photo friday: half-baked

You guys.

And girls.

Really, anyone out there who likes to bake things.

Or eat things.

I have a confession. In all of my trials and tribulations in the kitchen, my hits and my misses, there has been one thing that is a regular disaster.

Banana bread.

The reasons are endless. One loaf comes out too brown on top. The next too brown on the bottom. The next too soupy in the middle. The next too dry.

For whatever reason, banana bread wouldn’t work for me. It became my kitchen nemesis.

So I switched to making banana muffins instead.

But a couple weeks ago, with completely brown bananas hibernating in my freezer, I pulled out my mom’s Joy of Cooking book and searched for a new recipe. I wanted to make banana bread my bitch.

In a nice way, of course.

I followed the recipe closely. Sort of. I mean, I got all the ingredients in there in a vaguely congruous order. For me, that’s progress.

I timed the baking carefully. I timed the resting in the pan carefully. I flipped the bread onto a wire rack to cool completely as directed.

But I didn’t let it cool completely before slicing into it.

Actually, Swede sliced into it first.

He’s such a rebel.

But here’s the best part: SUCCESS.

For reals. It wasn’t too brown on top. It wasn’t too brown on the bottom. It was cooked through in the middle.

In short, I am no longer feuding with banana bread.

Which is good, because I’m a peaceful person. I don’t like holding grudges or confrontations.

Especially with baked goods.