Makana Bread
rec.food.recipes/John Lull/1995

This is a recipe I gathered while attending Dorothy Ferman's Southern CA Edison Company cooking classes in 1960. The buttermilk just adds that special something.

1 cup walnut pieces
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 3-4 large, they can be over-ripened and black)
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup solid Crisco shortening
3 eggs
3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Chop walnuts in blender (remove nuts from blender and set aside). Cut bananas into pieces; puree in blender jar.

With electric mixer, cream sugar and shortening at medium speed. Add eggs to creamed mixture and beat until light and fluffy. Add pureed banana mixture to above.

Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Mix thoroughly. Fold in nuts. Pour into greased and floured tube pan (can be made in loaf bread pan's also).

Bake 60-70 minutes or until bread tests done with a cake tester. Cool in pan on wire rack for 1 hour; remove from pan to serving dish.