How do other people break down time?
I’m asking rhetorically, maybe. I’ve always had such trouble breaking down my own timeline into different sections, compartments of being. For example, I tend to classify everything that happened to me before the age of 15 or so into one large clump of existence. I remember bits and pieces here and there, starting from age 3, but nothing terribly important or noteworthy (in my mind) happened up ’til my mid-adolescence. Memory is a fickle siren song.
Only now, I seem to want to break down my states of being as much as humanly possible. It’s part of the reason I first got into photography, I think. Photographs give me something tangible to reference, so I know exactly the sorts of things I was thinking and feeling whenever I took the photograph. Even more important than subject or location or atmosphere, I look for the mental schema that led me to capture one particular instance of light, one image, one particular sentiment.
Lately my timeline is fragmented by individual months. I’ll have some hobby I’ll pursue with abandon, never thinking much of it and never expecting anything to come of it. In the past, it’s been crafts like wood-burning, or botanical illustrations, or necklace making, or antler collecting. These strange fascinations that wax and wane out of my life, turning memory into something physical.
I often think baking is just my latest conduit for… remembering. But I love it.
Vegan Banana Bread Bites
Ingredients
2 large bananas, ripened
5 dates, pitted
1 tb molasses
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup organic dark brown sugar
1/2 cup organic pastry flour, or all purpose
1/3 cup ground flax meal
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
optional:
1 1/2 tsp butter flavoring
coconut flakes, unsweetened
In food processor, add bananas and dates, and puree until combined. Add in molasses, vanilla, and brown sugar, and optional butter flavoring, and pulse until smooth.
In separate bowl, whisk pastry flour, flax meal, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda. Add in half of dry mixture to food processor, pulsing until combined. Add in other half and mix until a sticky dough forms.
Use an ice cream scoop or tablespoon to form small balls with dough, about 1″ in diameter. Place on silicon baking sheet at least 2″ apart. If desired, press shredded coconut into tops of dough. Bake on middle rack for 12 minutes at 350 degrees.
Ginger Maple Glaze
Ingredients
2 tb fresh minced ginger
1 tsp maple extract
1/4 cup organic powdered sugar
Mix all ingredients in small bowl until combined. Drizzle over cooled cookies.
The ginger maple glaze is optional, because without it these cookies really just taste like miniature loaves of banana bread. The glaze is spicy, but I think it works. Then again, I’m a huge fan of ginger, from its fragrance to its wonderful digestive benefits.
With these cookies, I recommend some very early morning sunlight. There’s nothing like banana bread at 5:30 am, in an empty house with all the shadows going to opposite way of how you normally see them.
Small comforts, so important.
Happy nomming,
Danny
I think many of my early ‘memories’ come actually from seeing pictures of myself in places/situations, rather than actual memories.
The banana bites look great
Agreed. Sometimes I see pictures from my early childhood, and I think I remember snippets of the event, but I can’t tell what my own mind made up to fill in the gaps and what actually happened. So tenuous!
Aww the last couple lines of this post made me all warm and fuzzy! I love being up early before the rest of the world just enjoying the quiet, the sun coming up, before anything has had time to go wrong.
These bites sound delicious, especially that glaze. I’m a huge fan of ginger too- I swear ginger tea is a miracle cure.
Yes, Gabby! I noticed that even just 15 minutes of early-morning-appreciation-time makes my whole day so much more calm and streamlined. I drink ginger tea sometimes before I go to the gym, and I swear it helps my oxygen/blood flow and even makes me sweat more. A miracle cure for sure.
Ginger and maple in a glaze? I think I just died a little inside…. :3
Time is a tricky thing… I seem to classify periods of my life through hobbies that come and go and string them together with lasting hobbies. Another way I capture memories is by reading books. I’ll always use something significant at the time as a bookmark (i. e., a clothing tag or foreign money) and let it remain in the book. After I’m done with the book, I like to reflect on everything the book has “seen me through.” It’s always quite interesting (especially with longer books).
I know, that was a bit long-winded, but I couldn’t help myself. Your ponderings inspire me.
In comparison to this post, not at all long-winded
I often define periods by what I’m reading, too. I was talking to my friend the other day about how what books/authors I’m reading drastically affects the very way I view the world. For example, I’m reading Vonnegut now and it makes me view everything with this “so it goes” mentality. Glad to provide some inspiration in any way I can!
Cookies tasting like real banana bread. This is worth a try
I m very eager to find out if this is true!
Danny, those look amazing! I’d love one right now or for breakfast tomorrow!
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I had no ripe bananas on hand so I substituted pumpkin. It turned out a little more sticky but oh so delicious! Such a simple recipe. The nutmeg adds a lot — it’s not a spice that gets the autumnal spotlight often, for most recipes call for cinnamon or ginger. I will definitely try it with the banana (once mine ripen haha). Thanks for sharing and indeed this was a happy nom.