banana bread

Banana Bread

What you need:

3 or 4 ripe bananas, schmushed If you have a bit of extra time and access to a small child, ask them to schmush the bananas. They'll taste better that way. You might want to add a bit of extra banana to compensate for fruit that will end up on the small child's face, or in the small child's belly or on your kitchen floor.
1/3 cup melted butter (Bri-anne has given up on the margarine vs. butter debate...butter tastes better, so we'll go with that)
1 egg, beaten
1 cup of brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
an itty bitty bit of salt
1 1/2 cups of flour - the all-purpose kind
4x8 inch loaf pan.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Ask the small child for the schmushed bananas. Announce you now need to wipe their face and hands. Ignore protests and as quickly and efficiently as possible take a dish cloth and remove excess banana from the child. In order to prevent crying, the entire removal process should take no more than 3.2 seconds. Thank the child for their good work. Find a large mixing bowl. If you can't find your large mixing bowl, the small child might be using it as a hat, or possibly even a drum. After retrieving the bowl, mix the schmushed bananas with the melted butter. Add the egg, sugar and vanilla. Mix. Add the flour. Mix again. The small child might want to help. Tell them that one day, if they eat all their vegetables, they will be strong enough to mix the batter, but for right now you need their help to add the salt and baking soda. Pour the mixture into the loaf pan. Bake for one hour. Even though you would like to lick the spoon yourself, give it to the small child. Trust me. Remove loaf from pan and let cool to a reasonable temperature. Discourage small child from defacing the loaf with their poking fingers. Slice. Serve. Enjoy. Tell the small child it's their turn to do the dishes.