Popcorn in Our Palms

It was an early day of summer. I hesitatingly said goodbye to spring ,even though it was hard to do so. Patrick and I decided to spend our afternoon at the farmer market. We were both exhausted from working and nothing was worth spending our afternoon more than this place. Patrick has never been to the farmer market before so I got to introduce Mr. Farmer Market to him.

It's kinda complicated to say how I feel exactly about the farmer's market. It is something you have to make yourself a part of it and then you would understand. But I'll try telling anyway. I could tell people go there for comfort. The minute I stepped in, I got these feelings. The feeling of letting go, of forgetting whatever stresses you had for weeks and enjoying the outdoors. You see people picking lovely flowers, fresh and juicy local fruit, bake goods and everything else you could imagine. It's like the world has turned into the pastel field. You got the cozy orange light from the sun, the red from fresh picked tomatoes, yellow from zucchini, green from all the veggies, brown from bread and scones, purple from chive flowers and dark pink from rhubarb. At the farmer's market, I have the appreciation for wholesome food and what earth has provided us and I also see the dedication of the farmers in their produce. I guess everybody has learned the same lesson cause I could see people smiling as they happily popped the food in their mouths. I also got the feeling of being surrounded by something cozy in the air and being wrapped by it. You wish you could reach your hands and grab all that cozy air around you, put in the pocket and keep it in the jar beside your bed but you can't! Cause that is what make the farmer's market special and unique.

There was hand holding, there was a smile from someone beside, there were juicy local fruit to taste, ice cream to lick and a bunch of popcorn in our palms. Patrick got us lovely coconut popsicles. The cold breeze passed through my hair as we headed to the park nearby. We worked on our ice creams little by little and didn't even mind a bit when we had it all over our mouths. It was the perfect time to pretend we were kids. It was just like the old days where you sat out in the sun, licked the ice cream with your friends while wiping the s weat off your face and dirt all around your butt. Things used to be simple like that. -Candice-

Banana Upside Down Cake

(The first recipe we have created!)

For the caramel topping :

2 bananas

1 1/2 tbsp coconut oil

4 tbsp light brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon Lime juice (to prevent the banana slices from browning)

For the cake :

1 cup wheat bran

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

3 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp flax seeds

1/2 tsp salt

6 tbsp coconut oil

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup white sugar (cane sugar if you prefer)

1 1/2 cup yogurt

3 eggs separated

Vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350'F/180'C. Cut up the bananas into thick slices. Then,sprinkle the lemon juice over sliced bananas,toss them around in the bowl.

On a medium heat,use the cake tin to combine the coconut oil and brown sugar till they're melted and well-combined. Spread brown sugar mixture over bottom of the cake tin. Arrange banana slices atop brown sugar mixture, covering completely. Set aside.

Combine wheat bran, flour, baking powder, flax seeds and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil with honey until combined. Add egg yolks and vanilla extract and beat till well mixed.

Add the wet mixture to the dry. Next, whisk egg whites until soft peaks form then combine the egg whites and yogurt in the cake mixture. Mixing them lightly with a spoon or folding with a spatula until just combined.

Pop the cake in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until the cake in golden brown on top. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter. We didn't grease the cake tin at this point cause there are lots of coconut oil in the batter already. Place the cake tin on a wire rack and allow cake to cool for at least 30 minutes before jumping into it.

Drizzle lots and lots of honey over the cake if you have a sweet tooth like us. With a scoop of vanilla ice cream wouldn't hurt anyone either. Enjoy!!

Katy was so busted. I caught her in the middle of snacking on the yogurt we needed to use for the recipe. Bad bad bad.