I’m going bananas for banana bread …

My friend asked me if I wanted a frozen banana. I said 'No, but I want a regular banana later, so ... yeah.'”

Mitch Hedberg

Full disclosure: I don’t care for bananas. Never have and never will. I don’t like the texture and I don’t like the way they look. Don’t judge me.

Not long after Hurricane Beryl, we were walking out of Academy Sports & Outdoors in Huntsville, headed to the car, when a woman stopped us and asked if we needed food. I told her no thank you, that we were okay, our power had been restored and we were heading home. Nonetheless, she persisted, opening the trunk of her car to reveal cases of fresh bananas among other things. Before I knew what was happening, she’d filled my arms with several “hands” of bananas.

If you’re wondering what I’m talking about, just humor me while I digress momentarily. A single banana is called a finger. A grouping of attached “fingers” make up a “hand” of bananas. Multiple hands that grow in a cluster are called a “bunch” or “stalk” and a “bunch” of bananas may contain anywhere from three to 20 hands. I knew none of this prior to writing this column. It’s true. We really do learn something new every day.

But back to the bananas … Hubby and Daughter enjoy them in smoothies, specifically, strawberry-banana smoothies. They enjoyed several before we left town for a few days for Daughter’s college orientation. Upon our return, there was a “hand” of five bananas left that were getting a little long in the tooth. The skins were nearly black and they were super soft to the touch. Plus, I wasn’t fond of the pesky fruit flies they were attracting.

I’ve always heard that overripe bananas make the best banana bread and I can’t stand the thought of wasting food, even food that’s been given to me. So that’s how I found myself recently making a batch of banana bread. I found a recipe online that had numerous good reviews.

It called for using a metal 9×5-inch loaf pan. I have two glass 9x5-inch loaf pans, but no metal one. (I did at one time, although I’m not quite sure what happened to it.) Anyway, I used a 9x9-inch metal pan instead and it worked just fine.

Long story short … the banana bread was absolutely excellent, even for a banana-disliker like me. Daughter had a fit over it, claiming it’s one of the best things I’ve ever made and that she could eat the whole pan. Hubby liked it too. I think one of the things that made it so good for me, is that the bananas are mashed with an electric mixer so there are no chunks. It’s just a nice, consistent creamy texture. You can add chopped pecans or walnuts if you wish. I didn’t have any, so I didn’t. I’ll definitely make this again. It was especially good with a fresh hot cup of coffee.

My Favorite Banana Bread

From sallysbakingaddiction.com

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• ¾ cup packed light or dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• ⅓ cup plain yogurt or sour cream, at room temperature
• 2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 large ripe bananas)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ¾ cup chopped pecans or walnuts, optional

Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lowering the oven rack prevents the top of your bread from browning too much, too soon. Grease a metal 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. With the mixer running on medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then beat in the yogurt, mashed bananas and vanilla extract until combined.

With the mixer running on low speed, slowly beat the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until no flour pockets remain. Do not over-mix. Fold in the nuts, if using.

Pour and spread the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 60–65 minutes, making sure to loosely cover the bread with aluminum foil halfway through to prevent the top from getting too brown. The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with only a few small moist crumbs. This may be after 60–65 minutes depending on your oven, so begin checking every 5 minutes around the 60-minute mark.

Remove bread from the oven and allow the bread to cool in the pan set on a wire rack for 1 hour. Remove bread from the pan and cool bread directly on the wire rack until ready to slice and serve.

Cover and store banana bread at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Banana bread tastes best on day 2 after the flavors have settled together.

Strawberry-Banana Smoothie

From downshiftology.com

• 2 cups fresh strawberries, halved
• 1 banana, quartered and frozen
• ½ cup Greek yogurt
• ½ cup milk

Add all ingredients to a high powered blender and blend until smooth.