There are so many lifestyle cookbooks these days. French Laundry, Bouchon and Flour+Water...beautiful to peruse...but would I ever making anything from it? Probably not. Too time consuming. Too mason jar-reclaimed-wood-this-is-actually-really-expensive chic for me. I like things a bit more real. I know "curated everything" is all the rage recently and I prefer kitschy where things are thrown together with no rhyme, but makes proper sense to the person who lives it.

After spending my last semester of law school at UH-Manoa, I came back to Minnesota for law school graduation. In hindsight, I should have just stayed there and studied for the bar exam remotely. I missed Hawaii so much when I went home that I went on an Amazon splurge and bought tons of Hawaiian cookbooks. One of my favorites has always been this great cookbook compiled by the Honolulu Advertiser from 1991. The book is so adorable. It has photos of everyone and their dish along with a little tidbit about who they are and what they like to do.

Flipping through this cookbook always reminds me of a high school yearbook for everyone who has shared a recipe seems like a friend. What is their story after being captured in a moment in time by the Honolulu Advertiser? I turn back to several people who have captivated my attention - I've made Carolyn's recipe several times (but I omit the nuts) and have Melissa's and Carol's flagged... one day I'll get to it!

Fast forward to now....we are twenty some years later, the book gets shipped to Minnesota, I read it periodically when I miss Hawaii and think about what happened to everyone in this 1991 cookbook? I hope they're still cooking!

Carolyn Carvalho's Fluffy Banana Bread

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 2/3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup mashed bananas
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup chopped nuts

In a large bowl cream butter, sugar and vanilla well. Add eggs one at a time and beat well until fluffy.

Sift dry ingredients and add them alternately with the bananas and sour cream to the butter mixture, small amounts at a time. End with the dry ingredients and mix gently. Add nuts. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.