Banana Man has Quite an Appetite and Loves this Loaf

I laughed this morning as I found a piece of playdough on the floor that had been rolled up with a bit of parma ham and a few tomato seeds because I knew it had to have been my Jibs...Playing is good, eating is better.

The boy loves to eat. He gets very excited when he sees me in the kitchen. "Oh, look...Wow." He says. Quite often he outeats his big sister and occasionally even the Mama.

If you happened to read the birthday post, you will know that he loves and starts each day with a banana. I have tried probably dozens of recipes with bananas in them and so far this is one of my favourite and also one of the easiest. The other thing that I love about this one is the quantity of bananas in it. If you have an abundance of bananas that have past their prime (which never happens around here) or, if you are like me, and you buy them on the reduced rack already soft and speckled then freeze them for later, try this recipe out.

Try it plain or with a few little extras such as rum infused raisins, figs, nuts or chocolate.

Banana Bread with Options

1C plus 2T AP Flour

2t baking powder

1/2t baking soda

1/2t salt

1/2C sweet butter, melted

1/2C, scant, sugar

2 eggs

4 bananas, very ripe, mashed

1t vanilla

Good things to have on hand: 1/4C walnuts or pecans, 1/3C chopped figs, 1/2C Choco-chips, 1/3C raisins, 3oz dark rum, 2T cocoa powder.

9x5inch loaf pan, greased

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Preheat oven to 325*.

Put flour, baking powder, soda and salt in a medium bowl and mix.

In a large bowl mix sugar and butter, then add eggs one at a time beating between additions. Add mashed banana, vanilla and stir well.

Add flour mixture in thirds mixing well with each installment.

Scrape into loaf pan and bake 1-1/4hrs.

Cool. Slice it up.

When to add the extras:

Rummy Raisin Bread: Bring rum to a boil, soak raisins in rum for up to an hour if possible. Drain raisins and stir into the batter with the mashed banana.

Chocolate: Sub in 2T cocoa powder for 2T flour, stir Chocolate chips with banana mash.

Nut: Stir in nuts and figs with the banana mash.