When I left for college in the early fall of 1974, my mom gave me my grandmother's copy of The Boston Cooking School Cookbook
, by Fannie Merritt Farmer, 1943 edition. I arrived at my (rented over the phone from a printed listing) room in Isla Vista to discover that by opting for the cheaper "apartment" THERE WAS NO KITCHEN! What I had for $120/mo. was a motel room. (They were upgrading and slowly adding kitchens to all the rooms but I didn't get one until about April). So, with the addition of a mini-fridge, an electric 2-burner "stovetop", and a toaster oven, I was ready to try cooking whatever I could. The banana bread recipe was a favorite. I liked the fact that it didn't call for shortening. It was also very "forgiving" if I was low on ingredients (like eggs). It was a big hit at student pot-luck dinners (well, students will eat almost anything).After 36 years,
here's how the recipe now looks
I continue to experiment with additions, the latest being the newly discovered coconut flour
. Ended up not as coconutty as I had hoped -- more modifications shall ensue! |
| banana muffin, milky ginger/green tea, fannie farmer cookbook (1943 edition) |
preheat oven to 325
Ingredients:
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 c turbinado sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 c liquid (buttermilk? used ginger water*)
1/4 c coconut flour
1 3/4 c flour (whole wheat pastry flour best)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
spices as desired (I use ground cinnamon, coriander, cloves, cardamom)
1/2 c chopped nuts (pecan or walnut favored)
mash bananas into large bowl, add sugar + other wet ingredients, mix well
measure dry ingredients into 4 c measuring cup, mix well
pour dry into wet and mix
pour batter into treated muffin pan
bake 40 min @ 325 or until inserted toothpick comes out clean
(if made as 5x9" loaf, 1 hr @ 325)
*ginger water is fresh ginger (about 2") cut into 1/4" cubes and boiled in 4 c water for 15 min.
[4.2020] Just made another batch. Returned to original recipe in cookbook.
