Banana Bread

2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking soda
¼  tsp salt
½ c Driftless Organics sunflower oil
½ c honey
Grated rind of 1 lemon
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
4-5 ripe bananas (about 2 c. pulp)
½ c chopped nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds or sunflower seeds)
½ c raisins or currents
½ c grated coconut (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Blend the oil, honey, vanilla and lemon rind until smooth. Beat in the eggs until it turns lighter in color. In a separate bowl, mash the bananas into a pulp. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the oil, honey and eggs in three parts alternately with the banana pulp, beating smooth after each addition. Fold in the chopped nuts and raisins and coconut. Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake on a low oven wrack for 50 minutes or until the bread’s center is done (reducing oven temperature to 300 after 50 minutes helps prevent over-cooking the crust). Cool for 10 minutes in the pan before turning onto a cooling rack. Makes 1 large loaf.