Friday, February 18, 2011

Word Association - Bananas! Nuts!

Word Association
Wanna try some word association?  I’ll show you a picture, and you can tell me what you think of.  Ok, here’s one...



So, what was the first word that popped into your mind?  I bet it was “grandma” - right???  

No?

Well, then you clearly never met MY Grandma Dahl.  Actually, both of my grams were pretty amazing, but Grandma Dahl made absolutely phenomenal banana bread; hence the association with overripe bananas!  

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Today’s fabric shopping did not go too well, and I came home empty handed, again.  I found some patterns that would have been just adorable for N’s room, but none was wide enough to accommodate the big panels in there, and I am just stubborn enough that I’d rather keep looking than break down and create seams where I want a nice smooth surface.

Here are a few I liked {do we see a trend?} 

Groovy Peace Floral White DU-324
Fabric.com


Feeling Groovy Peace White DV-760

Kaufman Minky Cuddle Peace Flower Pink
Fabric.com

The corner that this will fill is opposite the bed with it’s bright stripes, with only solids in between.  They’re busy, but maybe that would inject some life?  The point is moot with these, anyway, because of the width issue.

Back to bananas...

I had several seriously aged bananas in the freezer, and a couple more on their way out of this life.  My hubby has a serious aversion to “dead fruit”, and I promised that I would turn them into bread before he returned form his latest trip (Bahamas.  I know.  AND he gets paid for it!).  Since he comes home tonight, it might be for the best that I had some down time this afternoon.  :)

I always imagine that anyone taking the time to read my musings must be family, or at least you FEEL like family, so I can share with you my gram’s recipe.  First, as she created it, and then as I’ve altered it...

GRANDMA DAHL’S BANANA BREAD

1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup sugar 
2 eggs

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sour milk
2 ripe bananas

1/2 cup walnuts (if desired)

Mix flour, baking soda, and salt in separate bowl.  Cream butter, add sugar and mix ‘til smooth, then mix in eggs.  Fold in about half of the flour mixture, then mix thoroughly.  Alternate adding milk and the flour mixture until all has been included.  When all prior ingredients are well mixed, mix in bananas.  Add nuts (if using) last, and stir them in by hand. 


Batter is pretty thick, no?

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Pour batter into 2 well greased loaf pans, and bake for 45 minutes or until there are no visible “wet” spots in the cracked surface of the loaf.

Well, that’s the original.  I tinker with it, and change a few things here and there, but it’s always “Grandma bread”.  When I make it, I almost always double it, because there is always someone who needs a loaf of homemade yummy.  

I have found that you can do up to double the amount of bananas (so, 4 for a regular batch) before you have to alter anything else.  More fruit = more yum, so whatever you have on hand, chuck ‘em in there.  I usually substitute whole wheat flour for a portion of the regular flour - 2 out of 5 cups in the doubled recipe.  It’s a painless substitution, but if you haven’t added extra fruit, you’ll want to increase your milk, say, by about 1/8 cup per batch.  Finally, the nuts.  Truly, most of my baking philosophy can be summed up as “If it tasted good before, it would be even better with nuts!”  I don’t believe I have ever added so little as 1/2 a cup per batch; I deliberately don’t measure so I don’t have to feel guilty for taking so many, but my usual HAS to be around a cup per batch.  Nuts! (You are what you eat, you know...)

Does anyone else have one of these?


D’s folks brought it back from a trip to Alaska, and it is the BOMB for chopping nuts.  This poor thing has been through hell and back, but we won’t part with it. It’s been broken, disassembled, reassembled and anything else you can think of, but what else would we use to chop our nuts?!?

The final results, anyway...
SO worth the effort!  LOVE YOU, GRANDMA!
Everyone have an awesome weekend, and stay safe!

xoxo,
Tami

No comments: