January 11, 2010: Banana Bread

One of my favorite adages goes something like this: "When you have a bowl of lemons, make lemonade." It's easy to figure out that it means to make the best of what you have; turn it around! Following the same logic, when you have a bunch of over-ripe bananas, make banana bread... literally!

This banana bread recipe is soooo simple to make and is equally delicious. It'll help you make friends! If you didn't get to that bunch of bananas soon enough, this is the way to go!
0
BANANA BREAD

2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
6 ripe bananas (the spottier, the better!) mashed with a potato masher
4 eggs
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup wheat germ or ground flax seeds
1 t salt
2 t baking soda
1 cup chopped nuts, if desired

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, making sure they are evenly blended. Stir in the bananas. Add one cup of flour, the wheat germ or flax seeds, salt, and baking soda until evenly blended. Stir in the remainder of the flour, then stir in the nuts, if desired. Pour batter into 2 buttered 9x5 loaf pans. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes then carefully remove from the pans to cool completely on a rack.