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Oh, I know there are just so many banana bread recipes but I had to share this one from one of my all time favorite cookbooks. The book I have is now out of print but they sell another one here. It does not have the banana bread recipe but many others that are just as divine. Anyways, you see, something exciting happened in our little house this past week. Our kitchen stove, whose oven had been broken was fixed! So, we have been baking whenever possible! We finally had a proper snow here in New England at the beginning of the week so when my son woke from his nap we set to work. With our blue stove burning hot and these lovely, large snow flakes slowly meandering from the sky, I gathered all of our ingredients onto our coffee table. I love baking with my two-year-old. It is a good old lesson in getting messy and following the creative baking spirit! Banana bread worked well for that as there is ample banana mushing and flour measuring, egg cracking and butter softening. Here is the recipe:

8 tablespoon sweet butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup whole-wheat flour

3 large, ripe bananas, mashed

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup shelled walnuts, coarsely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Grease a 9 x 5 x 3 inch bread pan.

2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

3. Sift all-purpose flour, baking soda and salt together, stir in whole-wheat flour and add to creamed mixture, mixing well.

4. Fold in mashed bananas, vanilla and walnuts.

5. Pour mixture into the prepared pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then on a rack.

Makes one loaf