Dear reader,
It’s a long time since I’ve been in the kitchen. By that, I mean leisurely prepping ingredients, appreciating how luscious a stick of butter is and goggling at banana bread browning in the oven. Then to find myself looking up at the clock and realize that two hours have passed by. It’s that enjoyable.
Call me silly and I’ll take it, as I sometimes like to anthropomorphize my cooking appliances and utensils. They are born to fulfill their mission of creating food (read: happiness), and it’s so sad to see them just lying there, collecting dust (yes, this is how Phoebe-like I can get). My electric whisk and the beautiful set of ceramic measuring cups I received as a birthday present have been abandoned for such a long time, so the moment I have time to get back in the kitchen, I promise I would not let them down.
There’s nothing fancy about banana bread. It’s unpretentious, and it’s simple. It’s the kind of quiet friend that you tend to miss on the first day of school, but once you get the chance to talk to them, you know they will pick up your 2am call just to hear you bitch about life.
I’ve tried different banana bread recipes before, and this one from Bon Appetit is my favorite. It doesn’t call for a lot of butter, and the use of four bananas keeps the cake moist enough even when it’s cool. My only modification is reducing the amount of sugar to ¾ cup as the bananas alone are sweet enough. Not having a loaf pan, I baked this in a 5-inch square pan for 1 hour at 170C. Pair this with a cup of mildly bitter tea or coffee, and everything in this world just feels right.
As I am writing these words, my banana bread is baking in the oven, breathing life into my abandoned kitchen while filling the house with a nutty and caramel-y aroma. I’m only waiting for that ding! from the timer to take out the beautiful loaf with a golden crust. Burning fingers and blistering tongue are expected. Finally, my kitchen is alive. My dear whisk and measuring cups, rest assured I will never forget you.
Dear reader, let your whisk, your pans, your oven, your stove fulfill their mission. Get back into the kitchen and start creating happiness, will you?
