A clean toothpick.

So I bought the baking soda and the loaf pan, and I baked the banana nut bread.


This almost didn't happen.

I couldn't find the electric beater. But I somehow convinced myself to cream the butter and sugar with a wooden spoon, by hand.

While I was mixing the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients, I realized that my loaf pan was 9x5, not 9x9 as specified in the recipe. But I continued to pour the batter into the pan.

As I placed the pan into the oven, I realized that I had pre-heated the oven to 450 degrees, not 350 like I was supposed to. I quickly lowered the temperature and crossed my fingers that the bread would still turn out alright.

5 minutes past the requisite 50 minute baking time, the toothpick was still not coming out clean. I continued to wait, praying that there was still hope for my banana nut bread. Eventually, the toothpick came out clean.

I'm back at home now. And despite all evidence to the contrary, I'm praying that there is still hope for me.