Banana Pudding Cheesecake

This recipe is somewhat symbolic of my life right now. Let's just say that it is BANANAS!! Yes, and not in a good way. This week marks the end of my marriage of 10 years (relationship of 14 years.) It has been a horrible past 3 years and it is coming to an end. I have so many mixed emotions right now and unfortunately everyone else has an idea of how I should feel or act. Some have even suggested that I have a party. Obviously, they have not gone through this process. I am a person who does not give up and the downward spiral of the past few years has made me feel very let down in myself and all things that I believed were good and trustworthy. In my heart, I know that I have tried all that I could possibly have, I loved, I listened, I cared, and I tried so hard, even at times I knew I could never break through. So many of my friends and family have watched my struggle; that is the best word for it, a struggle. I kept hoping and trying that everything could be worked out and it couldn't.  I never considered divorce to be a choice for my life,  but as I have learned all of what I did was not enough to overcome life's obstacles or how people change over the years.  Through all the trying and pain, not only have I lost someone that was the most important person in my life at one time; I have lost myself. And that is a sad place to be. I gave and gave and gave and I lost myself.

This week I have allowed myself to finally mourn this process and yes there have been tears. In so many ways, this is a death of a huge part of my life.  Now I have to move on and find out who the new Rebecca is and unfortunately that will be very difficult. I have so many choices to make right now; personally, professionally and all of them can affect me for years to come. I am moving forward slowly, cautiously and most importantly making every decision for me, something I need to learn how to do again. Please keep me in your prayer and send love in my direction.

XOXO

Rebecca

Frosty Cups Treats for your Favorite Pup

Happy First Day of Summer to everyone! I hope that you made it a great day. It is a beautiful night here in SC and Charlie and I are doing a little back porch sittin'. We worked all week and are just taking some down time to recharge and relax. I have a large glass of iced tea (unsweet of course) and he just had his Frosty Cup for dessert, made especially for him by his Mom. Yes that is me!! I am one of those weird people that is a "dog mom" but I wouldn't have it any other way.  He is my baby and he gets to celebrate the first day of summer as well. As a matter of fact, at age 13, he gets to celebrate anything and everything he wants. 

To get him to wait for this pic was difficult. As my Dad says, he is the most food driven dog anyone has ever seen. This trait has given us some pretty funny times.

So the story of Charlie... I could tell it for days. But for those of you that are not in the know. Charlie was a rescue.  Here in Greenville, SC we have an amazing rescue group called Foothills Golden Retriever Rescue and in 2002, after a lengthy application process, I was the fortunate one chosen to be Charlie's Mom. At that time, they were calling him Spencer, but fortunately for us, no had told him that was his name. He quickly became Charlie, after Charleston, SC. And due to his huge, laid back, silly personality, that name has fit perfectly. Charlie's past is pretty unknown. The only thing we know is that this huge guy with perfect manners and a huge personality was between 2-3 and was left in an apartment in Charlotte, NC. Then he became mine. And the rest is history....



Heading to the beach.

From August 18th, 2002 until now Charlie has been my best friend. He has been included in all aspects of my life.  He goes to work at the office every day where he is the local celebrity and people come just to see him. He has gone on every vacation and stayed in numerous hotels across the east coast. He is welcome in all of my family's houses. He has been to the beach and to the lake. He has been through everything and been everywhere with me. It doesn't matter where we are, he is my ever present support and has the most devoted love. This past 2 years he has helped to carry my burden... And I don't know where I would be without him.



Office Hero!

And now I am helping him carry his. Charlie is 13 years old, as far as we know, and for a big dog that is a lot of years. He is definitely slowing down and it breaks my heart. The time is coming when he will be walking over the Rainbow Bridge. When that time comes, he will be celebrated by so many people, myself included. He has given and taught me so much and right now we are embracing his later years. We are eating ice cream on a warm summer night on the back porch. We are eating fresh warm tomatoes from the garden (my dad taught him how to pick his own.) We are watching fireflies land on his paws. We are listening to what his body needs and not asking too much. And we are sharing lots of hugs. We are celebrating every moment....

My "Big Man"

Hummingbird Cake

Hummingbird Cake

This past week, I had the opportunity to get together with one of my great friends and bake. This is one of both of our favorite past times and she was a major influence in my new blogger life. We spent the afternoon together chatting, baking and of course drinking some good wine.  My friend R blogs at William's Kitchen  Make sure you check her out. She is a bit of an outdoor lover and specializes in picnic foods and camping fare. She is a "down-to-earth" girl in both her demeanor and her rustic cooking skills.

The recipe of choice was a Hummingbird bundt cake. It was a mixture of fruit, nuts and of course topped with cream cheese icing. It is a southern classic that I have seen on menus during many of my trips to the Charleston, SC area. As you all know, I am not a southerner by heritage but I have been here now for 13 years and have really embraced the southern culture and of course southern food. I have learned from the locals here how to fry okra, slow cook grits and how to make low country boil. Oh, and of course, how to enjoy a bourbon while sitting on the back porch on a hot Saturday afternoon. Now, I can officially say I have made a southern Hummingbird cake.  Does that make me a southerner? Who knows, but everything about this cake is delectable.

Grandma Ethel's Fruit Salad

Grandma's Fruit Salad

This is another one of those recipes that I must have on a holiday for it to really be special- my Grandma Ethel's fruit salad. This salad in not hard to make and it is the perfect sweet accompaniment to any dinner.  We  always ate it as a side dish not dessert. It allows for a little bit of sweetness in an otherwise savory meal. As a child, this was the special dish that I waited for on special occasions and one of the main reasons was it's "cherry factor."  I told you I love cherries. My Grandma always knew this and would add just a few extra (a whole jar) for my sister and me.
One of the special memories that I have of my Grandma Ethel was the numerous family dinners that she had for holidays. At her house,she had this huge dining table stuck in this little room. There would be 12 or more people around the table, but once everyone got seated no one could get up or out of the room. We were in there tight.  My sister and I would have special seats; one on either side of Grandma. Everyone would sit, eat and talk; passing the dishes along, person to person, family style. Once everyone got their share, the fruit salad would always end up back in front of my Grandma. She would then proceed to pick cherries out of the remaining salad and give them to my sister and me. Our parents would give us a disapproving look and protest mildly but Grandma always won and so did we!

Chocolate Chip Pecan Banana Muffins




Chocolate Chip Pecan Banana Muffins

 With this recipe I have made in mini muffins, jumbo Texas-style muffins or mini loafs to give as Christmas gifts. It is very versitile and very easy since most times I have all the ingredients on hand. I tend to buy a bunch of bananas and then after eating about three,  I get tired of them and the rest quickly ripen so I throw them in the freezer. Every time I think that I can not fit one more ripened banana in my freezer, I make a batch of this recipe. It is a "comfort dessert" at its best.





Ready to get mixing!

  
When I make this bread, I like to add whole wheat flour. I like the Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Flour. I think that it adds a nice nutty crunch to the top of the muffin. If you like your muffins more moist or traditional, you can skip the whole wheat flour and use the same amount of regular flour. Also if you don't like nuts or chocolate omit them as well. Like I said this recipe is versitle and after much experimentation, the recipe that I am presenting here is what gives me the YUM! factor.