Banana Bread Day

This is banana bread day. We are voracious consumers of bananas and often leave them to brown so I can make bread, about once a week right now. I started fooling around with the recipe in the old 1960's version of "The Joy of Cooking" when my then husband had a heart attack in his early 40's. It's low salt and low fat which would be wonderful if we didn't eat it all in one day. I usually give a loaf to my daughter-in-law to feed the six little squirts at her house for a snack. They like it and we don't eat a loaf apiece.

Banana Bread ala Celia

For two loaves just double the ingredients using 3 eggs instead of 4.

I just learned to make a degree sign on my PC in Word. Hold down the alt key and on the keypad type 0176. I'd been copying it off the weather page, ha, ha. If I live long enough just think what else I can learn.

Preheat the oven to 350°.

3 tbsp buttermilk (I keep dried buttermilk in the fridge for cooking)
1/2 cup low or non-fat plain yogurt + 1/2 tsp baking soda (I stir the soda into the yogurt)
1/4 sugar and 1/4 cup Splenda (used to do 1/2 cups but it was too sweet, might have been the Splenda)
1/3 cup canola oil
2 ripe mashed bananas
2 cups flour (I use half whole wheat and half unbleached white)
2 beaten eggs (or three beaten whites if you are watching your cholesterol in a serious way, and I use 3 eggs for a double recipe)
1/2 chopped nuts
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots (dried cranberries worked pretty well or blueberries - yum)

In a large bowl, mix the sugars, canola oil, and mashed bananas together throughly. Add the buttermilk, yogurt w/baking soda, eggs, and beat again. I know most recipes add the nuts, etc. at the end but I like to add them here, it makes it easier to distribute them throughout the batter.

Add the flour mixture in two or three portions and mix with the yummy squished stuff. Put in a greased bread pan and cook for 45-50. It's ready when a table knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. I use pyrex glass loaf pans. I read that a metal pan takes a lower heat, perhaps as much as 25 degrees less but you might have to experiment.