Coconut Lime Banana Bread

It was -2°F degrees out this morning when I loaded Owen into the car to go to daycare. Still, he refuses to wear a hat. Every time I put one on him (a sun hat, a baseball cap, even a jacket hood) he rips it off and yells “Noooo!” When I tried to put it back on I said, “Doesn’t that feel goooood?” with the exact same intonation as my mother, who used to say it to me when I refused to zip up my jacket. Everything comes full circle.

After I dropped Owen at daycare I went to the gym. I am so bored with running on the treadmill. I think I’ve been able to run outside one time in the past six weeks. It’s always too freezing, too dark, too snowy, or too icy.

So instead I run 4 or 5 mind-numbing miles on the treadmill. If I’m lucky, I can watch the Today Show. But I have a gym frenemy who likes CBS This Morning, and half the time he beats me there. Seriously, who watches CBS This Morning? I asked him once if I could change the channel, and he said no because he “works for CBS.” Whatevs. He also smokes a cigarette immediately before and after working out. Like I said, frenemies.

Can you tell I am so over winter? How is it only February? Sigh. At least with this banana bread we can pretend. I loaded it up with all the coconut so it tastes like a tropical vacation. The lime zest gives it a little citrusy zip.

I loosely adapted this recipe from the Food Network. I cut the original amount of sugar by 1/4 cup, but I suspect you could reduce it even further, to 1/4 cup total. As is, it sort of toes the line between bread and cake (but isn’t that such a glorious line?).

This bread is very moist and tender. Don’t skip the parchment “sleeve” and let it cool completely in the pan before turning it out.

Coconut Lime Banana Bread
Makes one 9-x-5-inch loaf
Adapted from the Food Network

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/4 cups)
1/2 cup sugar (or less, I think 1/4 cup would work too)
1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil or melted coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or coconut extract
1 Tablespoon freshly grated lime zest
1/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9-x-5-inch loaf pan with parchment so that it extends up the two long sides, creating a sleeve. Spray with non-stick spray.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. In another bowl, stir together the bananas, sugar, coconut milk, oil, and vanilla. Gently stir the wet ingredients into the flour mixture just until combined. Stir in the lime zest and coconut.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake until golden-brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 55 to 65 minutes. Cool completely in the pan, then lift out using the parchment as handles.