When the bananas start speaking...

The nine really ripe bananas stared me in the face this morning at 6 am. My eyelids held up by toothpicks, my nose yearning for the rich aroma of my fresh ground coffee beans... I hadn't even been up for ten minutes, but I realized "the bananas are going to start talking soon". Yes, that is how I know when it is time to make banana bread. When the fruit becomes sentient, it is time to bake.
I got this recipe from a cookbook I found at Traveler Food and Books (www.hiddenboston.com/TravelerRestaurant.html- one of my favorite reasons to make the journey to my home state of Connecticut). It is called "Good Maine Food" by Marjorie Mosser and was published in 1941. I took the banana bread recipe contained within, gave it a few tweaks, and came up with a simple and delicious almost-one-bowl creation.

Banana Bread

1 1/2 cups All-Purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
3-4 mashed bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8 x 4 inch pan with Baker's Joy (or use muffin tins, etc.)
Mix the dry ingredients with a whisk. Mix the wet ingredients with a whisk. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until well blended. Bake for 45-60 minutes (depending on the pan used) until a tester comes out clean and the bread is a deep golden brown color. Remove from pan after resting for five minutes and cool on a rack.

Notes:
Sometimes I substitute malted milk powder one-for-one for the sugar (maximum 1/4 cup of malted milk).
Chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and nuts may be added as desired.
The bread tastes even better if you wrap it in plastic wrap and leave it on the counter for a few days (eating as you go along). Just watch out for counter-surfing dogs (I'm onto you, Zoe!)