Ultimate Banana Bread

I already have a good banana bread that I really like, but if you like your banana bread to have more of a bread consistency and nut as much gooey banana AND you like walnuts, you need to try this.

Be sure to use very ripe, heavily speckled (or even checking for doneness five minutes earlier than advised in the recipe. The texture is best when the loaf is eaten fresh, but it can be stored (cool completely first), covered tightly with plastic wrap, for up to 3 days.

1¾ cups (8¾ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour


1 teaspoon baking soda


½ teaspoon table salt


6 large very ripe bananas (about 2¼ pounds), peeled (see note)


8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly


2 large eggs


¾ cup (5¼ ounces) packed light brown sugar


1 teaspoon vanilla extract


½ cup walnuts , toasted and coarsely chopped (optional)


2 teaspoons granulated sugar


1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8½ by 4½-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together in large bowl.


2. Place 5 bananas in microwave-safe bowl; cover with plastic wrap and cut several steam vents in plastic with paring knife. Microwave on high power until bananas are soft and have released liquid, about 5 minutes. Transfer bananas to fine-mesh strainer placed over medium bowl and allow to drain, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes (you should have ½ to ¾ cup liquid).


3. Transfer liquid to medium saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until reduced to ¼ cup, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat, stir reduced liquid into bananas, and mash with potato masher until fairly smooth. Whisk in butter, eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla.


4. Pour banana mixture into flour mixture and stir until just combined with some streaks of flour remaining. Gently fold in walnuts, if using. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Slice remaining banana diagonally into ¼-inch-thick slices. Shingle banana slices on top of either side of loaf, leaving 1½-inch-wide space down center to ensure even rise. Sprinkle granulated sugar evenly over loaf.


5. Bake until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean, 55 to 75 minutes. Cool bread in pan on wire rack 15 minutes, then remove loaf from pan and continue to cool on wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I'm not even going to make excuses

There's hardly time. I'm skipping the pleasantries.

Instead I'm going to tell you that Powell quit playing with playdoh today so he could play 'hide and seek' with Christopher. It was adorable. And they were laughing hysterically. It was wonderful.

Here's a bunch of pictures in an attempt to catch up...

 Powell's preschool class went to Fritz's and the coterie theater.  We had some amazing one-on-one time : )

 My Man's been working on our front porch/patio step by step for a little while now.  This is how looked during Halloween (there's one teeny tiny step left).

 Here we are!  The Wizard of Oz cast!

 Maryanna's Halloween treats she took to school.  Lola described them as 'they're in the hot tub, Mom!' Totally didn't get it at first, but so cute!

 Night of Halloween.

My Angry Bird 

 My Lion

 My Dorothy

 What can I say?  We're all foodies!  This was at her preschool party.

 Powell's preschool party.

 Carving Jack O'Lanterns

 Finished products.  My Man carved about 4 of them.  I did the owl in the time that he did all 4.  Slightly irritating...

 The spread for Christopher's party.

 lion cupcakes

 Soccer game halftime entertainment...

 Just let me eat the cake!!!

 Found these on pinterest.  So yummy!  These were caramel kisses which didn't 'smush' as uniformly, but were very tasty with the salty pretzels.

 Hot cocoa treat bags.  The card read, 'warmest wishes'!

 My first attempt at cake pops!  So yummy - it's a good thing I haven't made them before or since!!  Side note:  not as easy as they look!!

 Lion cake : )

My baby pre-haircut!!!

Love this!!

By God’s grace, a home that is full of both love and respect will become a place of joyful influence and potent comfort, a place that overflows with loveliness.

To see more...

Absolutely wonderful

I love this message!  And while I'm making my way to posting birthday pictures and Halloween pictures AND telling you about Women of Faith, I'll share this from All Things Heart and Home...

The other day I was in the middle of a hurried week. My ‘to-do’ list was getting longer by the second. Every time I looked at it, I felt confused about what to do first, so mostly I was running in circles. Standing in line at Target, I checked email from my phone. There was a message from my friend Jenn: “The trees are stunning. Interesting that the leaves are the most beautiful as they’re dying.”






For a brief moment, time slowed. Jenn’s words went straight to my heart where I knew they would swirl around gently until I caught the message.






The next morning, still thinking about what God might be saying to me, I asked The Husband: ” If age compares to seasons, what season are we in”?






The corners of his mouth hinted upward, “probably autumn, does that bother you?”






“Nope”.






A few hours later standing on our upper deck, I stared at sunlight filtering through autumn leaves and prayed, I feel like you have a message for me Father, what is it?






The trees looked celestial, transforming their little space into a glorious display of purple- reds and orangey-yellows that made me almost forget their former selves. Most of them anyway. There were a few trees that seemed to be skipping the whole autumn display of color stage and moving from luscious green to crispy brown in a matter of weeks.






But why, I wondered. Why were some red, some yellow, some just ugly brown?






I stepped inside and did what I sometimes do when I’m wondering about things…






I googled.






What I found was interesting on a couple of levels. Hang with me for a second…






Seems that some trees build up pigments over the spring and summer, when the leaves are young and green. When the green (chlorophyll) diminishes in autumn, the yellow pigments that were already there become dominant.






Hummmm, so in life perhaps, some people build up beauty in their youth. The kind of beauty that’s inside and doesn’t fade. Beauty in the form of Godly attributes like gentleness, humility, meekness, kindness and patience. When their youth diminishes, their inner beauty shines through. And it’s rather glorious.






I know people like that.






But what about those people who move into the autumn of life without a lot of inner beauty, is there hope for them…for me?






Well, it seems that those redish autumn leaves have an entirely different process:






As the chlorophyll diminishes, a red pigment, which was not previously present, is produced in the leaf.






Here’s what one source says about this phenomenon:






“…the trees expend resources on creating red pigments just as they are about to shed their leaves”






So these trees flourish just in the nick of time.






Whew.






I know people like that too. I think I may be one of them.






“Father“, I breathed deep and whispered a prayer, “help me expend my energy on things that last. And please, don’t let me move through this season without beauty like those trees that go from green to brown…”






I grabbed my never ending to-do list and felt absolutely no confusion about what to do next.






*****






I’m still counting gifts~ #991- choices made easy when I see them through autumnal eyes.






~Have a beautiful day Sweet Ones~

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