Banana Bread

 Okay I am tired of bananas. Tired of looking for new recipes and tired of baking with them. Luckily, (I think) when we lost power due to the storm we lost my entire shelf of frozen bananas. I am annoyed but not upset. I was planning to make a bunch of banana muffins and freeze them. Darn. Oh well! Right before the storm, I made this banana bread recipe from the 1963 edition of Charleston Receipts but as giant muffins. Because muffins are great but giant muffins are better! 

Super easy looking, nothing unusual or special. No judgement so far. It could still be amazing...

Hmmm....Everything is so white...

Just getting everything prepped. Eggs beaten and bananas mashed!

Just creaming shortening and trying to get artsy. I think it's a cool pic. What do you think?

Everything is all ready to mix together. I debated on pulling out the standing mixer but it was not necessary. I love my mixer but sometimes it is too heavy to deal with.

This recipe made the perfect amount for 6 large muffins. Just for fun I added a light dusting of raw sugar on half the muffins. I am hoping for a lovely layer of crunch on them!

These baked up beautifully! So...I have no idea which ones had the sugar on top. It looks like the sugar just sank in. Interesting.

Isn't this a great looking muffin?!

This was an easy recipe with pretty common ingredients. They baked up very nicely, are moist, and have a good flavor. But, as I suspected, nothing special or unique. Dylan did not share my opinion. If you are looking for a tasty and simple recipe than this one is perfect however I would probably add nuts or cinnamon next time. Or more sugar on top. 

My Rating: Good but not great

Dylan's Rating: Delicious! They are a little dry but overall they are great.

Banana Waffles

Bananas. Bananas. Bananas. Dylan loves bananas however he rarely finishes the batch before they go bad. I may eat one or two but they are not my favorite. So I always am throwing brown ones into the freezer. Not to brag but I now have a banana shelf in there. Dylan whined that I needed to finally use them so I went on the hunt. I find banana bread boring so I needed to find something else. The 1953 edition of The Modern Family Cook Book had this interesting find and since I live with someone who loves both bananas and waffles we had to try banana waffles!

Super easy and I have plenty of banana! I even had one that had not quite made it into the freezer.

I decided to go with the evaporated milk. We didn't have much milk left and Dylan drinks more than a family of 4.

There is no way to make mashed bananas look apealing.

I don't have a rotary beater (it's not high on my list of cool kitchen gadgets) so we went with the whisk. Still turned out great!

Your eyes do not deceive you. That is a cute personal waffle maker! I bought it on a whim a couple of years ago and I love it. It takes a while to do a whole batch of waffles but once I make them I put all the extra into the freezer and toast them in the morning. They are also the perfect size for egg sandwiches.

It takes a few tries before you get the perfect amount of batter. It's always a bit less than you think.

Waffles! And coffee make a perfect brunch on the porch. 

Topped with pure maple syrup...

Easy to throw together and delicious! We now have a bag of them in the freezer for a quick breakfast or snack. I am so happy to have an alternative to banana bread and banana muffins. The banana flavor is strong but not over powering. I think these would be great with fruit toppings as well. These waffles stay very moist so if you want to bake extra to freeze, I would cook them a little bit longer to help dry them out. Or lay them on a sheet pan to freeze separately before bagging them. My freezer wouldn't allow that so we just chisel them apart when we need them. 

My Rating: Keeper! Perfect for family brunches.

Dylan Rating: "I'm not quite awake yet but these are good."

Banana Bread

I made a comment the other day about how many bananas I had stored in my freezer so my mother suggested this recipe. An easy, quick banana bread! And my boyfriend loves banana bread...what a coincidence...

This cookbook was given to mom from my grandma and she uses it often. It is a 1945 edition of the Culinary Arts Encyclopedic Cookbook. I will probably explore it more later.

I had pecans, pistachios, hazelnuts, and peanuts so we had to make a trip to the store. I decided on walnuts.

I realized after I took the photo that I was missing the shortening. But I'm sure you know what that looks like. I grabbed a few frozen bananas but I still have several in the freezer.

 I was trying to do an artsy pouring photo. It didn't work.

It's starting to look good!

