Tried and True - Banana Bread

Every once in a while, I get on a banana kick and have to have one or 7. But here's the deal, bananas have to be JUST RIGHT before I'll eat them. "Just right" means that they are slightly green, firm and a tiny bit bitter. Once they get a brown spot on them from the ripening process, I'm out!

The thing is, you often end up with a pile of really brown bananas that even GENE refuses to eat. That man will eat pretty much anything before he'll let it go in the trash. Canned peaches from 2006 and frozen freezer burnt wings from our wedding anyone?

Soooo, if I buy too many bananas, I have to make banana bread or risk a mild heart attack when he sees them in the garbage bin.

I decided that I'd probably need to make some banana bread or shoo away some blow flies.

I picked banana bread.

I have a pretty tried and true banana bread recipe I've been using for um... 20 years now. (as you can see from the many stains on that page). I received this cookbook as a wedding gift (the first time around) and it's one of the few things I still have and use from back then. My best friend's mom was on that cookbook committee and this was her go-to gift for a few years.

I'm not going to show every single step of the process, but I did want to make a point. Recently I read someone say that they never put the cup into the flour and press the flour into the measuring cup, they SPOON it in and it makes much nicer breads.

Hmmm.

I tried it, and it's kinda true! Think about it, if you press it into your cup, you'll force more flour into the measuring cup.

I'm also a very fly by the seat of my pants kind of cook. Maybe that comes from getting old experienced. I usually only use one measuring cup so I don't have to wash more. I eyeball the measurements.

oops

Don't forget to cream the sugar with the eggs and shortening. I seem to ALWAYS put the sugar in with the dry ingredients (I even had to make myself a note.. see up there?)

Which is funny considering I accidentally did it again.

Mash your bananas. Again, flying by the seat of my pants. I put in the amount of bananas I HAVE. if I have 2, it's 2. If I have 4, it's 4.

Stir only until all the dry ingredients are moist. If you made it out of high school home ec, you should know that. But if you don't, then I'm telling you it's the fastest way to make your bread peak to high and crack.

It's still edible though. ;)

I stole the idea of using a bundt pan from Pioneer Woman's banana bread recipe. I made hers a few times but it made SO MUCH (4 cups of flour?) that it flowed over and made a mess in my oven. I'm still smelling burn banana bread when I cook.

You'd think I'd clean it out.

bwahahaha.

Mmmmmm... delicious.

or as my oldest used to say when he was little "kulicious"

I didn't wait for Gene to get home. I did all the work after all, shouldn't I be rewarded? I mean, if it wasn't for me and a few blow flies, there'd be no banana bread at all!!

srsly.

Warm melty butter and life is complete.


Geraldine's Banana Bread:
1 3/4 cup flour
2 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs (beaten)
1 cup mashed bananas
1/2 cup nuts (optional)

Mix dry ingredients together and set aside (not the sugar!) Mash bananas with fork, measure and set aside also. Beat shortening with sugar and eggs until fluffy. Add flour mixture; alternate with mashed bananas. Add nuts. Mix only until dry ingredients are moist. Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 deg for 40 minutes.

(Geraldine actually said 1 hour 10 min but that's WAY too long in my modern day oven!)

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In other news, I lost internet again for a couple days. I'm pretty sure some day I'm going to snap, burn down my ISP and kill all their dogs.

fer reals.