Childhood Revisited: Banana Bread

When I was a kid, my mom used to bake banana bread. That was her thing. She’s not the “I’m gonna bake a cake and a hundred cupcakes just because” type of lady. Cookies and cakes and tarts? Not her thing. But she had two things that she would bake regularly. Bran muffins, and banana bread. So banana bread was always something you could chow at our house. There was always some to be found. And when she took her freshly baked loaf out of the oven, she would barely wait for it to cool before she would start slicing. With a simple slathering of butter. Sometimes with some cheese. Always with a cup of tea or coffee.

With my teen years, came the rebellion. Against anything and everything. And along with the rebellion came a sudden dislike of my darling mom’s banana bread. Petulant, you might think. I agree. I just felt that after years of banana bread feasts, I had had enough. No more. I didn’t like it anymore. But then, I grew up (eventually we all do). I still maintained the no banana bread rule, long into my relationship, even though the beau adores banana bread. I wouldn’t have any of it. However, about a month ago, after I did a detox, I had some bananas sitting on my counter, ripening by the minute. I couldn’t eat any more bananas after the detox. And so there they sat. Blackening. Menacing. Judging me for letting them go to waste. So, I decided. Screw it. I’ll give banana bread another shot. Worse comes to worst – he’ll have a whole loaf to himself. Besides, I also just recently discovered (after trying it for the first time in years) that I, in fact, do like beets. I was being brave.

So I baked it. And it was good. It was dense and moist and soft and pale yellow on the inside. And instantly I was sitting next to my mom, sipping on some tea, munching on her freshly baked love offering. And I was proud for trying it. And being able to once again say that I, in fact, do like banana bread. Even more than that; I was ecstatic about how beautiful it looked, sitting there in my never before used loaf pan. And I realised that even if you don’t like to bake, baking a banana bread that comes out looking like that, is really satisfying. And I got why my mom did it. So, in reverance to my dearest mommy, a banana bread recipe:

Adapted from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/banana-banana-bread/

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups all-purpose flour

2. 1 teaspoon baking soda

3. 1/4 teaspoon salt

4. 1/2 cup butter

5. 3/4 cup brown sugar

6. 2 eggs, beaten

7. 2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas

8. 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees C. Lightly grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

I challenge you to test your tastebuds. Try something you stopped liking as a kid. Who knows, you might have a new obsession! Let me know how it goes!

Much Love