Banana Coconut Pancakes

Lately you hear a lot of talk of folks trying to eat a bit healthier. So in that personal journey myself I have been learning to cook more with coconut oil. It is a healthier alternative to good ole butter. Love my butter, but a lot of it is not so good for you ;-) One of my coconut journey's led me to Banana Coconut Pancakes!

So here is the recipe for my Banana Pancakes. Below I will add my notes of how I changed it up a bit to make it a little healthier. Enjoy!!!
Ingredients:

2 large eggs

2 cups buttermilk

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

OR1 tablespoon butter and 5 tablespoons coconut oil (melted)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup coconut sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup diced bananas (2 large)

1/8 cup finely shredded coconut (you can do sweetened if you want, or not, coconut comes in many different types of shreds, fine, ribbons, sweetened or plain. I go for the unsweetened fine shred, because I get my sweetness from all the real maple syrup that I add on top!!!!!

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and buttermilk. Stir in the melted butter. Here is where I add my coconut oil. This morning I used one tablespoon of butter and 5 tablespoons of the coconut oil.
In a small bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring until just combined — don't worry if there are a few lumps.

Stir in the bananas and coconut.
Lightly grease a large sauté pan or griddle with the nonstick spray or butter or coconut oil. Heat the pan until hot and then spoon out 3 tablespoons of batter per pancake.

Cook the pancakes until the tops look dull and a few of the bubbles pop, about 3 minutes.

Turn the pancakes over and cook for another minute.

You can top them with so many yummy toppings. Real maple syrup, yogurt, strawberries

On another note, when I make oatmeal, the old fashion gotta cook it for ten minutes kind. I will add a generous tablesppon or two of the coconut oil to my oats while they are cooking. It's really tasty. I have pretty dry skin and by adding coconut oil to my diet it helps that issue. You can google all the health properties of coconut oils.

Next I am learning how to use the sweetner that is made from coconut. A simple cane sugar alternative that is naturally low on the Glycemic Index (GI), which has benefits for weight control and improving glucose and lipid levels in people with diabetes (type 1 and type 2).
Coconut Sugar is produced from the sweet juices of tropical coconut palm blossoms.
Coconut Sugar is a natural, high energy food source made from the sweet sap of the flowering stem at the top of the coconut tree.
It is slowly bent for collection and this sweet sap oozing out from the inflorescence is collected, boiled, and concentrated to form a granulated sugar. Our Coconut Sap Sugar is wet and has an oyster-white translucent color when first gathered. After boiling, the sweet sap turns into a light brown color. Once collected, the nectars are kettle-boiled into a thick caramel and ground to a fine crystal. Sounds exotic doesnt it???? :-)Here are some other really awesome factoids about coconut sugar;
Coconut Sugar is rated as a GI 35. By comparison, most commercial Honeys are GI 55 and Cane Sugars are GI 68.
Coconut Sugar has a nutritional content far richer than all other commercially available sweeteners.
Coconut Sugar is especially high in Potassium, Magnesium, Zinc and Iron and is a natural source of the vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6 and C.
Coconut Sugar is a 100% Organic, unprocessed, unfiltered, and unbleached natural sweetener. And contains no preservatives.
Coconut sugar is produced by smallholder farmers. 100% of the money from growing, harvesting and primary processing of this ingredient stays in the local communities.
Through market access and production training, smallholder sugar tappers have risen well above the poverty line and are able to earn an increase in personal income of close to 200%, while maintaining a competitive market price as a cane sugar alternative!
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the World Bank has reported that palm sweeteners like this coconut sugar are the single most sustainable sweetener in the world!
Coconut Sugars are not produced from the same palm species as is used for the production of Palm Oil.
Coconut Palms produce an average of 50-75% more sugar per acre than Sugar Cane and use less than 1/5th the nutrients for that production.
Tropical palms are an ecologically beneficial tree crop that grows in diverse, wild-life supportive agro-ecosystems, restore damaged soils and require very little water.
Coconut Palms are considered the “Tree of Life” by many traditional communities throughout the world as they provide over 100 smallholder accessible products from which to make livelihoods. The production of Coconut Sugar has the single highest potential for lifting these farmers into a better life while creating a net benefit to their surrounding environment.

So where do I find it?

