Family Recipe Banana Nut Bread

The family cookbook began when my Dad died, over 20 years ago. As part of my grieving for him I began to gather old family recipes and to ask my Mom and siblings to contribute ones they had and to tell me if there were ones they wanted. A little less than a year later we had a family reunion at the beach and I brought a copy for each sibling and one for my Mom. Unfortunately I had neglected to give the printer the page for the index, but Mom solved that by making her own index on the inside of the back cover.

The next version came about because I noticed that Mom's copy was getting tattered and a few other family members told me that theirs were, too. This was not surprising since the books were about 17 years old! Since I was working in graphic arts at the time I decided to create a fancy version with color photos and organized around types of food. The original had been organized around seasons. I like this book a lot except for the paper. It is a pretty glazed paper which makes the photos look great but is hard to write on for changes I might make to the recipes. My solution has been to use sticky notes for changes, which works well.

Some of the recipes in the book, which I called Classic Comfort Food for the newer version (2012) and Family Food in the original version (1995), have been written about in this blog, but some have never been posted in their original form.

This Banana Nut Bread is an example of a great recipe that I have posted variations of but not the original. Even this one is a tiny bit different because the original used all vegetable oil and I used some butter and some oil. Otherwise it is the same and it makes a very fragrant, slightly sweet, very moist bread. I used pecans but walnuts are wonderful in this bread. When I took the loaves from the oven and smelled the lovely warm banana fragrance I was transported back to my Mom's kitchen.

This is an easy quick bread. Make sure to really cream the butter, oil and sugar before adding the eggs and bananas. Mix the batter just until combined once you add the flour mixture. Fold in the nuts with a spatula and you are ready to use the same spatula to scoop the batter into the prepared pans!

Classic Comfort Food Banana Nut Bread

½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 ripe medium bananas, mashed
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon wheat germ
3 tablespoons milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup chopped nuts

Beat the oil (I used half soft butter and half oil) and sugar together. Add the eggs and banana pulp, and beat well. Sift the dry ingredients together. Add the sifted dry ingredients, milk and vanilla. Mix well and stir in the nuts.

Pour the batter into a greased and floured loaf pan (9” x 5” x 3”). Bake in a preheated 350⁰ F oven about 1 hour. Toothpick inserted in center will come out clean or with a few crumbs on it when bread is done. Cool well. Makes one loaf.

Going Bananas in the Land of St. Honore'

She woke with a start. It had been a horrible dream. The twins, her granddaughters who live on the other side of the country, were grown up in the dream. One was a dental tech and the other was a personal trainer at a gym...and neither one of them knew what to do with the ingredients on the kitchen counter in her dream; the softened butter, the sugar, flour, molasses, eggs, nuts, chocolate chips. They had a birth right, as anyone in our land has, to bake, yet they had no idea how to measure flour, soften butter, or even how to crack an egg. This was terrible! No child in the Land of St. Honore' should be flummoxed about baking something.

Eva decided she would do something so that this dream never became a reality. Well, maybe they would become a personal trainer and a dental tech, but she would make sure that they knew how to bake. Not only would they not be mystified at the sight of an egg, they would know how to separate eggs and whisk whites and bake a lovely, light, luscious, delectable cake.

First she waited until a decent hour, then called her daughter, their mom. She had to time the call just right because Grace would be leaving home soon to go to work. She was a CPA high up in her firm. Although she had been taught, she never baked. 'No time' was her excuse.

"Grace, I would love to have the girls visit me at Christmas, or even Thanksgiving, if that's possible. I know that they are always busy with volleyball and chess club and the debate team, but could you find a few days when they could spend a little time with me?" Eva was tempted to add "before its too late" but didn't think her daughter would be so easily led.

Grace had a particularly difficult client at the moment, so she agreed. Better that her girls have some fun instead of being saddled with a babysitter when she had to work extra. At eleven years old they were getting a bit beyond babysitters anyway.

Eva was thrilled. They were coming the day before Thanksgiving. They could bake pies for Thanksgiving, perhaps make dinner rolls, and surely they could make a cake, too. She could hardly wait!

Plans changed and they arrived the day after Thanksgiving. No one wanted pies or dinner rolls and a cake seemed too rich after all the holiday food. Still, there were some ripe bananas to use up. Time to bake a classic banana bread...with a twist. She wanted to use molasses and to add chocolate chips, just for fun.

The girls were a bit hesitant at first, but soon got into the swing of things, measuring flour and sugar, mashing bananas, and, yes, cracking some eggs and finding out that bits of shells could be removed from the eggs in the bowl, with care.

