)
1/2 soy yogurt (plain)
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
5 tsp. Somersweet*(to buy, click here www.suzannesomers.com)
1 tbs. Rumford baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup frozen fresh corn

Preheat the oven to 400 F (200-190 C).

In a large bowl, beat the soy yogurt, soy milk, melted butter and egg with a hand beater or whisk. Stir in the remaining ingredients until all the flour has been moistened. The batter will be lumpy.

Fill Silicone muffin cups (or paper muffin cups lining a muffin tin) about 3/4 full. These are low rising muffins. Bake for about 20 minutes, depending on your oven. Done when a knife or toothpick comes out clean.

If you want to make bread instead of muffins, grease bottom and sides of an 8 inch square pan prior to mixing the ingredients and then pour the batter into the pan and bake as directed above.

These go well with Anasazi beans with bacon (recipe in the posting prior to this)!

*If you can't get Somersweet (I believe they don't ship outside of USA) you can use 1/2 cup of sugar or any dry/non-liquid sweetner which equals the sweetness of a 1/2 cup of sugar.

Anasazi Beans with bacon and garlic

Aren't these beans beautiful? These are Anasazi beans. Anasazi beans were one of the few crops cultivated by the Anasazi Indians, who lived in U.S.A. in the four corners area (now Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico) dating back to 130 A.D. The beans were found in the ruins by settlers to the four corners area in the early 1900's. Presently the beans are grown at 7,000 ft. elevation on the same land the Anasazi inhabited. This information is courtesy the Adobe Milling website which is where you can get more information and also buy the beans, as well as other delicious products (click here www.anasazibeans.com)!

I found these beans at a market in a small town (Quartzite) in Arizona when we were there earlier this year. Finally, today I decided on a way to use them. Here is my recipe.

Garlic Anasazi beans with slab bacon and onions

1 cup Anasazi beans
3 cups water (distilled is best)
1/3 of a slab/block of smoked bacon (sliced, then cut into small pieces)
1 small onion
1 large clove of garlic, crushed
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. white pepper
1/2 cup water, if desired (for last portion of cooking)

Place the beans in a dutch oven and add the water. Simmer on a very low heat for an hour (until beans have become firm but not hard).

One cup of dried beans with 3 cups of water.

While the beans are simmering, slice up the bacon and place it on paper towels (which are on a large microwave safe plate). I used an apple smoked bacon. Cover the paper towels with bacon pieces then add one paper towel to cover the bacon. Microwave for 2 minutes on 500 W power. I like my bacon alittle well done so I microwaved it for an addition 1 minute and 20 seconds.

Bacon on paper towels, after microwaving.

Cut the onion into cubes. Cut the bacon pieces into smaller bite sized pieces.

After the beans have simmered for approximately one hour, check the firmness by taking one out and biting it in half. If the beans still seem alittle too tough, simmer for a little while longer, paying attention to check again soon. When it is ready, crush the garlic directly in to the pot with the beans. Then add the bacon, onions, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer on lowest heat for another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

After about 40 minutes of simmering, there is still a good amount of water left to cook down.

After alittle over one hour of simmering, the water has nearly gone. This is just before adding the bacon and other ingredients.

Check occasionally for doneness. You may want or need to add an additional 1/2 cup of water during this last 30 minutes of cooking (I did). When the beans have reached the level of doneness (become soft) that you like, they're done!

Maybe next time I make this I will mix in some canned diced Ortega (mild green) chilies for a little color variation and light flavor. Or maybe a bit of Tabasco mild green sauce would taste good. What ideas will you have?

Finished beans, served up and ready to eat!

Daisy was passed out on the sofa all the while I was cooking tonight! She has been so lazy today! Looks pretty cozy doesn't she?

Daisy's Rock n Roll dog T-Shirt

Daisy loves Led Zeppelin! Just like her Mommy.... She was jealous of my orange Zepp T-shirt, so I made a custom Led Zeppelin dog T-shirt for her. It's different from my vintage shirt, but I like hers better I think! Got sparkles!

'We' (ok just me actually) recently got into the Led Zeppelin 'mood' after dreaming about how we might be able to manage to get ourselves a seat at their one time reunion concert last month (Dec 10th) in London at the at the O2 Arena. They played a one time show in memorial for their recently passed away friend, Ahmet Ertegun, with Jason Bonham drumming in place of his father. But alas, a dream was all it was. We are anxiously waiting to hear if Led Zeppelin will play some other shows in the future for us sorry losers who couldn't see the show in London. Over 13 million people entered their names on the website for the lottery for tickets to the London show (initially crashing the website!), but there were only 20,000 seats available.

You can make a custom rock and roll dog T-shirt for your dog too (or any other theme you like)! You will need one plain dog T-shirt to start with. We used orange for Daisy's Zeppelin shirt since the Zeppelin logo I was going to use was coming from a shirt that was also orange.

