Banana Bread

This is a good thing, and not a good thing. I love banana bread. No really, I LOVE it. If it's around, I'll eat it. It is my drug; once I start, I can't stop. My saving grace all these years has been that I just can't make banana bread, so I can only have it when someone I know makes it and offers it to me. Every endeavor has failed... until now. My sister-in-law urged me to try this recipe, and I obliged grudgingly. The bad news is that it turned out, perfectly. Great. Now I'll find myself allowing the bananas to over-ripen just so that I can make another batch.

Banana Bread

1 1/4 c. sugar

1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, softened

2 eggs

1 1/2 c. mashed bananas (3 medium)

1/2 c. low-fat buttermilk

1 t. vanilla

2 1/2 c. flour

1 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

Arrange the oven racks so that the top of the loaf pans will be in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottoms only of two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2" loaf pans; set them aside. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs and beat until fluffy. Mix in the bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla (gently at first) until incorporated. Mix in the flour, soda, and salt just until moist. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. (If you're using a dark loaf pan, I would suggest checking it at 45-50 minutes.) Allow bread to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove and transfer to a rack until completely cool.

Yield: 2 loaves; each loaf yields 14 1/2" slices (4P+ per slice)