Bountiful Bananas

It still strikes me kind of funny that now I pay around $0.49 a pound for bananas when in Papua New Guinea at times I couldn’t give them away.  They grew in our backyard and in everybody’s backyards for that matter.  And when a bunch was ready for harvesting you hoped this time they’d ripen slowly instead of all 104 turning brown at once!  Sometimes you had to get creative in your uses for ripe bananas if you didn’t want to just throw them away.  Now it’s rare that I have any left over for baking.  But when I do, this is our family’s favorite way to use those brown, spotted and mushy fruit-fly attracters.  The mushier the better…!

Dressed Up Banana Cake

Combine and beat:

• 1/3 cup oil
• 1 cup sugar (or less)
• 2 eggs

Add:

• 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Combine separately:

• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 teaspoon soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 2 teaspoons nutmeg

Add alternately to the first mixture:

• 3/4 cup milk

Beat well.  Pour into well-greased 9x13 inch pan.  Sprinkle on top:

• 3/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes.