Banana Bread

I can't point to a single month or year in which I began baking. My love for baking has just developed naturally over the years. Since we were young my parents have let my sister and I help out in the kitchen. We had small jobs like chopping carrots for soups, measuring out flour, and cracking open eggs (often followed by fishing out small egg shells from the dough), it was something to engage us before the food was ready and for us it was exciting to be part of the process.

I grew up surrounded by family members who enjoy cooking and baking so I suppose it's no surprise that at a young age I developed a love for it myself. My grandmother is German and knows an assortment of wonderful traditional recipes for cakes and cookies that were passed down to her by her mother and grandmother. Since my sister and I were young she has shared her recipes and traditions with us and encouraged us into the kitchen with the mouthwatering desserts and hearty meals that she makes. When we were kids my nana made scones with my sister and I to share over a cup of tea, my aunt enlisted our small thumbs for her batches of thumbprint cookies with jam, and mom patiently taught us the tricks of the trade while making anything from pancakes to her incredible batches of chocolate chip cookies. It was the combination of spending time in the kitchen to watch and to help out, and being introduced to so many delicious foods and desserts that inspired my passion for baking.

I was in 4th grade when I embarked on my first individual culinary adventure: a batch of zucchini bread. I poured through dozens of online recipes determined to find the best one, finally choosing one that was accompanied by a nice looking photo. Making the bread, I grated zucchini until my arm was sore, mixed the dry into the wet, and carefully buttered and floured each pan. I popped the loaves into the oven, set the oven timer, and sat down to watch an old Indiana Jones movie we had rented from the video store. Indiana was in the midst of a firefight when my timer went off and I got up to check on my loaves.

Aside from one loaf which had a section that tasted of baking soda, the zucchini bread turned out nicely and the experience was only the first of many more baking endeavors to come.

The great thing about quick bread is its simplicity. Combine a handful of ordinary ingredients, let it bake for an hour while you do something incredibly productive (read: watch Indiana Jones), and come back to pull your warm, sweet bread from the oven. For the next few days - if you don't live in my house and your quick breads do last for more than a day - you are rewarded with a nice snack, breakfast, dessert, or accompaniment to a cup of tea.

This banana bread is no exception. It was moist and delicious, with an intense banana flavor. There were no baking soda mishaps for this loaf, and it proved to be quite irresistible.

Banana Bread

tweaked from Simply Recipes

3 or 4 overripe bananas

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 scant cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large mixing bowl stir melted butter into the mashed bananas. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sift in the baking soda, salt, and flour, and fold into the batter. Pour batter into a buttered 5x9 inch loaf pan (or lined with parchment paper). Bake for 1 hour. Let cool on a wire rack, then remove from pan and slice.