Saturday, October 4, 2014

Cat Litter and Banana Bread

San Geraldo was back having fun in the kitchen yesterday afternoon. He made three loaves of his delicious banana bread (his mother's recipe). Our friends here all call it cake. The bread/cake is even more delicious than it used to be since San Geraldo now uses Canary Island bananas.

FRESHLY BAKED CANARY ISLAND BANANA BREAD.

Now everyone knows (don't they?) that peanut butter and bananas are delicious. So I figured peanut butter spread on Canary Island Banana Bread would be even better. That was my breakfast today. It was even better than I imagined.

BREAKFAST.

Sticking to my peanut butter theme for the next meal (but foregoing the banana bread), San Geraldo made me PB&J — a peanut butter and jelly (actually orange and elder flower marmalade) sandwich. Of course, San Geraldo's version looked nothing like any PB&J sandwich I've ever had. Anywhere.

PEANUT BUTTER & JELLY (PB&J) A LA SAN GERALDO.

Between breakfast and lunch, we went downstairs to Café El 90 for coffee.  San Geraldo bagged up a loaf of banana bread as a gift for the owners Domenique and Yvette, and the cook, Vanessa.

Note:  The following information might be helpful before you read further.
• San Geraldo is half Norwegian.
• The Norwegian word for cake is kake (sounds a bit like kah-kah).
• The Spanish word for poop is caca (sounds exactly like kah-kah).


BANANA KAKE.

Every morning, San Geraldo scoops out the cats' litter box, bags up what he scoops in a clear plastic bag, and takes it downstairs to the trash.  I don't even like carrying the bag because I can smell the cat poop right through it. In addition, if I do take the poop downstairs, I seal it in an opaque bag, so no one knows what I've got.

It's one of the many 'subtle' ways in which San Geraldo and I differ.

This morning, San Geraldo took the bag of cat poop in his right hand and headed out the door. However, in his left hand was the bagged-up banana bread, which he was about to switch into his right hand along with the bag of poop. Of course, I stopped him.

CAT CACA.

"Jerry, don't do that! Give me the bread!" I whined.

He laughed and responded, "What?!? I've got kake and I've got caca." 

As I took the banana bread from him, I muttered, "Damned kids."

29 comments:

  1. Wow, thanks for the day brightener. I'm a longtime fan of Belafonte and a huge Muppets fan. Years ago I had a record album of Belafonte's songs. My kids liked to dance around to his song "Back to back, belly to belly, don't give a damn, I done that already". I've never tried peanut butter on banana bread but that sounds inspired since I often have peanut butter on toast with a banana for breakfast. I love that your cousin Dale thought the song was about him.

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    1. Ms. Sparrow:
      Harry Belafonte was very popular at our house. I used to love to listen to his records when I was a kid. I remember this episode of the Muppets. He looked like he was having such a good time.

      Delete
  2. Mitchell, I would like to have recipe of your banana bread. Is it possible to get it. please. Gosia

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  3. Oooooooh! Le cake aux bananes [the French word for a loaf-style veggie or savory bread is cake] looks marvelous!
    (And, holy bejeebers, good save on your part, insisting on the separation of kake and caca :) )

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    1. Judy:
      We've got bread for Tynan and Elena. But Tynan is a bit particular about these kinds of things (even more than I am). I sure hope this information doesn't put him off banana kake.

      (I started off this reply saying we've got a "loaf" for Tynan and Elena... but that didn't sound quite right given the original post!)

      Delete
  4. That banana bread looks delicious. I love it when Mrs. Chatterbox bakes a loaf. When it comes out of the oven and she pops it out of its pan, I like to hold it in my hand and feel the warmth. There's something wonderfully atavistic about holding a freshly baked loaf of bread.

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    1. Stephen:
      I agree with you about holding that freshly baked bread. And I love what the house smells like while it's baking.

      Delete
  5. At least he didn't throw away the CAKE (I too call that cake) and try to make you pb&j on poo! ������
    Di
    X

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    1. Poonut butter. I will never call it anything else from now on LOL!!!
      X

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  6. Banana bread with peanut butter - and this on Yom Kippur....... :( Truly starving now!

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    1. Carole:
      And probably not the lightest thing to break fast with!

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  7. I will look for Canary Island bananas at a shop in the city that imports produce from all over the world....I hope!
    I LOVE banana bread/loaf with peanut butter! Nothing better I'd say!!
    I am happy you took the bread....and ran!!

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    1. Jim:
      I wonder if you'll be able to get them. I hope so. I was stunned by how different they are. Oh... San Geraldo...

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  8. I always heard the lyric as "Day-old. Day-ay-ay old. Day old bread and me wan' go home."

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    1. Walt the Fourth:
      I love your version. I'll think of it whenever I see those baskets of day-old bread at the bakery! Day-old... Day-ay-ay old...

      Delete
  9. Thanks for my first hearty laugh of the day! Kake and caca ... I'll be saying it all day long.

    At Casa Bob y Carlos we have a simple rule: I take care of what goes INTO the cats and Carlos takes care of what comes OUT of the cats.
    So far it works ....

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    1. Bob:
      San Geraldo's roots are on the farm, so he does the caca. Carlos is a good man!

      Delete
  10. You are very lucky to have a spouse who loves to cook and bake. I wish my hubby did! I end up being the one to make the banana bread at our house - but I throw in chopped pineapple bits to make it better as I just have to settle for dreary bananas that have been shipped all the way across North America to get here :)

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    1. Cheapchick:
      Pineapple sounds like a great addition (whether you've got Canary Island bananas or not). We've got a very good set-up here. I hate to cook. San Geraldo loves to. San Geraldo hates to clean up afterward. I don't mind it... as long as I don't have to cook!

      Delete
  11. cat litter and food should not be used in the same title.

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  12. I. love me a good banana bread! and be careful with that caca.

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    1. Knatolee:
      No worries about that caca. San Geraldo is king.

      Delete
  13. What a life of luxury you live and hear we wait for the snow storms amid the pumpkins.

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    1. Laurent:
      We wait for the snow storms, too. It's beautiful in winter to lie on the beach and under the swaying palms and see the snow topping the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the distance.

      Delete
  14. You had me at banana bread, Mitch ~ we used to make this ALL-THE-TIME ~~ why did we stop? Dunno! We would sprinkle sesame seeds or poppy seeds on top among other tasties inside. It's time to do it again.

    Yes, I agree plastic opaque double bagged bag for sure. Don'tr want to ever make a mistake with that and caca!

    Meow!
    Ron

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    1. Ron:
      Jerry makes a lemon bread with poppy seeds. Incredible. I'm not a fan of sesame seeds... only because they always get stuck between my teeth! Jerry baked date spice bread last week!

      Delete

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