I credit my love of food and cooking to my Nana.
She had the most incredible collection of cookbooks, she loved to cook for people, and, like me, she loved to eat.
When my Nana passed away her collection of cookbooks her collection of cookbooks, unfortunately, did not find its way to her granddaughters as her wish had been. However, I have one book she had loaned me. An ancient, well-loved volume called ‘cook book of breads’. It was falling apart and had notes tucked inside from a bread workshop she did while living in Canada. I cooked the wholewheat banana bread from it as my go to banana bread for years.
These days I don’t like to use quite as much butter and sugar in my banana bread as that recipe included so I am forever playing around with how I make it. Some attempts work better than others but tonight I think I nailed.
In much the same way I would have helped my Nana in the kitchen Miss J stood at my side and helped me bake banana bread this afternoon. She doesn’t much like walnuts but insisted that we add almonds instead.
It is afternoons like this that make the world go around.
Banana & Oat loaf with Almonds
Ingredients
3 ripe bananas
150g raw sugar
2 eggs
100g butter
1 tsp each vanilla & cinnamon
200g high quality plain flour
100g oats
2 tsp baking powder
½ cup raw almonds
Method
Preheat the oven to 190C and line a large loaf tin with baking paper.
Mix the bananas and sugar together until smooth (I used the paddle attachment on my Kenwood Chef).
Add the eggs, vanilla and sugar and mix until just combined then follow with the melted butter.
Tip in the dry ingredients and fold through until everything is smooth and well combined.
Pour into your lined loaf tin and bake 45 minutes or until cooked through.
Remove from tin and cool on a wire rack.
I’d love to hear more about what food and cooking means to you.
Tatum xx
