Tally me banana

I hate bananas. I love banana bread. Specifically I love banana nut bread. But then I married a man that hates nuts in his banana bread. Well, he hates nuts in most everything. It almost broke us. I mean really, first the salt vs pepper and then nuts vs no nuts. And really, a man who doesn't love nuts marrying me? Just makes no sense.

My grandmother made amazing banana nut bread. I still have a recipe card of hers with her recipe. My mother in law makes great banana bread. In a cookbook she made for my bridal shower, she shared her recipe for banana bread. Her recipe came from another family friend. And guess what. The recipes are the same. Well, except for the missing nuts.

My guess is that in 1957 Better Housekeeping had this recipe that "every modern housewife" needed to make to keep her husband happy. I know in my house it has worked.  And how do we resolve the nuts vs no nuts problem? I make two loaves of course. For awhile after having a child with peanut allergies, I gave up the nut version of this recipe, but then I found peanut free walnuts. Husband and son get no nut, myself and daughter get nut version. And now it requires four loaves rather than two.

So with nods to my grandma and my mother in law and whomever originally created it, I give you Banana (Nut) Bread.


Banana (Nut) Bread

1/2 c shortening (I like Butter Flavor Crisco)
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1 c mashed ripe bananas
2 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt (yea, I know I said Sean hates salt, but I will use small amounts in baking)

Preheat oven to 350.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cream shortening and sugar. Blend in eggs one at a time beating well between additions. Add mashed banana. Add dry ingredients. If you're making the nut version, add 1/2 c chopped walnuts.

Pour into greased 9x5x3 loaf pan (I love my Pampered Chef Stoneware Loaf Pan!). Make a small hollow down the middle of the pan. Allow to stand for 20 minutes (works well when you forget to preheat the oven!)  Bake for 60-70 minutes.