Banana Bread

We grow lots of bananas on our property, and we often have more than we know what to do with.

I decided to make banana bread using the recipe from How to Cook Everything, by Mark Bittman. This has become my go-to cookbook for all kinds of food. The recipes are simple, and always good. Bittman says that the dried, unsweetened coconut is the key to this bread, but I couldn't find any so I left it out, and added more banana to make up the volume. It's ironic that I can't find coconut, since I have a coconut palm not 10 feet from my house, but all the stores carry is the sweetened stuff. The recipe also calls for ½ cup of whole-wheat flour, which I didn't have; I used all-purpose.

This makes 2 loaves using 5" by 7" baking pans, or 18 muffins.

Dry ingredients:

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
  
• 2 teaspoons salt
  

Mix these in a large bowl

Wet ingredients:

• 4 eggs, beaten
  
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  
• 6 very ripe bananas
  
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 2 sticks butter, creamed

For the end:

• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened

Mash the bananas. I do this with a pastry blender, but you can also use a fork. Combine the banana with the other wet ingredients, then add the wet to the dry, mixing just enough to combine. Don't over mix.

Mix in the coconut and walnuts.

Divide the batter into 2 greased pans and bake for 45 minutes to an hour at 350F. When done, a toothpick sould come out fairly clean (sometimes not entirely, since the bread is so moist).

Banana Muffins

You can also make muffins using this same recipe. Butter the muffin tin, or use muffin papers.

Makes 18 muffins