Banana Tea Bread

    
 My New Year’s resolution was to not waste food so having two ripe bananas I decided to make this Banana, Apricot Bread. The recipe gives a basic banana bread recipe with several variations, one of them being for the apricot addition. Since I am a fan of apricots this had to be the one.

  I didn’t think it rose as high as I had hoped, but than I had divided it into two smaller pans which could have made a difference. The flavor however, is great and it won’t last long here. 

   This is another of the basic kind of cookbooks that should be in everyones kitchen. The new fancy cookbooks are fun and I buy them (and use them), more often than I should as I have too many cookbooks now, but the ones I use the most are those that have basic recipes that all cooks can use.
Banana Tea Bread

1 ¾ sifted all purpose flour

2 teaspoon Baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

⅓ shortening 

¾ cup granulated sugar

2 eggs, unbeaten

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 or 3)
1 cup dry apricots (optional)

  Start heating oven to 350°F., and grease a 9x5 loaf pan. Sift flour, baking powder, soda, salt.With electric mixer at medium speed (or spoon), throughly mix shorten with sugar, than with eggs until very light and fluffy-about 4 minutes, altogether. At low speed, beat in flour mixture alternately with bananas just until smooth; turn into pan. Bake 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center, comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes, remove. Cool overnight before slicing.

Banana-Apricot: To flour mixture, add 1 cup finely cut-up dried apricots, (If apricots are very dry, soak in warm water until soft; drain; dry well, before adding to flour).