They giggled at the slow movement of the molasses and had fun getting their fingers greasy while using the butter wrapper to grease the bread pan.

Their faces beamed with big smiles when they brought the first piece of baked banana bread to their Granddad. They were even happier when he exclaimed over the texture, flavor and deliciousness. They were hooked! Eva knew that on their next visit that they would bake that cake with her. Their heritage was intact.

You, too, can keep the arts of baking alive. This banana bread is easy, uses up very ripe bananas, and can be packed in a lunchbox or used as an afternoon pickup or quick bite in the morning. If you make it with half regular flour and half whole wheat flour it is almost healthy...after all, it has fruit.

Banana Bread with Walnuts and Chocolate
makes one loaf

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup molasses, dark is best

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs, beaten

3 ripe bananas (or 2 large), mashed

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan (you can use the butter wrapper if you've already put the soft butter into the mixing bowl. That is what the twins did).

Beat butter, molasses and sugar together until fluffy. It's OK if it looks curdled.

Add eggs and banana pulp and beat well.

Add sifted dry ingredient's, vanilla, and buttermilk. Mix just until dry ingredients are incorporated. Stir in nuts, and chocolate chips.

Pour into prepared loaf pan. Bake about 1 hour. Test for doneness with a toothpick in center. When done, toothpick comes out clean or with a few crumbs on it. Cool well.

Store overnight before cutting...if you can wait that long. A serrated knife makes cutting easier.

Sweet Bananas and Persimmons

The rains came last week (about 8 inches in 5 days) and knocked most of the leaves off the trees. That made some trees look pretty bleak, but not our persimmon tree.

One of the harbingers of winter around here are the bright orange persimmons hanging like early Christmas ornaments on the bare branches of their trees. Our tree is a Hayachi, the kind that need to be soft, almost squishy, in order to be edible. I brought an unripe, hard one in to be part of the Thanksgiving table decorations and it is finally soft enough to use.

Today there were also a few very ripe bananas on the plate with the new greenish ones that Sweetie likes. I decided to combine the two fruits in one sweet quick bread. With the addition of some molasses and spices it is the perfect seasonal treat. This one is very moist. You get a hint of the persimmon flavor and a bit more of the banana. Fortunately they complement each other. Sweetie was a big fan of this combo and of the moistness, plus he has always liked thing with molasses flavors.

The butter needs to be soft, the eggs at room temperature and the fruit very ripe. It only makes one loaf, but it just might become your favorite tea bread when persimmons are ripe. Now you know what I'm going to be baking when the persimmons now on the tree are ripe in a few weeks. Hope you'll try it, too.

Persimmon Banana Spice Bread

1 fully ripe persimmon (about 1/3 pound)
2-3 ripe bananas
1 ½ plus 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon dried orange peel, ground
2 large eggs
¼ cup molasses
½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1. Adjust oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter an 8 ½ by 4 ½ by 2 ¾ inch loaf pan; set aside.

2. Pull the stems off the persimmon and cut lengthwise in half. With a teaspoon or grapefruit spoon, scoop the pulp out into a bowl. Use a pastry blender or potato masher to chop or mash the pulp into small pieces; you should still have some pieces of persimmon mixed with the pureed pulp. Set aside. Peel and mash the bananas, also leaving some small pieces mixed with the very mashed pulp. Set aside.

3. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, spices and orange peel together; set aside.

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the butter until light. Add the brown sugar and beat until light. Add the molasses and beat to combine thoroughly.

5. Add the eggs to the butter mixture and beat to combine. Mixture may look curdled. That is OK. Stir in the persimmon pulp and banana pulp with a rubber spatula. Add the flour mixture and stir only until the batter is smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s) and smooth the top(s). (Note: I stirred in the fruit and then the flour mixture using a stand mixer and was careful to not overmix…it worked fine.)

6. Bake for about 1 hour and 5 minutes, until the bread is well browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. The bread will be quite dark, especially on the edges, but if loaf/loaves start to brown too much before being done, lay a piece of aluminum foil, shiny side up, loosely on top during the last 30 minutes or so of baking.

7. Cool in the pan(s) on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Run a small sharp knife around the side(s) to release the bread, and carefully unmold. Set right side up on a rack to cool completely. Wrap airtight. The bread can be frozen for up to 2 months.

