ABBYLVANDIVER I know Thanksgiving is over and I did a post about my brunch
(think sticky buns), but I still have something to say about food served for the
day. If you remember, my brunch menu is non-traditional Thanksgiving food and I
tried to come up with food that was festive but not the usually turkey and
dressing. One menu item I’d planned was banana nut bread. Holiday-ish.
Fun. Nutty. Sweet and yummy. I love it. But it didn’t make the cut, I had to
leave my banana nut bread off the menu.
“Why?” you ask. Because the bananas I bought hadn’t gotten ripe
enough. My mistake, I bought them a couple of days before the holiday (I should
have shopped earlier for them) and for some reason, they were more green than
usual. As suggested to me by a friend, I tried a hack—putting them in a brown
bag to get them to ripen faster. That didn’t work. (Have you ever tried doing that?
Maybe I didn’t do it right?)
I was so disappointed about not having banana nut bread.
Even a couple guests asked about it. But, I did keep the bananas and decided to
still make it.
I hadn’t made banana nut bread in a really long time. When
my grandson, Gavin, was in the sixth grade (he’s a senior in high school now),
he had told me how he loved the processed, pre-packaged banana nut bread in his
school’s cafeteria. I was shocked. I made everything from scratch for my
grandkids and he was happy with something that was not homemade. So, I told him
I would make him some of mine. I did. And then he told me he preferred the
banana nut bread he had at school! In fact, he said mine was disgusting!
Everyone else liked it, though.
This time making it after Thanksgiving, I dropped some of my
banana nut bread at my daughter’s house for Gavin and Sydne to enjoy (hoping
Gavin’s taste buds were more mature and acknowledging that Sydne doesn’t like
nuts!) Afterwards, Gavin showed up for my house for more. This time he told me my
bread was “disgusting-ly good!”
Banana nut bread is good at all times of the year, and with
Christmas coming up, I think I’ll bake another batch. Are you dusting off any
recipe cards and baking any old recipes this year for the holidays?
INGREDIENTS
3-4 ripe bananas
2 eggs
1 stick of butter
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 tsp Cinnamon (optional)
1 1/4 cups flour
1 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar
Grease loaf pan with oil or butter an set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Whisk together and set aside.
If you do decide to add the cinnamon, it will make the baked bread a darker. So use at your own discretion. It was something new I tried this time (maybe that's why Gavin liked it, he loves cinnamon), but I think next time I will leave it out.
In a separate bowl cream the butter and sugar together. I usually use a fork or spoon initially until the sugar and butter is mixed. Then use a mixer to make mixture smooth and creamy.
Mix eggs and vanilla extract in a cup, combine and add to creamed butter and sugar. Use mixture to combine.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry folding together with a spoon. Then stir in the bananas (it will look a curdled mess, but it's okay). Then fold in chopped nuts.
Bake for about 50 minutes or until knife comes out clean. Slice and serve with butter if you like!
Enjoy!
Abby L. Vandiver
also writing as Abby Collette
USA Today & Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author
Find me here:
Have you seen this book by me? It's a women's fiction that came out in August. I've got a different pen name!
Looks great, Abby!
ReplyDeleteKid's tastes change. A favorite food today may be poison tomorrow (and vice versa).
ReplyDeleteThat looks amazing! We love banana bread, I make it often. Thanks for sharing! Yum!
ReplyDeleteThink everyone's taste changes - even adults. :)
ReplyDeleteI've not, but I will be checking out "WHERE WILD PEACHES GROW".
2clowns at arkansas dot net
Another hack for too ripe bananas, put them in the freezer for a day or two, thaw them and they mash up beautifully, perfect for banana bread or cakes.
ReplyDelete