Too Many Bananas?

We have a small banana patch on our property at Belmont that provides us with delicious fruit all year ‘round, more than enough to freeze and use in our smoothies every day. At times we actually have too MANY bananas ripening, and that’s when I put on my baker’s hat.

My banana bread is so good that Nik and I often make a meal of it, nothing else is needed except perhaps jam or some Bequia honey. The only hard part is the gathering of the necessary ingredients, but with some planning they can be at hand when the urge to bake hits. I use quite a bit of toasted coconut in my home-made granola and power bars, and usually have a supply standing by. If I know I’ll be making banana bread, I soak a few handfuls (about ½ cup) of raisins in some dark rum overnight or even for a couple of days – the longer the raisins soak they juicer they get!

Here’s my recipe:

*Strain the raisins and save the rum they were soaking in*

Sift together:

1 ½ cups flour

1 cup toasted coconut (REAL coconut, not desiccated!)

¼ tsp. nutmeg

¼ tsp allspice

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

In a separate bowl whisk until smooth:

½ cup butter

¾ cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla (real vanilla, not the cheap stuff!)

1 tbsp rum (liquid left from strained raisins)

1 ½ cups very ripe bananas mashed

Stir dry ingredients into the banana mixture with a spatula until blended, then spoon into greased and floured loaf pans. I use two smaller pans for this recipe. Put into oven preheated to 350 degrees for about half an hour, or until a knife inserted can be removed clean of batter. Cool on a rack for a few minutes before removing from pans.

Try it – you won’t be sorry, it’s delicious! Enjoy…..