when life goes bananas

make banana bread!

okay, here's the truth...it has been one of those weeks. i have promised myself since monday that we were not going to leave the house. ha! it must have been opposite day and no one told me. so not cool. well here it is thursday, and thanks my wonderful husband who got up early to deliver coen's stool samples to the lab in hilo, (i told you it had been quite a week), i am curled up with a cup of coffee and some unbelievable banana bread.

last night as a stared at the pile of ripe bananas in my fruit basket, i decided it was time to test out another banana bread recipe. fyi: the last one went horribly wrong. (unless you like smokey banana bread, i do not.) so this time i did something very different, i pulled out a cookbook. it has been a very long time since i have baked or cooked straight out of a cookbook. everything is online now, and thanks to the magic of pinterest i can organize all of my online recipes in one spot.

i am glad however that i pulled out this recipe. it is call unbelievable banana bread and it is well, quite unbelievable.

unbelievable banana bread

1.5 cups macadamia nuts

2.25 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon

.75 cups vegetable oil

2.25 cups sugar

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1.5 teaspoons vanilla

1.5 teaspoons baking soda

.5 cup buttermilk*

2 cups very ride mashed bananas

position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

put the mac nuts (or any kind of nut for that matter) on a baking sheet and roast until lightly brown, 12 to 15 minutes. after 6 to 8 minutes shake the pan and rotate to ensure even browning.

spray 2 9 by 3 inch loaf pans with cooking spray

stir together flour, kosher salt, cinnamon in a medium bowl, set aside.

combine the oil and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. beat on low speed until combined. add the eggs and vanilla and beat until incorporated, about 1 minute.

stir the baking soda into the buttermilk* in a small bowl. add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the mixer, followed by half of the buttermilk*, and mix on low speed until barley combined, 10 to 15 seconds. repeat. scrape down the sides and mix in the remaining dry ingredients. add the mashed bananas and nuts and mix until just incorporated. do not over mix.

pour the batter into the prepared pans. bake until the bread in golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about one hour. transfer the pans to wire racks and let cool 5 mins, then remove the loves from the pans and let cool on the racks for at least 10 minutes before serving. enjoy!

*easy buttermilk substitute

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice.

place 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice in a 1 cup measuring cup.

fill the cup to the top with milk.

let stand for 5 minutes, then use what is needed.