Nanni

I just used the week's last two bananas, which were getting somewhat overripe, to make sourdough banana bread.

So now the kitchen smells like banana rum!

EDIT: Sourdough Banana Bread (From Mrs Stankey, via Don and Myrtle Holm)

1/3 C shortening
1 C sugar [this is actually a bit on the sweet side for me - I used 1/2 C brown sugar, packed, last night and that worked well, so I am planning on experimenting a bit more, with a bit less sugar, but I'm the only one who thought the 1 C white sugar versions were a bit too sweet, so]
1 egg
1 C mashed bananas [or however many you happen to have - I haven't measured.]
1 C sourdough starter
2 C flour [the recipe calls for all purpose - I've used half white all purpose and half whole wheat all purpose in all my renditions and it's not been too heavy ever]
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla or 1 tsp grated orange rind [I haven't tried the orange rind yet, due to never having oranges in the house when I'm making it, but I mean to!]

Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan. Cream together the shortening and the sugar. Add egg. Mix until blended. Add in bananas and sourdough starter. Add orange rind or vanilla. In separate bowl mix flour, salt, baking powder, and soda. Add flour mixture to first mixture, stirring until just blended. Pour into the greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 F for about an hour or until a toothpick comes out clean. [And then it says Cool Before Slicing, but I haven't done a good job of that ever. Ahem.]

(From The Complete Sourdough Cookbook, Don and Myrtle Holm, The Caxton Printers, Caldwell Idaho, 1982. ...addendums in parenthesis added by this blogger.)

Yesterday, I made cookies! They came out really well. Everyone here likes them. I modifed the recipe as I went to suit my cupboards and tastes so it's not exactly the same as in the book anymore. But tasty!

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

3/4 C. butter
1 C. sugar
1 egg
2-3 bananas
3 1/2 C rolled oats
1/2 C peanuts, almonds, or other nuts, finely chopped (I actually used pecans because there were some in the cupboard, but they're kind of expensive)
1 1/4 C flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp gound nutmeg
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C) Cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg. Mash the bananas and beat into the butter, sugar, and egg mixture. Add the rolled oats and chopped nuts. Mix throughly. In a seperate bowl mix the remaining dry ingredients together. Add this mixture to the banana mixture. Stir well. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets about one and a half inches apart. Bake 12 to 15 miniutes or until golden brown. Remove from baking sheets. Cool. Makes about four dozen.