By Steph Farrar

I despise waste. In all forms. Trash, food, time, energy. I abhor throwing trash in bins, food reaching any expiration date, spending time in traffic, visiting an acquaintance who can't pull away from her own selfishness.  Lately, I  just don't have the space. Every visit to the grocery store with Vesper is its own little trip, its own magical, colorful, exhausting parade around Studio City market folk. And without fail,  we never leave without bananas in our basket. Or watermelon for that matter. Or popsicles. A coloring book. Shells with cheese. Honeycomb. US Weekly.

Ummm, wait I mean, kale, tofu, beans and Living Vegan. You know me!

Needless to say, it's rare we get through all the bananas before they begin to brown. They either end up in the freezer for smoothies or in a homemade banana bread. No waste!

We only have three short weeks left in our house, so I've been trying to cook in our kitchen with Vesper as often as possible. After nearly ten years in our 1100 square foot paradise, it's hard to say goodbye, even though we've been ready to move on for years, busting at the seams for additional room. After moving half our belongings out to stage the house for sale, I know now that a house isn't home without all your stuff. It's just reverb emptiness.

V is a great sifter. Any recipe which requires flour, baking soda, baking powder... various other dry goods, she's the best sous chef around. I am open to renting her out hourly. You pay me to babysit. Killer.

After you or your helper has sifted the dry goods, you've creamed your butter and eggs, mashed the nanners, spices and milk... it's just combine, and bake. Happy kid. Happy mom.

With another little one on the way, I'm anxious to set up a new kitchen, a new space, with as little wasted time and effort as possible.  Banana Bread will remain a recurring mainstay in our bread basket. And just think, I'll have two sous chefs before long. I could start a restaurant right in my own home! (Please don't call child services. I am joking people).

Banana Bread

(from FoodNetwork.com)

 Ingredients:

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

• 2 large eggs

• 3 ripe bananas

• 1 tbsp milk

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Butter a loaf pan. Cream the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Mix in the milk and cinnamon.

In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add the banana mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until combined.

Add dry ingredients, mixing just until flour disappears.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Set aside to cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove bread from pan, invert onto rack and cool completely before slicing.

Spread slices with honey, butter, cream cheese or serve with ice cream