Monday, March 8, 2010

Banana Bread from the past

The best banana bread I have ever eaten is also the one that I make at least once a month. I purposely buy too many bananas to the extra ones that we don't eat simply HAVE to be made into banana bread. The recipe comes out of my mom's way-old Better Homes & Garden cookbook (of which I have a more recent version-- I think my mom's version might be this one), and I have a feeling it just wouldn't fly today, what with all the shortening and whatnot. This is a fabulous thing to bring to brunch, and you can eat it straight or toast & butter a slice.

I love when I can see a picture of a recipe, but I don't have one on hand at the moment.... Next time I bake a loaf (we have bananas sitting on the counter, ripening as I type this!), I will post a picture!

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Banana Bread:

Ingredients:

1/3 cup shortening (buy the Crisco sticks of shortening-- they're the easiest!)
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup ripe bananas, mashed (about 2 medium or 3 small bananas)
1 and 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream shortening and sugar together, and then add the eggs and mix well. Add the bananas and mix well. Sift together dry ingredients, then add to mixture and mix well. Bake 45-50 minutes in a 9x5x3" loaf pan (greased on bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides). Bread stores best (once it cools) in either foil or a zippered plastic bag.

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I have baked this recipe so many times that I almost have it memorized, and I can whip it up while Sonia sits in her high chair, shoveling those Gerber cheeto-thingies in her mouth. Once I have the bread baked, Sonia will eat it as well, but only if I smoosh a little piece up into a shape like a tiny UFO and feed it to her. When she picks up the bread herself, she just plays with it until it crumbles. Cuckoo baby!!!

2 comments:

  1. I can attest - this banana bread is FANTASTIC!

    Next time Erin and Niki are together, I propose a banana bread bake-off, too see who can make it better.

    Of course, I will determine the results to be a tie, thereby ensuring another future bake-off.

    Yum.

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  2. Oh my god. I don't even recognize that corpulent baby in that photo. Sonia was such a cute little chubbers!

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