You can find coconut oil & sugars in healthfood stores. Larger chain stores are providing consumer demand for organic, natural, and sustainable products. The brand of oil I like to use is Spectrum. This is from their web site: "Coconut Oil, Virgen Unrefined, OrganicSize: 14oz This oil is best for sautéing at medium heat where the oil’s full flavor is intended as an integral part of the finished dish or, because of its unique flavor, for baking. IngredientsNaturally unrefined expeller pressed virgin organic coconut oil".http://www.spectrumorganics.com/?id=87

Coconut sugars are not as main stream yet, but are soon to be!!! I use Coconut Secret, raw coconut crystals.

So it's sweet, Can be used for cooking and baking, it's healthier for you, healthier for the environment, sustainable. Don't you just love coconuts??????
Now go and Enjoy you some pancakes :-)
With Fond Aloha

"She gets up while it is still dark"

"A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies". Proverbs 31:10
"She's up before dawn, preparing breakfast for her family and organizing her day". Proverbs 31:15
So reveling in my rubacious character, I arose before the sun and made up a batch of Lemon, Rosemary, Lavender, muffins. Now don't wrinkle your nose!! They were absolutely delicious! Quality control, isn't that a part of being an able helpmate????? LOL!!! Have a blessed day. Aloha!

When Family comes a calling

One of the redeeming qualities of Facebook, is it allows you to contact people you havent seen in years. Recently several of my cousins, and my Aunties, have had an opportunity to connect with me online via facebook, and I am a loving it. We have had a chance to catch up and share our lives with each other, and make plans to connect. One cousin was arriving on Kauai with her kids, and grandchildren. I invited them up to our place for lunch, then we went out to take in this beautiful North Shore of Kauai. If I did not use Facebook, I would not have had a chance to connect and find out that they were in my neck of the woods!! Oh I mean OCEAN!!!!! Thank you Marianne, Karmen, Kyle, Sawyer, and Delaney for stopping by and spending the day with me. It was a joy and a real blessing. Aloha!!!!

Bufo marinus

here are some of our other friends

What happened to your tail? I call this one Lester. For less is more!

Lester gets very territorial around his corner of the deck

I want to introduce you to a new critter on Keelerkai. It is not new to science, just to my blog. I have been sharing with you some of the creatures that live on this island, and most of them have been critters that can be caught on camera during the day. But tonight I braved all the night flying insects ( and believe me there is a lot when you venture out at night here with a flashlight). This little Bufo was a bit tricky to catch, and I was learning how to use the night feature on my camera, so I apologize in advance for the poor quality of the pictures. These fellas are so cute the way they appear to be up on their hind legs. A word of caution , they are toxic to animals and children, so they are best to observe, and let be!

Cute little fella isnt he?

Happy Birthday Lindon!

May our good Lord bless and keep you healthy, happy and well !

Let us not forget!

To all the brave men and woman who honorably served in the arm forces of the United States in times of peace and conflict, the freedom of this great nation is only possible because of the sacrifice of those that served so valiantly. God Bless America!

Another day in Paradise

The sign says it all!

My Promise :-) One of our favorite places Lumahai beach. We had a potluck beach dinner, complete with smores and entertainment

Can you see me?

Can you see the fireworks?

The new steps my sweetheart made for me. The video below is for you my dear friend at the Ole potting shed.

The Woman that I Am

Billy Jean Cook
Jeanette Carpathia Jones

"Guided by my heritage of a love for beauty and a respect for strength -- in search of my mother's garden, I found my own."
-- Alice Walker, "In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens"

Being home with my momma has brought up so many memories and feelings for me, and with Mother's Day just around the corner, I started to reflect on my Mother, and her mother (my grandmother) and my relationships with them. Being a mother myself, I find so much of these two woman in me, and the way that I look at the world, and interact with it. Both of these woman were hard workers, fantastic cooks, gardeners, kept immaculate homes, and yards. My love for crafting was inspired by them as well. Grandma was great with a sewing machine, and my mothers crochet was so beautiful. She made doilies, trimed tea towels, made afghans for all her kids and grandkids. I have been inspired to work hard for my family as they did for theirs. For these gifts I am so greatful, it is these gifts that surface in me from time to time. I was an adopted child (adopted as a 6 month old infant), and these women loved me like there was a blood bond. Another thing that I have learned from them is, there is always room for the love of a child, whether they come from your loins or not.

