Favorite Friday Recipe: Kona Inn Banana Bread

Happy Friday! The weekend is almost here and I plan to catch up on some sleep, hopefully start another crafty project, and hang out with B and the puppies. I also cannot wait to sit at my kitchen nook and enjoy a leisurely afternoon tea complete with freshly baked banana bread. I love love love banana bread and have tried many recipes, only to keep coming back to this one. If you have some bananas on hand this weekend, give it a try!



Kona Inn Banana Bread

Ingredients (makes 2 loaves)

2-1/2 cups of flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of baking soda
1 cup of butter
2 cups of sugar
2 cups of mashed ripe bananas (approximately 6)
4 eggs

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Grease and flour two 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pans.
Beat the butter with the sugar together until it is blended and light yellow.
Sift in the flour, salt, and baking soda.
Beat the eggs, then add them to the mixture, along with the mashed banana.
Mix in all ingredients by hand until blended (I used an electric mixer on low for the most part)
Batter should be a little lumpy when you pour it into the loaf pans.

Bake the bread 50 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool on a rack (20 min if you are patient, 3.5 min if you're a hungry monster like me), slice, serve and enjoy!

Vintage Monday: Canoe Muffin anyone?

It drives me nuts when I can't find an item I have seen before so now I am super careful to write down any sort of brand name or distinguishing marks on items so that I can then go home and google to my heart's content.

A while ago, I saw this gorgeous Danish modern style flatware in a few pictures on other sites. They were sterling silver with a gorgeous rosewood handle. I attempted a few google searches but couldn't find much so I just filed that "wishlist want" to the back of my mind. Well then came the day when we braved the snow and ice to go to the DAV thrift store in St Joe. This thrift store in particular holds a special place in my heart. You have to dig to find the treasures, and oh the treasures you will find there. Old Samsonite luggage for $5? Thank you very much. Vintage pyrex for 99 cents? Well don't mind if I do. I always find great stuff here and that cold December day was no exception. There was a whole rack of silverware sitting on the shelves and I was quick to spot a wooden handle. Could it be? Score! We found a few butter knives, a fork, and a teaspoon (all for $1 incidentally) and so the obsession grew.

Even better was that I now had a brand name from the back of those utensils to research: Ekco Eterna. Soon, I learned that Ekco products began in 1888 in Chicago and were really popular in the 60s (which I guess is why mid century lovers geek out over this flatware). After more googling and ebaying, I finally learned the name of this highly sought after line of flatware....Canoe Muffin.

What??

When I told B this strange fact, he held up one of the forks, pointed to the wood handle and said, "I guess it's because it's sorta shaped like a canoe". Ohhhhh. But wait, what about the muffin part? But seeing as I am a lover of all things muffin, I put aside my incredulity and began to stalk ebay auctions. These canoe muffins and I were meant to be.

And so after extensive haggling and bidding and anxiously awaiting the end of various auctions, we are now the proud owners of quite an extensive Ekco Eterna Canoe Muffin collection. B is always amazed at how we go from nothing to a WHOLE LOT of something in very little time. I like to call it being efficient, and maybe a tad obsessive if I am honest about it.

I am proud to introduce the Canoe Muffin collection for this Vintage Monday!

Here they are, all nestled in their little drawer:



A closer look at the butter knife, dinner and salad forks and soup and teaspoons:



A side look so you can get the full "canoe" effect:



Serving pieces (meat fork, ladle, pie server and serving spoon):



Iced tea spoons (or ice cream sundae spoons!):



And really if you thought the iced tea spoons were frivolous wait till you see these cocktail/seafood forks:



Canoe view:



I am now ready and equipped to entertain and throw a party in which every food item will have its own serving or eating utensil. A dream come true.