Bourbon, bananas and back to normal

The SAR chatter was right--Dean missed us, but is barreling in on Mexico. We dodged the proverbial bullet, but some of the guys are ready to head down to help sort things out after the storms. And, it was a pretty good drill, with a staging area in San Antonio, a good place south central to mobilize while missing the worst of the storms.

In the meantime, I'm finishing up revisions while enjoying some tasty Bourbon Banana Bread, which has been known to make the neighbors swoon. Baking is my default position when I get nervous. My grandmother used to wake us up in the middle of the night and say, "Who wants cake?"

Then we'd all tumble downstairs to clatter around with mixing bowls and big, wooden spoons while the scents of vanilla and bourbon floated along the stark, yellow light of the kitchen bulb. Our granddad (who slept in a seperate room) never emerged for the theatrics--either because he was *laying on his good ear* or because he was listening to baseball on the AM, drifting in and out of sleep.

And for those of you who asked...
Granny's Bourbon Banana Bread:
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs
1 stick melted butter (cooled)
3 ripe, ripe, nearly rotten bananas
1 1/2 cup toasted pecans
3 shots and 1 tbl bourbon

Slug down the shot of bourbon and roll up your sleeves. Mix together butter, banana, eggs, and bourbon.

Mix together the dry ingredients (including the pecans) in a large bowl and fold the wet ingredients in, making sure you don't overmix. If you're tempted to keep mixing, go get another shot of bourbon and settle down.

Preheat the oven to 350-degrees and butter a loaf pan. Slug down your last shot and let the bread bake for about an hour.