If there’s one thing my mother always told me, it was “NEVER throw away a banana.” No matter how withered and black it was, that little member of the musa family went straight into the freezer until it was ready to be used. One might wonder why she didn’t stick to the average “don’t do drugs” speech, but my mom obviously knew the difference between the malarky and important stuff…

Needless to say, baking was a rather prominent aspect in our household. There really was nothing better than waking up on a Saturday morning with the scent of a fresh banana bread wafting through the house. So as I was rummaging through my dwindling supplies for this month (it’s almost over, if you hadn’t realized), I was relived to find the ol’ standby in the back of my freezer; a withered, blackened, hard-as-a-rock frozen banana (i.e. GOLD).

1 c. + 2 tbs. sugar
1/3 c. butter
2 eggs
1 medium banana (black, like the one above)
2 small zucchini, grated
1/3 c. water
1 2/3 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. After grating the zucchini, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of sugar and drain in a cloth over the sink for 20 minutes (I put mine in a strainer, squeezing every once in a while). In the mean time, mix sugar, water, butter, eggs and banana until smooth. Mix remaining dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add into wet ingredients in batches. Give the zucchini one last squeeze, then add it into the batter. Bake in a buttered loaf pan for 45-50 minutes, or until toothpick comes clean after inserted in the center.

Note for making a great loaf: Yup, I did it; I combined two classics to make an awesome SUPER CLASSIC! It all happened by crazy-random-happenstance: I didn’t have enough banana to make a whole banana bread, and I didn’t have enough zucchini to make a whole zucchini bread. I figured I liked each of them, so why not make a super-loaf? And alas, we have a wonderful new breakfast treat on our hands. My only suggestion would be to add some sort of nut (I brought it into work and wasn’t sure if someone had an allergy). Other than that, I’m going to pat myself (and my mom) on the back for this one!