Banana Bread

We're taking a trip tomorrow to Tallahassee. By the word "trip" one would think this is an enjoyable day on the road. It is not. It is the trip to take Nathan to see his dad for Christmas. Every year, I think I'm going to get used to this. I don't. Every holiday, I think it's going to be easier to pack the bag, load the van, make the drive, say good bye. It is not. Oh yes, so what does this have to do with banana bread?

We'll be getting up very early and heading out on the road at 6 a.m. Too early for me to get everyone up, dressed, AND fed. So tonight, I decided I would make banana bread for breakfast in the morning. Yumm. Ryan is playing with the band tonight, so it was just me and Omi still awake. Why is it that the youngest child always gets to stay up later than the other children? (again, I digress)
Omi was in one of those moods where she just wanted to be held. I really needed to start the bread, because it takes almost an hour to bake and I really wanted to be in bed BEFORE midnight. I picked her up and started to get all the ingredients out. She was very content in my arms, I thought I would hold her a little longer, then she see if she'd play for a bit. Everything set out, mixing bowls ready, oven set. There was going to be no business of putting Omi down. She was in the mood for some baking...

I started my Julia Child role playing; "2 cups of flour, we only use the best flour, none of that bleached nonsense...2 eggs with omega 3, our yummy local honey" And on and on as I added all the ingredients to the bowls. All the while, holding Omi on my left hip. I managed to measure with one hand, crack eggs with one hand, mash bananas with a fork with one hand, and pour honey into a measuring cup...with one hand. She got a kick out of the eggs. It wasn't until the pouring of the honey that she found it the perfect opportunity to reach out and stick her tiny fingers in the gooey goodness. I quickly stuck her fingers into my mouth and licked them clean. I know this method is not the most sanitary, but it is the most tasty. I assure you, if I were making the bread to take to others, I certainly wouldn't have let that happen, but I figured it was part of the experience for us both.
I mixed it all together, even greased the pan with olive oil with one hand. Pouring the batter into the pan was probably the easiest part, shocked even myself. As I set the timer, the bread began to bake, I was impressed that I made homemade bread holding my little lamb.

This probably isn't something to provoke too many people to excitement, but you don't understand...I've been reading these books lately (Created to be His Help Meet, and Passionate Housewives Desperate for God to name only two) and these women are heroins when it comes to running the home. Impressed? These women have 5 or more children, homeschool, run businesses out of their homes, make clothes (and sell them), write books, are well traveled, volunteer with the community, run full time ministries, counsel ladies, are their husband's secretary, are raising well-mannered, respectable children, and on and on. So me baking some bread is far from achieving something of value. I will never be like these women, I will never run my home like they do, I may never travel like they did, run a home business, write a book. I don't have to. I can bake bread with my daughters. As I was rinsing dishes (with one hand), I was thinking about these women; they spend ample time with all their children, they love them just as much as I love my own, they are serving God no better than I am. I didn't feel less than these ladies. I didn't necessarily feel equal to them either. I am me. I am a mother who loves her children, plays with them, pretends with them, teaches them, prays with them, protects them, laughs with them, reads to them, wipes booboos and drippy noses, jumps on the trampoline with them, talks with them, hugs them, cries with them, dances with them, answers the hardest questions when they ask, I cherish them...and bake bread with them. I am their mother. Tonight I got victory over bread, tomorrow it will be something else.



**With a story about banana bread, I cannot close without at least offering the recipe to you. This is my mother's recipe, which might have been her mother's, but it might have come out of an old magazine when I was little. Either way, it is absolutely the best banana bread recipe out there. I know what you're thinking, "No, I have the best recipe there is" or "How could you know that's the best if it's the only one you've had?" Well, that's just it. I won't try another. Now, I've had other banana bread that ladies have made. Who in the world passes up banana bread at a get together? But I will not try another recipe...ever. So, if you'd like to indulge yourself with some banana goodness, try this one. You'll probably never go back to your old recipe.


Banana Bread

1 c sugar (honey) 2 c flour
1/2 c oil 1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vinegar 2/3 tsp baking soda
1 T vanilla
1 c mashed bananas
1 tsp black walnut flavor (optional)

Combine sugar and oil. Add eggs, bananas, vinegar, and flavorings. Sift dry ingredients. Add to mixture. Bake 50 minutes in greased pan @ 350*