Thank you Billie Jean & Jeanette Carpathia for loving me, and leading me to my own garden

A Heart For Jack

One of the blogs that I follow is Kim over at Daisy Cottage. I read this post on her blog and was deeply touched by Jack's love for his wife Tabatha. The blog entry is below if you care to read it.
"Dear Daisy Cottage Family, I received an email from a very sweet man, Jack, a little while ago. With his permission, I am going to share it with you too. Dear Kim, My name is Jack Benke. My beautiful wife Tabatha passed away last Saturday at the young age of 42. She had been battling cancer for the past two years. I find my peace in knowing that she is in a beautiful place now and that I know that she is not suffering anymore. I know you never knew her, but you were such an inspiration in her daily life. In the last month's, she never missed a day of going to your web site and listening to your music and reading your web page. It gave her a great deal of peace during a time when she was in pain. We were able to pull your music off of your web page, and those were the songs that we played at her service. As I stated, you never knew her, but you were an inspiration to her, and I thank you so very much for that. I will continue her daily visit to your web page and listen to your music. Thank you again and God bless you. Jack Benke (photo below is Jack's wife Tabatha)

(Kim at Daisy Hill then wrote) As you can imagine, my heart has been touched in a way that I can't even begin to describe. The tears have not stopped. But this post is not about me. It is for Tabatha. She was one of us. She was here and she is here now in spirit. When I asked Jack if I could share Tabatha with you he replied ... Dear Kim, Thank you so very much for your kind words. Tabatha was my life, my love and my happiness and even though my life will never be the same, I will get my strength from her to go on. She battled this old cancer for two years, but she never gave up the fight. The doctors allowed me to bring her home last Thursday where she wanted to be. I was with her Saturday morning when she left us and she left in peace. Kim I have comfort in knowing that she is in a better place and no longer in pain. I have attached a picture of her for you to use as you wish. It would be such an honor to her knowing that you were willing to share her life on your blog. I feel closest to her when I listen to your music playlist. Thank you again Kim for touching her life in a special way. God bless you, Jack "

Kim at Daisy Hill had a fantastic idea to call out to her readers to make hearts to send to Jack in honor of his love for his beloved wife Tabatha. So I joined Kim at Daisy Hill, and made a heart for Jack. It has a little scar on the side where I closed the hole for the stuffing. Much like the scar that we carry when we lose a loved one. The out pouring of hearts was really awesome. Go check them out on Kims blog; http://deardaisycottage.typepad.com/daisy_cottage/page/2/ It would be the April 12th posting.

It has been such a blessing for me to craft a little ole heart, filled with prayers and stuffing, and send it on it's way to people I have never met. Their story touched my heart, and still I am in awe at the power of this electronic medium. May we all hug our loved ones a little more closely, and not take them for granted. May we pray for those blogger's who touch lives and not even know it!

Peace be to you Jack. You have a beautiful gaurdian angel watching over you.

Forget Me Not (for Lea)

When the wise God planted His garden,

Scattering the seeds from above,

The choicest seed in His packet

Was the flower of Mother-love.

Carefully watched o'er and tended,

Nurtured by sunshine and stronger,

It blooms a beautiful flower.

A flower so sweet and entrancing,

Dazzling and shining and white,

A love that guards us and guides us

Through life our beacon light.

A love that steadies our footsteps,

That stretches a helpful hand,

That comforts our sorrows and heartaches,

That always will understand.

Mother-love, God's gift to His children,

With heavenly fragrance fraught;

The brightest flower in God's garden,

His truest forget-me-not.

~by Myrtle Fisher Seaverns~

Reaquainted with an old friend and cleaning

I had a chance yesterday to get outside and work a little bit in our Bellingham yard. It's been over a year since I have had the pleasure to get my fingernails dirty here. What joy I experienced finding plants that I had popped into the ground. When Lindon and I replace our septic system, we had to totally redo the back yard. So all of the planting with the exception of the rhodie, and three wigellia's we put every thing in. It's still pretty early for plants to be a blooming but there are a few things that have come out that I will be sharing with you over the next couple of days.

Enjoy it while we can

We have our home in Bellingham on the market for sale. It has been a tough decision for Lindon and I to sell our beloved KeelerKai. But our decision has been made. Now it is a waiting game, and time to enjoy all that we love about this place. Keelerkai is so different from the Kauai property. One of those differences is the seasons, and the colors inside the house. They change from month to month.