Coconut Pineapple Banana Bread

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Coconut Pineapple Banana Bread

Coconut Pineapple Banana Bread

After traveling on the road, skiing down mountains, and falling asleep under heavy comforters hours before normal, my weekend vacation has come to an end. It's a bittersweet affair. I love to run away from "real life" for a moment, reveling in the suspended time only travel can lend. Even so, all good things must come to an end and (unfortunately) that also includes vacations. Returning to reality jolts my senses and it takes me a moment to realize that this is home and I'm back where I belong. I feel a great sense of loss, but for what I'm never quite certain.

Nevertheless, after a day or two, I settle back into reality as if nothing had changed (and maybe nothing really had).

Coconut Pineapple Banana Bread Coconut Pineapple Banana Bread

The anticipation and build up before the trip, the rush to pack everything, the early morning turn out of the driveway, the frantic screaming to stop the car!, the last minute dash back inside to collect forgotten items, and finally hitting the highway, leaving the familiar brush of reality behind—this is what I love about traveling. There are many more moments I have fallen for, but this is where they all begin.

Maybe my early start turns later than expected. Maybe, for once, I haven't left something behind. Maybe I make it all the way to the airport before I realize I've left my cell phone behind (which is only made more ironic after strongly asserting to everyone within earshot that if I didn't pack it, I don't need it). Sometimes the order of events is different, but it's the on ramp of the highway or the takeoff of the airplane that I look forward to most.

Coconut Pineapple Banana Bread

After coming home from my getaway and remembering once again that I do, indeed, like to bake, a loaf of banana bread with tropical flair seemed to fit my bittersweet mood just right. Pineapple and toasted coconut remind me of faraway places and the banana part of bread keeps me grounded. A balancing force for a Wednesday morning.

As I sit down to eat this bread, I can only dream of the tropical vacations to come...

Coconut Pineapple Banana Bread

This Coconut Pineapple Banana Bread combines the fruits of the tropics and dishes them up in a familiar experience. Pineapple chunks and coconut flakes are scattered throughout the bread, with a sprinkling of toasted coconut to round off the top. The bread is moist and flavorful on its own, though it pairs perfectly with a pat of butter. It's just the right combination of flavors to bring sunshine up an ordinary weekday.

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Chocolate Caramel Crispy Bars

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Chocolate Caramel Crispy Bars

Chocolate Caramel Crispy Bar

As the car barrels down the highway at a steady pace, I find myself sitting in the backseat, writing to you. The sun is shining through the window, sending a brilliant glare onto my computer screen; so bright I find myself needing a pair of sunglasses. Between reading books and staring out at the brown, snowless landscape through the window, I've successfully passed seven hours strapped in one place. I'm headed to the mountains for a weekend getaway filled with warm fireplaces, fresh snow, and a pair of skis strapped to my feet.

Everyone needs a vacation now and then.

Chocolate Caramel Crispy Bar Chocolate Caramel Crispy Bar

As anyone who has ever taken a road trip knows, they require a different class of food altogether. There are traditions and rituals that must be followed, either passed down from parent to child or evolved from assorted friendships. For instance, I have a friend who insists on buying a bag of Fig Newtons before we take on the road. A healthy snack, she claims (but they are not quite so healthy after you've eaten your way through nine or ten).

Another friend and I always stock up on beef jerky and soda at the nearest gas station. We eat until parched from the salty meat and sick from the carbonation. Why we insist on doing this, I'll never know, but it is a sin to break a tradition once it has been set. Beef jerky and soda it will always be, whether I like it or not.

Chocolate Caramel Crispy Bar

Growing up and traveling with my own family, road trips were one of the rare occasions my mother would fill the car with candy, cookies, soda, and other forbidden delights. With so many prohibited treats within reach, it made the fact that we were stuck in a car for countless hours bearable (and, thinking back, perhaps that is where my mother's tradition started in the first place). Even as I sit here now, surrounded by bags of candy and pretzels, I've found myself contributing to this madness. In preparation for the trip, I made a batch of these chocolate caramel crispy bars. After testing them out on the road, I can attest that they were a very good idea.

Nevertheless, the mountains have started appearing over the horizon. Living on the flat, golden plains, I often forget how tall they really stand. So, if you'll excuse me, it seems I have a bit more window watching to do.

What are your road trip food traditions?

Chocolate Caramel Crispy Bar

These Chocolate Caramel Crispy Bars are crispy rice cereal bars with attitude. Made in the same method as the traditional, a healthy portion of chocolate and rich caramel sauce are added to the melted marshmallows to create the only variant. When taking a bite, the chocolate and marshmallow hit the tongue first, followed by a smooth caramel finish. These are simple to make and you may find them disappearing before you were ready to see them go.

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Rosemary Sea Salt Crackers

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Rosemary Sea Salt Crackers

Rosemary Sea Salt Crackers

The thermometer sitting out on the snow-covered deck is incorrect; the needle always pointing to a temperature that stands to be a little too good to be true. Having stood out of the window for as long as my memory can trace, it is an old soul, surviving the chill of winter and the high heat of summer without complaint for decades. I like to imagine the thermometer has become an optimist in its old age, telling me the temperature I long to see while protecting me from the stark reality of winter temperatures.

Right now the thermometer tells me it's a balmy 60° F. The floorboards of the deck are obscured by hard ice and crackling snow (such a temperature certainly cannot be true), but the fabricated temperature still plays up my warm weather fantasies.

Rosemary Sea Salt Crackers Rosemary Sea Salt Crackers

With the sun arising earlier each morning, lending natural light to accompany my breakfasts, I think my winter blues are nearing their end. It feels like the end to the dark winter season—the sun has finished hibernating and is rested enough to spend the day dancing across the sky. Even so, there is still a winter chill in the air and the first signs of spring are far from arriving.

The warmth and heat from the oven is still welcomed in my home.

Rosemary Sea Salt Crackers

The past weekend I set out to make and bake crackers. Though I've made them once before, I wanted to tackle a new set of flavors and textures. Crackers, if you may not know, are easy to prepare by hand or machine, with the act of rolling out the dough taking up the most time. Boxed crackers pale in comparison to the homespun version, as is often the case with anything bought that can be made homemade.

Rosemary has quickly become one of my favorite spices, with its earthy tones and bright green shade. I enjoy it both in winter or spring, which is perfect for me since the winter weather outside my window never quite matches the spring temperatures listed on the thermometer.

Rosemary Sea Salt Crackers Rosemary Sea Salt Crackers

These Rosemary Sea Salt Crackers have a crunchy exterior with a soft and tender interior, mimicking the coveted texture of a perfect chocolate chip cookie. Made with a mixture of whole wheat and all purpose flours, the crackers are flavored with fresh rosemary, cracked pepper, and coarse sea salt. These salty crackers truly pack a punch of flavor. While they would shine with a wine and cheese tray (and impress those lucky enough to give them a try), I ate them plain and by the handful. These crackers didn't last more than 5 hours in my home.

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