I saw the above post on Facebook and laughed. Then, I got sad. His words might have been in some sort of light-hearted jest but just thinking about “adulting” and doing it alone (and not wanting to do it alone) just broke my heart. If I could have sent him some banana bread, I would have but I know that’s not really what this post was about. It was about feeling appreciated and loved by the simple things we grew up with: In my house, that was my mom’s banana nut bread.
So, I made a video of me making a batch of Banana Nut Bread with my mom’s recipe and just want you to know that you are cared about, adulting sucks most of the time, and here’s some comfort food.
This is the recipe my mom made all of our lives (well, as long as we can remember). It’s basic, which means it is highly adaptable. Want to add more nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips? Go for it! Want to add less fat? Try it! I wouldn’t replace all of the fat with apple sauce, though, since the bananas already add so much liquid.
Dry Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour one 8x4x2.5 inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and mix thoroughly.
Pour into loaf pan. Bake for about 60 minutes (until a toothpick inserted comes out clean). Let cool for about 5 minutes then remove from pan.Â
This makes one 8x4x2.5 inch loaf (not today's standard loaf pan size). For the 9 inch loaf pan, I would multiply this recipe by 1.5.
Baking Times For Different Baking Pans
Baking Times For Alternate Baking Pans
Always test for doneness with a toothpick prior to removing from the oven, no matter how beautiful it looks.
Today was my day to deal with my sourdough starter. It had been sitting in the refrigerator for what feels like 6 months being ignored. I stored it in a gallon mason jar, and needed the room, so three days ago I took it out. I poured it all into a bowl, added 1 cup warm water and 1 cup flour. I mixed it well, let it sit, and it was still alive! I’m telling you, I love this starter!
After my starter resurrected, I began my search for recipes. I have made bread and pancakes but knew there had to be more out there for me to do with sourdough starter. In addition to these first two recipes, I made two loaves of bread, except one I kneaded 2 teaspoons of minced garlic into the dough just before the final rise.
The best website I have found for anything sourdough is King Arthur Flour. They have the largest variety of recipes (with commercial yeast and without).
Well, this is what I came up with:
The big hit of the day was this Cherry Sourdough Coffee Cake from Better Homes and Gardens “New Cook Book”:
Bring cherries to boil; reduce heat. cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice. Combine sugar and cornstarch; add to cherry mixture. Cook and stir until bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Cool completely.
For dough:
Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Mix Sourdough Starter, egg, and vanilla; add to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened. Spread half of the batter into greased 9X9X2-inch baking pan. Spread Cherry Filling on top. Drop remaining batter in small mounds over filling.
For topping:
Mix oats, brown sugar, nuts and flour. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; sprinkle over batter. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden. Serves 9.
Next is the Sourdough Chocolate Cake. Now, I will share a recipe with you but it’s not the one I cooked. The one I cooked was not chocolate-y enough. So I searched and found this one. I won’t make it tonight…have to find someone who will eat the first one (I might have my husband take it to work…they eat anything! LOL!):
Now, for the recipes I will try. Looking around online I found some wonderful recipes. These are the ones I am dying to try, once I am finished with my baking frenzy today.
