Bananarama

I left a couple of bananas on my kitchen counter the other day and the current heat and humidity in Washington, DC ripened them so fast that in two days they were too mushy for my cereal.  I'm not one to throw food away, so I found my trusty banana bread recipe and baked them into golden goodness!

 

This banana bread recipe below is from Martha Stewart's best-selling book, Entertaining, and I highly recommend making it and having it on hand for a quick breakfast.  I once tried the recipe as muffins and they were okay but the recipe is more delicious cooked in a loaf pan as bread.

 

 

 

When you are grieving, or under a lot of stress, it is so important for you to begin the day with breakfast.  Even if you find you have temporarily lost your appetite, this banana bread, perhaps with some yogurt, is easy to digest.  Bananas are high in potassium which is important in regulating blood pressure and keeping your muscles healthy.  Plus bananas are low in calories.

We can't stop life from handing us tough emotional times but we can control what we do for ourselves.

 

You may be having trouble sleeping or finding it hard to concentrate for long periods of times.  A balanced diet, rest, and moderate exercise could help to give you some structure and guide you towards slowly processing your raw emotions.  It is not a small thing to take care of yourself and learn how to keep yourself on a healthy track.

 

I hope you like this bread as much as my son and I do:

 

Martha Stewart's Banana Bread

 

1 large loaf or 4 small loaves

 

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar (I use less sugar, sometimes almost halving the amount)

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups unbleached flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (usually 2)

1/2 cup sour cream (I use low fat)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup pecans or walnuts (these are optional; I leave them out)

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

Cream butter, sugar and eggs.

 

Sift the dry ingredients and combine with the butter mixture.

Blend well.  Add the bananas, sour cream and vanilla; stir well.

Stir in the nuts if you wish and pour into a well buttered 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan or several smaller pans.

 

Bake 1 hour.  Turn out onto a rack to cool.

 

Irish Soda Bread

Hi My Faithful Readers,

I am going in a different direction today and I hope you are okay with it...

Whether you're cooking corned beef, cabbage and potatoes der boy or you're stewing some beef and Guinness, a freshly baked loaf of Irish Soda bread will lend a touch of the old country to your St. Patrick's Day celebration.

I grew up in a large family of six children and we ate A LOT of Irish soda bread.  My favorite way to eat soda bread is when it's still warm from the oven with lots of orange marmalade spread on it.  It is so delicious and easy to make because there is no yeast in this bread!

There are two schools of taste concerning Irish soda bread.  The first school (mine) prefers a pure and classic soda bread that is closer to what you would find in a pub in Ireland.  The second school prefers a soda bread that is sweeter, more like a cake, with raisins, caraway seeds or both.

Here is my tried and true recipe for Irish Soda bread.  You be the judge and please tell me how it turns out for you! 

Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients

2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter or regular margarine, softened
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon butter or regular margarine, melted

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 375F.  Lightly grease a small cookie sheet.
2.  In a large bowl, sift flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3.  Cut in softened butter with a pastry blender or a fork until mixture looks like fine crumbs
4.  Add buttermilk; mix in with a fork only until dry ingredients are moistened.
5.  Turn out on lightly floured pastry cloth or board.  Knead gently until smooth -- about 1 minute.  Shape into a ball.  Place on a prepared cookie sheet: flatten into a 7-inch circle (Dough will be about
 1-1/2 inches thick.)  Press a large floured knife into center of loaf almost about half way through the loaf.  Repeat, at right angles to divide the loaf into quarters.
6.  Bake 30-40 minutes, or until top is golden and loaf sounds hollow when tapped.
7.  Remove to wire rack to cool.  Brush top with melted butter.  Dust with flour, if you wish.

Makes 1 loaf.