Where did yesterday go?! I’m rewinding through the day’s events.

It was midnight when I wrote this but my internet was being dumb so couldn’t upload it till this morning (Sunday). Anyway, Daniel and I were relaxing with episode after episode of House Hunters and House Hunters International. We had just returned from an evening in Tucson where we met some friends for dinner at an awesome pizza and craft beer restaurant called Reilly’s. It hasn’t always been a restaurant though; it used to be a mortuary of all things – do you think they cleaned the ovens and freezers? In any case, I got a great salad with apples, gorgonzola, and a mustard vinaigrette while Daniel opted for an arugula and prosciutto pizza. He was nice enough to give me one of his eight slices. Oh and I also had a fantastic glass of red wine (Layer Cake Zinfandel), courtesy of our friends that clearly have great taste … buds.

Just before dinner, we were surprised with a fun phone call from my sister and her fiance! My amazing older sister is now engaged: congratulations Kate and Austin! So dang exciting – check out that rock!!

Her ring is so beautiful and unique!

Prior to the great news, we went to mass at St. Augustine Cathedral. We typically attend the Sunday morning service but Saturday vigil mass worked out well for us last night; it is like a drive-through mass with it all the ‘stand, sit, kneel, stand, sit, kneel’ happening in a short 45 minutes.

Absolutely nothing worth saying about our afternoon gym trip except we needed it after

… two and a half hours in the kitchen fighting with a backed up disposal. I discovered the problem when I was whipping up a batch of banana pancakes in honor of Jack Johnson. Not really, but that is a great song. Although tempting to claim ignorance, I know exactly what caused the problem. Shredded carrots and brussel sprout ends.

delicious drain culprit

Note to sous chefs: carrots clog pipes. (Next time I’ll peel my veggies over the trash.)

Note to all wives: husbands unclog pipes for a nominal fee of 3 pancakes.

Dan, the Handy Man

While Daniel was working tirelessly to fix our drainage problem, I flipped the hot cakes and made coffee. I made a big batch for no good reason, so I popped the leftovers in the freezer until I figure out how else to use them.

stack-o-cake

Pancakes in a Jiffy:
No, really, buy the Jiffy baking mix and keep it in your pantry. It has made my life very easy! I have made coffee cake, biscuits, and pancakes with the same baking mix.

Box instructions:
2 cups Jiffy baking mix
1 1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
2 Tbsp oil
My additions:
1 whole banana – warmed in microwave and mashed with potato masher
1 tsp cinnamon

Slice banana length-wise twice then cut into 1/4 inch pieces. Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp cinnamon and warm 15-20 seconds in microwave.

cinnamon bananas for pancakes

Mash bananas to desired consistency. Mine were basically smooth. Mix all ingredients (including banana) together with whisk until most of the lumps disappear. Heat griddle to medium and pour pancakes in whatever size you like. When bubbles begin to pop on the top of pancakes, they are ready to flip.

It looks like a Cracker Barrel pancake!

Next time I am going to try the pancakes with orange zest and walnuts (two ingredients I will have post-Thanksgiving dinner).

No major take-aways other than I guess that’s where the day went…