An Ode to Forgotten Bananas
Oh, the sad tale of forgotten yellow fruit,
Picked at its peak, it begins its commute,
To the grocery store, and without a doubt,
A shopper will pick the bunch out.
Then left on the counter, alone and forgotten.
It thinks to itself, "Oh, I'll surely go rotten."
But there's a happy ending, so let's skip ahead,
those poor old bananas will soon become bread!
Banana Bread (modified from this Food Network recipe)
1 cup granulated white sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
3 ripe bananas (or 4 smallish ones)
1 tablespoon milk
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.
Cream the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Mix in the milk, cinnamon and vanilla.
In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Add the banana mixture to the creamed sugar/butter mixture and stir until combined. Add dry ingredients, mixing just until flour disappears.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes. Don't take it out too soon or the middle will collapse. The bread will look brown long before its through cooking, so don't let it fool you! A good test is to stick a toothpick in the center; when it comes out clean, your bread is done! Let it cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove bread from pan by sliding a knife around the edges, invert onto rack and cool completely before slicing.
