Our Family's Very Favorite Banana Bread, and why I'm focusing on Forgetting

I'm told that, due to copyright issues, I legally must tell a story that includes a recipe, rathan than being able to directly publish My Family's Very Favorite Banana Bread recipe. So here is my story...
Tears are close to the surface today. It doesn't take much for them to spring into my eyes.  A kind word. A well wish. A verse of the Bible... 
October 25, 2011. This was our "before and after moment," the single event that defines our family's history.
My life has never been the same since. Nor my husband's life. Nor our children's...
Yesterday was hard, reliving countless hospital memories I don't care to revisit, time paralyzed in the memories (some of being literally, physically locked in the confines of a mind unable to communicate movement signals to my body). Yes, diagnosed PTSD.
The early hours of this morning I tossed and turned, desperately wanting to sleep through this whole date on the calendar and just wake up tomorrow instead.
Then God convicted me. I've called this my "re-birthday," nearly since the beginning. It is the day I publically choose to recognize as my "birthday," as there are multiple parts of my brain that are only 11 years old, or less. A massive "eraser" randomly decimated six different areas of my brain starting this day 11 years ago (and continuing until two emergency surgeries on Thanksgiving morning stented the artery and prevented any further strokes). 
After the chiropractic accident, I was initially on full life support and had to relearn like a newborn, from how to breathe and toilet, to how to swallow and sit up in bed or take a step. Reasoning, communication, and emotional responses all had to rewire and start from scratch. God is the only explanation for why I'm still here at all.
To borrow from the words of the Apostle Paul, written to the church at Philippi, "I do not consider myself as having laid hold of [that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus] yet, but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." 
- see Philippians 3:12-14 LSB
Our banana tree is not mature enough to give us bananas yet, but you have almost made it to Our Family's Very Favorite Banana Bread recipe. Keep reading!

When those memories come, as soon as I am aware that I am again dwelling in my past, I must be intentional in choosing to "set [my] mind on things above, not on things that are on earth." 
(see Colossians chapters 2 and 3, especially verse 3:2 LSB)
By seeking to memorize Scripture, I am blessed with a treasure trove of passages to rely on as I pray for God to refocus my heart. When I am washing dishes, folding laundry, or awake at night, I can wrestle through the verse I'm actively striving to memorize that day, or I can review passages I've already learned. Check out InfertilityMom on YouTube at https://youtube.com/user/infertilitymom to find my recent 1 Peter recording (it took me three tries to get it) - https://youtu.be/KSoC0j6xapg - and watch me struggle through a stroke issues I've rarely caught on video (I called it "taxacardia" when I was flustered, but it is actually ataxia) on one of my prior attempts - https://youtu.be/ybxaRk3miEE .
Today I choose to take advantage of my abilities, enjoy the life I have been given here on earth. I made tea. I looked up Bible verses about "forgetting" and read their surrounding passages for context. I decorated the house for fall, in anticipation of one of my favorite holidays of the whole year, Thanksgiving. And I baked three loaves of Our Family's Very Favorite Banana Bread - the first loaf was completely devoured within the first hour!
And as my thoughts wander, I'm redirecting them to Jesus and His Word.
🍌🍞 Our Family's Very Favorite Banana Bread 🍌🍞
Start to finish, 5 easy steps. 🤤😋
- JenniferSaake.blogspot.com October 25, 2022
These are proportions for a single batch, enough to fill one 9x5 loaf pan (like the Pampered Chef loaf stone) OR two smaller bread pans (my small ones are about 7x4 and only 2/3 the height of my stone) OR 18 muffin cups. 
I always make a double batch, 1 large loaf and two smaller loaves. A double batch mixes nicely in a KitchenAid mixer bowl (but a triple batch does not fit). Our family prefers the texture of loaves over muffins.

1. Preheat oven to 350° (that's 176.667° Celsius) OR 400° for muffins.

2. Greese your pan(s).

3. Mix in order:
- 3 larger or 4 small overly ripe bananas, the blacker, the better! (I like to eat my bananas as green as possible, so once they turn bright yellow, I usually let them brown for a week or more, then toss bananas in the freezer to save for bread. We try to buy a hand nearly each week when they are a decent price.)
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup oil
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups flour

4a.  Bake as follows:
- For a 9x5 loaf, 350° for 1* hour.
- For 7x4 pans, 350° for 45* minutes.
- For muffins, 400° for 20-25 minutes.

4b. *For loaf pans only (not muffins) turn off oven after baking time (if you have a timed baking feature, you mash wish to set it to stop heating at time), then let pans sit in hot over for another 15 minutes, then remove to cooling rack. 
I think this is where the real difference is made between this recipe and any other I've tried. I've tried cooking longer, or taking bread out without the oven-off hot rest, and it never turns out as well.

5. Let cool for 10 minutes in pan, then turn out of pan onto rack. Allow to cool at least 20 minutes or half an hour before slicing. ENJOY!
We like to toast our slices so they get a little crispy on the edges, then serve with butter.


 


All Scripture on this post is quoted from the Legacy Standard Bible (LSB).
Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com

I would love to meet you through social media:


Specialty pages:
    infertility / loss - fb.com/HannahsHopeBook
    stroke - fb.com/StrokieGal
    current book project on church deception - fb.com/DeceptionUnmasked

Instagram @InfertilityMom
Pinterest @InfertilityMom

My books:

Read about my current book project about deceptions women face from within the church, at JenniferSaake.blogspot.com/2021/04/DeceptionUnmasked.html


Read more about infertility, miscarriage, adoption loss, and my first book, Hannah's Hope (written pre-stroke), at JenniferSaake.blogspot.com/2021/04/hannahs.html

 
Please enjoy a free pdf version of the introduction, my personal infertility / loss story, and the first chapter of Hannah's Hope at www.hannahshopebook.com/media/HannahHopeChapter1.pdf


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