Banana Bread

We used to eat a lot of bananas. I think we are going through a lull in this fruit. The product of this lull was 3 very mushy brown bananas in the fruit drawer that had to be acted upon quickly! We made banana bread! It was very moist and sweet. The texture of banana bread is a favorite of mine. I love the heavy moistness and the graininess of the blacked fruit fibers. I don't know of another fruit that does that when baked!

Banana Bread

1 c sugar

1/2 c butter, softened

2 large eggs

1 1/2 c bananas, very very ripe, mashed

1/2 c milk

1 t vanilla

2 1/2 c flour

1 t baking soda

1 t salt

1 cup nuts (optional)

Move oven rack to the bottom position. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom only of two loaf pans. Mix sugar and butter in large bowl. Stir in eggs until incorporated. Stir in banana, milk, vanilla and beat until smooth. Stir in flour, soda and salt until moistened. Stir in nuts if using. Divide batter between pans. Bake about 1 hour. Cool for 10 min in pan then plate and cool for 2 hours before cutting.

Bana

Sweet Easter Tradition

Easter is finally almost here. I am making my traditional sticky pull-apart bread. I've heard it called monkey bread before. It should be a lot of fun. My son, Albie, got to pour all of the dry ingredients into the bowl. He also got to crack his first eggs. He was very good at it. Only one of the eggs made it half in and half out of the bowl.

This recipe is an adaptation of a James McNair Favorite. He uses currants and I use golden raisins or a mixture of dried apricots and golden raisins. I also use a dark corn syrup for more of a molasses flavor to my sauce. It's a good treat to take to a gathering or to put on a pretty cake pedestal as your brunch centerpiece. I've done both and it's just a good tradition no matter where you are headed or what the circumstances of your Easter meal.