Best Banana Bread

Yup, this is the best banana bread recipe, I am sure of it. The result is so moist, flavorful, and beautiful. Pretty too right?

The recipe came from this book. My sweet Mom and sister created it as a gift for one of my bridal showers. It contains all my family's favorite recipes along with some embarrassing pictures of us all eating. What a meaningful gift for a girl just starting to cook. I think the recipe originally came from a newspaper.

Famous Banana Bread (that's what it's called)

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/4 cup buttermilk or yogurt

1 cup mashed browned bananas

2 1/4 cup flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

optional chocolate chips or chopped walnuts ( none for me, I like this bread simple)

In a large mixing bowl blend butter and sugar well. I do this for the entire time I get the rest of the ingredients prepped and ready. Continue mixing, adding eggs one at a time, then buttermilk, then bananas. Mix the flour, soda, and salt in a small bowl, add to mixer bowl, blending thoroughly. Pour into a greased 9x5 loaf pan. Bake at 325 degrees for one hour or so, until a toothpick comes out clean. This freezes well: wrap in foil, seal in plastic bag. Also makes good muffins.

I hope you enjoy this and really do test the bread to make sure it is finished cooking. My first time trying this recipe last week I didn't and it was still raw in the middle but I had already removed the loaf from the baking pan. It collapsed. I had a little temper tantrum, went to bed, and cleaned it up in the morning. Sad. 

Happy Independence Day

“Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom.” -Albert Einstein

These are the very patriotic flowers Luke picked up at the farmers market yesterday for the brunch we hosted. It is amazing what flowers do for my spirits. Happy Fourth of July.

Patriotic Pops

It is toasty here in the Twin Cities. No complaints from me because I was wearing a sweatshirt last week, so bring on summer. My white legs were wondering if they would see the sun at all this season. To be prepared for the heat, Luke and I went to Target to buy a fan. Fans these days are high tech! The one Luke picked out has a remote control and timer. Who knew we were suffering with plain fans all these years? Near the checkout was the summer clearance section. Look what I picked up:

Yup these things remind me of my childhood. We would just fill them with plain orange juice and freeze away. Luke remembered not liking them. Being the competitive person I am, I decided to make the most awesome popsicles ever and prove him wrong. I love you hunny :)

This may very well be the ugliest photo on my blog. Reality is sometimes deceptively ugly. These are my trusty magic bullet cups containing the delicious smoothie popsicle ingredients. 

Layered popsicles! Yum. Healthy too.

To create these pops, I used a mixed bag of Trader Joe's frozen berries. The top layer is strawberries and raspberries with a little lemon juice for tang. I blended that with a bit of juice to make the mixture smooth. I filled the molds up a third of the way full and put in the freezer for 30 minutes. Next up is the sorta white layer made of banana, frozen pineapple, and milk. They are mixed in the magic bullet and then poured in the mold filling half of the remaining empty space. The final layer is blueberries and blackberries. The colors of our flag are red, white, and purple right? It turned out pretty close to blue at least, next time I will add more blueberries and less blackberries. The final layer was added after the white layer had been in the freezer firming up for 30 minutes. These are sooo good and a perfect cooling snack on a hot day. In my case today, it was a delicious breakfast treat.

Have a wonderful, safe, and fun holiday weekend friends. What treats will you be eating to celebrate?