I knew that I’ve been saving this banana bread entry for a reason. I may not have known it then, but I knew that there was a reason behind the unrelenting writer’s block I’ve been battling each time I attempt to put into words how delightfully pleasing this bake was to the family and me. And to think that I could only begin to seek comfort in these long overdue photographs, and reminisce beautiful late afternoons, all thanks to a horrid shopping experience I had yesterday.

Indulge me on a little rant here. Or if you’d like, you can skip this lil part, for I promise you a great banana bread awaits by the end of it.

//begin rant//

As you know, the mister’s birthday was sometime last week, and being the missus comic book geek that I was, I placed an order for the hardcover edition of Absolute DC: The New Frontier at Atomic Comics; a local comic book store at Bugis Junction, on the 21st, about 3 weeks prior to the mister’s birthday. The lady told me that the shipment would arrive in 2 to 3 weeks’ time, but when I called on the week before the birthday, she said it would arrive either the coming week or the next (note: now “2 to 3 weeks” has become 2 to 4 weeks). And so, yesterday the mister and I dropped in at the store, to check the status of the comic, and lo and behold, what did the mister hear? The lady spoke to a man at the cashier’s (the co-owner), asking if he had already placed the order, to which he replied he knew nothing about it, and there was a 10-sec “I told you to do it-No you didnt” moment before his very eyes. And they said all this in Mandarin, assuming we didn’t understand a word (we’re Malays, but living here in Singapore, it is inevitable that we understand a lil bit of Mandarin here and there), after which the man casually replied “Two weeks’ time”.

Honestly, the audacity of it all! I would have already been very ticked off if they had said they had forgotten to place the order, of which of course, there would’ve been the retort of me calling the lady two weeks ago, which would’ve served as a reminder for her. But to think that they did not have the decency to admit their mistake, opting instead to divulge it in a language they assumed we did not comprehend, and thereafter having the nerves to make us wait for more than a month for a mistake on their part, which they never admitted to? The sheer audacity.

//end rant//

Pardon me if you’re taken aback by the amount of anger and frustration in the afore paragraphs, but I just needed an outlet to let it out.

But having gone through all that, there has to be an emotive balance somehow, and I found them through much love from everyone else around me. And that includes a certain Mrs. Hockmeyer.

She was generous enough to share her lovely banana bread recipe sometime ago, and wouldn’t she be smiling with a warmer smile in her heart knowing that what started as a humble family favourite has now become a much-loved recipe tried by people from all walks of life, all over the world.

This is one banana bread you would love to have unadorned. Such is the beauty of the recipe that it tastes great on its own, without the addition of nuts or chocolate or spices of sorts. Just banana, in all of its goodness. The only change I made to it was to reduce the sugar to 3/4 cup, I was surprised to find that it did not compromise the taste at all; the amount of sweetness was just right, and it was testamental when it was wiped out by the family in a jiffy.

Just between you and me, as I’m typing this entry out, I’m already yearning for a piece of Mrs. Hockmeyer’s banana bread. How lovingly nostalgic.

What made my day even better was when I found out that I’ve received two virtual awards from two of my favourite blogs.

Thank you, dear Elyn for this lovely award! It’s truly an honour because your blog was one of the propelling reasons for me to start my own. If you haven’t already visited this Hello Kitty-loving lady, you should head on there for beautiful shots and unique kitchen tools she has!

I’d like to pass on this award to:

sweetrosie
didally
happygrub

Much love to dearest Indigo for this award! I absolutely adore her blog; it’s quirky, witty, and she never fails to astound you with beautiful dishes.

I’d like to pass on this award to:

Linda
Happy Home Baking
Patricia