Banana Nut Bread

[WV Sawmiller]

  Boy did I make up a good batch of banana nut bread this time! I used to make it and eat a slice every morning when I was working in Cameroon. I'd eat a slice every morning when I took my daily dose of Malerone, my anti-malaria medication.

  Anyway I found a recipe on line and used up 3 spotted, okay they were brown, oh all right they were plumb near black, bananas. I used 1-1/4 cup of sugar, 2 cups of self rising flour, a teaspoon of vanilla, a couple eggs, 1/4 cup of milk (hardly seems worth the effort does it) and 1/2 cup of margarine and a cup of walnuts. Cooked it in a well greased 9X13 pan at 350 F for about 45 minutes and it just pulled away from the edges and was perfect, especially warm but was real good this morning at room temperature too.

  My crystal ball shows more of this in the future.

[Jeff]

Plum near black is best! Most flavor.

[GAB]

My crystal ball shows more of this in the future.

Howard:
Where oh where did you get a calibrated crystal ball?
GAB

[Resonator]

Yup, brown bananas are best for banana bread. I've known a few professional bakers over the years that insisted they be brown. 
One of my family likes to make some fresh, and then whip up some cream with sugar to top it and serve it as a dessert.

[WV Sawmiller]

My crystal ball shows more of this in the future.

Howard:
Where oh where did you get a calibrated crystal ball?
GAB

GAB,

   You just take your regular old flea market variety 12" diameter crystal balls and send them in to the International Association for Weights and Measures and they fix them right up for you. Be sure to tell them whether you want English or Metric and Fahrenheit or Centigrade and what shade of purple tint to add - lots of folks have trouble with that one. 

[WV Sawmiller]

   My wife came to visit me in Cameroon for the summers when I worked a project there in Douala (Doo Allah) in the early 2000's and I remember getting too hot and getting a headache one day so I bought a bunch of bananas off a street vendor walking by with them on a tray carried on top of her head. Bananas have a lot of Potassium and very good for curing many headaches and those did the trick. 

    I took the rest home to my wife and a day or two later she made banana bread from what was left of them to keep them from going to waste and fussed at me (Not an uncommon occurrence) for buying too many. I told her "Okay but remember the whole big bunch only cost a dime." They were plentiful, there were multiple varieties (unlike the one variety typically found here in the USA  (okay sometimes you can find finger bananas too) and very cheap. 

    I also tried and fell in love with Plantains (A banana on steroids) over there and they had the best I have ever eaten.

[SwampDonkey]

Nothing wrong with a good slice of banana bread, with butter smeared on top. Maybe even some mascarpone cheese smeared on there. 

[WV Sawmiller]

Donkey,

   I never tried butter on banana bread. I am sure it would be good but this batch did not need anything else I can think of. 

   I confess I have never heard of mascarpone cheese. Is that a Canada thing? 

[SwampDonkey]

Nope an Italian American. 



Banana bread has been served with butter up here by little old house wives in all my 58 years. :D 

When mother asked me, 'what is that stuff?' She never heard tell of it neither. I tell'r it's a cheese spread similar to cream cheese but not as stiff. If she never heard tell of it, she ain't eat'n it. 

[WV Sawmiller]

Donkey,

   I have heard of butter on banana bread and I could deal with that but I am not a coffee drinker and eating coffee flavored cheese ain't likely to happen.

[SwampDonkey]

There's usually no coffee in it at all in the regular stuff. This is just one of them artisan versions lets say. You can't taste coffee much, except my mug of morning coffee I drink with a half bagel and mascarpone with home made jam on top. 

There is actually some make your own online recipes for making mascarpone.

[moosehunter]

I love a bit of banana bread with my butter!
mh

[WV Sawmiller]

   I just made another batch and it tastes as good as the first one.

   My almost 6 y/o gd called yesterday and I told her on her next trip out in a few weeks I need her to help me make some. She informed me she does not like nuts. I told her we'd put nuts in half of it and cranberries in the other half. She loves cranberries so she thought that was a good idea.