Kitchen Creation Update and 'Lori-Rocked Banana Bread'

Thanks for all the love on the carrot coconut bars. They really are good: I've already made a second batch, and left it out in the sunny window to dry for longer storage. They're much nicer when moist and soft, but still good at a drier and chewier point.


Kitchen Creation Update
Remember this "toss it in there and shut the door" space?

Now, it's looking like this:

 Here's the south wall (counter still needs quite some work)

 Since I took that photo, I also built the drawers for the cabinet on the right of the pic. "Built the drawers"--sounds so nonchalant and easeful, but once again, it's an IKEA item, and mostly just snapped together (although I did 'snap' a fair chunk out of the pad of a finger when I pinched it in a snappy spot).

We found some shelving at Home Depot that juuust fits inside the closet, now pantry--

 I'm so grateful to Phil's daughter and her mom for all their help and expertise: they've been making this process fun, too. We sure had a geometric dance building those two shelving units in that closet.
The pictures above show a work in progress. It's still a building site in there. I welcome the opportunity to consolidate our pantry: up till now, jars and bags have been squirreled away in all kinds of nooks, and most of the dry goods were inconveniently accessible in the low, deep cupboards under the counter in the main room.

The danger of ending up with haphazard (non)organization in the new pantry is large, as things get moved in helter skelter. I've never had the opportunity to create a kitchen as I wish it (space and geometry permitting): my kitchens have been either minimalist, non-existent (?existentialist), or scattered (sometimes across more than one homestead, back in HI). Amazing how much food prep I've done over the years despite that!

'Lori-Rocked Banana Bread'
We have dinner with Phil's daughter once a week. She does better without gluten, and I enjoy creating desserts that she'll enjoy and her tummy will too. Yesterday, we had several ripe bananas. Banana bread's a favorite with both her and Phil, and I have several go-to recipes, but I was intrigued by one Lori recently posted and ended up making (a version of) it.

 I didn't have pumpkin, so I used three bananas instead of pumpkin and bananas. I used half a cup each of mixed pecans and pumpkin seeds, protein powder and oats. And since they both love their sugar, I added two tablespoons of honey to the recipe, and two tablespoons of peanut butter just for kicks.

 It looked pretty good when it came out of the oven. I was roasting veggies and left it on top of our little oven so that it was warm until I served it.

The verdict? Here's how much was left when Phil had had his fill (yes, that pun again).

(His daughter had seconds, too.) He had fun cutting out all kinds of funny shapes, just completely vanquishing the notion of linear square pieces. So, Lori adjusted a bodyrock recipe, and then I adjusted a 'Lori-rocked' recipe with gratitude and homage.

Btw, I did use an egg for this time, but I think it would be just fine with no egg and extra banana, or with some flax meal and a tad extra liquid. Nice, flexible recipe, great texture and moisture, apparently very toothsome indeed. Definitely one I'll want to try to make when I'm done yeast cleansing and can try it myself (the list seems to be growing, but pleasantly enough, I'm not feeling at all deprived in the interim).
Thanks, Lori!

Any advice on kitchen organization strategies humbly solicited and gladly received. Please tell me your thoughts.
much love