ABC Award and Seasonal Banana Bread

There is a recipe on this post, but it is waaay down there. First there is the ABC Award (Awesome Blog Content) from Katie of Apple and Spice. I've visited Katie's blog for quite a while now and I can confidently say that she is not only a wonderful blogger, well deserving the ABC Award herself, but an intrepid one. She has always baked delicious treats but made the change to gluten-free with such grace that, unless you really look carefully, you can't tell if her goodies have gluten or not...no 'poor me' from this fabulous baker! In some ways it has unleashed an even greater talent for baking and creativity. Do visit her blog so you can see what I mean!

So I thank Katie for the Award, but I took a while to post about it because it came with a list to make. I always have trouble with those lists. You've got to give some random facts about yourself, one for every letter of the alphabet! So here's my 26 alphabet related facts about me, although I'm not sure how fun it is. Mostly these are things I do, 'hats' I 'wear':

a - artist, author These two go together since my book Classic Comfort Food depends on the artistic photographs to shine.

b - baker, bread maker, business woman At one time these went together, too, when I had a wholesale muffin business. Now baking is for fun and gifting. Bread making is a passion that seems to go on and on. Being self-published, I'm running my own business again.

c - cook This is a life-long vocation and pleasurable pursuit. Fortunately, it's something I get to do every day. It is also one of my vehicles for another 'c' word, creative.

d - designer, daughter Although graphic design is my latest effort, I've also had a stenciled designs tee-shirt business, have designed gardens and clothing for myself and lots of other things. I'm grateful that my Mom is still alive so I get to be her daughter a while longer.

e - economist of the household variety

f - friend My first friends were my siblings and they are still my friends. I'm lucky to have a handful of true blue friends whom I can be completely myself with. Virtual friends like Katie are a blessing and I still struggle with how to be a good virtual friend myself.

g - graphics specialist, gardener During the past year these have been two interests that have been really high on my list of priorities. Just finished designing a children's book and have more graphic design projects lined up. The garden is burgeoning with flowers and veggies and I love being out in it enjoying the fragrances and colors.

h - homemaker Although other pursuits often mean my house isn't dust free and pin neat, it is a home and one where visitors say they always feel relaxed. I feel very lucky to live where I do and I love our home.

i - InDesign user Until last September I was a confirmed Pagemaker and QuarkXpress graphic designer. Now I love InDesign. All of these are programs used for page layout and graphic design. I spend a lot of time using them (and Photoshop) so it is really great to have found such a wonderful program.

j - journeyer In truth we are all on a journey into the unknown...exciting isn't it?

k - kitchen wench Anyone who loves to cook and bake as I do either finds someone to help with the clean up or becomes a kitchen wench. Although Sweetie helps sometimes, often it's me and the sink.

l - lover When he was in kindergarten, our son Max made a picture that said he was special because he was loving. It was very true. I think it might be true for me, too. I love a lot of people and I try to let them know it.

m - mom The hardest job of all, and much of the time the best one, too. My daughter Katherine is one of the greatest joys of my life.

n - never bored If you know me at all this one won't surprise you. I always have many more ideas and things I want to do than there is time. Occasionally I find it frustrating but mostly it feels like money in the bank.

o - outside-the-box thinker This sort of goes with the one above. Never met a recipe I didn't itch to change. When I 'problem solve' I often come up with unexpected solutions. Sweetie knows I think differently. My siblings claim I have my own logic system. This is not always the most comfortable trait to have.

p - Pi lover I'm besotted with our new dog, Pi. It's as simple as that.

q - queen of the hill We live at the top of a hill with a nice view back over the plain. Looking out that way from our deck I often feel like the queen of the hill even though most of what I see isn't really mine except to look at. I do appreciate how beautiful it is.

r - reader Books are everywhere in our home and I usually have a stack of unread books next to the bed. I love to read and so am rarely up on the latest TV shows or even music. So many books and so little time is absolutely true in my case.

s - seed starter and saver Growing things from seed is such a creative, life-affirming process. I've figured out how to get a high germination rate and every year start seeds, especially veggies, for the garden. I also save seeds from sweet peas, morning glories, scarlet runner beans (and more) for growing next year.

t - tomato maven There is nothing like a ripe tomato from your own garden, especially some of the heirloom tomatoes. I've gotten pretty good at growing them, plus I always give away seedlings in the spring to friends. If the seeds germinate really well I usually have more than I can plant.

u - universe's child This refers to a belief that, mostly, things are unfolding as they should. It is counter intuitive having lost my son 13 years ago yesterday in an auto accident when he was almost 17, but it still seems to explain a lot of other things.

v - voter This year especially it's an important thing. From the Presidential race to the local fire service race and everything in between, many, many things that impact my life and yours will be influenced by how the people vote and by how many actually cast their ballots. It may be weakened by forces beyond my control, but the democratic process of voting is still essential to America staying free and strong so I vote. You should, too.

