mmmmm, mondays: whole wheat bread (bread machine)

i love the fall. everything about it makes me happy. one of my favorite things about this time of the year is the good that i get to make each week. i love soups, crockpot dishes, warm comfort foods and just about anything i can dump in my bread maker. chach and some of my other college roommates bought me my bread maker as a wedding gift. that poor machine has been lugged around three countries and still works like a charm. i don't know what i would do without it. 

if you don't have a bread maker, don't despair. first off, christmas is right around the corner and it would make a fantastic gift. secondly, you can make all the great bread machine breads with just a little more work. here's one of my favorite bread machine recipies (and the instructions to make it on your own if you must...christmas lists, ladies...christmas lists).

whole wheat bread

1 5/8 cups warm water

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons salt

4 2/3 cups whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

for the bread machine recipe: dump in all the ingredients and select the "wheat bread" setting. wait about four hours. spread with butter...the real stuff. eat.

for the non-bread machine recipe. mix the dry ingredients. add the water and mix until a soft dough forms. turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. turn into a greased bowl. cover with a towel and let rise until doubled in size (about 1-2 hours). punch dough and pour into a large loaf pan. cover with greased plastic wrap. allow to rise until dough rises over the pan by about one inch (about 1-2 hours). preheat oven to 350 degrees. bake bread for 35-40 minutes. (you can put a bit of aluminum foil in a tent pattern over the bread while baking to prevent it from getting too brown on the top.) spread with butter...the real stuff. eat.

enjoy!

mmmmm, mondays: grandma's banana bread

i love the fall. for some reason, it spurs me on to be more domestic. i will occasionally even cook breakfast items for my family to enjoy. granted, they usually get the breakfast items for dinner but that seems to be fine with them. so, over the next few weeks, we'll post some of our favorite breakfast ideas. these work for a meal any time of the day...don't let the "breakfast" word scare you.

this is one of my all time favorite recipes. i think i love it so much because of its origins. this one came from my amazing grandmother. she doesn't remember me or even know what banana bread is anymore but before she got sick, this was one of her specialties. when it is baking, the smell brings back memories of her and i can't get enough of it. i hope you love it as much as i do and that it creates some loving memories of your own.

grandma's banana bread

2 1/4 cups flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2/3 cup butter - softened

1 1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas (three large bananas usually works)

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs (unbeaten)

1 cup chopped walnuts - optional - i leave these out...kids don't like the nuts

cream the butter and sugar. add the eggs and beat at high speed for three minutes. add mashed bananas and vanilla and beat. sift dry ingredients together and add to the creamed mixture until well blended. add nuts. put into a well greased bread pan. bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until bread does not stick to a knife when inserted. enjoy!