Nana’s Banana Bread

Here is why I love banana bread: it tastes like home.  There are just certain things that without a doubt remind me of home and of my childhood, and banana bread is one of those things.

Banana bread was something that my Mom regularly baked for our family, and it was also one of my absolute favorite treats.  Aside from the fact that I loved anything that tasted like a dessert as a kid, my Mom’s banana bread always had a way of filling up the house with a warm and homey scent; kind of like the smell of Fall.

I asked my Mom for her recipe a few years ago, and every time that I have made it, I am reminded of home.  And if I were being really honest, I am also reminded of sneaking into the kitchen as a kid to take an extra piece…or multiple extra pieces.  Yes Mom, that was me.  If you have ever wondered to yourself over the years how your baked goods disappeared so quickly, I am officially coming clean, I was the banana bread bandit.  (I was also the one who snuck spoonfuls of braunschweiger, but don’t worry, I don’t do that anymore.)

But in my defense, my sneaking of the banana bread was simply a testament to how absolutely delicious my Mom’s banana bread is.  Even now when I bake a loaf, I often talk about sharing it, but sadly it rarely makes it beyond our apartment walls (or past 24 hours for that matter).  In the end though, what makes me happiest about baking banana bread is not getting to eat as much of it as I want; it’s getting to close my eyes, and just for a moment, be transported back home.