The only loaf pan I have is an 8 inch and not a 9 inch. I don't know why. It's too small for almost all loaf recipes and I always remember that right after I start making bread. I need a new pan. I'll probably forget by the next time though.

Yum...forget candles! My apartment smells like baking!

 The edges got a little too dark but the inside was perfect!

With a normal sized loaf pan this would have turned out perfect. I actually prefer muffins and usually make those instead of a loaf but my boyfriend (I guess I should give him a name...Dylan) requested a loaf. My mother swears by this recipe and I see why. So easy! So delicious! It made a great breakfast with coffee. I think Dylan purposely bought more bananas than he can eat this past shopping trip.

My Rating: Yum! I'll definitely make again.

Dylan's Rating: "This is really good! We should make a couple more and freeze them just in case."

Banana Drop Cookies

Despite the crazy one day of snow and the single obnoxiously cold day, spring weather is in the air. Daffodils are blooming! And it is time to do a little spring cleaning. Goodie. My house is too messy so I decided to tackle the fridge and freezer and what do I find?! Frozen bananas! So I took a break to bake. I really wasn't in the mood for breads or muffins so cookies from The Cookie Jar were perfect. Bonus: I found my missing mini chalk easels! And I think I need to work on my handwriting. In my defense, they are tiny easels and the chalk is huge.

 Looks super simple with no unusual ingredients. I used walnuts.

 I did not include the bananas in the picture. They looked really gross.

I love directions with a little bit of mystery. These instructions and directions were not well laid out. I am assuming that the nutmeg is part of the group sifted together with the flour. The mixture is quite dry.

 See, I told you the bananas looked gross.

These came together easily. I made them smaller to have more to share.

 My house smells like banana bread! So yummy! Yes, there is a missing cookie. So what?

These looks so nice! A pleasant change from all the holiday chocolate.

These are delicious little bites. A mixture of banana bread and banana muffin tops that you can pretend is a healthy snack. The spices are very subtle and you almost can't taste them at all. I would add more cinnamon and larger nuts. They were not quite as popular at my workplace as other cookies but people are "dieting." And they are chocolate fiends.

My Rating: Great and a unique way to use leftover bananas hiding in the freezer.

Friends and Family Rating: "These are really good! I hope you have more." "Yum!" "10 out of 10"

Banana Nut Cake

Am I the only person that has a freezer full of frozen bananas? I can never finish the entire bunch by the time they start to get too brown so they end up in the freezer with all the others. I am not a big fan of banana bread or banana muffins (too boring) and have been looking for another way to use them. The New Antoinette Pope School Cookbook from 1961 offered up this Banana Nut Cake.

 Pretty much the same ingredients as banana bread but it has icing!

 Another difference is the cake flour. But everything else...same old same old.

 It came together very easily...once I full defrosted the bananas.

 Looks like a cake! Smells delicious!!

 Instead of paying attention to the icing itself, I just followed the directions and ended up adding to much liquid. Way too much icing, not enough cake.

 My banana decorations would not stay put!

 Still looked pretty when cut! Yeah!!

I may not be a big fan of banana bread but I love the smell of it filling my apartment! I messed up the icing but that's okay. It tasted like banana bread but much lighter. The cake flour made a huge difference! I also loved the extra bit of moisture and sweetness that the icing added.

My Rating: Yum! I'd make it again for a brunch.

Banana Tea Bread

Cleaning my freezer the other day, I discovered that I am a bit of a hoarder...of overripe bananas. Is there anything else you can make with overripe bananas besides bread or muffins?

One of the best things about old cookbooks is all of the wonderful advice in them. This particular book, originally printed in 1909 although I have the 1951 edition, is a "friendly tip-off to show the inexperienced cook...how to cook." And it is not just for the young bride or career girl but also for the older woman who is only cooking for two again.

 It's a pretty basic recipe.

 Mashed over-ripe bananas look pretty gross. Sorry.

 I may have baked it a little too long.

 Still sliced up nicely.

Ta Da! A little butter and I had a lovely afternoon snack!

The recipe was easy to through together but tasted fine but there was nothing special about. It is a good starter recipe to experiment with.

My Rating: Okay. Good to help get rid of a freezer full of bananas

Family and Friends Rating: "Super moist, a lot of flavor but nor overwhelming."