Nana's banana bread baked by me this morning 

Nana and Pop-Pop--Jones Beach, 1935 

Nana and Pop-Pop with their children in 1974 

  When I walked into my kitchen this morning and saw three over-ripe bananas, I knew they wouldn't last the day.  It was either the garbage or the oven.  How perfect that it was Foodie Tuesday.  My Nana's banana bread has seven minutes to go as I write this.  The smell of fresh baked bananas wafts through my house, bringing with it memories of my beloved grandmother.

Nana, born in 1911 in Staffordshire, England, crossed the Atlantic to Canada with her family when she was six-weeks-old.  As a young girl, she moved to America, where she eventually met and married my grandfather.  Nana was a typical homemaker of the time.  Diary entries that we read after her death in 1989 revealed details of her daily life in Queens Village, NY.  "Today Mother came over and we washed the curtains in the living room," a typical one says.     

As my grandfather worked hard at the Unexcelled Laundry in Richmond Hill, Queens and did his duty as a volunteer for the Auxiliary Police, Nana stayed home, cooking, cleaning, and baking.  This may make feminists want to scream.  But Nana has lessons to teach all modern women, whether working moms, housewives, or travelers of the world.  

Nana was content with her lot in life.  She read voraciously and wrote poetry occasionally.  She lived in a tiny, two-bedroom/one bath house with her husband, three children, and dog.  She could have complained about all the hard work--there were no washers and dryers in those days!  She could have let the stress of raising three children and cooking meals every night get to her.  She did not walk around in a crabby mood.  She sang songs and walked with a lift in her step.  Nana had a song for everything.  Wherever she was, that is where she wanted to be.

When my grandmother began gaining weight in her later years, as so many women do, she would say to my mother and aunt, "I'm not fat, I'm pleasantly plump."    When my mother married a Jewish man from Hempstead and converted to Judaism, Nana shrugged and welcomed my father into the family with open arms.  Even when her son moved to Japan with his second wife, Nana went with my grandfather on the long flight to visit them there.

The only time I ever remember Nana getting angry was when she was staying at our house and my brother would act up.  She would take her wooden spoon and hold it high over her head as a warning.  She never did use it.  I think she was too busy mixing the batter for her delicious banana bread.   

Recipe for Nana's Banana Bread

1  1/3 c. flour

1  1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

1/3 c. canola oil

2/3 c. sugar

2 eggs--slightly beaten

2 or 3 ripe bananas

1.  Sift all dry ingredients together.

2.  Beat oil, sugar and eggs together with a wooden spoon and add to dry ingredients.

3.  Mash bananas and add to batter.

4.  Grease loaf pan or spray with Pam.

5.  Pour in batter and bake for 1 hour @ 350 degrees.

Enjoy!