happy birthday to my brother and a banana + nutella loaf recipe!!

happy friday!!

this is a very happy friday indeed… not only is it friday but it is also my favorite and very talented brother’s birthday (the fact that he is my only brother does not really matter here, he is still my favorite)!!

(at a bar in midtown) HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE BROTHER!!!

i remember us being inseparable, it was the two of us against the world. and then i went and stabbed him in the head with a syringe. i don’t think he has ever forgiven me for that. before i continue i must tell you: it was a total accident, my mom and dad are FANTASTIC parents. the best. i know i am legally an adult now, but please don’t call child protective services on them. they are really good people. i promise.

here is what happened (my version, i’m sure he tells a very different version where i am the bad guy. he is wrong):

growing up i used to get strep throat multiple times a year. it was very painful and i hated being so sickly but there was nothing i could do. i would always get the shot of antibiotics (NOT FUN) and get better in a few days until i caught strep again. my mom and aunt are doctors, so more often than not they would just give me the shot themselves so i could heal sooner. afterwards i would always get the empty syringe, without a needle, to play doctor with my dolls. one time (around 10 years old), i don’t remember why, my mom gave me the syringe with the needle attached. to this day, i do not think any of us remembers why i got the needle, but i did. after i got my shot, i went to the bedroom to play with my doll. little emil came by asking what i was doing. i just told him to go away because i was not in the mood to play with him, i just wanted to play with my dolls. next thing i remember, emil was in the direct trajectory between my hand (with the needle and syringe) and my doll’s bottom. i remember things going very quickly and next thing i knew i had stabbed my little, precious, adorable brother in the head with a needle - attached to a syringe full of EXPIRED medication to boot (i swear i have great parents. promise).

so… i had stabbed my brother in the head. i was, naturally, freaking out. my sweet, innocent little brother did not know what had happened. all he knew is that i was standing over him with my hands on his head telling myself “itwillokitisokdontworryhewontdiejuststopthebleedingohmygodwhathaveidoneimsorry” over and over again. he just stood there wondering what the hell was going on. it was not until, and i swear this happened in slow motion, a single drop of blood fell to the floor that emil realized something was wrong. this part i remember very vividly. i was trembling and praying he was ok when the single drop of blood fell onto our black and white spotted ceramic floor and when emil saw it… well, i don’t think i have heard screaming like that ever since.

my mom ran to see what was going on - and i ran to throw away the weapon. in my mind i thought i would be best to just throw away the needle and sort of pretend nothing had happened. i know.

the next few minutes are a blur of my neighbor yelling about how if air got into my brother’s brain he would die. he was saying this IN.FRONT.OF.US. a toddler who was just stabbed in the head and his young sister scared out of their minds. my mom asked me to get the syringe and when i got it, the needle was bent at a 90º angle. when she asked whether the needle bent in my brother’s head or when it hit the backyard wall. i insisted that it happened when it hit the wall. and internet, now i will come clean to you and my mom, to this day i have no idea when or how that needle bent. none.

they left for the hospital and left my neighbor babysitting me while i did the dishes and cleaned the house (even then i found cleaning therapeutic). i don’t think i have ever been that scared my whole life. i prayed to every single saint i had heard about, and some i must have made up in my child’s mind. i will always remember the relief i felt when i saw my mom and emil come back home. they had stopped for ice cream on the way back and emil was just so happy to see me, even though i had stabbed him in the head just a few hours before. he has always been a great kid. but don’t let that fool you, he never forgot about the incident. he brings this up whenever he can, which is all the time.

i am sorry emil.

i sent him the story excerpt to make sure he was ok with me posting it on the blog. here is the conversation afterwards:

yup… he is not over it yet.

now that this story is out of the way here is the recipe for the present i baked for him. i was going to make him flan (and might still do) but decided to go a different route. i had nutella, flour and bananas at home so i decided to make him a banana and nutella loaf!

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups of all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. of baking soda
1/2 tsp of salt
1/4 cup of unsalted butter
1 cup of sugar
2 large eggs
1/3 cup of skim milk
1 1/2 cups of mashed bananas, about 4 bananas
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup of nutella or any chocolate & hazelnut spread

INSTRUCTIONS:
start by whisking together the flour, baking soda and salt.

next, beat together the sugar and butter until combined.

mash the bananas and have them ready for use.

add the eggs to the sugar and butter mixture. add them one by one and make sure they combine well.

next add the mashed bananas, vanilla extract and milk. once they are combined add the flour.

beat everything until the flour in incorporated with the mixture. try not to over beat this part. if you need to, use a spatula to manually mix in any leftover flour.