Banana Slug Bread #FoodieReads

This recipe was inspired by reading Lost Coast Literary by Ellie Alexander. Let me be clear: there are NO banana slugs in the recipe! The setting of the book is California's Lost Coast where you will come across banana slugs on on almost every hiking trail through the soggy - but magical - redwood forests.

In this novel - Lost Coast Literary by Ellie Alexander - Emily Bryant, a book editor, finds herself in a small town California’s Lost Coast. This is chick lit meets magical realism. And, if that sounds like your particular up of tea, this will be a joy.

After her grandmother dies, Emily is told that she must edit her grandmother's old manuscripts in order to inherit the estate. The oddity: she hasn't been to the town since she was a child and there are relatives who still call Cascata home.

What she discovers is that any edits she makes comes true. Initially, she loves this magical gift. She goes about helping characters find true love or embark on a different path, but eventually, these changes begin to wreak havoc.

I thoroughly enjoyed this magical story that ends with a family reunited. And I had to chuckle about all of the local shops capitalizing banana slug items.

"She packed a picnic with our favorite bacon, guacamole, and slug slime spicy seasoning bagel sandwiches. Slugs played a predominant role in temperate rainforests. I remember it being nearly impossible to walk anywhere without passing a trail of slimy slug residue. Local merchants capitalized on the theme with creative bagel and pizza toppings, none of which actually contained slug slime. Thank goodness."

My older son attends UC Santa Cruz and their school mascot is a banana slug. I am not kidding. So, Fiat Slug! gets uttered in our house often. I even made tie-dyed slug sugar cookies for R and his roommates.

But this post is about Banana Slug Bread.

Next to it was a small pastry case with pre-wrapped slices of banana slug bread and lemon pound cake.

I whipped by a batch of banana bread made with sourdough discard. It's one of our family favorites.

Ingredients

makes four mini loaves or one regular loaf and two minis

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 3/4 cup organic dark brown sugar

• 2 large eggs

• 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract

• 3 to 4 ripe bananas

• 1 cup sourdough starter

• Also needed: loaf pans, butter for greasing pans

Procedure

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare loaf pans with a light rubbing of butter. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl combine olive oil, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, bananas, and sourdough starter. Mash bananas with a fork, then whisk the entire mixture until combined. Leave some chunks of banana, if you want. Sift in flour and baking soda. Stir until just moistened.

Divide batter between prepared pans and bake for 55-65 minutes, depending on the size of your pans. Mini loaf pans take around 55 minutes; large loaf pans can take up to 65 minutes. An inserted toothpick should come out clean. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing.

I am linking this to our online #FoodieReads group. Here are the other readers' books for August.