Three ripe bananas on the counter
Black as black can be
Falling out of their bags
And into the bowl
For this citrus delicacy

(Libbie calls banana peels their bags. Like, “LEAVE THE NANA IN THE BAG FOR ME!!” Followed by wailing if I don’t. Same goes for anything in a wrapper.)

Looking for something a little different and something I had the ingredients on hand for, I came across a recipe for Orange Banana-Nut Bread in the 2004 Cooking Light compilation cookbook. I made a few swaps and turned out a delectable, citrus-infused loaf of moist breakfast bread.

It’s a great dish to make for a Mother’s Day breakfast-in-bed or if company’s coming over. But it’s taking me great restraint not to call it “Orange You Glad I Didn’t Say Banana Bread.”

Whole Wheat Orange-Banana Bread

Download Recipe PDF Here!

2 cups whole wheat pastry or white whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt (I use Celtic sea salt or Real Salt)
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white or turbinado sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted (half a stick)
2 eggs
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 1/2 T grated orange rind (I found that one medium-sized orange yields about 1 T of grated rind)
3 T fresh orange juice (about one medium orange, juiced)

Grease the inside of an 8.5″x4.5″ loaf pan (probably your smaller one). Preheat oven to 350F.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl, stir together melted butter and sugars. Add eggs one at a time, stirring well after each addition. Add bananas, orange rind, and orange juice and mix until well combined.

Stir in dry ingredients just until everything is wet. Spoon into loaf pan.

Bake on middle rack 65 to 70 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pan, remove and slice to serve.

I only feel that this is missing some sort of sinful glaze. Any ideas? Chocolate? Powdered sugar spiked with orange liqueur? Tell me what you think!

Added to Food on Fridays at Designs By Gollum, Sweet Tooth Fridays at Alli-n-Son, Spotlight: Brown Sugar at Eat at Home Cooks, and Mouthwatering Mondays at A Southern Fairytale.

Stayed tuned … I’ll be back with a new “Why I” post tomorrow, so get yours ready

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