Banana Nut Bread

When life hands you lemons, you make lemonade. When your husband hands you some overripe bananas he forgot were sitting in his office, you make banana nut bread. I typically don't like banana-flavored anything, but for some reason I really like banana nut bread. I've tweaked different recipes and made adjustments, including the addition of a sweet and crunchy cinnamon topping, until I came up with what I think is one of the best banana nut breads I've tasted. Bonus: it's actually super easy to make.

Banana Nut Bread
2 eggs, beaten 
⅓ cup buttermilk 
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup mashed banana 
¾ cup white sugar (this can be adjusted depending on the sweetness of the bananas)
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda 
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup chopped walnuts

Topping
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts 
½ teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350° and spray a 9x5 inch loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray. In a large bowl, blend together eggs, buttermilk, oil, and banana. In a separate bowl, sift together all dry ingredients, except for walnuts, then add to the banana mixture. Stir in the walnuts, then spread batter in the prepared pan. For the topping, mix all ingredients together. Sprinkle the topping onto the batter and gently press it in with the back of a spoon. Bake for about 1 hour, or until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. 

photograph by Angelica Golden