Yesterday I got quite a bit accomplished on the sample quilt. I’m calling it Neapolitan, because of the colors. It uses the In the Pinks II line of fabric from Buggy Barn (Henry Glass), in lovely shades of strawberry pink, cream, and chocolate. I’m thinking about including a simple, yummy recipe that uses those same flavors. Probably cream filled strawberries drizzled with chocolate. Mmmm…

Speak of mmmm, I’ve been desperate to do some baking. I saw a bunch of overripe bananas on the counter yesterday so I played around with Mary’s Banana Bread recipe and whipped up a batch. Mary is a good friend of the family – she and her husband were neighbors of my parents at college. Our families grew up together, and while we don’t see them as often as we really should, I still think of Mary as my other mom. Her banana bread recipe is very simple, no frou frou spices or add ins, but it’s moist and flavorful. It’s the recipe we keep going back to when we want a nice loaf of banana bread. My tinkering was minor – substituting half butter, half canola oil for the shortening, and adding a smidge of sour cream with the milk – but I liked the extra flavor it added. Something went a bit awry during the process, I think. I could swear the recipe made two loaves but I only had enough for one, and it was a bit thinner than usual. It turned out fine, though. In fact, it was so good that we scarfed it all down before I even thought to take a picture. Guess I’ll have to make another one soon.

Today, however, I’m trying a yeast bread recipe I found in the latest King Arthur Flour catalog. It’s called No-Knead Harvest Bread and it contains dried fruit and nuts. You mix up a sticky dough and let it rise all day long (okay, they say overnight, but I keep forgetting to start it at night). It is baked in a covered pan, so I’ll finally have a chance to use my stoneware bowl and baking dish. I’ll try to remember to take a picture this time, but it will be 10 hours or so before it’s finished.