Banana Bread

Homemade Mother's Day cards...I don't think that any part of being a mother is as satisfying as receiving one of these. A card you know your little four year old must have spent hours drawing. Look at his printing! "Mom, I love you." Oh, it melts my heart just looking at the pictures of it let alone holding the actual card in my hands. How he so carefully drew on the clothes and hair and eyes of each of us is just out of this world.

And look at these little hands. I love to hold these little hands as they fall asleep at night. They snuggle with me in the rocking chair and I always hold each of their hands until they drift off to sleep. They are still so little and precious but so big at the same time. I can't believe how the years are already slipping away from me it feels like sometimes. Walnut is on the verge of School Readiness and riding the school bus and Peanut is on the brink of potty training.

I'd like to say thank you to my mom...for raising me the way you did. For helping me become a strong, independent woman. And for always standing by me and supporting every silly thing that has ever popped into my head. I love you. And...thank you for watching my children everyday while I go to work and helping instill the same values in them as you did into me.

What feels more motherly then baking a big loaf of banana bread at 6:00 am before the troops wake up? I had been using a different recipe for my bread that uses shortening for the fat, but I lost the book somehow and had to resort to my good old Betty Crocker's Cookbook via 1972. It used to be my mom's book. She let me borrow it for an extended period of time...(mom...you didn't want this back, right?) This bread is so much more moist than my old recipe! Betty Crocker has definitely moved into the lead for now on when it comes to banana bread.

Banana Bread

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons canola oil
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
1 cup mashed bananas (2 to 3 medium)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour (I use Baker's Joy) a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan or two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 inch loaf pans. Measure all ingredients into a large mixer bowl; beat on medium 30 seconds until ingredients are just combined, scraping sides of the bowl half way through.

Pour into pans. Bake 55 to 65 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool thoroughly before slicing, unless your like me and insist on eating all baked good straight from the oven!

*I used a 9x5x3 inch pan and it made one heck of a large loaf! I will definitely split the batter into two pans next time.