My favorite childhood memories are the ones of cooking with my Mother.  I still remember her fingers as she fluted the crust of her cherry pie.  (The cherries came from the trees in the backyard).  I cooked with my children as they grew up and now I thrill at the chance to cook with my grandchildren.  Sydney and I have cooked together ever since she was old enough to scoot a chair to the counter.  We have talked about opening a bakery but thought we would first try our hand at blogging together.  Happy to have you along for the ride! Love, Nana

My Mom is also a great baker! She has taught me a lot about baking! I remember my first baking experience when I was about 4 years old. It was Independence Day and she was making a fruit pizza. I remember asking her if she would teach me how to help. It was tough for me at first because I had no clue what I was doing. I ended up getting the hang of it and from then on I have always and always will have a passion for baking and I hope you will have that same experience that I had! With Love, Sydney**

Today we made Banana Nut Bread from my Mother’s favorite recipe.  This is delicious so try it with your family members…get cooking!  Nana

Mom’s Banana Nut Bread

1/2 cup butter (Mom used shortening)

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup mashed, ripe bananas (about 3 medium)

2 cups sifted flour

3 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup chopped nuts

Cream butter and sugar together until light.  Mash bananas in a separate bowl and add to the butter/sugar mixture along with the beaten eggs.  Sift salt, flour and baking powder together and add to the mixture.  Stir in the nuts.  Bake in a greased loaf pan on 375′ for about 1 hour 15 minutes or until knife inserted in the center comes out dry.  Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  Slide a knife around the edges of the pan and gently remove the bread to cool completely before slicing.

Enjoy!!