Travels with a Gourmet

We’ve almost finished our organic fruit and vegetable box except for some apples and a few bananas that were starting to get overripe and mushy so I decided to make them into banana bread so we could still have the bananas for breakfast the next couple of days. This time, I used my dog-eared cookbook – Nigella Lawson’s How to be a Domestic Goddess. It’s the perfect recipe for a novice baker since there is no way you can get it wrong and it makes your kitchen smell really good too. I changed the recipe a bit and omitted the rum, raisins and nuts that she uses and made a plain banana bread. I had a slice for breakfast with my morning illy cappuccino and it was worth it.

• 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 2 tsps. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 4 small, very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 9 x 5 inch loaf pan, buttered and floured or with a paper insert
• Preheat the oven to 325F (170C).
• Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl and combine well. In a large bowl, mix the melted butter and sugar and beat until blended. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the mashed bananas. Stir in the vanilla extract.
• Add the flour mixture, a third at a time, stirring well after each bit. Scrape into a loaf pan and bake in the middle of the oven for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. When it’s ready, an inserted toothpick should come out cleanish. Leave in the pan on a rack to cool and eat thickly sliced.
• Makes 8-10 slices.