Mashing Bananas & So Much More






I knew if I did not make the banana bread yesterday that I had been planning on making, the bananas would be beyond rotten. They were already rotten enough. So, out came the pans and ingredients. The oven was on preheat. And my son Brian, was working on his latest piece of art on the kitchen counter. While he has two art desks, he sometimes prefers the kitchen counter because of the windows.
So, as I was getting ready to mix the ingredients, he asked me what I was going to make. He loves banana bread, so his interest perked. As I began peeling the bananas, he told me they were rotten. I told him my grandmother (nicknamed Giddy) always said the rottener the bananas, the better, the tastier the bread. I told him it was her recipe that I was using. This led to talking about my grandmother and her woodstove and her recipes, her aprons, her bowl that I was putting the rotten bananas in.
"That is Giddy's bowl?" he asked.
"Yes. Maybe she used it when making her banana bread."
"Can I mash the bananas?"
And so, he put his artwork aside and mashed those three rotten bananas while continuing our conversation as snow flurries drifted by those windows.
After he went to bed, I found the photo I cherish of that bowl sitting in a cupboard in my grandparents' farmhouse. I showed it to Brian this morning. That led to more conversation and another slice or two of that banana bread.

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