c h o o k o o l o o n k s

On Thursday, in an article I wrote for BlogHer, I mentioned that I was particularly focused this Christmas season in creating memories for Alex -- and one of my fondest memories growing up was coming home after school and into a house that was filled with the smells of baking. And so I've been trying to figure out what I could bake this holiday season.

Then I looked over at some funky brown overripe bananas we had sitting in our fruitbowl.

Thing is? I really don't like bananas. I know, I know -- this makes no sense coming from a woman who's from the Caribbean, but I've never liked them. It's a texture thing, I think. Thing is, Alex and Marcus love them, and they always buy way more than they can eat. And then I get all nastified watching the fruit get all brown and mushy and ...

... *shudder*.

So I decided that I would get rid of the brown bananas and try my hand at banana bread. I've never, ever made banana bread before, so I'll admit right up front that, really, I had no idea what I was doing. But I googled a bunch of recipes, took a little goodness out of one recipe, added some magic from another, put something together, added a little Trini flair, and I gotta tell you:

It was gooooood.

Anyway, I thought I'd share the recipe here with you. It's fabulously quick and easy, and completely from scratch, so it's all good  (and doubly-great if you use all organic ingredients). And since you'll be making this at Christmastime, there are no fat or calories in this bread. Because everyone knows that there are no fat or calories in holiday food. It's a scientific fact.

To the recipe:

BANANA RAISIN BREAD, TRINI-STYLE

3 large ripe (or overripe) bananas
1/3 cup of melted butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 pinch of salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup raisins
1 shotglass of golden rum (not white rum, or dark rum -- golden rum.  In Trinidad I would use Fernandes Black Label rum -- here in the States, I buy Bacardi Gold.)

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celcius).

2.  In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas up as finely as possible with the back of a fork.  Mix in the melted butter (it's better to do all the mixing by hand, rather than using a mixer, but knock yourself out).

3.  Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla.

4.  Add the baking soda, salt and cinnamon, and mix in.

5.  Fold in the flour and the raisins.

6.  Pour batter into a large greased loaf pan, about 9x5 inches.  Bake for approximately 50 minutes, or when an inserted knife comes out clean.

7.  As soon as you take the pan out, immediately pour the shot of rum over the hot cake (and then immediately bend down and inhale all that amazing aroma.  Seriously, the smell is enough to make you swoon.)  Allow to cool for about 30 minutes, and then remove the bread from the pan.  Serve warm. 

Seriously good -- I like it with a hot cup of milky, sweet tea.  Enjoy!