Banana Bread

I do anything in my power to not throw food away; usually that means taking leftovers to work to eat for lunch.  But when it comes to fruit, I like my apples crisp and my bananas so fresh they are almost green.  So, what to do with those three way too ripe bananas sitting in the fruit bowl?  Make banana bread, of course!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1 cup mashed banana (3 medium)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cooking oil
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• a handful of chocolate chips (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease the bottom and sides of a 8 x 4 x 2 inch loaf pan; set aside.
2. In a medium mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.  Make a well in the center of the mixture; set aside.
3. In another bowl, combine the egg, mashed bananas, sugar, and cooking oil.  Add egg mixture all at once to dry mixture.  Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy).  Fold in nuts and chocolate chips, if using.
4. Spoon batter into the prepared pan.  Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  

Note:  The original recipe also says to cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes then remove loaf and cool on wire rack.  Wrap and store overnight before slicing.  This doesn't happen in my house.  We let it cool in the pan and leave it there...often eating it before the next day.

Difficulty: Measuring aside, this is easy and delicious.

Time: 15 minutes prep, 50 minutes baking

Source:  adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, 11th edition