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Nothing gold can stay, right? And so as the summer winds down, my internship does as well. Think of all the fall produce I could write about if I stayed! Aw.

So if you haven’t noticed, I don’t really know how to say goodbye. My experience here at FOX CITIES Magazine was so much more than I could have hoped for. A part of me was irrationally nervous that the work environment would be similar to the one in “The Devil Wears Prada” and I would be sent running all over town trying to achieve impossible tasks.

Thankfully, that was not the case at all. Immediately, I felt welcomed into the warm, quirky family that is the FCM staff (the myriad of baked goods I brought in probably didn’t hurt) and treated as an important member of the team. Never did I imagine that upon leaving my internship I would be the author of two feature stories and a plethora of pullouts.

Can I let you in on something? A less than pleasant high school experience led me to believe that I hated any sort of journalistic writing. I wasn’t even sure if writing was the right path for me anymore (especially because the majority of what I’ve written in the past two years has been academic papers). An amazing summer of fun and creative assignments has helped me heal those wounds. I can honestly say now that I’m excited about writing, whether the subject be my personal favorite, food, or something else entirely, like a local sustainability festival.

Upon my return to college, I’ll be continuing my job as a writing tutor, hopefully passing on the knowledge I gained here to the students I help. Though I probably won’t have an opportunity for journalistic writing, I’ll continue to use my personal blog as a creative outlet. And, perhaps what I’m most excited for, I’ll be studying at the University College Dublin in the spring, walking the same halls as James Joyce. Sounds like an experience worth writing about.

St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota 

If you’ve been reading this post, thinking to yourself, Well Rebecca, that is all fine and well and good, but I’m really just here to see a recipe, fear not, I haven’t let you down. It’s not in my nature to go to an event without bringing food, even if it’s my own goodbye day. I have made for you a lovely and simple banana cake, perfect for pretty much any occasion. And I know bananas aren’t local (well, they’re local to somewhere) but there always seem to be a few around my house that start turning too spotted and speckle-y to be eaten as is. But I say the browner the better! As a banana ripens, more of the starches break down and you’re left with sugars and pure banana flavor. Popping them in the freezer will speed up this process (it also leaves you with a disgusting, completely brown slug like banana that slithers out of the peel. Yum. But I assure you, they’re perfect for baking).

Hey, look what I did, got all foodie factual so I wouldn’t have to think about leaving my wonderful internship. I won’t ever forget my time here. So guys…keep your eyes open for packages of homemade cookies mailed from Minnesota.

Simple Banana Cake
from The Pastry Affair

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup white sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

3 overripe bananas, mashed

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C). Grease 2 8-inch baking pans or one 9×13 pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the bananas and vanilla extract.
Alternatively add and beat in the flour mixture and buttermilk in 5 additions, starting and ending with the flour.

Pour batter evenly between prepared baking pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes before removing from cake pans. Cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate Glaze

12 ounces (2 cups) semi-sweet chocolate

8 tablespoons butter

In a double boiler, melt together the chocolate and butter, stirring until smooth. Glaze will be thick. Remove from heat and frost cake before glaze hardens.

—By Rebecca Turchan

Rebecca, you will be missed! And not just for your mad baking skills, but for all the hard work and humor you brought to the FCM office.