Banana Bread (Jamaica)

I’ve been so excited about starting this blog and imagining all the new and exotic recipes that I might try, that it almost took me by surprise when I actually used the cookbook this morning for a quick batch of banana bread. The two ripe bananas on my counter had been taunting me for three days, and it kills me to have to throw them away, so I opened to the recipe that I have made on an almost weekly basis all summer from Extending the Table. This version of banana bread is easy, not too sweet with just a hint of nutmeg, and the boys love it for their morning snack. It was almost a let down to start with this recipe. Almost…

For the last four months I have followed the same daily routine, almost to the minute at times, to provide our new son Suki with the comfort and safety of the ‘expected’ in his crazy new family and world. Now, God knows I love a good routine, but we have outdone ourselves with the rigidity of our daily schedule. But Suki thrives on this routine. He sleeps. He eats. He plays. He tantrums few and far between. He learns. He loves. In such a short time he has progressed in ways we never expected at this point, all because he knows exactly what is going to happen and when.

So many of us take comfort in the foods we love and the traditions surrounding these meals. These last fours months have been INTENSE, and my sons are old enough that they will remember how we stretched and struggled as a family these last months. It hasn’t all been pretty. But as the years pass, maybe the scent of this fresh baked bread will bring to mind the giggly mornings sitting at the counter, sneaking tastes of batter and watching mom mash banana in her purple bathrobe. Maybe they will feel the comfort of those mornings, knowing that is just an hour a perfect loaf of banana bread filled us up in more ways than one.

It is no coincidence that I am starting this new blog as I head back to work and Suki starts daycare. Things are going to be shaken up yet again in our household. We may backslide some. So I’m planning on feeding my anxiety and angst into these recipes. Which will most likely be served every night at exactly 6:00.