During this time of uncertainty with no end in sight, we’re going to cook with all the ingredients we have. The normal, the random, and those forgotten impulse buys we made a month ago. This is quarantined cooking.

Banana bread has been popping up all over the internet and on our social media feeds since being quarantined. It makes sense, since banana bread uses overripe bananas and repurposes them into a delicious and easy baked good. I have strong feelings about banana bread. It should have spice but not so much where it masks the banana flavor. Only walnuts should be used, nothing else — including chocolate chips — should be mixed in the batter. And, baking banana bread with whole bananas on top shouldn’t be a thing because it will result in a flatter, undercooked bread. But, last week I received a large amount of bananas in my produce box and decided I needed to make banana bread. This version of a family recipe is dairy-free because I have a dairy protein allergy, but it’s simple and quick and full of flavor with a sweet sugary crust. You won’t miss the milk.––Justin Burke

Dairy-free Banana Bread

Ingredients
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup shortening
2 eggs
½ cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
3 large ripe bananas, mashed
3 cups flour, sifted
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon allspice
½ cup walnuts, chopped

Directions 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9 ½ x 5 ½ pan. 
2. Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together sugar, shortening, and eggs until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. 
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together coconut milk, lemon juice, and baking soda. 
4. Stop the mixer and add bananas and coconut mixture, then mix to combine, about 2 minutes. 
5. Whisk together in a medium bowl flour, salt, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and walnuts to combine. 
6. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and mix on slow until just combined. 
7. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour or until golden brown and the center of toothpick comes out clean. A few wet crumbs is ok. Cool on a wire rack. 

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