Meaghan Wilson Anastasios

So three months of heaven writing in Italy, Spain and Greece has come to an end. Feel free to hate me. I would. Now, the real work begins.

Back at home, it’s pissing down outside and I’m doing my best to ignore the fact that I’m going to have to start killing my babies. Word babies, I mean. Specifically, 15,000 words of a bloated 100,000+ manuscript that I’m actually pretty happy with.

Which makes it the perfect time to make BANANA BREAD! Those three deflated and spotty bananas in the fruit bowl can’t wait another moment. It’s time! That’ll eat up at least half an hour. And I’m sure I can come up with something else to avoid work after that.

Been meaning to alphabetize the spice drawer for a while. And there’s got to be some holes that need darning somewhere in the house. Anything other than jettisoning a storyline or cutting a character loose. No! The horror… the horror.

So, editing? Or banana bread?

Banana bread wins!

See? Hot out of the oven and the kids have already eaten a third of it. Moist (awful – worst – word of all time), beautifully caramelized. A triumph, if I do say so myself!

The kicker? I don’t even like banana bread! But if you do, what follows is a fail-safe recipe the kids seem to like. And, trust me, they don’t pull any punches! Handy hint – pre-cut in slices, wrap the loaf in plastic film and freeze it. It’ll last months. Well, four months anyway. And if you have people in your life who don’t cope well with gluten, and you have no wish to do them ill, then sub in GF flour and it works just as well.

Enjoy! I can recommend it as a fine way to waste almost an hour when you’re trying to avoid editing your manuscript!

PROCRASTINATOR’S BANANA BREAD

THINGS YOU’LL NEED

• 50g butter, melted, cooled (plus extra, to grease)
• 1 ¾ cups self-raising flour
• ¼ cup plain flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2/3 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 2 eggs, lightly whisked
• 2-3 overripe bananas, mashed

HOW TO DO IT

• Preheat oven to 180°C.
• Grease an 11 x 21cm (base measurement) loaf pan with butter to lightly grease. Line the base and 2 opposite sides with non-stick baking paper, allowing it to overhang.
• Sift the combined flours and cinnamon into a large bowl.
• Stir in the sugar and make a well in the centre.
• Place the milk, eggs, melted butter and banana in a separate bowl, and stir until well combined.
• Add the banana mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined. A lump or two is fine – if you overmix this, the cake will end up super dense.
• Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the surface.
• Bake in preheated oven for 35-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
• Remove from oven and set aside in the pan for 5 minutes.
• Lift out onto a wire rack to cool completely.