Public Service Banana Bread

Public Service

Paw-Paw worked for over 30 years for New Orleans Public Service, NOPSI, a division of Middle South Utilities System, now Entergy. When I was young, my dermatologist was located in a building near the NOPSI office. Grandma would drop me off at the medical offices, and Paw-Paw would meet me and take me to the doctor. After my appointment, Paw-Paw and I would walk back to NOPSI office on Baronne Street. I would sit in the lobby until he finished his work day. In the lobby, I watched people pay their utility bills and browsed through the rack of recipes provided by the extension service.

When I rented my first apartment as a graduate student, I asked Dad to pick up a set of NOPSI recipes for me. I assembled the 75+ sheets he picked up for me into a binder as my first cookbook.  The banana recipe sheet had about 15 recipes including banana bread, banana pudding, banana cake, and bananas foster

My Variations

To keep cost down, I use ½ stick of butter and ½ stick of margarine. Additionally, I use half white and half wheat flour. This is a great way to use up ripe bananas that you can buy inexpensively by the bag. I like pecans in this recipe, and your dad prefers walnuts. You like it when I substitute chocolate chips for the nuts or add ½ cup of chocolate chips.

Ingredients

¼	Cup	Butter (½ stick or 4 Tbsp)
¼	Cup	Margarine (½ stick or 4 Tbsp)
1	Cups	Sugar
1	Cups	Mashed ripe bananas (2 large or 3 small)
1	Tsp	Lemon juice
1	Tsp	Baking soda
2	Tbsp	Boiling water
2		Eggs, slightly beaten
½	Cup	Chopped nuts
½	Cup	Chocolate chips, optional
1	Cup	Wheat flour
1	Cup	White flour

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a loaf pan. (I use a Pyrex bread pan.)
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add bananas and lemon juice and blend well.
3. In a tea cup, add boiling water to soda. Add to creamed mixture. Mix well.
4.  Add eggs and mix well.
5.  Add flour, one cup at a time, mixing well.
6.  Add nuts or chocolate chips, if desired. Mix well with a spatula by hand.
7.  Pour batter into loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour until toothpick inserted in bread comes out clean. If not done, bake for an additional 5 minutes and check again. Repeat until done.
8. Cool for about 5 minutes before removing from pan. (I run a knife around the edge of the pan before removing the bread or use a spatula to loosen the bread before removing.)