Banana Nut Bread

Adapted from a recipe in the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book (1989), this is my standard recipe for using up overripe bananas.

Ingredients:

1 to 1.5 cups mashed banana (2-3 medium sized ripe bananas)

1/3 cup canola or other light oil

2 tablespoons milk

1 large egg

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup ground flax meal (optional)

1/2 cup sugar or Splenda, or a mix of the two

1 tsp baking soda

1 or 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350 oF, grease and flour a 8x4x2 inch loaf pan

2. In a large bowl mash the bananas, add eggs, oil, and milk, mix together

3. Add sugar, mix into wet ingredients

4. Stir in flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt, then add nuts and mix well. If the mixture seems dry, add a bit more milk.

5. Put batter into loaf pan, put in oven.

6. Bake at 350 oF for 50-60 minutes; done when the top looks brown and a knife inserted into the bread comes out clean.

7. Before the bread cools, loosen the edges and bottom with a knife and spatula, turn over the pan onto a grill rack. Hopefully the bread will fall out intact. Eat warm, or let cool and store in fridge.

Note: for a tasty adaptation to this recipe, added 1 cup of fresh or frozen and thawed cranberries, cut in half, to the banana-nut batter. Or add a cup of mashed fresh or frozen and thawed strawberries or raspberries. A teaspoon of grated orange peel also adds flavor.