w - wife The most important of all my pursuits, and the most enjoyable. I'm lucky in love. Thanks Sweetie!

x - xacto knife wielder Hey, it's getting tough to find activities. I did this the other day when I made special "Signed by Local Author" labels for some cookbooks to be sold at a local market, so it counts.

y - young at heart Now that I see gray hair when I look in the mirror, this one is kind of funny, but true anyway.

zzzz - tired of me yet? zucchini grower extraordinaire Since I'm sharing pounds and pounds of zucchini every week with neighbors and friends, eating some every day, and since I have one plant where the leaves are each about a foot and a half across, I claim this title with happiness.
I think I'm supposed to nominate others for this award, and there are certainly plenty of blogger who qualify, but not sure I want to also 'award' them the list making. Might need a few more days to decide. Stay 'tuned'.

Now for the recipe. Lots of ripe bananas often means Banana Bread! 

The wonderful thing about a basic recipe is that you can use it as the basis for creative changes. My Mom's Banana Bread from Classic Comfort Food has been altered to make it tropical, to use dates and nuts, to be a base for a Christmas time cranberry banana bread and more. I did switch out butter for the vegetable oil and exchanged some of the sugar for either brown sugar or molasses. The fruits and nuts change often and sometimes I throw in something like coconut or (today) shredded zucchini. As you can see it is a versatile recipe.

This time I'm going to add some orange zest for a fresh zing, summer berries for sweetness and a bit of the zucchini that is taking over the garden (because I need to find ways to use it up). It makes a lovely summer tea time treat!

Mashed Up Banana Bread with Berries and Zucchini
based on my mom's banana bread in Classic Comfort Food, 2012
makes one loaf

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, beaten
3 ripe bananas (or 2 large), mashed
1 tablespoon orange zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup fresh blueberries
1/4 cup fresh blackberries
1/4 cup fresh strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup shredded zucchini, loosely packed
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.

Beat butter, brown sugar and sugar together until fluffy.

Add eggs and banana pulp and orange zest and beat well.

Sift together the whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour. Set aside 1/4 cup of the mixture. To remaining flour mixture add baking soda, baking powder and salt.

In a small bowl combine the blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and zucchini. Sprinkle the reserved 1/4 cup flour mixture over and lightly stir to coat the fruits and zucchini with the flour mixture. Set aside.

To the banana mixture add sifted dry ingredients, vanilla, and milk and yogurt. Mix just until dry ingredients are incorporated. Stir in fruit-zucchini mixture and nuts.

Pour into prepared loaf pan. Bake about 1 hour. Test for doneness with a toothpick in center. When done, toothpick comes out clean or with a few crumbs on it. Cool well. Store overnight before cutting...if you can wait that long. A serrated knife makes cutting easier.

Banana Bread in the Land of St. Honore'

The Christmas ornaments and stockings are in the attic and the swag with red lights that hung on the porch has joined the tree stand in storage. Before the last bit of Christmas cheer tiptoes away, join me for a seasonal tale in the Land of St. Honore', where baking is a birthright.

Once upon a time, not so long ago, in the Land of St. Honore’, the hall clock struck 2 in the wee hours of the morning. As the refrigerator door swung open, it illuminated the elfin features of Mitzi, one of Santa’s helpers. She checked to see that the old dog hadn’t been awakened by the light, but he was still asleep by the couch in the glow of the Christmas tree lights.

It was Little Christmas or Epiphany, January 6th, and Mitzi was homesick. On Christmas night she had been with Santa on the sleigh with her own sack of goodies...for Santa. He was fighting off a cold and her job was to provide chicken soup from the Thermos, nasal spray as needed, and large white handkerchiefs for his drippy nose.

Unfortunately at one stop Nature called. How she wished that female elves could wiz anywhere like the guys. Since she couldn’t she had left the sleigh to find a bathroom. Santa didn’t realize she was gone and had left for the next stop. She was lucky that there was a nice hall closet where she could curl up with the coats and mufflers to sleep.

At first she didn’t mind being stranded. The people in the house didn’t miss oranges and apples, nor yogurt or mini carrots. She ate while they slept and slept under the bed in the spare room while they were awake.

There were also plenty of gingerbread cookies at hand. She had managed to avoid the after Christmas clean up at the North Pole and now felt very rested. The problem was how to let Santa know where she was so he could come get her.

