Banana-Chocolate Bread and a Book Review

In the March issue of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine, there was a Recipe for Banana-Chocolate Bread that I thought I'd try and it was good.

Banana-Chocolate Bread

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 2/3 cups all purpose/plain flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed overripe bananas ( 3 or 4 )
2 tbsp sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate chopped, or chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 oF.  Butter and flour 5 x 9 inch loaf pan.  In a bowl sieve together flour, baking soda and salt, set aside.

2. In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add  eggs one at a time, making sure you scrape down the side of the bowl each time.  Beat in bananas, sour cream an vanilla.  Beat in flour mixture and then stir in chocolate.  Pour batter in the prepared pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted in centre of loaf comes out clean.

3. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes,  Remove bread from pan and let cool completely on wire rack.  Will freeze.

Okay so here are my thoughts and changes to the recipe.  I doubled the recipe to justify putting the oven on in the first place.  I didn't have sour cream so used plain yogurt instead.  Despite me having my glasses on to read the recipe I used baking powder instead of soda.....time to get my eyes tested again I guess?

I have a sweet tooth, but even for me this was pretty sweet, so would cut down the sugar a little bit.  It took an hour an ten minutes to cook mine, but I didn't measure my bananas, I just put in four per loaf, so my batter was probably a bit wetter than it should have been.  I used milk chocolate chips so that maybe added to the sweetness a bit.

It's a keeper though, as it is a very moist loaf.

"Sarai," by Jill Eillen Smith

When Abram finally requests the hand of his beautiful half sister Sarai, she asks one thing--that he promise never to take another wife as long as she lives. Even Sarai's father thinks the demand is restrictive and agrees to the union only if she makes a promise in return--to give Abram a son and heir. Certain she can easily do that, Sarai agrees.


But as the years stretch on and Sarai's womb remains empty, she becomes desperate to fulfill her end of the bargain, lest Abram decide that he will not fulfill his. To what lengths will Sarai go in her quest to bear a son? And how long will Abram's patience last?


Combining in-depth research and vivid storytelling, Jill Eileen Smith brings to life the beautiful and inscrutable Sarai in this remarkable story of love, jealousy, and undaunted faith.


This book is not for everyone.  If you have a deep Christian Faith and you enjoy reading about the beginnings of Christianity, then this is a book for you.  If not, I would pass on this book.  I found it very slow going until they reached Egypt then the story picked up.  However by then you have probably read a third of the book, so that is a lot to ask of a reader. 


I also found it hard to swallow this story, and I am finding it difficult to put into words my thoughts on it.  Which believe you me, I am never lost for words.  I think this book didn't "settle in my gut," the way it should have and left me with a lot of unanswered questions.


I would love other people to read this book for their reactions though, as maybe I missed the point to this book?.


Stars out of 5 : 2 Confusing at times and took me way to long to really capture my attention.






'Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.


Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group".