Hedonism

noun: the doctrine that pleasure or happiness is the sole or chief good in life (Merriam-Webster definition)

Any lover of food is a hedonist. The levels of hedonism vary from person to person, of course, but at the core of their being foodies love pleasure. It's why we drive out of our way for a specific ingredient, or spend five hours cooking just soup, or pay slightly more for that gourmet cheese. We do it for those moments where you eat something and can't help but close your eyes with a heartfelt moan. For the true hedonistic eater food isn't just fuel, it's an exploration of ourselves and a reminder of the joy life can be.

Granted, most people probably wouldn't think of the joys of life when looking at these bananas, but I certainly get excited by them. This sort of situation happens to everyone. You buy some bananas with every intention of eating them all, but somehow you never quite get around to it before some of them become spotty tubes of goo. Thankfully for us abusers of fruit, this provides a wonderful opportunity: banana bread. The following recipe isn't the best (considering I took it from a book entitled "Teens Cook!" I'm not surprised), but it's by no means bad. I really like how the crust is a bit crunchy and it is very moist, but I'll definitely be looking for a replacement soon. For now, though, enjoy this bread with some caramel sauce and ice cream or have it for breakfast with some peanut butter. Or if you're bad like me you can have it for breakfast with some bittersweet chocolate. However you eat, never be ashamed if you love it. Life is pleasure and pain; wouldn't you like as much pleasure as you can get?

Banana bread

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

3 medium bananas

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups flour

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in the eggs for one minute, then the bananas for an additional minute or until no large chunks remain. Add the baking soda and salt, mixing well, then mix in the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to incorporate the last of the flour. Pour the batter into a lightly buttered 9x5 loaf pan and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven heat to 350 degrees and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.