A happy discovery . . .

Every year starting in 3rd grade, the kids have to do a large project for school.  (The school's requirement, not mine:))  In 5th grade they have to study their family's immigration history - when did the first family member come to this country, what was it like for them, what are some interesting things about the country from which the family came.

Since my mother came to the United States from England, Ella chose to tell my mother's story and to research England.  (More about the story later, it is pretty funny.)  Part of the project also required her to find a recipe for a traditional english food and make it for the class.  

Ella didn't want to do scones because that's what most people do for England (love that she wants to be original!).  Plus, I can't cook scones to save my life.  The whole cutting butter thing throws me off.  

So I dug out the cookbook my grandmother bought for me on one of our trips to England to visit her.  Ella started to look through it and out fell several small pieces of paper with handwritten recipes on them.  I had completely forgotten that my Nana had written the recipes down for me as good ones for the novice cook to have in her repertoire!  What a wonderful discovery!  

Ella decided to make banana tea loaf from this recipe:

     

How cool to cook from her English great-grandmother's handwritten recipe!  With some conversions here and there (gas mark 4 is 350 degrees and bicarbonate is baking soda) and some adjustments (the sugar is a dry 3 ounce measurement plus a cup), we worked it out and Ella cooked it.  And let me tell you, it is wonderful!  Much better than the banana bread I normally make!  The addition of the lemon is something I never would have thought of but really brings a depth to the taste.  The only change I might make is the amount of sugar makes it very sweet so you really don't need the over-ripe bananas that banana bread usually requires.  

Even though we were separated by an ocean, we saw my grandparents frequently.  My Nana and I were very close and I always loved spending time with her and my Mom.  I felt lucky to be able to experience a relationship with three generations of my family.  

This is a picture of Nana and me is from the early 80's (which you could probably tell from my awesome hairstyle.)  Now my Mom and my Nana are both gone and I miss them terribly.  Which makes it even more special that a fourth generation is getting to know Nana through her recipe.  Love that!