We are going through some weird times at the moment, covid-19 has seen everything around us, besides the essentials, shutdown for over a month now. When it all started happening I was pretty optimistic and dare I say naive. I remember having brunch with a girlfriend on the Sunday (March 15) before everything in Canada shut-down and saying, it won’t happen here, its all going to be fineeeee! Then come that Wednesday it was looking like things were not all that fine and come the following Monday (March 23), everything was closed, line-ups were happening at the grocery stores and everyone was making homemade yeasted bread and banana bread! Comfort foods, they always get us through he worst of times am I right?!

It took me a couple of weeks to really grasp what was happening, my anxieties swirled like a tornado in those beginning days. My mood ranged from “we got this” to “what the shit is happening”! As the weeks have gone on this somewhat feels like the new norm, I mean its a norm I don’t hope will be forever, but its funny how you just adjust to your surroundings when you are forced to.

Paul and I have been filling our days with lots of long walks in the open farmlands, spending hours at our favourite hidden beach spots, cooking and eating all of the comfort foods, home workouts (because of said comfort foods), yoga, meditation (does it do wonders for those anxious thoughts or what?!), and lots of snuggles with out fur babies. Honestly I think they are in total heaven having us both home. Solomon loves getting out with both of us on the daily, the kitties love all the action around the house and all three of them are never not in the room we are in. I see you parents whose kids won’t leave them alone! haha

One of my other favourite things that I have seen and been watching on Instagram is how much time people are spending in the kitchen with their families. Slow cooking/ slow food has always been a passion of mine, its really why this whole blog started in the first place. I know, and get that when life is rolling at its normal fast, go go go, pace, slower meals, longer cooking times, and baking are usually the first to go but for now it seems like people are embracing it and loving it! There is nothing like a three hour simmered bolognese, or an 18 hour risen bread, or a 5 hour braised roast.

If there is one thing we can all take from this whole world pandemic is maybe just maybe, the extra time with our families, the extra time in the kitchen and the extra time outside, maybe it will continue once this is all over with. Yes, most of us will be back at our 9-5 Mon-Fri jobs soon enough, but with just a little bit of planning all of the above can continue, maybe not every night or everyday but maybe more than it ever did before.

Ok, now lets talk banana bread. THE BEST EVER buttery banana bread I and hopefully you will ever make. I have never made a better banana bread in my life than this recipe right here. It is from the best of bridges (with one slight adaption by me and a couple of additions you can feel free to add or not add), and you know, we know that shit is the best! Seriously though, there is something realllyyyyy special about this banana bread recipe. It is soft and sweet and moist on the inside but has a crispy crunchy exterior that is a little trick of mine, it includes butter! What doesn’t include butter that is really worth I tin life though?! Mix in some walnuts or chocolate or just keep it plain Jane all ways are amazing! It will be a hard sell to ever get me to make any other banana bread recipe again…

BEST-EVER BUTTERY BANANA BREAD

This recipe makes 2 loaves and they freeze beautifully.

Ingredients

1 cup butter

2 cups granulated sugar

2 1⁄2 cups mashed ripe bananas (4-5)

4 eggs, well beaten

2 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground nutmeg or cinnamon (not both, choose one, this is preference)

2 tbsp of melted butter

Additions (if you wish) add some, add all, add none, it’s still gonna be the best

1 cup roughly chopped dark chocolate

1 cup roughly chopped walnuts

1 banana cut length wise for the top

Maple icing drizzle (3 tbsp of icing sugar mixed with 1 tbsp maple syrup)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a stand-mixer cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add mashed bananas and beaten eggs and mix until well combined. In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients, blend with banana mixture, but do not overmix. Add your additions if any.

Melt two tbsp of butter and just before pouring your batter into the loaf pans, brush them down with the butter, bottom first, then brushing up the sides (brushing up will help the banana bread rise, you don’t want to do this any earlier as you don’t want the butter to pool in the bottom of the loaf pans). The brushing of butter gives the exterior the most amazing crispy, crunchy, to die in your mouth texture. Add that sliced banana on top if you wish (honestly I just did it for the pics but I wouldn’t bother usually).

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes; until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on rack for 10 minutes before removing from pans. The loaves will freeze beautifully.