What a week it has been! I feel like 2016 is one of those years for the books. It's felt completely crazy, non-stop, full of changes (both for Kyle and I and then obviously for the entire country) and then some. One of the few constants throughout this year has been this little blog of mine, this corner of the internet that I've claimed as my own. I love having a place to share stories, travel, and recipes and ideas that sometimes come to me during the day or right before I hit the hay to sleep. I'm very thankful for it all and the community of blogger friends I've been able to meet (some IRL!).
I didn't initially think that I would begin this post this way, because the truth is I've been feeling all kinds of burnout lately. Maybe it's the end of the year, or the cheeriness all around that makes me happy and nostalgic and excited, but also sometimes leaves me feeling exhausted and low on energy. Inspiration hasn't been my friend, lately. But although blogging has taken a bit of a back seat, I have still been cooking a lot at home, and mostly just doing things for fun and not because I feel pressured to make it look beautiful for a photograph. It's also partly because it now gets dark before 6pm so I kind of can't take pictures... I'm not complaining though because I remember in my Northeast winter days it would get dark a little after 4pm some days!
I guess all I'm saying is if you are experiencing burnout (and not necessarily for a blog, but just in general), it's okay because I am too. We can all put a lot of pressure on ourselves and I think it's overwhelming. It's okay to take a break!
Next week for Thanksgiving, I'm going to be trying a couple of new recipes to help out with the family table, as well as an old one (sweet potato pie!). I'm going to simply enjoy the time of togetherness and be thankful for everything, even the things I thought would work out differently or the the things I am uncertain of. If you are in need of encouragement, this is one of my favorite verses of all time.
And now watch my little video and go make this banana bread! It's so simple to put together and tastes amazing with the addition of chocolate chips and the nutty flavor of tahini. It would be perfect for Thanksgiving breakfast or as an afternoon snack with family and friends. If you don't have tahini, you could sub in peanut butter, but then you should get tahini the next time you are at the grocery store because it is AMAZING. That is all.
Tahini Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
makes one 9x5-inch loaf
Ingredients:
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup mashed bananas (2-3 bananas)
- 1 tbl. milk
- 3 tbl. tahini
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Directions: Preheat the oven to 325° F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add in eggs, beating well until fully incorporated. Stir in bananas, milk, tahini, and vanilla. Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients and stir until fully blended. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
Bake in preheated oven for approximately 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out completely clean. Let cool in the pan for a few minutes before flipping out onto a cooling rack. Enjoy!
