Nutless Banana Nut Bread

After my grandfather passed away, my mother continued his tradition of baking banana nut bread.  She lovingly protects his secret recipe, vowing one day to pass it down to my brother and me.  And she still cooks them to order, mine without nuts and my brother’s with them just like we like them. 

Unfortunately, gone are the days when she’d bake them in an old Folger’s coffee can.  The bread a cylinder of golden-brownness with a bulging muffin top protruding out of the top.  I can still remember her coaxing that loaf out of that can and the ringed indentations every few inches along its sides.  I couldn’t wait to cut into its warm, softness; to spread butter across its surface and watch it melt into the pores of the bread.  The combination of salty and sweet intermingling into an explosion of perfection.

Crap!  Now I’m hungry for some nutless banana nut bread.  Maybe I can convince my mother that it’s time for another batch.