back ground

July 29, 2013

Dolphins, banana bread, and sparkly shoes

"The earth rolls upon her wings, and the sun giveth his light by day, and the moon giveth her light by night, and the stars also give their light, as they roll upon their wings in their glory, in the midst of the power of God... and any man who hath seen any or the least of these hath seen God moving in his majesty and power." (D&C 88:45,47)
I love the earth.
For our district activity this week a bunch of us missionaries went out to Storebæltsbroen and roasted hotdogs and marshmallows on the beach, played frisbee, hiked around, jammed on the guitar, caught jellyfish and watched dolphins. I thought I was dreaming. Like seriously??! I sat on a cliff in Denmark. And played the guitar while watching DOLPHINS swim in the sparkling ocean. Highlight of my entire life.

Here's some of the highlights from the rest of the week:
A sparkly new pair of shoes with beaded pineapples on them :) (present from sweet Susanne)
Salty black licorice ice cream. (Don't EVERRRR try it.)
A funeral for a dead baby bird with our 6 year old neighbor.
A car show with a bunch of awesome old cars that reminded me of my awesome dad.
A morning jog in warm summer rain.
Baking 80 loaves of banana bread (OK maybe just 8... but still)

I think at least half of my journal entries begin with "Today was the BEST DAY EVER." But I always mean it with my whole heart. And if its a bad day, the great thing is that you can go to bed knowing tomorrow will be better. And if tomorrow isn't better.... well then it will just make you appreciate today! I think one of my favorite things about being a missionary is how productive and important every single day is. Every minute is meaningful. When I ride my bike home at night I reflect back on the day, and I feel like I made a difference. A difference in somebody's day, or a difference in somebody's life. And just like my dad reminded me in his letter today, "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass." We all have the potential to make a difference in the world every single day. So look for ways to make someone smile. Look for ways to share your talents. Look for ways to help those around you. Look for ways to brighten somebody's day. Because feeling like you've made even the tiniest difference is even better than dolphins or banana bread or sparkly new shoes.

I hope you all have a fantastic week! Here's a rocking banana bread recipe if you wanna make some for your neighbor. 
 
 Hope you have the best day ever!
MKH, (med kærlig hilsen)
 
Søster Rogers
P.S. go read D&C 38:28 and tell me it doesn't remind you of Harry Potter
Caramelized Banana Bread with Browned Butter Glaze
Recipe from Our Best Bites 
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons butter, divided
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
3 medium ripe bananas
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons rum (optional; can be replaced with 1-2 teaspoons rum extract or 1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract)
2 large eggs
9 ounces (about 2 cups) all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons milk or half and half
Instructions: 
Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9×5″ loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
Slice the bananas. Set aside.
Over medium-high heat, melt 3 tablespoons butter. Add the bananas and brown sugar and saute for 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and cool for 10 minutes.
Place the banana mixture in a large bowl or the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Beat on medium speed until smooth.
Combine the buttermilk, oil, rum or extracts, and eggs in a large liquid measuring cup. Set aside. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Beginning and ending with the flour mixture, alternately add it to the banana mixture, mixing on low speed until just combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes or until golden brown on top and a pick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it. Cool for 10 minutes and then remove the bread from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.
To prepare the glaze, melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in a small saucepan or skillet over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes or until it begins to get brown and fragrant (careful…things can go south REALLY quickly. Be sure to remove from heat as soon as it starts to get brown.) Whisk in the powdered sugar and milk or half and half and drizzle over the cooled banana bread and allow the glaze to set before slicing. Supposedly makes 16 slices (ha).