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The Simple Things

Some days, more than others, you appreciate the simple things in life.


A sunny, springtime day. (Even though it's 27*F outside... I'm wondering if the temps will ever get warm again.)


Yes, the sun is out. It is behind me in the pic.


The ability to walk down stairs without pain. Or get up off the couch without pain. Who knew running 20 miles would make someone so sore, two days later? (I think I've got a solid case of DOMS--delayed onset muscle soreness... hoping to be good to go by tomorrow.)


A relaxing morning sipping coffee with the one you love while browsing through old cookbooks.


And, finally, one of life's simplest treats: banana bread. 


Yum-O!



I've had some ripe bananas on my counter all week, just begging to be made into a loaf of bread. I spent some time in the kitchen this morning working on a few 'projects', and this happened to be one of them. 


I know everyone probably has their go-to recipe for banana bread, but I want to share mine. I first saw this recipe over at Smitten Kitchen. (A great resource! Wonderful recipes.) She includes bourbon in her recipe, but I couldn't justify buying a whole bottle for just one tablespoon. It tastes great without it! I love the brown sugar flavor, combined with the cinnamon. I added walnuts, because I think they pair wonderfully with banana bread. I also topped it with some cinnamon-sugar before baking, to get that crunchy, crackly top layer. 






This banana bread is gooood! Perfect smeared with a bit of honey butter or even toasted with a bit of peanut butter. I made it several weeks ago when my Business Man's brothers were visiting, and we polished off the whole loaf in one sitting. And there was more to the meal than just banana bread. :-P



I'm glad I made it again when we don't have guests... more for us!


Banana Walnut Bread

Servings/Yield

One 9x5-inch loaf.

  • 3-4 ripe bananas, mashed
  • ⅓ cup butter, melted
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup brown sugar
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • pinch ginger
  • pinch cloves
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • pinch salt
  • 1 ½ cups flour
  • 2 handfuls walnuts
  • cinnamon-sugar

Method

Preheat oven to 350*F. Combine mashed bananas with melted butter until smooth. Stir in egg, vanilla, sugar, and spices until combined. Stir in baking soda and salt. Add flour, and stir until just combined. Gently fold in walnuts.

Pour batter into greased 9x5-inch loaf pan. Top batter with cinnamon-sugar. Bake in preheated oven 50-60 minutes until golden brown and a tester comes out clean.
 

Source: Smitten Kitchen.



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Comments

Running Girl said…
I *love* banana bread. My husband prefers all bread in muffin-form, so I like this recipe. If you ever want to try a muffin recipe, this one is yum!
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000000709845
March 28, 2011 at 2:12 PM
Sara said…
That recipe sounds good! It's a bit healthier than mine, with the wheat germ... it'd be a good breakfast that would actually keep me full for longer than 2 hours!
March 28, 2011 at 6:16 PM
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