So pretty. Such a huge pain in my butt.
Banana Oat Bread
One thing we can usually count on after having the grandkids over for the weekend is that we have a few bananas left over. Larry nor I are fond of bananas, so I usually only buy them for the kids. We do like baked stuff with bananas though. Why don’t I normally buy bananas just to bake with? I have no idea – guess I just don’t think of it. Anyway, after the last visit, I had to figure out a way to use up the last 2 in the bunch. I have a couple recipes I like, but I have already blogged those, [the links are at the bottom of the post], so it was time to think of something new.
I like quick breads with oatmeal in them, and I had a pound of walnuts waiting to be used up, so I thought it would make a nice combination. Toasting the walnuts is well worth the extra trouble, because the flavor is much better and they will stay crunchy. I do mine in the microwave – a single layer on a plate took about a minute and a half, 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between.
First, lightly grind one cup of old fashioned oats in a food processor. You don’t want powder here – just a bit of a coarse breakdown. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and grease an 8×5 bread pan.
Mix together
the oats from above
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup lightly toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
In a 1 cup measuring cup, mix together
1/2 cup yogurt
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons honey
Chop – don’t mash – two ripe bananas, and add to the bowl, Pour the other wet ingredients over 
Mix gently, until combined. Don’t overmix!
Spread evenly in the already greased bread pan.
Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. If you have doubts, let it bake another couple minutes, because you definitely don’t want this to be underdone. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.
Slice to serve. This is great as is, or toasted, with butter or cream cheese.
I guess bananas aren’t so bad after all….
As promised, here are a couple other banana breads you may like:
Double Chocolate Banana Bread
Mom’s Banana Bread
Letter to the robins, redux
A couple years ago, I had this to say to the robins hereabouts: An Open Letter to the Robins
For awhile it seemed that they had listened to my advice and had stopped trying to build nests in unsuitable locations. [though to be perfectly honest – they had stopped building nests so much in spots that bothered me, though they continued to see the area around Larry’s shop as still being just dandy, continuing to begin construction projects on top of ladders and other objects in his vicinity] When we got back home from Arizona though, it was clear that my previous communication had not been relayed to a certain pair of robins.
He may look casual
Nonchalant even
But I am not fooled. He is just waiting for me to turn my back. So he can do this:
Now Mr Robin, I have taken down this nest twice, and here it is again. Don’t you get it? This spot is not even 5 feet off the ground. It is not only mere steps away from my back door, from which I exit numerous times per day, but it is equally close to many trees that soar 30, 40, even 50 feet into the sky. The sky, which is where birds belong. Not only that, but it is right next to a lattice on which will shortly be growing a clematis. A lattice closely resembles a ladder, which will give any number of marauding cats, raccoons and possums easy access to your offspring. It is just not smart, dude.
Now Mr Robin, I don’t know about you, but I feel a whole lot better, having gotten this off my chest. A nice chat like this clears the air and makes way for better relationships. Relationships where birds build nests in sensible places. Don’t you agree?
For reals this time
It happens nearly every year. We get some really nice warm springish weather back in early April, and we think “maybe spring will come early this year?” It never does though. Just like this year, we all of the sudden find ourselves scrambling to cover stuff we knew better than to plant so early. The temperature plummets back in the low thrities and high twenties, and we sulk about it because we got fooled again. But not this guy. When the Indigo Buntings show up, you know that spring has truly arrived. And a couple days ago, look who was out under the feeders.
About darned time I say….
A Mother’s Day Mum
Want to see the other side? Check out my other blog: DonalynKetchum.com
