Life's Simple Pleasures - Banana Bread

What do I do when I'm sad, disappointed and upset with me and everything else? I'll make some comfort food that makes me feel a little better. Spent the morning on my second macaron experiment, which ended up pretty bitter. My first experiment was a disaster and I was pretty determined to get it right this time. The consistency of the batter did look really promising, but ultimately the baking part failed me, left me a sad and demoralised girl. I really didn't feel like doing anything, just felt like keeping all the recipes and shelving the books to one corner so I won't be reminded of the failure. Then again, the kitchen's already all messed up, with nothing to show, adding to my sadness.

I decided to cave in to my week-long craving and bake some good ol' banana bread. I call it life's simple pleasures, simply because it's so easy to make, with minimal cleaning and fuss, yet tastes so good each time  I make it. Traumatised by the earlier experience, my mind wasn't in it at all. But thank god banana bread is so foolproof, it's hard to go wrong with it. I forgot the trusty vanilla extract, and ended up with pure, unpretentious banana bread - defined by the natural banana fragrance and taste without added flavouring or enhancers.

The sight of the brown loaf rising from the pan had a calm and soothing effect on me. Finally, something that went right today, something good coming out from my oven. I feel so comforted, slightly happier and less traumatised. This can actually taste alot better with a dash of ground cinnamon and vanilla extract. But at this point, anything that smells comfort and taste yummy will do. I was so hungry at this point I had three slices of this at one go. And this was perfect for such times - not too sweet, yet moist and full on flavour. I can jolly well eat this for breakfast for an entire week - no joke.

While the macarons experiment continues to haunt, it's nice to know that I can indulge in good ol' fashioned sweets that can never fail. Probably need to put this episode behind me and start afresh again. Though I wonder how long it'll take for me to muster up the courage to try it out again. The search for the answer continues, with yet another lesson learnt in this confidence-beating journey towards perfecting the art of making macarons. Till then, I'll always find comfort in good ol' banana bread - life's simple pleasures.

Banana Bread
 adapted from Kitchen Corner

Ingredients:
60g unsalted butter (softened)
120g all-purpose flour
80g sugar
1 egg
70ml milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
2 medium bananas (mashed)

1/2 cup toasted walnuts

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)

Preparation:

1. Whisk butter with sugar until pale.

2. Mix in the egg until well-combined. Add in the bananas and mix till incorporated.

3. Add in the plain flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt mixture slowly, while whisking the mixture. The batter will turn thick and become harder to whisk.

4. Mix in the milk, then fold in the walnuts. Be careful not to over mix or the bread texture will turn tough.

5. Pour batter into a greased loaf pan and bake for 35-40 minutes till a skewer is inserted and comes out clean.

Yields a 18 x 8 x 6 cm loaf.