banana breads

I had quite an abundance of ever-ripening bananas, and the anticipation for banana bread can't be beat. My mamacita has always made the most delicious banana bread, with a recipe from The Lion House. I remember, as I'm sure my brothers do, being so excited for a slice of warm banana bread with butter. I know my dad likes banana bread, as he always expresses concern that we are going to burn it when it's baking--you can smell it halfway through its bake time, causing one to believe it is ready NOW. A sorry fact when it is not, in fact, ready.

On Sunday night (We had quite the baking bonanza here--H, H and I also made these coconut cupcakes from Ina Garten, and H pretended gluten doesn't hurt her for the night) I decided to make up two batches because I had that many bananas, and I had even purchased mini-loaf pans from the dollar store so that the loaves could be used for various purposes more easily. As a last-minute decision, I added toppings. I happened to have four things that taste delicious with bananas, so I tried them: chocolate chips, coconut, fresh blueberries and sliced almonds.

They turned out quite nicely, and because I was using them for various purposes, I decided to split up the toppings, so I cut each into four and made new loaves. They were wrapped for their various destinations. You can find the recipe in the Lion House Bakery cookbook, which can be purchased here. A worthy investment. I know you can find a million b bread recipes online, but this is the best. Posting the recipe would probably be the same as pirating music, and I do not want to go to jail. FYI, I do substitute the margarine for 2 parts silken tofu, and 2 parts applesauce. Most delicious.