Looks Like Puke, Smells Like Bananas

Apologies for the long wait between updates. I haven't been too good at keeping up with this thing. So without further ado: Monkey Puke Bread.

You read that correctly. That is the name of my banana nut bread recipe. Why "Monkey Puke," you ask? Well, there is a story that goes with that. It goes a little something like this:

At one point in time, I was living with a friend of mine at her parent's house. One night, I had some bananas that were pretty much at the end of their life expectancy, so I decided to make some banana bread out of them. At about eleven o'clock at night. I get the bananas all mashed up and gooey. I put the sugar in. And the butter. I reach into the fridge to get the eggs out and! Oh no! There ARE none!

So I go my friend J2, and I say, "J2! There ARE none!" And she lets out a huge sigh. And we both get into her car and we drive. For about half an hour. On a quest to find eggs. (I would have just gone myself, but unfortunately, I did not have a license at the time.) Eventually, we find some eggs. And head back to the homestead.

Walk into the kitchen, and there. Next to the bowl that I had the first three ingredients combined in, was a note. It said, "Looks like puke, smells like bananas." Next to the writing on the piece of paper was a drawing of a monkey. Throwing up.

In the 45 minutes that we were gone, Mr. J (That would be her dad) had wandered into the kitchen, found the bowl, and left that note. I pretty much thought it was one of the most hilarious things ever, and have since called it, "Monkey Puke Bread." Just for Mr. J.

Don't be deterred by the name. It actually comes out quite delicious.

Also, I apologize in advance for any miscommunication when following the actual recipe. You have to understand that when I write recipes down, I just write down the ingredients that go into the recipe with the quantity for each. And underneath I just write, "Mix all ingredients together." I know how to mix them all together. But I'm awful at conveying it to other people. Why did I decide to do a cooking blog again?

3 mashed bananas
1/2 c. butter (or margarine) - softened
1 and 1/3 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 and 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. milk

1 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

Note: Do NOT use a mixer when you are making this recipe. I usually just use a fork or a wooden spoon. And a potato masher for the bananas. If you over mix the batter, you will not have delicious banana bread. (Or muffins. This goes especially for muffins.)

In a medium sized mixing bowl, mash up all of your bananas. I don't usually beat them to a pulp. I usually leave them a little chunky when possible, because I feel like it adds a little more panache to the finished product. Mix in your sugar and butter.  (Now let it sit for a few minutes, and take a look at what you have in your bowl. That is why Mr. J. called it monkey puke.)

Add eggs, milk and vanilla, mix well.

Combine all of your dry ingredients in a separate bowl.  Fold in all of your dry ingredients with your wet ingredients. Don't add all at once. But don't add too gradually. Like I said- don't over mix the batter. I usually add it in two 1-cup measurements. (Give or take.) And mix until all ingredients have just come together.

(Fold in nuts.)

The batter will be lumpy. This is normal.

Pour batter into two greased and floured loaf pans.

Bake at 350 for about one hour, or until golden brown on the tops. OR you can stick a toothpick into the center and see if it comes out clean. I hardly ever do that though. I usually just can tell if it is done by looking at it.

For muffins:
Bake at 350 for about fifteen minutes. You're going to want to take them out when they look done around the edges but still look spongy in the centers. Let them sit in their cups for about ten minutes before transferring them to wire racks to cool.

So there you have it. If you did it right, you're going to have some pretty awesome bread (or muffins) to share with your friends and family. If they didn't come out correctly, I apologize. I probably should have been more specific somewhere along in the recipe.


But if you DO decide to try it for yourself, please comment and tell me what you thought of it. Or if you changed anything for yourself.

-The Muffin Top