Surely not the prettiest things ever, those bananas sitting on the counter or hanging on the hook.  Often they are more brown than yellow, covered in “banana freckles” and looking more like an object headed for the trash than a tropical fruit.  However, put them in your fridge and save them until you have time to bake them into Banana Bread, and they take on a whole, delicious new meaning!

For those of you who might be new to my blog (and THANK YOU! for following), I love my cookbooks and regularly grab one that I feature for the week.  This week it happens to be A Taste of Georgia, an award winning cookbook from the Junior League of Newnan, Georgia.  While not all of the recipes in Junior League cookbooks will challenge your culinary chops, they do lend tried and true recipes that often are local area favorites.  What makes this book so special to me is that it came from a dear friend when she moved away from Winston-Salem, and in it she wrote: “Here is a ‘Taste of Georgia’, thanking you for all of the tastes of Winston-Salem that you have shown me.” 

Like a good friend, recipes that you turn to over and over should be cherished, and I wanted to share this very simple but delicious recipe for Banana Bread that I made yesterday.  Enjoy, the best of food and life, and all the tasty treats baking in your kitchen!

Banana Bread

1 stick butter                                    2 cups flour

1 cup sugar                                      1/2 teaspoon soda

2 eggs                                                1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 bananas, mashed                         1 cup nuts (optional)

Cream butter and sugar together.  Add eggs and beat well.  Add mashed bananas, flour, soda, vanilla, and nuts.  Grease and flour 1 large or 2 small loaf pans.  Pour dough into pan.  Bake for 1 hour or until brown and cooked through, at 300.

*My note: I like to mash bananas by putting them in a separate bowl and using a fork to mash each one until they are all mushed up…a great way to have your kids or grandkids help you out!