Loaves in the Oven

The bananas were mushy and dark. Not good for eating, not for me anyway. But perfect for banana bread. And I have a great recipe from my mom. And the kids can have wheat. So on Friday, we made banana bread.

I pulled out my giant Kitchen Aid mixer and the kids were immediately interested. This was cool--Mommy has a "cement mixer," DS declared. And they knew the bananas were going in the bowl. So, peels still on, DD and DS kept tossing whole bananas into my mixer. And then other things from the counter--like the K-cups for my cofee machine--were tossed in. I soon got the bowl cleared and the real ingredients in. DD, in telling DP about it all the next day, noted that we "scrambled the eggs." We counted and measured cups and teaspoons of the other ingredients, with the kiddos taking turns dumping them into the bowl. And I greased and floured the pans. But this bothered DD who kept trying to wipe off the coating with a sponge; it was dirty.

The bread went in the oven and the kiddos went to play. But they know what the timer sounds like and ran back in to help get the bread out. Yay, just what you need--toddlers helping pull things out of a hot oven. They're experienced with the oven now and know to sit in their chairs at the table when I'm going to open it. And so the bread came out, it cooled (that was hard to wait for!), and I cut the first pieces.

And it was a hit! DD loved the crust, oddly enough, and DS enjoyed the inside. Perfect for switching plates. We even called Gommie and told her we were making banana bread--the kiddos actually thanked her for giving me the recipe! Just two days later, there is only half a loaf left (I always make it into two, even though they're short).

Maybe pumpkin bread should be next. Or strawberry. There is no end to the bread we can make in my cement mixer.

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Banana Bread
Mmmmm, Mom’s banana bread! So good toasted with butter and it freezes beautifully.
Makes 1 loaf (or 2 short ones)

Beat:
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup butter
½ cup shortening
Add:
2 eggs
4 tablespoons milk
Sift and add:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
Add:
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups mashed bananas (appx. 6 bananas)
1 cup nuts (optional--we skipped them; otherwise, we would use chopped pecans)

Grease and flour pan. Bake at 350°F for about 40 minutes. For miniature muffins, bake at 350°F for 15 minutes.

Mom