I remembering scouring my house for loose change just so I could buy myself some nice banana cake after Saturday Chinese school. I lifted sofa seat cushions to find coins that fell through the cracks. I often turned my brother’s jeans upside down to see if any coins fell out “accidentally.” There were always a few quarters. I turned over ever spot in Mama Lin’s house to look for coins. The banana cake obsession of mine was real. It has been years since I’ve tasted the familiar flavors of banana essence/extract. A little while ago, I tried a banana-flavored peanut butter, and I quickly discovered that banana extract, when mixed with wrong flavors, can be quite revolting. That was when I told myself, “Banana extract no more!” Let’s cook with some real bananas. I made a batch of these banana nut muffins to take for my flight to Alaska, just in case I’m stuck at the airport for hours and need some sweets to get me through the wait. I refuse to pay $3 for a sub-par muffin.
