Banana Bread Triplets - 10/20/2007

Some people in my research group work with patients on a high fat diet to reduce seizures. And when I say high fat, I mean really high fat...like Atkins times ten and without being able to cheat or else you might increse your seizures. To help their patients, they have Meal Days to work on new recipes to increase compliance. I planned on stopping by, so I thought they would enjoy some high carbohydrate food to "cleanse their palettes." All of these are spin-offs of my favorite banana bread recipe since one of my roommates had a ton of ripe bananas that she didn't want.


First is a basic twist on the recipe: add walnuts. I think the crease in the top happened when I turned the bread out, possibly before it had cooled enough. >-< But it tasted good. I made sure to sprinkle nuts on top of the dough before it cooked so people were aware of what was inside.


Next is banana bread with shredded coconut inside. I was actually one banana short when making this bread, so I figured the extra coconut would give the bread the support it needed. Before baking it, I toasted some reserved coconut and sprinkled it on top of the dough. This one also came out pretty good, but I don't think the flavors were as strong as the others.


For this last one, I added the zest of three oranges to the dough and baked it. The result was banana bread with a very aromatic orange flavor to it. Banana was the primary flavor, but orange was a more subtle undertone. All of the breads were met with great appreciation and critical acclaim, so I felt I had done a good job.