Banana Nut Muffins

I really like being on a schedule. It seems when I don't have work or school or just a specific place to be at a certain time, I get kind of lost. For example, I used to eat a banana every day during my mid-class break. I don't even like bananas, but they're pretty cheap and transport well if I'm careful. So now I live in Virginia, have no job, don't have class, but still...I buy bananas. Why? Habit. Which brings us back to the point of me not liking bananas. Because I don't like them, and I don't have a reason to eat them, they end up just sitting there, getting over-ripe. At least that's the perfect excuse for banana bread.



This is from my mom's bread cookbook. It's really old. I don't know what it's called or who the author is. Anyway, here's the recipe:

2 c. sifted all-purpose flour
1 t. baking soda
(1/2) t. salt
(1/2) c. butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 c. mashed, very ripe bananas (about 2 bananas)
(1/3) c. milk
1 t. lemon juice
(1/2) c. chopped nuts

Sift the flour with the soda and salt.
Cream the butter and gradually add the sugar. Mix well.
Add the eggs and bananas and blend thoroughly.
Combine the milk and lemon juice, which will curdle a bit.
Slowly and alternately fold in the flour mixture and the milk mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Blend well after each addition.
Sit in the nuts, then pour the batter into a buttered 9 x 5 x 3'' loaf pan.
Bake 350 degrees for one hour, or until the bread springs back when lightly touched in the center.

This is for one loaf, but since I only had one banana, I halved the recipe and made 9 muffins. My mom says to bake those for 20 minutes, but I actually had them in there for maybe 23-25 minutes. Just keep a keen eye on them because they go from looking just underdone to being just right really quickly. My mom also notes that 1/2 the recipe can make a mini-loaf (bake for 45 minutes) and 2-3 muffins.

Try it! It's good!