Ever feel like the week started without you? I’m not alone feeling this way because yesterday was garbage day and the Mr. didn’t put the bins out to the road. “It’s Tuesday??” he said. It felt like Saturday to me and now it’s Wednesday morning here in Australia. I lost Monday completely.
All is not lost. My next door neighbor Fran came over with home made chilli jam and sweet chilli sauce. Both are really good and made in her brand new Thermomix. She left with a pot of home made butter I’d just finished. While she was here she told me all about trapping a huge mud crab off her pontoon yesterday and how she steamed it and how good it tasted. She took it out of the water and cooked it within 20 minutes.
So of course the Mr. dashed outside and got our crab pots out and put them in the water. Do we have a crab this morning? No. Were the chicken frames still in the pot? No. Fran gets crabs after we feed them, apparently. Tomorrow is another day.
I did make an amazing banana bread with walnuts and dates. I wanted a bread that was different than my standard recipe. It’s not that I don’t like my mother’s gold standard bread but some days you just want to venture forth. I’m glad I did because this banana bread is really good.
If you’ve got bananas that are too ripe to peel and eat – bake a banana bread. Don’t have time today? Freeze them until you’re ready. I do it all the time. That way if you only have one overripe banana you don’t need to buy more to make bread. Some people freeze the bananas in the skin but I remove the skins and wrap them tightly in tinfoil and pop them in a plastic bag in the freezer.
Making a banana bread takes only a few minutes and I don’t know many people who don’t enjoy it with or without a big slathering of butter. I made my own butter to go on the bread.
Do you make butter often or have you ever made it? I started making butter one day when I had cream that was going to go down the drain if I didn’t use it in something. It was AMAZING. I’ve been making our butter ever since. The ingredients are: cream. No preservatives, no nothing extra. Plain butter. I do add some salt if we’re going to eat rather than cook with the butter so that would be two ingredients, sorry. You whip the cream until it turns to butter, then pour off the buttermilk and make muffins with it. Rinse the butter with very cold water and mix in some salt to taste. Think about it. You’ll thank me.
- Butter or shortening to grease the pan
- 1 cup (150g) plain flour
- ½ cup (75g) self-raising flour
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 125g butter, melted, cooled
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 3 ripe bananas, mashed
- ½ cup chopped dates
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- Preheat oven to 175°C. Grease and line the base and side of a loaf pan.
- Into a large bowl, sift the flour to combine, then stir in sugar, cinnamon, walnuts and dates.
- In another bowl whisk butter and eggs together.
- Stir in mashed bananas.
- Add to dry ingredients and add vanilla extract.
- Stir to combine - do not overbeat and then place batter into prepared pan. Smooth the surface.
- Bake for 45-50 mins or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Cool for 5-10 minutes before removing from pan. Cool completely on a wire rack (if you can wait that long)
- Serve warm spread with butter.
I can’t seem to figure out at all what day it is lately, so don’t feel bad. I blame the weather. 😛
This banana bread sounds so tasty! I love the date/walnut twist.
no I have never made butter, I have a butter phobia. melted it tastes awesome, but hard its just…
Gorgeous date walnut banana bread, the date bits are looking attractive too. I wouldnt say no to a piece!
I hate when I lose track of the days!! Leaves me confused for an entire week!
And your bread looks delicious. Nothing wrong with tweaking an already tasty recipe! And I can only imagine how good it is with homemade butter… wow!
I will love to make this for my kids, thanks for the recipe!
I have been thinking of you lately because I just had finger limes. They’re out of season here and ridiculously expensive, but I’ve been told native and affordable down under. Do you cook with them? Any fantastic recipe suggestions once they’re back in stock in the PNW?
Anyways, onto bigger and better things like Banana Bread. YUM! I love the addition of dates and walnuts. I can’t wait to add some to one of my weekly batches.
What a great looking bread!
I have never made banana bread except for out of a box, baking scares me! This looks easy enough and tasty.
looks wonderful and wow fresh crab and homemade butter what a cool foodie neighbor would love a couple of slices of this with a cuppa
I love freezing bananas for later use – I do it all the time too! Not too long ago I made banana bread and froze some of the loaves. It always is a treat to take one out when I’ve been lazy and haven’t baked in a while. Your bread recipe looks delicious. Lot’s of goodies in it!
I love the idea of dates and walnuts in this. I think both go brilliantly with bananas and in baked form I imagine the result would be wonderful. I’ve never liked butter though – slimy stuff! – so my slice would be plain 🙂 Or with nut butter, which is crunchy enough to do away with the sliminess…
Love that you have made your own! Yum. Great pics too xx
I’m always on the look out for quick bread recipes and this sounds like a great one Maureen! Thanks for sharing.
Maureen, I love that you made your own butter to go with the banana bread – and I know that it would have tasted even more amazing with your butter on it too! 😀
Ha-my Monday was nothing but chaos, so I am glad it is over!
I have always made banana bread with add ins. Plain banana bread is bland to me. I have never tried adding dates and it does sound like a tasty idea. Bravo to you for making your own butter, I wish I was that dedicated! Have a great day.
Your banana bread looks spectacular! And here’s hoping you’ll have a delicious crab dinner very soon 🙂
Hi, there Maureen!
It seems so delicious the Date, Walnut and Banana Bread you made. I can’t wait to make it by myself using my Zojirushi BB-HAC10 bread maker.
I saved and printed your recipe. Your instruction is really clear and easy to follow. I think I can make it! Thanks for posting the recipe! I’m looking forward to your next recipe.
Wow–sounds like quite the week, thus far! Glad you Ventured Forth; I love your addition of dates. And I do have a bunch of cream lying about. Maybe I should just make some butter. Thank you. 🙂
Dear Maureen, Love reading your posts. It is just like you are talking to me.
I will try to make butter one day. It is something I have not yet tried.
I do feel like the week passes and I am still trying to catch up! There are many times I did not put the pails out for the garbage! You just loose track of the day.
Anyway, I am writing a letter instead of a comment.
The banana bread looks great. I would love it with a slab of butter.
Blessings dear, Catherine xoxo
P.S. Thank you for all of your kind wishes and comments. I am sorry that I am behind in my visits.
The bread looks awesome. Dates, walnuts and bananas, delicious! Enjoyed your post, LOL about Fran getting the crab.
Okay, another banana bread recipe different than my own that I have to try. And I have never thought to put yummy dates in mine! Great idea! And although I have never crabbed, we did go to the marshes outside of Nantes to collect crawfish. Real American red crawfish! We came home and husband cooked them up! Scrumptious!
I could have sworn yesterday I was Friday, I am so mixed up this week! My son having a day off really messes with my head!
The bread looks amazing! I love banana bread alone, but you mixed in extra yummy stuff!
Yum, I absolutely love banana bread. Your photos and recipe look delicious!
This looks impossibly divine!!!
XOXO
The Squishy Monster ^.^
Date, walnuts and bananas are our favorite ingredients. Yummy photos and recipe 🙂
Love your addition of date and walnuts to the banana bread. Your breads are making me hungry.
I LOVE it when people reinterpret “old” classics like banana bread! Yummy!
I’m trying this for the first time.. It’s in the oven and so far smells great!
It wasn’t until it had gone into the oven and I was cleaning up that I realised I had forgotten the vanilla essence.. Then re reading the recipe I see that you have missed out the vanilla in the method. I assume it would go in step 3 or 4…?
Can’t wait to try it if the smell is anything to go by!
Thanks.
Thanks for catching that, Haley. Yes, the vanilla can go in anytime but step 3 or 4 is fine. I’ll go fix the recipe.
So so yummy!