My three year old Carter is going through a knock-knock joke phase. I'd like to think it's the stage between the terrible two's (and let's be honest, the terrible threes) and the teenager-like fours. So we are living it up before he becomes moody and bossy. His favorite thing to do right now is tell knock-knock jokes. We've tried to teach him some classics; knock-knock, who's there, boo, boo who? dont cry, it's only a joke. But he mostly likes to make up his own. They start out pretty legit, then they become random and silly. He really likes to joke about police since that's his other favorite thing right now. It comes out something like this: Knock-knock, who's there, police, police who? the policeman is taking you to jail! The best part about Carter's jokes is they always end with: GET IT?!
One of Carter's favorite jokes is the knock-knock joke about the orange and the banana. You know this one, you keep saying that banana is there until finally you say orange you glad I didnt say banana? This is a very long joke for a three year old to memorize. So instead Carter's version goes something like this: Knock-knock. who's there? Banana. Banana who? Orange you glad I didnt say Banana? Oh well, he will get it someday. Until then, here is my very own banana bread recipe. Perfect for nice mushy bananas. You can halve it and also make it into muffins if you dont want to do the bread. I've developed this recipe over the years. It's super easy and great to eat while listening to a three year old comedian.
Banana Bread
2 Cups All purpose flour
1.5 tsp baking soda
.5 tsp salt
4 Bananas
1 Cup sugar
3/4 cup oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
Preheat Oven to 350F. Grease a loaf pan. (dark metal loaf pans may make your bottom burn before the center cooks. Glass, light metal and ceramic are preferred.) Whip 2 mashed bananas with the sugar. Drizzle in the oil, eggs and vanilla. Beat until smooth and mixed. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl and then add to the egg mix. Mix only until just incorporated. Too much mixing at this point will result in a tough, dry, chewy bread and who wants that? Mash the other two bananas and fold into the batter. This will give you delicious chunks of banana and help keep the bread moist. Bake for about 1 hour until a toothpick in the center comes out clean or with crumbs on it. Keep in mind the pan you use will affect the cooking time. Muffins will only take about 10 minutes, an 8x8 pan may take 30 minutes. Always underestimate the time, you can always add minutes if it's not done. Enjoy!
