best banana bread

I keep thinking that it's one day closer to the weekend than it actually is.  I get so disappointed when I realize tomorrow is, in fact, not Friday.  Granted, my weekend plans so far consist of making a s'mores skillet cookie and attempting these DIY Lowel Ego Lights, but it sounds a lot better than drowning in lectures, which is what I've been doing so far this week.

You can only sit at home in a giant gray Champion sweatshirt listening to lectures full of abstruse words for a short amount of time before you lose track of time... Good thing I have this little blog to clear my head when those words get packed in there too densely.

My only respite from the plight of the everyday rustic this week has been the two dreams I've had predicting what's going to happen this week on ABC's Nashville.  Now, I do enjoy watching Nashville,  as it harkens back to my college days a bit (with the setting, not the drama...), but I'd much rather be having dreams about what's going to happen in Season 4 of Downton Abbey.

I also think I'd wake up much happier if my dreams involved British accents, proper etiquette, & the Dowager Countess.

If you have not seen Downton Abbey, watch it.  It's worth every bit of the praise it has received.

And, if you have some really old bananas (they can be nearly black if you want) sitting in your kitchen, make this banana bread.  It's a one-bowl affair, takes no more than 10 minutes to mix together, and makes the perfect loaf of banana bread: a nice sweet & crispy outside with a perfectly soft & moist interior.

Ingredients

1 ¾ cups flour

1 ½ cups sugar

2 to 3 overly ripe bananas

¼ cups buttermilk, sour cream, or plain yogurt  (Any of the three will work)

2 eggs

½ cups oil

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Use a whisk to mash the bananas in a mixing bowl until they form a semi-liquid without any large chunks.  Whisk for a minute, then add in the buttermilk/sour cream/yogurt, eggs, oil, and vanilla.
3. Beat in the sugar.  Add in the salt and baking soda.  Stir in the flour.
4. Pour mixture into a greased 9-by-5-inch or 8-by-4-inch (just a regular-sized loaf pan.  Bake for about an 60 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.
5. (Optional, but highly recommended) Spread with a little soft butter before eating; you won't regret it.
   
   
   Note: This banana bread freezes particularly well.  Just double-wrap it in aluminium foil and stick in in the freezer.  Also, if you are making a lot of banana bread, make each batch individually and do not try to "double" the recipe.

Proof that this banana bread is the best:  it was snatched out of my hands and gobbled up by the little one on the right about 10 seconds after the camera clicked.  Don't worry, though... I shared with both of them.