"Mr. Joe Castanza lived in Kaplan, Louisiana in the early 1900s.  He had some rent houses and owned and operated a corner grocery store.  His daughter, Rosa, was my best friend while we were living in one of Mr. Joe's rent houses.  After school, she and I went over to the store and swept the floor and dusted the shelves, for which he gave us each a box of CheezBits (little cheese-flavored crackers).  What a treat! 

Of course, we bought our groceries at Mr. Joe's, too. About every other week my daddy brought home a bunch of bananas and hung them in a corner in the kitchen, and we could have a banana any time we wanted one.  There were times, though, when some of them became over-ripe.  Mom was not one to let anything go to waste, so she would make a most delicious 
Banana Bread.  I'm not sure this is her exact recipe, because she just measured ingredients "by eye", but I do believe this is close.  I've tried it and found it to be about what I remember Mom's was..."

• 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed 
• 1/2 cup butter 
• 2 eggs 
• 3 mashed bananas, with lemon juice drizzled over to keep bananas from turning black 
• 2 cups sifted flour 
• 1 tablespoon baking powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• l/2 cup chopped pecans and/or 
• l/2 cup raisins 

And that's it for aujourd'hui.   ~MizMo