How I'm Fattening Up for Winter

Betty Crocker's Banana Bread

(Stolen by me from her cookbook published a long time ago.)

I am of the mind that baked goods should not be good for you. I do not understand it when people put "healthy" things like flax and oats and wheat germ and non-sugar sugar-like things in their baking - what's the fun in that? Don't get me wrong, I eat "healthy" all day long. I love "healthy." Maybe that's why, when I go for a baked good, which is rare, I want it to be as deliciously bad for me as possible. This banana bread is not good for you, but boy is it delicious, comforting, addictive, and just lovely. Make it whenever you have two overly ripe bananas on hand because you probably have all the other things you need already.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bottom of one standard bread loaf pan (or feel free to double this recipe)

Put in a bowl:

2-3 super ripe bananas, mashed to mush

2 1/2 C flour

1/2 C white sugar

1/2 C brown sugar

3 1/2 t baking powder

1 t salt

3 T vegetable oil

1 egg

2/3 C milk (once I didn't have milk so I subbed yogurt and it was great)

Mix until blended and doughy (should be really thick and sticky, not runny but not a solid ball of dough either). Put in loaf pan and smooth out the top. Bake for 60 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean (I start checking around 50 minutes).

Here's the shocker: wait until it's cooled to eat it. I know, that goes against every instinct you have. Trust me. If you break into it while it's still warm it'll fall apart and you won't be able to spread butter on it which you'll want to do. A lot of butter. A lot a lot.