I am officially 39 weeks pregnant today. The countdown clock says that baby Siefert will arrive in 6 days. Friday was my last day of work, so now I wait. I've determined that waiting for labor to start is sort of like waiting for Christmas morning and watching a car wreck in slow motion. I am both extremely excited to see the little one, to give him kisses and hold his little fingers and toes in my hands, and also nervous and anxious and worried what labor will be like and if I'll be able to do it. And then I think, of course I'll be able to do it! As one of my favorite people on the planet says, "I am an all powerful Amazon warrior, not just some sniveling girl!" (That's Ani DiFranco, for everyone who doesn't know.) I will be able to do it - like the many many women who have come before me! I am woman - here me roar (and most likely scream and curse and cry).
Today, since I still have some semblance of energy, I thought I'd wait and cook. We've had a couple of bananas in our fruit bowl for much too long, and what is it that we do with over-ripe bananas? Make banana bread of course!
This morning I found a recipe on Food Network that sounded delicious, so I used that as my base. Banana bread usually has walnuts in it, but Dan doesn't really care for walnuts, so my first substitution was slivered almonds instead of walnuts. While pulling out the rest of the ingredients, I saw some blackberries in the fridge that I had bought on sale a couple of days ago, with the intent of having them in my cereal in the morning. I had them once - unbelievably sweet, sweeter than I remembered blackberries being - but I haven't been much in the mood for breakfasts lately (perhaps due to the impending arrival). So, for fear that I would go into labor soon and the blackberries would go to waste, I decided to add them in too. Wah-lah: Banana Blackberry Almond Bread was born.
(adapted from Momma Callie's Banana Nut Bread from Down Home with the Neely's)
1 stick of butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 large very ripe bananas
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup blackberries
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and put a rack on the middle shelf. Spray a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan with cooking spray. (May loaf pan was 8.5x5x4 - anything close will do.)
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
3. In a separate small bowl, mash the bananas, leaving a bit of texture. My bananas were so ripe that this was extremely easy. I used a dinner fork and it seemed to do the trick perfectly.
4. In a separate bowl, or a stand-mixer bowl, combine the butter and sugar. Cream until light and fluffy.
I had a discussion with my mother last night about when to use which of the stand-mixer attachments. I always just used the whisk-type attachment, not really knowing what the other ones were for. She said that for creaming things and making cookie doughs, she likes to use the flat beater, and leaves the whisk for things that are supposed to be fluffy - like meringues. So I tried the flat beater on this and it worked perfectly. See mom - sometimes I do listen to your advice!
5. Add the eggs. Stir in the mashed bananas, sour cream and vanilla and beat just until combined.
6. Add the dry ingredients. My stand-mixer came with a great no-splatter attachment that I like to use when adding flour so that the flour dust doesn't end up everywhere. I pour the dry mix through the spout, little by little.
The batter should look something like this after the dry ingredients are added.
7. Stir in the almonds.
8. Coarsely chop the blackberries using a sharp knife. They are too big to put in the bread whole, but you don't want to mash them too much so that they loose all of their texture.
Fold the chopped blackberries into the batter.
9. Pour the batter into the pan. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes.
I don't know about you, but I like bread when it is still warm. I cut off a slice almost immediately and it held together perfectly. Mmmm.
Dan hasn't tried this one yet, so I'll have to give you an update later on the Husband's Rating Scale. Smells pretty good though, so I'd imagine it'll get at least a 3.
If I go into labor within the next couple of days, I most likely won't be back on the blog until after Christmas, so let me take the opportunity now to wish you all a very merry, joyous and reflective Christmas. A prayer for us all - that we don't lose sight of the true meaning of Christmas behind all the hustle and bustle of the day. May we all know the joy of family, friends and giving of ourselves for the people we love.
Until next time,
No comments:
Post a Comment