Banana Granola Toasting Bread

The week has flown by with our mysterious visitor from China who comes and goes, that sometime we aren’t even sure if he’s home. It seems he’s going more than he’s coming and I’m missing him even though he’s close by. I have tried to keep him well fed while he has been around, so  he can have a change from his normal diet of noodles and noodles, sold on the streets of Shanghai. His favorite noodle man from Mongolia even asked him to bring back some American hot sauce!

It has been a crazy few weeks and tonight the daughter arrives and tomorrow my parents.  I am exhausted but in a good way, and I do have a lot more to cook. Cleaning is also on the agenda, because after all the cooking and schlepping of grocery bags through the still dirty winter garage, my floors look gray.

With Easter upon us, I wanted to pass this bread recipe along. I made it for the boy to take to Utah to share with his ski buddies and he told me that it was a hit. I’ve been so behind on posting that I’m actually taking a sitting break, and writing feels quite relaxing compared to what I’ve been doing recently! I’d like to keep my butt parked a bit longer, but I’ve got to hit Trader Joe’s early so I can begin today’s marathon.

Since every blog it seems must have a granola recipe, it also appears to need a banana bread recipe. I love banana bread and often keep my brown bananas frozen in a plastic bag in the freezer to have on hand for baking. Usually I forget about them, but I was on the ball when I made this recipe. This isn’t a cakey banana bread. It is hearty and good and dense, all on its own. Filled with my crack granola and toasted banana chips, this bread really kicks it up a notch! Toasting this bread elevates it to a whole new level!  The aroma of bananas perfumes the kitchen and with a little  big slather of butter, you have just made a special kind of toast. Now I won’t be eating this for Passover, but you can certainly enjoy this for your breakfast treat!

Happy Easter and Happy Passover and I’ll be back next week with lots of good things that at the moment are sitting on my camera! I had planned to get out a bunch of Passover recipes but well, you see how that went. So it’s off to Trader Joe’s and my marathon day!

Banana Granola Toasting Bread
Makes 1 8 x 4 loaf and 17 x 4 loaf
Time to Make: About 20 minutes Time to Bake: About 45

Ingredients:
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
3/4 c coconut oil or vegetable oil
1/2 c Greek yogurt
1 t vanilla
1 c mashed bananas ( A little more, a little less, doesn’t hurt anything)
1/2 c chopped walnuts
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
2 c flour
1 c of your favorite granola (or use mine which you should make at least once)
1/2 c banana chips (sold with the dried fruit)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. Grease your pans. Mix together sugar, eggs and oil. Add yogurt and vanilla. Add bananas and walnuts. Combine flour with baking powder and baking soda. (This distributes the leavening agents better.) Stir into banana mixture. Last, but not least, stir in the granola and banana chips. Bake for 45 minutes. Let cool on a rack. Slice and toast-or just eat. But make sure to enjoy!

More Good Food:
Belgian Liege Waffles
Almost Crack Granola
Everything But The Bagel Scrambled Eggs
Strawberry Crepes
Overnight Mexican Egg Casserole