Saturday, September 8, 2012

B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

Why, hello there.
Here I am, back at it! With a very challenging recipe.
Banana Bread
How was it challenging? Read on my wayward son! Read on!

Ingredients:
(I made a double recipe, because I had more than enough bananas, but I will give the regular recipe) 1/4 cup softened butter, 3/4 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 3/4 cup mashed ripe(mine were over ripe *shudder*)bananas(about 2), 1/2 cup sour cream, 2 1/4 cup all purpose flour, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 3/4 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt
The recipe also called for nuts. But why totally ruin a good batch of banana bread by adding nuts? Now, as you can see the bananas are really ripe. I had frozen them, and now here is where this recipe almost did me in, they were so SLIMY and SQUISHY. Which means GROSS. More on that later.


Directions: (I got this recipe from my Taste of Home cookbook)
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy.



I love my new mixer. Its simply the best. I was listening to a Franki Valli and the Four Season CD, when the song "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" came on. I sang to my mixer.


Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.


As you can see by the picture, I did not add my eggs one at a time. Oops! I don't think it changed anything. But this was the first time I have ever done this(and probably the last you'll know why coming up)recipe.


Stir in bananas and sour cream.


Yes, the bananas were that gross that I had to were gloves. The bananas were metly, slimy, squishy, smelly, and just plain gross. When I picked one up, it made a terrible gushy noise. My mom told me to "Squeeze them like a tub of toothpase." So thats what I did. Lemme tell you, that was the WORST part. It felt so gross, even with gloves, and had the consistency of well....Pepto Bismol helps with it. So on the second banana I stopped looking at it, and I didn't even take a picture. I had 5 bananas and almost threw up on the 3rd. Yeah, thats how gross. And that my dear readers, is why I will most likely never make banana bread again.

Here it is all mashed up. Still had trouble holding in my lunch. Sorry for the more graphic descriptions in this blog. Its just how I felt!


Combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Stir into banana mix, just until moistened.


As much as I do love my mixer, it wasn't quite big enough for this task. If I had made just a single batch, it would have been fine.



"Stir just until moistened" That one sentence alone was enough to make me almost have an anxiety attack. "Is this too little? Or too much? Maybe just another stir. No, I shouldn't have done that. Well, there is still a pocket of flour, maybe just another stir. Was that too much?"



In the end, I think I got it mostly right. Still am a little paranoid about it though.

 

Transfer to a greased 8inx4inx2in loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Boom baby! They came out great! The one in the metal pan is a little better than the one in the glass pan. Not sure why though. But I am going to slice them and take them to church tomorrow, but I had a slice and think they turned out good. For the only time I will ever make them, they aren't bad! Well thats it for me. Hope you enjoyed this installment!