Peanut Butter Banana Bread

The classic combination of peanut butter and banana comes together in this tender Peanut Butter Banana Bread recipe. It’s a quick bread perfect for those leftover overripe bananas you’re harboring in the kitchen right now.

Last weekend, I nearly auditioned for a play. It would have been my first audition in nearly 20 years, and was for something I’d always wanted to do (a Shakespearean play). I was terrified — it’s been so long that I am not sure I remember how to act at all — but figured I would just see what happened. If I didn’t get a call back, that’d be okay too. Unfortunately, a mix-up with times meant we arrived too late. Auditions were over.

Maybe it was a sign. My days on stage are long gone now, and perhaps I should leave them that way.

That was on my mind when I wrote my newspaper column this week, exploring how my dream career — being a writer and an actress — had morphed into the singular pursuit of writing. I don’t regret for a moment becoming a writer, but I do sometimes miss the stage and blocking, the lights and costumes, the call times and the camaraderie. (The column also included a recipe for Baked Sweet Potatoes with Crispy Pancetta Veggie Topping that you should try. It’s dreamy.)

Being a little wistful for what didn’t happen doesn’t take away from the good things that have happened. I’ve written a cookbook, traveled to some wonderful places (including the happiest place on Earth) and interviewed some amazing folks — all because of my career as a writer and recipe developer. There may not be any applause when I hit publish on a new recipe blog post (that would be a little weird if there was) or when I turn a particularly good phrase, but it’s a pretty awesome and rewarding life anyway. I’m happy.

And because of it, I get to play with food and share the creations that come from my kitchen … like this recipe for Peanut Butter Banana Bread. Peanut butter and banana is a classic combination that’s great on toast (with a little drizzle of honey too!), and in a sandwich too. And baked into bread, it’s total delight.

This quick bread recipe is pretty simple to make — if you can measure and stir, you can do it — and only requires a single bowl for mixing. (Overripe bananas are a cinch to mash with a fork.) And then it makes into moist, banana bread goodness.

I love this bread, warm with a smear of butter. But it’s good plain too, heated or not.

So tell me … do you ever get wistful? What for?