Goin' Bananas

My mom's banana bread recipe is excellent. My earliest memory of these is eating them warm from the oven, slathered in butter, when I was three years old. Just smelling them baking is reassuring and feels like home.

I couldn't find my white recipe binder tonight (shocking because it's huge...), but Mom & Vesa were over (helping with dinner, and playing and cleaning) and Mom of course knew the recipe by heart so scribbled it down on my fridge notepad. Erik, the little monkey, couldn't resist scrambling up to investigate as soon as I moved these from oven to cooling rack. I warned him they were hot — he knows that word well now, but touched one anyway. Sure enough. "Hot Mom-mee!" and here he is signing Hot to me too.

Monkey Muffins (aka Grammy's Banana Bread)

1 stick softened butter
1 -1/2 c. sugar
5 T. sour milk (4 T. milk + 1 T. citrus juice)
2 eggs
3 mashed (very ripe) bananas
1 t. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
(1/2 c. chopped nuts, optional)

Bake in muffin tins for about 17 mins. Makes about 22 muffins.