Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Baking brings back family memories


One of my favorite things to do is bake – not cooking, just baking!

So, I thought I’d share a favorite recipe with you along with some tips that I got years ago.

Banana bread is a favorite at our house and my recipe comes from my mom’s good friend Betty. Betty and her family would get together with us to visit and the kids would all play, we were all around the same age.  Betty died of pancreatic cancer in her 50’s and so every time I make banana bread with her recipe I think about her and the fun we had as families.

One of Betty’s tips for having enough ripe bananas to use is “just put over ripe bananas, skins and all in the freezer as you get them – when you have enough frozen – it’s time to make banana bread”. The bananas last frozen for months! I take them out about an hour before I want to bake and they are ready to go.

Another tip is to make milk sour – just add a teaspoon of vinegar to your measured out milk. (This also works as a substitute for buttermilk).

Here is her recipe – Hope you enjoy it as much as my family does!

Betty’s Banana Bread
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup butter
2 eggs
3-4 ripe bananas (never hurts to add an extra one!)
2/3 cup of sour milk
½ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp baking soda
2 ½ cups flour

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour 2  - 1 pound loaf pans.  Cream butter and sugar together and then beat eggs into mixture.  Add sour milk and vanilla to mixture, beat well then mix in bananas. The mixture may appear a bit curdled from the sour milk – no worries it always looks that way until you add the dry ingredients! Mix soda, salt with flour and gradually add mixing well. You can add chopped nuts of your choice if you prefer.  Pour equally into two pans and bake for 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Enjoy!

What recipes have been passed along in your family and bring back those happy childhood memories when you make them?

Carol Bult is a registered nurse who is manager of the Neonatal & Lactation Services Department at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano.

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