Happy Thursday Foodies!Friday is just around the corner... Woot-woot! And today's LOVE NOTE #135 is all about baking a wonderful banana nut bread! LOVE! Something that I always figured would be difficult turned out to be surprisingly simple. There's nothing like waking up, preparing & putting the mix into the oven, taking it out, letting it cool. Then driving the fiance to the train station, coming home to be greeted with the most wonderful aroma EVER... seriously! This is exactly how I felt this morning. I guess a lesson learned about what goes into a banana nut bread is that you need the ripest (READ: UGLIEST & BROWNEST!) to make the best bread. Perhaps a good parallel is to not judge a book by its cover... and after all, it is really what's inside that counts (or should!) Yes, I'm talking to all you hot little single things out there... you know who you are... who won't give that guy/girl across the room the time of day because they just"aren't your type"... I guess all I'm trying to say is just be open to possibilities. Looks can fade. Kindness, a sense of humor, and having a good heart - now those are things that can last a lifetime:) I digress... back to banana nut bread making!!!!!
I cannot take the credit for this recipe as I had no clue where to start! However, finding a wonderful recipe on www.allrecipes.com definitely guided me. You can find this recipe (and many more like it!) by clicking here. This recipe is wonderful however I did modify it a bit. I doubled the amount of bananas that was originally called for in the recipe, used canola oil (heart healthy folks!), used walnuts instead of pecans, added a dash of nutmeg, a dash of cinnamon, and a sprinkling of mini-chocolate chips on the top to add that hint of Oooomph!!! However, other than that, this recipe was amazing! You don't need to even use a blender just hand mix. I love an easy cleanup! At any rate, this is my version - and the second time I've made it! The next time you're in the mood, give this a try! Or search the various banana nut recipes online, there's a ton! I think this one is easy so if you are a novice (like me!) give it a whirl:) Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 & 3/4 cup flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup of white sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 of walnuts
- 1/4 cup of mini-chocolate chips (optional)
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups mashed banana (4-5 medium very ripe bananas)
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- preheat oven to 350 degrees; grease and flour 2-8x4 loaf pans - set aside
- in a separate bowl, sift all the dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, nutmeg, & cinnamon
- in a separate bowl mash the bananas
- to the dry mixtures stir in the mashed bananas, eggs, oil, vanilla extract and walnuts until all ingredients are moist (reserving some to sprinkle on top once the batter is transferred to the loaf pans)
- transfer equal amounts of the batter to the loaf pans
- sprinkle the remaining walnuts and chocolate chips on top of the batter
- bake for 45-55 minutes
- remove and let cool. serve on its own or with a pat of butter!
Super easy! So delicious! You can omit nuts or chocolate chips - or add more to your heart's content. Whatever your palate desires, this quick and easy bread is sure to be a wonderful treat for family and friends (and your four-legged best friend... who was pacing back and forth all morning for his little sampling -POTATO! Yes, I let my son have some, but only the bits with no chocolate chips... of course. He loved it! But Potato hates bananas... go figure. My little one has a sweet tooth... just like his Momma!)
Enjoy the rest of your day and thanks for visiting! Until the next LOVE NOTE:)
XoX,
Marikym
