The kids were playing well together the other day while I was preparing lunch. Leaving them to their own little world as they played with the cats in their midst of some pretend play while at it, I overheard the following conversation:

Spud (in a deep voice imitating Silver Bullet): Don’t do that to the cat. It’s not a toy! Leave Fudge alone I already said that a hundred times!

Then, in a very even and earnest tone, Spud continued on: Squirt, it’s true! That’s how Papa says it. He’d say (imitating Silver Bullet again) “Fudge is not a toy! How many times do I have to tell you not to do that!”. (back to her own voice) Papa would get very angry, Squirt.

In the background, I heard Squirt giggling and laughing as he tried to copy his sister with how Silver Bullet’s would usually react whenever they get a little rough with the cats. Specifically with Fudge.  At the same time, they both seem to be pretty serious in their pretend play and having some real adult conversation. Hmmm. 

Oh! These kids. Sigh. The things they pick up. I thought her imitating Silver Bullet was hilarious!

As they both minded their own business and with my back turned towards them, I feigned ignorance of not hearing anything. It all fairness, it was endearingly funny – especially since Spud nearly nailed Silver Bullet’s typical reaction whenever he chides her for playing rough with Fudge.

It was hard not to laugh, but in this case, I muffled my laugh big time.

A few rotten over-riped bananas have been lying around at home and the kids have refused to touch them, let alone eat them. Can’t blame them. Those bananas were all black, soft and to the naked eyes, unfit to be eaten. The flies have been drawn to them.

The thing was, I cannot stand to throw them away. They may have gotten royally black on the outside, but when the skin is peeled off, they still look pretty good on the inside, albeit a bit mushy. Rotten Over-ripe bananas are always good to have at home because they make a very good ingredient for banana bread.

It has been a while since I made one too, perhaps more than 2 years ago.

At one point, I made so many of them week after week to get that Banana Bread perfection and the whole family OD-ed on them. I then started making Mashed-up Banana Balls, otherwise known as Jemput-Jemput Pisang and staved off the whole banana bread thing.

My banana bread has since has taken a massive hiatus and almost forgotten.

This time, not only do I have awesome black-looking bananas, I also happened to have a bunch of dates lying around waiting to be eaten. Cue inspiration from  A Pug in The Kitchen’s Banana  Bread that used enough granola to sprinkle on top, I’m roaring to go! You really need to check out her blog and follow her if you will for an awful lot of other mouth-watering recipes.

Me-thinks that there can never be enough of banana bread recipes. Also, I love how it just splits at the top when baked. That’s satisfyingly gratifying.

This is a quick–dirty-lazy version as the recipe is slightly different from the one I had so-called perfected before without the use of sour cream. It’s also a great recipe since it does not require the use of a mixer or anything that’s too complicated. Not too much mess or clean up required.

Granola Topping Banana-Date Bread

2016-06-22 07:37:05

Serves 6

A quick-dirty-lazy but moist banana bread packed with sweet dates and topped with granola and nuts

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Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

35 min

Total Time

45 min

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

35 min

Total Time

45 min

Ingredients

1. 3-4 very ripe bananas
2. 5 tbsp butter, softened
3. Half a cup of granulated sugar
4. 1 egg, beaten
5. 1-2 drops of vanilla extract
6. Half a cup of dates, chopped
7. 1 tspn baking powder
8. Pinch of salt
9. 1.5 cups all purpose flour, sifted
10. A handful of granola with nuts

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven at 180 degree Celsius
2. Mash all the ripe bananas in a mixing bowl till smooth
3. Stir in the softened butter into the banana and mash well
4. Add in baking powder, salt, sugar, dates, vanilla extract and beaten egg. Mix well.
5. Slowly add in the flour till you get a nice batter
6. Transfer the batter into a deep baking pan. Top with a handful of granola
7. Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until it's nicely browned and the stick comes out clean when you insert into the loaf
8. Remove from the oven to cool. Once cooled remove from the pan.
9. Transfer the bread to an aluminium foil to keep the bread until you are ready to eat.
10. Otherwise, slice that baby up and serve!

Notes

1. Feel free to add more sugar (1 cup) if you prefer a sweeter bread.

Grubbs n Critters https://grubbsncritters.com/

Using dates adds natural sweetness to the bread without having to use more sugar and it’s a great addition to the overall taste. The crunchiness from the granola is just heavenly and truly enhances the overall taste.

So, we have (almost) rotten bananas, dates and granola bread all moist and fluffy? Sign.me.up.