There’s something psychologically puzzling about me and my purchasing of bananas. No matter how many I buy—be it seven or two—I eat all but one of them. That last banana sits on my counter until it becomes a habitat for various science experiments. Fortunately, I have a solution. BANANA BREAD!!!

As each week passes and you have one banana left over, throw it into a large plastic bag and put it in the freezer. When it’s time to bake, take them out and either let them defrost all day or float the sealed bag in hot water.

People make banana bread a million different ways with all kinds of interesting ingredients to try to make theirs the best. But banana bread isn’t about being the best; it’s about using up your rotten bananas. Feel free to add chopped pecans, icing, or whatever makes you happy. This is the most basic recipe there is:

• 4 or 5 black bananas
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last. Mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4 x 8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack (or not, I can never figure out why recipes say this when countertops usually suffice. If you’re a rule follower, I once cooled cookies on a wire shelf in my pantry). Remove from pan and slice to serve with butter, cream cheese, or at least a glass of milk.

With the holidays coming up, banana bread is perfect to bring to get-togethers or just to make your house smell great. It’s easy to make and transport, not too sweet, and usually a crowd favorite. My next few posts will feature dishes to get you through the holidays, be it parties or your own stress relief needs, so don’t forget to keep checking in!

***

I’d like to dedicate this blog post to Gwen Stefani for teaching me (and probably the majority of my generation) how to spell bananas. Please write a song where she spells out “restaurants” and “museums.”