Wednesday, March 12, 2008

What to do with all those bananas?



Sorry for the huge break from this blog! I just got back from India, and the first thing I wanted to do when I got back to my own kitchen was (what else?) bake!!! So nice to be back in my kitchen, and when I got my hands on my Kitchenaid stand mixer, I knew I was home at last.

No, really. I was missing my kitchen so much, I would dream every night about fresh, homemade bread, and yummy cakes and pies.

So when I came home, I saw a huge bunch of very, very ripe bananas in the fruit basket. I had planned to make some sourdough bread (my sweet husband had even taken the time to feed the starter every week!), but looking at those very brown bananas, I knew there was only one thing to do: Make some tasty banana bread!

This recipe is super easy. If you've got some bananas that no one is eating, put them to good use. The riper the better! When mashed up, ripe or overripe bananas make this bread very moist and tasty! And here's a tip from my good friend, Shri Gaurangi. She likes to add mini chocolate chips to her banana bread batter. Now there's a chocoholic after my own heart!

Banana Bread
(makes one delicious loaf!)

3 very ripe bananas, mashed
2 Tbsp softened butter
4 Tbsp plain yogurt
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (optional, but yummy!)

In large mixer bowl, combine mashed bananas, butter, and yogurt. (A Kitchenaid mixer or other electric mixer works best.) Don't worry about getting all the lumps out of the bananas...small banana lumps are ok, you don't need to make it a paste. Combine flour, sugar, and baking soda in a separate bowl, and then add to banana mixture. When blended well, add the chopped walnuts and optional chocolate chips. Pour batter into a well-greased loaf pan, and bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour, or until golden brown on top, and knife inserted into center of loaf comes out clean. Cool, and remove from pan.

No comments: