Roses

It has been really HOT here lately. So much so that you don't want to go outside anymore than you can help. It's like stepping out into a sauna. So when I get home I run out, take a quick look around to feed the fish, see if anything needs to be watered, and then run right back into the house. Today I had to do some watering, the pond in a box was drying out, and the potted plants looked pretty dejected. I do have some beautiful blooms on my roses though, and the garden area is looking pretty. It's kind of sad to be leaving behind roses again, I left some up in Quantico when we left there also. The ones here have been doing very good,and I have been inundating family and friends with pictures of the same rose bushes with slightly different flower positioning since spring started.

My mission tonight is to do some more decluttering (I've gotten a bit off schedule, so I have to hop back on the wagon). I've still been getting urges to bake like a madman, I think that doing domestic things like that gives stability in the middle of a bunch of change, which might be why I've been wanting to do it. Tonight I'm doing an experiment with some banana oatmeal cookies to use up the bananas that have been sitting on the table getting spotted. It didn't look too promising though, came out more like muffin batter than cookie dough. So I put it in mini-muffin pans and they are in the oven now. Not sure if they are going to need to get tossed or not.

Update: Okay, so I should have more faith in recipes, the muffins turned out okay so I made the rest into cookies. The cookies were very good, very chewy and yummy. The banana flavor isn't overwhelming, and it tasted butterscotchy. I like making new words. :) This recipe is adapted from the Aunt Bee's Mayberry Cookbook.

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

1/3 c. canola oil
1 c. firmly packed brown sugar
3 bananas, mashed (approximately 1 ¼ c.)
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 ½ c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 c. oatmeal

Grease 2 cookie sheets. In a large bowl, mix oil and sugar with a whisk until blended. Add the banana and vanilla, mix until well blended. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt, whisk to combine. Add the flour and oats to the wet ingredients, and mix until blended. Drop by the tablespoon onto the prepared cookie sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

I usually make my cookies really big, so mine were dropped by the ¼ c. full. Make sure that you do grease the pan well, because they are not oily cookies.