Banana Bread

Mom has this thing with bananas. She eats them religiously...so whenever we go to Costco, she buys bags and bags of them until our shopping cart looks like it belongs to a family of monkeys. Personally, I'm not as crazy about them. Don't get me wrong - they actually taste great and anyone who runs knows the value of bananas and potassium, but somehow they just seem to disappear too fast. Take apples, for instance. You have to bit your way through the entire fruit, turning it consistently and working at your share of the flesh. Same with berries or small fruit - you have to pick up each individual fruit to eat it. Even stone fruit are a hassle because you have to do some tongue acrobatics to fish out the pit inside. Anyway, my point is that I prefer fruits that are a little harder to eat because it sort of makes the reward of eating the fruit more fulfilling, whereas the banana is simply too easy to eat (and where is the fun in that?). Or maybe I'm just weird (again).

Anyway, Mom had 2 leftover bananas that were turning black and literally falling apart. Definitely not good eating. Solution? Banana bread!

Banana Bread (adapted from JoyOfBaking)

Ingredients:

-1 cup walnuts or pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped (optional)

-1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

-3/4 cup granulated white sugar

-1 teaspoons baking powder

-1/4 teaspoon baking soda

-1/4 teaspoon salt

-1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

-2 large eggs, lightly beaten

-1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

-3 ripe large bananas (approximately 1 pound), mashed well

-1 teaspoon rum

1. Toast the nuts at 350F for about 8-10 minutes, then cool. 

2. In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. 

3. In another bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients, mixing well. 

4. Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined. Do not disturb any further! The more you mix it, the tougher the bread is going to get. 

5. Spray a loaf pan with nonstick spray, then coat with a thin layer of flour. 

6. Pour the mixture into the loaf pan. 

7. Bake at 350F for about 55-60 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown. 

8. Let cool on a rack, then eat!