Banana Bread Recipe

One day, when all bananas at home started to have black spots on them...getting over riped, i then decided to do banana bread. Searched in the internet and found a very good recipe. I did some changes to it and got a wonderful banana bread. and since i didnt have a bread makin tray, i have to make it a banana cake (named by me ;))

Here is the recipe which i got in the internet.

Ingredients
3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

Method
No need for a mixer for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.



The changes i made to it, i added orange juice instead of vanilla essence and used brown sugar instead of the regular sugar. And added dried berries and mixed it at the end. Baked the cake at 350 degrees for 45 mins. And the cake is ready.
It came out like the plum cake in India, which I used to love in my childhood.

mmmm.....YUMMY! my kids loved it.

Make a Difference

A man was walking down a deserted Mexican beach at sunset. As he walked along he began to see another man in the distance. As he grew nearer he noticed that the local native kept leaning down, picking something up, and throwing it out into the water. Time and again he kept hurling things out into the ocean. As he approached even closer he noticed that the man was picking up starfish that had washed up onto the beach, and one at a time, he was throwing them back into the ocean. The first man was puzzled. He approached the second man and said, "Good Evening Friend, I was wondering what you are doing?" And he replied, "I'm throwing these starfish back into the ocean. You see its low tide right now and all these starfish have been washed up onto the shore. If I don't throw them back into the sea, they will die from the lack of oxygen." "I understand, the first man replied "but there must be thousands of starfish on this beach and you couldn't possibly get to all of them. There are simply too many and don't you realize that this is happening on hundreds of beaches up and down this coast ... can't you see that you can't possibly make a difference? The local native smiled, bent down, picked up yet another starfish ... and as he threw it back out into the sea, he replied, "It made a difference to that one!" You may feel like you cannot make a difference in the world today, but you CAN make a difference in one life at a time.
Lessons to be learnt: Never underestimate your own efforts. You too could make a difference. Don't ask what the world could do for you; seek what you could do to the world.

Five Lessons Shared About Helping Others

I read this article in a news letter. I thought i would post it in my blog.
First Important Lesson – Cleaning Lady
During Raju’s second month of college, his professor gave them a pop quiz. He was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions until he read the last one:

“What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?” Surely this was some kind of joke. He had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50’s, but how would he know her name? He handed in his paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count towards their quiz grade. “Absolutely” said the professor. “In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say “hello”. Raju never forgot that lesson and he also learned her name was “Dorothy”.


Second Important Lesson – Pickup In The Rain
One night, at 11.30 p.m., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960’s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxi-cab. She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man’s door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached. It read:

“Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husbands’ beside just before he passed away… God Bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others.” Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole

Third Important Lesson – Always Remember Those Who ServeIn the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.
“How much is an ice cream sundae?” he asked. “Fifty cents,” replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it. “Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?” he inquired. By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient.
“Thirty-five cents,” she brusquely replied. The little boy again counted his coins. “I’ll have the plain ice cream,” he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table, there, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies.
You see, he couldn’t have the sundae because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.

Fourth Important Lesson – The Obstacle In Our PathIn ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the kings’ wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the kind for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.
Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many god coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was fro the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand – Even obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.
Fifth Important Lesson – Giving When It Counts
Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz, who was suffering from a rare & serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister.
I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying “Yes, I’ll do it if it will save her.” As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as well all did, seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, “Will I start to die right away?”
Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.

Awesome Feeling to meet a long lost friend in Orkut

The day after pongal, 15 Jan 2010, I saw a scrap from my long lost friend.
Too surprised to see that message, to see if i am the right person. Yes, i got a chance to get back to my old friend who did my 4Th and 5Th standard in RSK, HR. Sec School, Trichy. We both were searching each other all these years and we talked to each other after so many many years. I couldn't recognize her with the photo she had in orkut but she guessed me with my picture. A good start for this new year :)