Sunday Servings: Banana Peanut Butter Bread

My six year old nephew Benjamin showed up to his soccer game with two of his mom's hairbands on his wrist--dark green, spirally ones that added a bit of muted flair to his black and white soccer uniform.

They didn't stand out, and I don't think anyone really noticed besides me. But I noticed because I had seen this trend pop up every now and then since coming home from South Africa. After discussing it with his mom, we both think he might be wanting to wear them because that's what "Auntie Manda" does.

Of course, I wear a few hairbands on my wrist for emergency purposes.

West Texas women have to be prepared on a daily basis to save ourselves from the blustery winds threatening dangerous tangles and knots to long or mid length hair styles. (Seriously, some days, it's like driving in a convertible with the top down.)

Then, there are those days when you just have to get your hair out of the way because it is driving you crazy, and if you don't do something with it right then, you are in danger of cutting it all off.

But Benjamin wears them because he thinks it's cool, because that is what his auntie does.

I'm pretty honored to be thought of as cool. It's not a word I would ever use to describe myself, so to have your nephew think you're cool and want to do what you do, well, that's pretty cool.

One of the best parts about being back in Lubbock is spending time with Benjamin and his twenty month old sister Katharine.

Benjamin and I have built a pretty solid foundation over the years, but it always has an ending where I get on a plane and fly off to the somewhere else I'm living.

Katharine, on the other hand, was born while I was in South Africa and was three months old before I met her. So I've missed a lot of her milestones and watching her little personality develop.

Getting to be a major part of their day-to-day lives is thrilling for me.

I don't have to beg and plead for someone to remember to send me pictures. I don't have to make sure and ask about them at every phone call just in case I missed something huge and everyone forgot to tell me. I don't have to wait for drawings to come in the mail before I can see their handiwork. I have the privilege of being on-hand and available for those moments all the time now.

And I'm loving it.

My sister's hubby has been traveling a lot this month for his job, so I'd thought I'd make something fun for Benjamin and something to make life a bit easier for my sister--breakfast and snack handled.

And we had rotting bananas anyway, so I found a recipe for Banana Peanut Butter Bread and sweetened it up even more with some chocolate chips.

I'm not a big fan of peanut butter except on peanut butter sandwiches, but this bread turned out pretty good. It's a must go with a glass of milk because it definitely gets stuck to the roof of your mouth as good peanut butter concoctions should. The banana adds a nice grownup flavor to it, as well.

Banana Peanut Butter Bread

Original Recipe by Corwynn Darkholme

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 2 bananas, mashed (for best results, use over-ripe bananas)
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose (cake) flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325°F (165°C). Lightly grease a 9x5in (23x13cm) loaf pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat well. Stir in peanut butter, bananas, flour and baking soda until blended. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake at  325°F (165°C)  for 60min and cover the pan with foil to keep the top of the load from blackening. Bake for an additional 15-20min or until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean.
4. Remove to a wire rack to cool.