32 degrees is cold, not hot. The driver’s side is on the left of the car. Month before day, not the other way around. How long does it take to walk one mile? Where did the sun go, it’s not even 5:00!
Just some of the thoughts and questions that run through my mind since moving from Malaysia to Minnesota. My brain seems to be in a constant state of rewiring in order to adapt to my new home.
I have to admit, all this rewiring makes me hungry…
I have to admit, all this rewiring makes me hungry…
With the sun setting so early, I now understand the compulsion to bake. I thought before it was just the cold that triggered the craving, but with so much time at night, it feels good to mix ingredients under the bright lights of the kitchen and loiter around a glowing oven as cookies and breads bake.
Baking banana bread makes me happy on these dark days. You can take the saddest thing on your counter – a bunch of soft, brown spotted bananas – and transform them into a loaf of Super Moist Banana Bread.
Mix in walnuts, chocolate, and Ceylon Cinnamon into the batter – or some of your favorite nuts and baking spices – along with yogurt, sunflower oil, and overly ripened bananas. The combination creates super moist slices of addicting banana bread that will be all gone in a shortened November day.
Super Moist Banana Bread by Season with Spice
Makes one loaf
Ingredients:
3 very ripe bananas* - mashed
3/4 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon of Season with Spice's ground Ceylon cinnamon
3/4 cup light brown sugar (or slightly less)
1/2 cup neutral tasting oil such as sunflower oil or grapeseed oil
2 large eggs
1/4 cup yogurt (I used Greek yogurt and a bit of milk)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup broken pieces of a semi-sweet chocolate bar (optional)
*The best bananas to use for bread should have dark freckles on the peels. If the peels are all black, it is probably too late to use them for making banana bread.
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 9x5x3-inch loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flours, baking soda, salt, and Ceylon cinnamon.
3. In another large bowl, beat sugar and oil. Then mix in eggs, mashed bananas, yogurt, and vanilla extract.
4. Combine the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Then fold in the chopped nuts and chocolates (if using)
5. Bake until a skewer inserted into center comes out clean – should take about 1 hour. Then transfer to a rack and allow to cool for ten minutes. Finally, slide bread out from pan and allow to cool completely.
Makes one loaf
Ingredients:
3 very ripe bananas* - mashed
3/4 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon of Season with Spice's ground Ceylon cinnamon
3/4 cup light brown sugar (or slightly less)
1/2 cup neutral tasting oil such as sunflower oil or grapeseed oil
2 large eggs
1/4 cup yogurt (I used Greek yogurt and a bit of milk)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup broken pieces of a semi-sweet chocolate bar (optional)
*The best bananas to use for bread should have dark freckles on the peels. If the peels are all black, it is probably too late to use them for making banana bread.
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 9x5x3-inch loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flours, baking soda, salt, and Ceylon cinnamon.
3. In another large bowl, beat sugar and oil. Then mix in eggs, mashed bananas, yogurt, and vanilla extract.
4. Combine the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Then fold in the chopped nuts and chocolates (if using)
5. Bake until a skewer inserted into center comes out clean – should take about 1 hour. Then transfer to a rack and allow to cool for ten minutes. Finally, slide bread out from pan and allow to cool completely.
