The Perfect Snowy Weekend Treat

Last weekend, the snow hit. I must have been in school the last time I had a 'snow day'. Schools were closed, and work was closed. There was so much of it! I woke up early (this seems to be a habit of mine recently and I'm not 100% sure that I am a massive fan of it), and went for a little stroll amongst the 4/5 inches of whiteness that filled the floor and the snowy branches of trees that dropped copious amounts each time the wind blew in it's direction. That was all the snow that I took in.. I love how pretty it looks when it first settles, but when you're 3 days into the disruption that it causes public transport, or sticking to plans that you've made or even getting anywhere for that matter, it starts to get on my nerves.
Although the snow was a bit of a pain, and my weekend didn't go as it was originally planned, it was so lovely to be able to cook such wholesome, warm foods for dinner. Sausage casserole, pie and curry - mm! I even had the time to bake! A warm pecan and chocolate chip banana bread made the perfect treat for a cold snowy weekend.

The recipe I followed and copied into this post (although I did alter some ingredients just for personal preference and I will make note of those) was a >Jamie Oliver recipe<, and it turned out delicious. 10000% I shall make this again, and even adapt the recipe slightly more, adding different flavours like berries or walnuts!

You will need:

• Loaf Tin
• Olive Oil
• 250g of Self Raising Flour 
• 2 Tablespoons of Apple Juice (I personally dislike apple juice, and so I used Almond Milk)
• 3 Ripe Banana's - the riper, the better!
• 125g of Unsalted Butter
• 2 Large Free-Range Eggs
• 1/2 Teaspoons of Ground Cinnamon (I also added a little bit of ginger)
• 2 Tablespoons of Runny Honey
• 50g of Pecans (I didn't weigh the amount of pecans I used, the more the merrier, am I right..)

1. Start by preheating your oven to 180 degrees/gas 4. Then begin greasing your loaf tin with the olive oil, and dust with a small amount of flour, tap to remove the excess. Set to one side.

2. Peel your banana's, place into a bowl and mash with a fork until a smooth but chunky mixture.

3. Stir in the apple juice (this is where I added the almond milk). 

4. In a separate bowl, beat the butter with a wooden spoon until creamy. 

5. Add the eggs, 1 at a time combining well before adding the next, into the butter mixture. 

6. Fold in the flour, honey, cinnamon (and what other spices you may fancy adding) as well as the banana mixture but be careful not to over mix. 

7. Roughly chop the pecans (or your other fillings) and fold into the mixture.

8. Pour mixture into the loaf tin and bake in the middle of a hot oven for 40 minutes, or until golden brown. (I left mine in the oven for 45 minutes, and it was perfect).

9. Leave to cool in the loaf tin when brought out from the oven initially, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool further.

10. Serve and enjoy!

This banana bread definitely made being snowed in much better! Here's the recipe >again< in case you'd rather follow these more detailed steps.

What do you like to do on a snow day?

Amber X