Going Bananas!

These bananas look perfect...  just green enough!
Too good to make banana bread with...

There are times when you just want something simple, something familiar.  For me, tonight, it was nothing more exciting than banana bread.  Banana bread?  How on earth is that either dapper or dreamy!  Well, perhaps that would be a stretch, but it certainly fits one of our aims to remind our readers about some of the simpler pleasures that we might overlook.

I don't recall a lot of banana bread in my past, so it's attraction isn't particularly nostalgic.  Perhaps it's the combination of two of my favorite things - bananas and homemade bread.  And, it's fun and terribly easy to make.  I especially enjoy mashing up those bananas...  with my hands!  It's also a great recipe to make with kids.  And, finally, the batter is delicious!

The "Banana Bread" Plate!

Last year, I even found the perfect plate for my banana bread.  A vintage, rectangular English plate with a rather unusual design of blackberries and their leaves around the edges - the leaves a bright orange and the berries a glossy black.  I can't remember having ever seen blackberries in a china design before and, since they are one of my favorite fruits, had to pick it up.

So, here it is, my favorite banana bread recipe.  I can't tell you where it came from, and I can't add much more to the already simple instructions, but hope you'll take a moment to throw it together.  It makes an excellent breakfast, accompaniment to tea or a late night snack (not that I'm ever known to sneak a slice long after the rest of the family is asleep!).

Yum!

Dapper and Dreamy Banana Bread

Whisk together:

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. baking powder

Beat together in a bowl for 2-3 minutes:

5 1/2 Tbs. soft butter

2/3 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Add and beat until well combined:

2 beaten eggs

Add the flour mixture, mixing until well combined.

Add and stir until incorporated:

1 cup (about 2) mashed, soft bananas

Pour the batter into a greased and floured 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan.

Bake at 350 for about 50 minutes.  (Sometimes it's ready at 45 minutes, other times it takes

just over an hour.)

Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then turn onto a cooling rack.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar is desired.

Enjoy!