Peas and Blueberry Banana Bread

I’ve had a pretty productive day so far. After hanging the laundry to dry, I finally got around to picking, blanching, and freezing a batch each of peas and yellow beans. It’s always a little disappointing to discover that the huge bowl of pods you picked only amount to a couple of cups of actual peas . I planted two varieties this year (Paladio and Laxton’s Progress) and so far I think the Laxton’s Progress variety is more worthwhile as a shelling pea, just because each individual pea is so large, you get more bang for your buck (although the Paladio might be a tad sweeter). Does anyone have a favorite pea variety that they’d be willing to share?

I also made a couple of loaves of Blueberry Banana Bread. I’m not a huge fan of most banana breads, but this one is the exception. It’s moist and delicious, and is my version of a Best of Bridge recipe.

Blueberry Banana Bread:
Preaheat oven to 350 degrees.
1 cup organic butter or non-hydrogenated margarine (I like Earth Balance)
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 cups mashed ripe banana (4-6 bananas)
4 eggs (or equivalent egg replacer)
2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (can use white or a combination)
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. nutmeg (1/2 tsp. if freshly ground)
1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add bananas and eggs, mix well. Pile dry ingredients together on top of wet mixture and mix all at once (do not overmix). Fold in blueberries (some people toss the berries with a tablespoon or so of flour to keep them from sinking to the bottom of the loaf, but I can’t be bothered and have never found it to be that effective).
Pour into 2 lightly greased loaf pans or a bundt pan. Bake for 55 minutes to an hour (test with skewer for doneness). Cool in pans for 10 minutes before removing. Freezes well.

Perfect with a cup of tea!

Check out Sweetnicks‘ ARF/5-A-Day Tuesdays for more healthy, antioxidant rich recipes.