The Banana Marathon

My friend's wife picked up a case of bananas or two when she went shopping today. Normally I like bananas okay, but I usually don't get them used up before they get too mushy for me to want to use them. So when I became the custodian of three bunches of them today I wasn't sure what I would be able to use them for and if I could stomach that much banana-flavored goodness. You see, I already have four containers of frozen banana mush that I was waiting to use for baking, and I don't have any more containers for it. The problem is that not only am I going to be eating all of my banana baked goods, she's going to be trying to pawn off hers on me too. Which is what I plan to do to her. I don't know if I'll be able to look at a banana after this. I wasn't sure if I was up for the challenge, but I've started the marathon.

My first entry is a recipe for Monkey Bars. It's a recipe that I veganized out of Cooking Light, my favorite magazine ever. I substituted the rice milk for buttermilk, and 1/2 cup of extra banana for the egg whites that the recipe calls for. Because of the extra banana, it's more flavorful, but a little sweeter than the original recipe. If you don't like sweet that well, then cut down the brown sugar a bit to compensate for the extra banana.

Monkey Bars
1/2 c. raisins
1 1/2 Tbs. apple juice
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 c. packed brown sugar
1/4 c. margarine or butter, softened
1 c. mashed ripe banana
3 Tbs. rice milk, or buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine the raisins and apple juice in a microwave bowl. Microwave at high for 1 minute, and set aside. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl, stirring well. Set aside. Combine brown sugar and margarine in a large bowl, and beat until well blended. Add banana, milk and vanilla, mixing well. Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Stir in raisin mixture. Spread the batter into an 8-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden. Cool the bars completely on a wire rack.

P.S. I'm willing to start a betting pool on how long it's going to take the people at work to start hiding from me when I bring in a container of baked goods. :)