Thursday, December 13, 2007

baking

On any given day, if you asked my husband why he married me, chances are he'd say,"For her banana bread." (the way to a man's heart...etc? All true.)

The man loves the stuff and I'm beginning to suspect that when we buy a bunch of bananas at the market, he purposely "forgets" to eat the last two, letting them ripen past the point of being good to eat out of hand. He then oh-so-casually points out the soft, spotted fruit to me, gently suggesting that to throw them out would be wasteful. I shoot him the "you're not fooling anybody" look and relent with a sigh. Banana bread it is. I guess it tastes better when I make it.

Heat oven to 350F (I don't know what that is in Canadian.) Butter only the bottom of a loaf pan. Mix 1 cup sugar and 1/3 cup of softened butter (& not that sissy margarine. Seriously.) until it is light and fluffy. Stir in 2 eggs. Take 2 large-ish overripe bananas, a dash or two (or three, whatever) of vanilla, and 1/3 cup of water, mash all together in a bowl with the back of a fork and then add that to the butter(!)/sugar/egg mixture. Blend until blended.

Sift (yes, sift. Don't whine, just do it.) together 1+2/3 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 baking powder and add that to the wet ingredients. Mix until just moistened.

At this point you can stir in coarsely chopped nuts and/or semi-sweet chocolate chips. Or both. (about 1/2 cup of each) I like pecans but since they've been so expensive lately I've been slumming with walnuts.

Like every decent cook, I have a secret ingredient. (& if you don't know what that is by looking at the photo in the link, I...well, I don't know how to help you. Good luck in your sad, spiceless life.) Use just a little, fresh is potent.

Pour into the loaf pan & bake for about 55 minutes, until the bread is no longer moist in the middle. (stick a toothpick in. If it comes out clean, you're good.)

Serve warm with (more!) butter, all melty and still steaming, and watch the men (or women, if you're so inclined) just fall at your feet, begging to worship at the altar of the domestic deity that is you.
(mmm...)

4 comments:

Brianinmpls said...

Yum

Anonymous said...

Know how Amish women murder their husbands? They feed them to death.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I know what that Secret Ingredient is; it's a recreational drug. ;-) Thank you for this morning's food porn.

comatus: too true. One would wish their food was as wholesome as the rest of their lifestyle, but it isn't. Only the walking and field work saves them.

The Duck said...

Really the fastest way to a mans heart, is a sharp knife directly through the chest wall