Next, you need a patch or use a cutting from an old T-shirt with the logo or wording or picture you want to put onto the dog's T-shirt. I cut the words/logo "Led Zeppelin" from a T-shirt of mine, as mentioned above. Of course the T-shirt I cut it from is no longer usable by me, so keep in mind you are sacrificing one T-shirt for the dog T-shirt if you are going to cut a logo or picture instead of using a patch.

This is really all you will need, sewing the patch or cutting onto the plain dog T-shirt (after determining where you like to place it on the T-shirt it). Sew first one straight stitch on top of the patch/cutting all the way around (about 0.5 cm or 1/4 inch in from the edge) attaching securely to the dog T-shirt. Then go back and sew a zig-zag stitch along the entire edge of the patch or cutting so that it won't roll up along the edge after washing (this is especially important when using a cutting from a T-shirt).

Being the over-doer that I am, I was not content to stop here, I wanted something more. Originally I thought to use some silver studs for that rock and roll look but then remembered I had some even more interesting crystal studs in my sewing basket and got those out. I think plain silver studs would be good for a boy dog and the crystals are pretty for a girl, like my Miss Daisy!

If you are going to decorate with studs or rhinestones, after sewing on the logo, lay the shirt out flat and plan out where you want to place the decorations before starting to attach them one by one. I didn't measure, just eyeballed it and it turned out fine.

We may be making more T-shirts in the future!

Click on the pictures to enlarge to see detailing closer.

Rear view of the finished shirt.

Decided to bring some crystal studs around on the front too.

Miss Daisy Ipo in another pose in her new shirt.

Have you heard of Wii Fit?

Menu for the different muscle conditioning exercises.

What is Wii Fit? It's a new addition to Nintendo's Wii games. You may have heard about it. It was released this past December in Japan. It is hard to get though, as it is sold out as soon as the store gets it in. A few weeks ago, my father in law found out when a local store had just received a shipment. He stood in line about an hour before they opened and he was able to get one. It costs 8,000 Yen in Japan which is currently about $75.00 USD.

We are visiting with my in laws for a week right now and are enjoying playing around with Fit. I usually dislike gaming, mostly to do with the time it wastes and the negative content of many of the games, but I really think that Nintendo has done something great with Wii. This is enjoyable not only for those who have never really been into gaming, but also now the whole family can get involved. I think Wii games are good mental exercise (the basic ones I have seen) and now with Wii Fit, you can get a bit of physical exercise too, especially for older folks who may find other gaming systems difficult.

I have tried some Wii games earlier this year at a friend's house and I liked it (Wii Sports was fun), but now I am really motivated to get Wii Fit when it comes out in US (since I don't really read Japanese well, I need to be able to operate it in English).

I have heard that Fit was supposed to be released in early January 2008 in US, but then read some other comments on the internet that it will be available much later than that. Release dates for Australia seem yet to be announced as well. I'm sure it will sell out quick in the English language verison whenever it becomes available. Some places may be pre-selling it seems.

Fit has more than 40 different types of training activities designed for all ages/members of the family. There are four fitness categories including aerobic exercise, muscle conditioning, yoga poses, and balance games. The aerobic exercise consists of 10-minute exercises that are designed to get the heart pumping. The muscle conditioning is done by controlling your motions using arms, legs and other body parts. Yoga Poses uses classic poses that focus on balance and stretching. Some of the balance games are ski jumping and heading soccer balls, that challenge the player’s overall body balance. Lean to block soccer balls, swivel hips to power hoop twirls or balance to hold the perfect yoga pose. When you stand on the Fit's balance board, your body’s overall balance is tied to the game.

The Wii Fit's balance board can also be used for daily tests. These evaluate two key measures that a household can track via progress charts:

• Body Mass Index (BMI): A weight evaluation based on a ratio of weight to height.
• Wii Fit Age: The Wii Fit Age is measured by factoring the user’s BMI reading, testing the user’s center of gravity and conducting quick balance tests.

My father in law is 82 and has no problems with the games or operating the Wii internet functions and photo viewing. We only had to help him get the wireless router necessary for the internet connection (for the Wii itself). My niece and nephew (10 and 12 years old respectively) were monopolizing the system on New Year's day when we all got together. They tried out all the games for us and then gave us pointers.

Here are some pictures and some of the Wii Fit different games we have been enjoying.

The Wii Fit balance board.

The balance board with someone standing on to show size.

Ken enjoying the snowboarding game, for this, the Wii Fit balance
board is turned lengthwise.

The Yoga menu.

Menu for the balance games, soccer balls, downhill skiing,
ski jump, tightrope walking, etc.

Downhill ski racing game.

I don't know what this one is called, but it's pretty fun. Tilt the different shaped trays (this one is a "W" shape) and make the balls fall into the hole within the allotted time period.

Tilt the iceberg to get points with the penguin and jumping fishes.