loaf love.

Given some sad news in our family and my own exhaustion from the past few weeks (you know it, I know it: grad school is hard), I turned to food for comfort.

Here's what I made:


As usual, it turned out to be amazing. I know everybody has their own favorite banana bread recipe, but this is mine, slightly revised from Bridget Haney's contribution to the epic 2006 collaborative cookbook Callison Cuisine. I count this recipe as one of the best things I took away from my time there (right behind my 401k and a desire to make something of myself, but ahead of my nameplate magnet and a passion for sustainability).

Kona Banana Bread

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar (I swap out a couple of tablespoons of white for brown)
2 large eggs
5 bananas, overripe and mashed
1 and 1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of salt

Cream shortening and sugar until light. Add eggs, beating well. Stir in bananas. Add dry ingredients all at once. Mix until just blended. Pour into a greased loaf pan (I use generous quantities of Crisco). Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes (or, if your oven is a loser like mine-- for which I blame Mitt Romney-- it may take closer to 50).

Yields 1 loaf of beautifully caramelized crunchy crust and soft banana empowered innerloafness.