The Comfort of Banana Bread

          So, if any of you have been checking back to my blog regularly and have noticed my incredibly long absence, I apologize.  To say life has been busy is an understatement, and I just haven’t been able to get myself back in the swing of writing.  Summer has come, and almost gone now, in a flash it seems, and we have been busy soaking up the glorious weather we’ve had.  This is one of the mildest summers, temperature wise, that I can recall.  We have thoroughly enjoyed it, especially after the long, long winter we had.  On to deliciousness: 

One of my favorite go-to foods for quick comfort, is Banana Bread.  Although, not just any banana bread.  The recipe I use is from a great-aunt of mine who passed away, and I have to admit that every time I make it, there is a quiet satisfaction in my heart, knowing that her hands went through the same motions in her kitchen.  Do you have family recipes like that?  Plus, it’s literally the best banana bread I’ve put in my mouth!  It could be the addition of a simple glaze over top when the bread is still hot, that puts it over the top for me.

          Whatever recipe you choose, quick breads, such as banana bread, are a great addition to your recipe rolodex.  If you don’t have several to choose from in your recipe box, I suggest you remedy that quickly.  They will serve you well.  I use them constantly—for breakfast, snacks and gifts.  A loaf of bread comes in handy for a house warming gift, or get-well wishes, especially since you can throw them together in a jiffy.  Or if you want to be super organized, make a few loaves and freeze them to be ready at a moment’s notice.  I make my own baking mix that I keep on hand, and if you do that, you can whip up a loaf with even greater ease.

          Anyone will tell you though, the secret to GREAT banana bread, is ripe, and I mean RIPE bananas.  You want them to look black, or pretty close thereto, without being rotten, of course.  If you don't have ripe bananas on hand, there is a pin floating around on Pinterest about how to ripen them.  Let me add a side-note here…my husband loves this recipe.  As in—when I make a loaf, all four of us almost take it down in one sitting.  We “fight” over who is going to get the last piece.  He loves it, and it’s one of the things I make that I know blesses his belly, which blesses my heart.  I encourage you to find what does this for your husband as well.  So, whenever bananas in our house are approaching the desired ripeness, he knows banana bread is to come, and on this day, I came into the kitchen and found this:

          His cute way of hinting, and helping all at the same time.

          I use three bananas for my bread.  I mash them up with a fork until they look like this:

 

          You could leave bigger pieces if you wanted to, I guess, but this is what works for me, plus this is the way my mother used to do it.  When the bananas are ready, I place all my dry ingredients in my mixing bowl. 

 

 

          You won’t need a mixer unless you’re using butter or shortening.  I use vegetable oil.  Add in your prepared bananas and remaining ingredients and mix just until everything is moist. 

 

 

          Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake.  Since I use a glass loaf pan, I drop the oven temperature from 350F to 325F. 

 

 

 

          55-60 minutes creates the perfect loaf for me. 

 

 

          When still warm, mix up a simple glaze of powdered sugar and milk or water, with a little vanilla extract, and pour over your bread.  Once you take a bite, you'll have trouble stopping on it.  Its delicious!  Blessings!