Banana Poppyseed Bread Recipe

The kitchen in our new apartment is SUCH an improvement on the old, which was small and dark with subpar appliances. It's a treat to finally be able to cook and bake in a nice space!  The other night I made poppyseed banana bread- modified from a traditional recipe which called for walnuts, which I didn't have at the time.

Banana Poppyseed Bread Recipe
1/3 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup mashed banana
1-2 tbsp poppy seeds

Cream together shortening and sugar; add eggs and mix. Add dry ingredients and banana. Stir in poppyseeds. Pour into a greased loaf pan. My original recipe said to bake at 350 degrees for 60-65 minutes; my bread was clearly done in about 40. This was the first time using the new oven and definitely something to get used to. Cool on a rack.

I modified the recipe from the 1963 Better Homes and Gardens Bread Cookbook. Just a side note: I ordered the cookbook  from Amazon.com  on accident, having meant to get the 1970s version, which my parents have. I recommend the 70s version over the 60s; it contains a better range of recipes and doesn't have semi-useless sections on disturbing looking deli meat/cream cheese loafs like this one:

Enjoy!