Disclaimer and "Germy" Bread

Today I officially began my M2 (second year in medical school) year. Yes, we started on August 7th. Yes, we had real class today; six hours of it to be exact! I tell you all this to say that, as much as I hope it doesn't, this may affect my posting frequency. Sometimes I get busy and don't have time to cook. That means I eat eggs or oatmeal (or left overs) for dinner. Anyway, this is my disclaimer to the frequency of posts. Hopefully, not too much will change.

Now to my "germy" bread. Recently Anna, at Cookie Madness, posted a white chocolate, cranberry, oatmeal cookie. It looked great to me but called for wheat germ. I've never used wheat germ but have a banana bread recipe that calls for it (optionally). I decided to get the stuff. Well, thanks Anna! I've decided that I really like the stuff. I have been putting it on my daily breakfast yogurt and enjoying it thoroughly.

Last night I decided that I was tired of seeing the black peeled, frozen bananas in my TINY freezer; so, I pulled them out and put together the banana bread recipe WITH the wheat germ this time. I really like the texture and flavor that the germ provided the bread. Although the bread was a little dry due to the fact that I didn't measure the oil and didn't have buttermilk (I know! Gasp...baking without measuring!), I think that I'll keep the germ in the bread. It adds to the healthfulness (how's that for a Rachel Ray word!) and color of the bread. I do think, however, that I might add more banana than I normally use.

Granny's Healthy Banana Bread
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup ripe banana mashed
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup oil
2 eggs or 4 egg whites
nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine dry ingredients and either sift of stir with a whisk (this is what I do). Add remaining ingredients and stir until combined. Do not overmix. Pour in standard size greased bread pan. Place in oven for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until done a toothpick comes out clean. Enjoy warm or toasted.