hidden treasure revealed

It was as raw an October day as ever in memory, heavy cold rain and wind, and barely hitting 40F at the warmest. My younger brother ran his first marathon, and completed a course that a third of the runners dropped out. Driving home, it started to snow, and snowed all evening. Overnight, the snow turned to rain, and the rest of the week will be warmer. Never during my growing up did we have snow this early.

On blustery days, baking is appealing, warming the kitchen and filling the house with good smells...I've been looking for this recipe for years; on previous trips to visit my parents I looked through notebooks and file folders of recipe clippings and yellowed notecards in various handwriting. Today, in my mother's kitchen, I opened her copy of the Joy of Cooking and an ancient index card fell out...

Banana Nut Bread - the recipe from my childhood

2 c flour 1 t baking powder 1/2 t baking soda 1/4 c dry milk 1/2 t salt 1/3 c softened butter 2/3 c/sugar 1 egg 1/3 c water 1 t vinegar 1 c mashed banana 1/2 c chopped nuts

9x5x3 loaf pan 350 F Grease the loaf pan. Sift together dry ingredients. Mix together butter, sugar and egg. Add liquid ingredients slowly, blend well. Add dry ingredients all at once, mixing in quickly. Stir in chopped nuts. Bake on center rack for 60 minutes. Let cool before slicing.