Monday, January 29, 2007

5 minutes/3 bananas/1 loaf of goodness

The brown bananas in the fruit basket kept looking at me forlornly as I walked past them in the kitchen. They knew they were overripe and that not one person in the house would eat them. They knew they were destined for the trash can. But I fooled them.

On a recent trip to visit my godmother, she had bananas that needed tending. I offered to make banana bread, but told her I had lost my recipe. The same recipe I have been using since high school. The same recipe I used to make while living with her in college, that her youngest son used to absolutely love. The same recipe that she managed to miraculously produce! And with that she saved the day, and the bananas, and my cherished recipe.

So I put my bananas to use and turned them from this:



To this:



And the bread was gone within 24 hours. Not surprising. It is moist and delicious, and pairs exceptionally well with walnuts, if you have some in your pantry. So, if you have 5 minutes and 3 bananas, why not give it a whirl?

Banana Bread

1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup white granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp baking soda
½ cup margarine or butter
3 bananas, mashed (about 1+ cup)
2 eggs, slightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 9x5” loaf pan.

In large bowl, mix first 5 ingredients, then ct in the shortening with a pastry blender until mixture resembles course crumbs (a potato masher works well for this, too)/ With fork stir in mashed bananas and beaten eggs, just until blended. Spread batter into a pan.

Bake 55 minutes to 1 hour until toothpick comes out clea. Cool for 10 minutes on a rack, then remove from pan

8 comments:

Dolores said...

I love the before and after photographs -- talk about a transition! Banana bread's one of my favorite-est winter breakfast foods, warm with a teaspoon of peanut butter or honey. Yum!

Anonymous said...

I've made it twice this week and it is heavenly!

Mrs. B said...

I've got some bananas calling my name, so I know what's on my agenda this weekend. Glad you are enjoying the recipe as well.

Jennifer said...

I'm making this tonight -- thank you so much for posting your recipe!

Karol said...

I'm making it TODAY!!!!! Thanks, I love your blog and I'll be checking in often!!

Miranda said...

I'm making it right now! Thanks from MN!

Elizabeth Hunt said...

Wow, I've been scouring recipes but your picture looks like exactly what I need! I will re-post when it's done. Can't wait..thank you!

Also, a question about the scones...what kind of pans are those that you used?

Mrs. B said...

Thanks Elizabeth. I'll be posting soon about a new banana muffin recipe I found that is the best ever....

As for the scones - not sure which scones you are talking about - lots on the blog, but I don't use any kind of special pan. I pat or roll scone dough into a round and then cut into 8 pie-shaped pieces to bake on a plain baking sheet.