Kicking Off Our New Blog - With Grandma Fran's Famous Banana Bread

The Original Recipe as written in 1985!

Welcome to the very first post on the Teanaway Country Store blog! We’ve been dreaming of creating a space where we can share all kinds of good things with you—recipes and stories from our kitchen, local hikes we love, seasonal foraging tips (but don’t expect all our secret spots!), and little pieces of the community that make this valley so special.

So, to kick things off, it only felt right to start with the recipe that has followed our family—and our shops—for decades…Grandma Fran’s “Famous” Banana Bread.

A Recipe With a Story (and a Correction)

Long before the Teanaway Country Store existed, we owned the Sweet Shop in Gearhart, Oregon, a quaint beach town where James Beard himself used to summer. It’s the kind of place where recipes feel like heirlooms, and the smell of scones or our fresh waffle cones could stop people in their tracks.

Our banana bread was a staple then, just as it became here in Washington. Over the years, we sold hundreds of slices and loaves, and people kept asking for the recipe. The truth is, it wasn’t ours to claim—it was handed down from my mother, the one and only Grandma Fran.

One day, she came to visit the shop. She tasted a slice, took a thoughtful pause, and then asked: “Are you using two bananas?”

I assured her, “Of course! I’m following your recipe exactly.”

She shook her head.“Well, that’s your problem. I always use three.”

I was floored —who withholds banana intel from their own child?! From that day forward, I swore that if I ever shared recipes, they would be the real ones. No secrets. No missing ingredients. No banana sabotage.

So in the spirit of honesty, generosity and good food…here’s the actual recipe.

🍌 Grandma Fran’s Banana Bread (The REAL Version)

Ingredients

• 3 ripe bananas

• 1 cup sugar

• 1/2 cup salted butter, softened

• 2 eggs

• 2 cups flour

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 cup milk

Instructions

1.     Preheat oven to 350°F.

2.     Mash the bananas in a large bowl.

3.     Add butter, sugar, and eggs; mix until smooth.

4.     In a separate bowl, whisk together flour and baking soda.

5.     Add dry ingredients to the banana mixture and stir just until combined, then add milk.

6.     Pour into a greased loaf pan.

7.     Bake for 1 hour.

8.     Let cool… or slice into it warm if you can't wait.

Bonus: This recipe doubles beautifully, making two perfect loaves.

More Good Things to Come

This blog will be a place for recipes like this one—real, well-loved, thoroughly tested in our kitchen and our community. But we’ll also be sharing:

• Favorite hikes in the Teanaway

• Seasonal foraging finds (with some secrets kept to ourselves 😉)

• Local history

• Behind-the-scenes moments from the store

• Tips for making the most of our beautiful valley

  
  

Thank you for being part of our extended Teanaway family. Here’s to good food, good stories, and many more good things to come.