One thing that Santa loved was banana bread. Mrs. Claus rarely made it because she was trying to keep his weight in check. Mitzi decided to bake some to lure Santa to her hideaway.

First she took some eggs from the fridge and some leftover eggnog…Santa loved eggnog, too. Then she warmed some rum and soaked dried cranberries in it. Then she found the softened butter on the counter and sugars in the pantry. By standing on the counter top she was able to find, measure out and combine flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda, and some nutmeg…the latter to set off the seasonal eggnog flavor.

Once the oven was preheated and she had found a bread pan, she whisked together the butter, sugars, egg, some vanilla, and the eggnog. Next she stirred in some grody old brown skinned soft bananas that she had peeled and smooshed. Then she added the dry ingredients and mixed ‘em up, threw in the cranberries and the rum they were soaking in, and added a handful of chopped walnuts from the ‘fridge. Once well stirred the batter smelled great!

Into the bread pan it went and the pan into the oven. She played some jacks while the bread baked. Once the bread was out of the oven and it had cooled just a little bit, she cut two slices and wrapped them carefully in paper towels.

Then she took the rest of the fresh bread over to the fireplace. It was cold since no fire had been lit that day. Softly she blew across the loaf of bread and the fragrance was caught and went up the chimney. In an amazingly short time she heard the bells jingling on the reindeer harness.

Santa had indeed smelled her banana bread and come to get her! She put the loaf back on the counter for the family who had provided for her for the twelve night, grabbed the slices in the paper towel and was at the hearth just in time to see Santa’s hand reaching out for her from the chimney. Once they were in the sleigh and on their way back to the North Pole, he tried her luscious Eggnog Rum Cranberry Banana Bread. Hohohohoho! It was sure good.

Eggnog Rum Cranberry Banana Bread

¼ cup dark rum, warmed slightly
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup butter, softened
¼ cup dark brown sugar, packed
½ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
¼ cup eggnog
½ teaspoon vanilla
3 bananas
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ cup chopped walnuts

In small bowl combine the warm rum and the dried cranberries. Set aside to soak while you prepare the bread batter.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl beat the butter with the sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs , one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the eggnog and vanilla and combine. The mixture may look curdled. That is OK. Stir in the bananas. Add the dry ingredients all at once and stir just until combined. Add the cranberries and their soaking liquid and the walnuts and stir until just combined.

Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake in the preheated oven for about 1 hour. Test for doneness with a toothpick in center. When done, toothpick comes out clean or with a few crumbs on it. Cool well. Store overnight before cutting...if you can wait that long…a certain elf couldn’t. A serrated knife makes cutting easier.

Makes one loaf.

Tropical Bannana Bread

Take one plain, uninspired, but solid recipe for banana bread, substitute some molasses for some of the sugar (while thinking of how the molasses / sugar trade was one leg of a terrible triangle in the early years of our country...the other legs being rum and slaves, or so I've been told). Bananas and vanilla are certainly tropical enough, but let's add some dates (thinking of desert palms and midnight at the oasis). Pecans grow in the south, not necessarily tropical, but warm, anyway. Let's throw some in, along with coconut (think Hawaii and Pohnepei where Sweetie spent time while in the Peace Corps, and island breezes). Now we have a tropical banana bread that is sure to please my Sweetie.

The fragrance that fills the house as it cooks is alluring. It was so hard to wait a bit after it came out of the oven to let it cool...well at least a little...although it was still warm.

What a mouthful! The flavors of coconut and banana are followed by the date and pecan and molasses goodness. It is flavorful from the whole wheat flour I used, super moist and hard to resist.

The next day, chilled and sliced thin, spread with cream cheese and cut into fingers, it's also an elegant accompaniment to a nice cup of hot tea. This might be the best banana bread I've ever made. Next time I might make some rum flavored syrup to pour over while it's hot. That would be perfection.

Tropical Banana Bread

based on my mom's banana bread in Family Food, June 1994
makes one loaf

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup molasses, dark is best

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs, beaten

3 ripe bananas (or 2 large), mashed

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup chopped pitted dates

1/2 cup shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.

Beat butter, molasses and sugar together until fluffy. It's OK if it looks curdled.

Add eggs and banana pulp and beat well.

Add sifted dry ingredient's, vanilla, and buttermilk. Mix just until dry ingredients are incorporated. Stir in nuts, dates, and coconut.

Pour into prepared loaf pan. Bake about 1 hour. Test for doneness with a toothpick in center. When done, toothpick comes out clean or with a few crumbs on it. Cool well. Store overnight before cutting...if you can wait that long. A serrated knife makes cutting easier.