Lemon Banana Bread

Stephen came home from school yesterday with bandages wrapped around both hands. "What the?!" Obviously I was a little alarmed! Especially because his school tends to call me about every slightly concerning happening possible. So I asked him, "What happened? Are you okay??" He shrugs and says, "Monkey Bars."

Monkey Bars?! I unwrapped his hands when we got home, the bandages were getting pretty grimy. And let me tell you... He had blisters on his palms, popped and unpopped, bigger than any blister I've had in my whole life. They were awful!! And he was just annoyed that they hadn't let him go back on the monkey bars after wrapping them up! That's hard core for a seven-year-old! I was a bit dazed... then I asked him, "Do you remember when we watched the Olympics last year? Do you remember the gymnasts?" And his whole face LIT up. So today, I am finding this kid a gymnastics class. Because any seven-year-old that loves monkey bars enough to play through giant blisters deserves some dedication and investment! Heck, even if he only does it for a year or two, it could be SO good for him! I'm excited. Who knows, in 10 years we could be looking back at the day he knew he wanted to be a gymnast, watching him compete! 

Lemon Banana Bread (adapted from Jan Karon's Mitford Cookbook and Kitchen Reader)

Printable Recipe

2 cups flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 eggs, at room temperature

1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

3 tsp fresh lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla

3 very ripe bananas, smashed with a fork

lemon zest from 2 lemons

(You can also add a cup of chopped walnuts. My menfolk hate nuts :(

Preheat oven to 350. Line and or grease a loaf pan, set aside.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Cream together butter and sugar till fluffy. Add the eggs, beating well after each. Stir lemon juice into the mashed bananas. Add yogurt, lemon zest, vanilla, and bananas to the batter. Mix well. Add the flour mixture and stir until just blended. (Add nuts here if you like)

Pour batter into pan and bake for 50-60 minutes. Cool bread in the pan on a wire rack for a few minutes, then remove. Serve warm, with a bit of butter. Yum!

Another re-post! This was one of the first recipes I ever wanted to re-post, because it is my favorite banana bread recipe and it deserves half decent pictures!

I often get funny faces when I say "It's lemon banana bread". No really, they go together, I promise! It isn't super lemony. More of a hint of lemon.

Rich and soft banana bread, not too dense and moist, sweet and lemon scented and delicious. Easy as pie and just as yummy!